Page 5 of Call of A Eagle

I started to introduce myself to the old woman and ask for her name, but noticed the porch was empty. She’d already retreated inside and closed the front door.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I shifted my gaze to the nearest bed again. The weight of what I’d agreed to do hit me, and I remembered yet again that I knew nothing about gardening.

Thank goodness for the internet. It made dumb people sound smart.

“All right, well, I’m gonna head out. I’ll see you early tomorrow morning,” I said, flashing Lyra a smile.

She crammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. Sure, she was guarded, but there was a fire in her. She had a spark of determination that I couldn’t help but notice. It was the mark of a strong woman, and damn did I love a strong woman.

“Okay,” she said, not returning my smile.

My grin grew as I headed to my truck. While I walked, my eagle grew animated, the pull to this place calling to him.

Or was it her?

I cast a glance back at Lyra when I reached my truck. She’d already shifted her attention to the nearest garden bed. As I watched her, I swore I felt something stir deep within me, like the call of a eagle resonating through my soul.

Movement in one of the cabin windows captured my attention.

The old woman was watching me. I waved to her. When she didn’t respond, I climbed into my truck. As I started the engine,I remembered my schedule at Crescent Creek Ziplining for the week. They had me working mornings, which meant I’d need to swap with someone for the evening shift. It was another thing to juggle, but I’d manage.

I always did.

Cutting a left at the end of their driveway, I headed toward town. Some ice cream from Celestial Scoops was in order. After all, this was the only day I would have off for a while. Might as well enjoy it.

My cell buzzed with a text before I reached the next stop sign.

I glanced at the screen. It was from Dean.

How’d it go? Was it her?

I stared at the message, thinking of how to respond before typing out a response.

Not sure yet. Need more time to find out.

I hit send and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat. My thoughts drifted to the old woman before shifting to Lyra. My eagle stirred, and I wondered if it was because I was thinking of her.

If so, I needed to figure out why.

3

LYRA

Isat on the front porch, sipping my coffee as I gazed out at the garden beds, my thoughts drifting to Waylen. I kept replaying yesterday. The way he’d made that casual joke about wanting to star in his own jungle adventure left me feeling slightly wary of him. He hadn’t seemed like the typical gardener, and the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about him.

Was I overthinking things, though?

It wouldn’t be the first time—I blamed it on the Virgo moon in my astrological chart.

Still, the nagging suspicion that Waylen was hiding something made me uneasy. My owl, however, didn’t share my worries. She felt an undeniable pull toward him that I didn’t understand.

Granny stepped out onto the porch, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Still thinking about that boy?” she asked, her voice carrying that familiar mix of warmth and amusement as she settled herself into the chair beside me.

I pursed my lips. She always could read me like a book.

“I don’t know about him,” I said, shaking my head. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who usually takes on this kind of work. And the way he joked about the garden beds—I’m not convinced he’ll take the job seriously.”

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