town, he just might ask the man for permission to date both of her.
Suddenly, Shiloh gasped so hard Gunnar had to catch the kid from tumbling off the rock. “Look at that,” Shiloh whisper-shouted, pointing up the trail before Gunnar had even finished righting him. “That’s a bald eagle.”
Katy turned to look and also gasped.
Gunnar straightened and peered ahead, seeing what was definitely a bald eagle perched as bold as brass in the center of the trail not fifty yards from them. Hands down the largest bird he’d ever seen, Gunnar’s body stilled in the creature’s magnificent presence. Every detail of the eagle’s body seemed to stand out—majestic mahogany feathers; crisp white head; sharp, all-knowing, ebony gaze—in a way that permitted only veneration and respect.
He sighed when he heard Katy whisper in awe, “Evan’s eagle,” only to frown when she scrambled to her feet without taking her eyes off the bird and said, “Ohmigod, it’s him.”
She looked at Gunnar and beamed him another big bright smile. “It’s Telos.” But then she scowled. “Telos?” she repeated. She slid her gaze to Shiloh, who was still staring at the eagle, then back to Gunnar. “Our new mythical god?” she whispered. “Oh,” she huffed more than said, turning to face up the trail. “I swear sometimes you look at me like you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about.”
That was because most of the time he didn’t.
The scary—if slightly disturbing—thing was, that’s probably what he liked most about her. Because he’d much rather be confused by all her talk of mythical islands and warriors and gods than be bored to death rehashing celebrity gossip, critiquing fashion trends, and fending off tedious attempts to get him to talk about himself. Yeah. How could he not like a woman who simply made up an entire identity for him that she liked?
God, he’d love to spend a few hours inside that creative mind of hers.
“Do you think it’s hurt?” Shiloh whispered as he stared at the bird staring back at them. “It’s not common for eagles to be on the ground when they’ve got all these trees to perch in, unless they’re after prey. Did you see where he came from?” he continued, looking up at the treetops then over at Gunnar.
“No,” Gunnar said, also scanning the treetops. He reached out when Shiloh started to slide off his rock. “Stay here,” he gently ordered, remembering Evan’s eagle had actually tried to grab the kid. “Katy,” he added firmly when she slowly walked toward the bird.
“It’s okay,” she said without looking back. “The only times I’ve heard of Telos showing up is when people are in some sort of trouble, so he must be here to help us.”
Oh, for the love of— “Okay, enough,” Gunnar said, the edge in his voice making Katy stop and turn and blink at him. “The sooner you and Shiloh get going, the less time I’ll have to sit here fighting off blackflies and mosquitos.” He nudged Shiloh off the rock. “And thanks to the—to Telos,” he added with a tight grin at Katy before looking at Shiloh, “I won’t be alone.” He set his walking stick across his thighs. “And if any bears or rabid raccoons come sniffing around, I’ll be well armed.”
Including the small pistol he had strapped, thankfully, to his right ankle.
“But—” Katy started.
“No buts,” Gunnar said, cutting her off. “Unless your eagle buddy can fly the three of us out of here on its back, the two people who can walk out will, then send someone back to get the person who can’t.”
Now what in hell was she smiling at? Didn’t she realize he had just taken over her little misadventure?
“Hey.” Shiloh moved to stand between them and shot Gunnar a glare. The kid obviously realized what was going on and obviously did not like it. “Katy’s in charge of this trail ride because she knows what she’s doing.”
Gunnar arched a brow to keep from grinning. Hell, the kid held his stick like he intended to take a swing at him. “This stopped being a trail ride,” he drawled, curious to see what the boy would do, “the moment we found ourselves walking.”
“It’s okay, Shiloh,” Katy said with a laugh, walking up and turning the still glaring boy around to face her. “Mr. Wolfe is just doing what mythical warriors do when circumstances turn dire, which is to get all manly and bossy.” Gunnar saw her eyes take on a sparkle as she smiled down at Shiloh.