the same thing. That movement had created a lot of deep, painful discussions between husbands and wives or partners. But it was worth it. He was glad his father had always treated his mother as fully his equal and with respect in every way.
“What a gift, Chase!” Jenny called to him, her blue eyes dancing with joy. “Thank you for bringing Cari into my life! I’d heard of her visit to my parents’ facility in Roslin, but had never gotten to meet her in person!”
“Well, there’s always second chances in life,” he murmured, meeting her smile. “Why don’t you and Cari spend an hour or so together? I just got a text from my manager, Tracy Hartimer, and have to take a drive over to see her. I’ll pick Cari up after that?”
Cari smiled. “That would be wonderful. Then, we could go back to your office and look at that large-scale map so I can get to work on a proper bee plan for you.”
He put his Stetson on his head. “Sounds good to me. Now”—he wagged a finger in their direction—“you two stay out of trouble. Huh?” He squelched a grin as he saw the women laugh and give each other a knowing look. “Later,” he said, lifting his hand and leaving the office area.
* * *
“Oh,” Jenny said, gripping Cari’s hand, “when Chase let me know you were here, I was just over the moon about it!”
“I was just as giddy,” Cari admitted, seeing how dark Jenny’s freckles across her cheeks and nose became when she was happy. Jenny’s hair was short and a pixie style. She knew a lot of falconers and eagle owners cut their hair so the strands wouldn’t get swept up between the bird’s feathers, causing issues. Either that or a woman working with raptors would always have her hair in a ponytail between her shoulder blades.
“What would you like to do first? Go see the raptors? Or see our veterinary area? Just tell me, because one hour isn’t going to be enough to take in everything. We’re a huge, busy facility.”
“I know,” Cari said. “Could we sit down in your office with a cup of coffee? There’s some private things you need to know about me and what’s going on.” Instantly, she saw concern come to Jenny’s sky-blue eyes. She had large, black pupils and in some ways, Cari was reminded that she looked very much like an attentive eagle. Often, she’d seen attributes or physical traits of the falconer or eagle owner mirror some traits of their raptor. And Jenny was no exception to this observation.
“Why, of course! But then, I must show you our raptors that we use for our weekly show here on the ranch, as well as our medical facility where we have birds and raptors of all kinds recovering from many types of injuries.”
“Love to see it all,” Cari said, following Jenny behind the huge L-shaped counter and to her rear office.
* * *
“So,” Jenny said, leaning back in her black leather desk chair, frowning as Cari finished her story, “this is very serious business with your stepbrother.”
“It is,” she agreed, sitting out in front of the antique oak desk. “How are you feeling about it?”
Raising her thin, red eyebrows, Jenny said, “The fact that Chase is ex-military, and Dan Seabert is ex-SEAL, makes me feel very secure, even though this cloud is a terrible thing to be hanging over you and your parents, Cari. I don’t know if I’d have as much strength as you do, if it was happening to me and my family. It must be a terrible burden for all of you to be carrying every minute of every day.”
“It never goes away,” Cari agreed quietly, “it just dials up or down in intensity. Having been with Sheriff Seabert this morning, hearing his plan of action, really helped dial down my anxiety and fear for the people here on the ranch, as well as in the valley.”
“Well”—she sighed—“you couldn’t have chosen a better place to hide than here in Silver Creek. It sort of reminds me of the movie Lost Horizon, where a British diplomat tries to protect some Europeans and help them leave a Southern Asia revolution. Their plane crash-lands in the Himalayas, and by accident, they stumble upon the Valley of the Blue Moon, and a place called Shangri-La.”
“I believe you’re talking about the original book that was written by James Hilton in 1933. I read that book as a child, many