Page 5 of Wind Valley

“It’s not that. It’s just…I’d rather keep it to as small a circle as possible for now.”

He didn’t understand why, and it must have shown on his face.

“There’s probably going to end up being some simple explanation, and then I’ll feel like an idiot because I was the silly girl from the city who freaked out over a bunch of bunnies being bunnies,” she explained.

He nodded his understanding. “I’m glad you decided to include me in the circle.”

“You’re a scientist,” she said by way of explanation.

“I study the jökulhlaup, not wildlife.”

“Yes, I know what you study.” That was a surprise. Most people outside of Firelight Ridge hadn’t even heard of jökulhlaup unless they too lived near a glacier. The word was an Icelandic term and didn’t exactly roll off the tongue. “Pinky told me some stories about all the flooding that happens here when the ice dams melt. He said that you’re the expert.”

“I’m an expert. On glacial melt and flooding, not on weird animal behavior. If you want an expert on that, maybe one of the Chilkoots or?—”

“No,” she said firmly. “You’re the one I know. Pinky likes you. We talked it over and we both thought the same thing. Congratulations on your new mission, should you choose to accept it.”

“I do,” he said gravely. “And thanks for the vote of confidence. I am hereby sworn to secrecy until we all decide otherwise. Fair?”

“Very fair.” She smiled at him from under her thick knitted hat. It was a gray color that set off both her black hair and her deep blue eyes. “Thank you.”

He thought about walking inside the house and somehow…lying to Gil? “Maybe we should wait until Gil’s gone. I can’t lie to my brother. Literally, I can’t do it. He would know right away. We can’t hide anything from each other.”

“You don’t have to lie. Just say that I came over for a cup of tea. A friendly cup of tea. A get-to-know-the-new-girl cup of tea.”

That sounded like a date to him, but he decided not to point that out.

“Where are your maps?” she asked.

“In my office.”

“Is tea allowed in your office? Are new girls allowed in your office?”

“My office is open to anything. I once kept a litter of baby ermine in my office. Their mother had disappeared and they were starving. The warmest spot was next to my office heater.”

Her eyes pooled with sympathy. “Did they survive?”

“They survived long enough for me to release them back outside. I can’t say what happened to them after that. I set up a wildlife camera in hopes of catching a glimpse of them, but I never did. I hope they’re okay.”

She was watching him in the same way she watched Pinky tell his stories. “You’re a kind man.”

“So I’m told.” He made a rueful face. “I can’t help it. Gil wishes I was more ruthless, but I just don’t have it in me. I never have. He spent all of our childhood guarding me from jerks while I was happily oblivious.”

Another thing he’d never been able to do was hide who he was. He was a scientist who often had his head in the clouds—clouds of data and theorizing, but clouds nonetheless. If anyone expected him to be anything else, they’d be disappointed.

“I bet you protected him too,” said Maura, surprising him.

He had, in his own way. But how would she know that?

“I’m a teacher, I’m familiar with dynamics between kids,” she explained. “You were just as important to him as he was to you.”

“I have to think about that one,” he murmured. “Ready? It’s chilling down in here.” With the engine off, the moisture on his truck’s windows was starting to condense and the cold air was creeping inside.

She zipped her parka all the way up to her neck and nodded. “Let’s do it.”

As soon as they stepped outside, a blast of wind from the ravine made her yelp. He’d forgotten that when the wind came from the northeast like this, that happened. She took a step back, nearly stumbling over a chunk of ice that had gotten blown off the snowbank.

He hurried over to her and put an arm around her shoulder so they could face the wind together. She didn’t object or pull away.

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