Reluctant Date (19 page)

“Yes, of course.” Claire wasn’t sure why she felt so
embarrassed standing in front of him in dripping shorts and a wrung out
T-shirt. She couldn’t believe that he cared about her and Scott larking about
on the beach, especially as it was an hour after the office had closed.
 
Yet there was something deep in his eyes that
made her uncomfortable, a look of reproach that didn’t make any sort of sense.

“Good.
 
I’ll pick you
up around nine.”
 
His smile didn’t quite
reach his eyes as he nodded his approval.

Full of confusion, she watched him walk away. She had
obviously done something to upset him but she couldn’t imagine what it
was.
 
Dispiritedly she trailed damp
footprints onto the walkway of her apartment block, waving to Scott as she
went.
 

He returned her wave, then looked at Daniel’s retreating
back and sighed.
 
Whatever was going on
between those two was far too complicated for him.
 
He set off along the road at a steady jog. A
five-kilometer run would clear his head, something that was needed after the
day he had just had. There was no way he intended being a photographer’s model
ever again.

* * *

By the time Daniel picked Claire up the following morning
they had both been up for hours.
 

Daniel had watched the sun come up as he paddled his dinghy
in a desultory fashion around the islands, supposedly checking on nesting
sites, but actually thinking about Claire and wondering how he was going to be
able to cope with her burgeoning relationship with Scott.

Claire had dealt with her own sleeplessness by watching the
sunrise from her balcony and then jogging for a couple of kilometers along the
coastal path in the opposite direction from Daniel’s hidden cove. By the time
she returned to her apartment, hot and red-faced, and turned on her shower, she
had solved her dilemma.
 
Commonsense told
her that Daniel’s uncharacteristic moodiness the previous day was nothing to do
with her at all because she was sure she hadn’t done anything wrong, so she
would just ignore it.
 
And if he behaved
in the same way when he arrived this morning, well she would cut him some
slack.
 
After all he had a lot to deal
with; his parents; his brother; the family business; his own business; even the
breakup of his relationship with Beth which, although it was a long time ago,
probably still affected him.
 
She knew
from her own experience how long it could take to get over heartbreak.
 
She also knew how close she was to heartbreak
again but she resolutely turned the shower up to full blast when the thought
surfaced.
 
That was something that she
wasn’t going to think about at all.

* * *

When she climbed into Daniel’s car a few minutes past nine
o’clock, artful makeup ensured that she looked as fresh as if she had only
recently woken from a good night’s sleep. Carrying her camera bag, and dressed
in cotton chinos, walking boots and a green T-shirt with the company logo on
its vest pocket, she was every inch the professional.

“You look keen,” Daniel smiled across at her as she strapped
herself into the passenger seat, and congratulated himself on how normal he
sounded; how the pulse at the base of his throat, the one that had begun
beating rapidly as soon as he saw her, didn’t seem to be affecting his vocal
chords

“I am,” Claire nodded, thankful he seemed to have reverted
to his old self.
 
“I checked out the
State Reserve’s website last night and saw that it is home to a lot of wild
turkeys. I’d really love to capture some on camera.”

He laughed. “There speaks a newcomer. Wild turkeys live all
over Florida, Claire. There’s nothing very special about them. In fact hunting
them is one of our national pastimes. You’re right about the Reserve though.
You are far more likely to see them there than anywhere else because of the way
the rangers manage the habitat.”

He gave her a curious look as he started the engine. “You
really are into the flora and fauna around here aren’t you?
 
I’ve looked at some of the photos you’ve
taken and they’re good. Better than good! Your enthusiasm shines through. What
happened to the Claire Harris who so nearly didn’t come to Florida?”

“Oh her, she disappeared halfway across the Atlantic when I
started reading a book Scott had sent me! The pictures in it were so stunning I
suddenly realized I had been in danger of almost throwing away the opportunity
of a lifetime,” Claire told him with a laugh. “That was the moment when I
decided I had better change my attitude and just enjoy it…and yes, you can say
‘I told you so,’ if you want to.”

“It’s tempting but I won’t,” he said.
 
“I’m just pleased you changed your mind and decided
to give it a try, although I’m surprised you were half way across the Atlantic
before that happened.
 
What got you onto
the plane in the first place if you were still so uncertain?”

“Pride!”

“Pride?”

“Yes. Having said I was going to do it, I wasn’t prepared to
lose face by changing my mind and turning your offer down, although I must
admit I came pretty close once or twice. And despite my initial irritation with
them, the thought of my parents’ disappointment also proved to be a spur.
 
They were so excited by the thought that I
was at last going to do something challenging, so pleased I was showing signs
of having inherited a little of their adventurous spirit, that changing my mind
wasn’t really an option.”

“And there was I thinking it was my charm that had persuaded
you,” Daniel teased as he filtered onto the freeway.

She gave a slight frown as she glanced across at him. “Is
that what you call it…persuasion.
 
It
seemed more like emotional blackmail at the time.”

He returned her gaze with a twinkle in his eyes. “I probably
do owe you an apology for my behavior that weekend but I still think the end
result justifies the means. You must admit you are made for this job.”

“I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction!” Claire’s attempt at
humorous indignation badly backfired as their eyes met, and she was the one to
look away moments before he reluctantly turned his attention back to the
highway.

Eventually he broke the silence that followed by talking
about the forthcoming meeting, the development of the State Reserve, and where
they were mostly likely to see the wild turkeys.

“We’ll go look for them as soon as this meeting is over,” he
promised as he pulled into the car park.
 
“Spring has been pretty warm this year so there might have been some
early hatchings. If there have been then we might get lucky and see a hen
foraging with her poults.”

* * *

The meeting took two hours and when it was over someone
brought in a huge platter of sandwiches, some bottled water and some juice.
Claire, who was feeling ravenous after her early start, tucked in
enthusiastically. Now she understood that working partnerships were an integral
part of eco management across the State, she had a hundred more questions to
ask.
 
Daniel was busy talking to his
neighbor so she turned to the man sitting next to her.

“You specialize in bats, right?” she asked him.

He grinned at her.
 
“Bat preservation and conservation sounds better!”

“I guess it does,” she laughed.
 
“And if I ever find an orphaned or injured
bat then I need to get in touch with you.”

“That’s about it. Then I put you in touch with a local
rescue volunteer who cares for the bat until it’s ready to be released back
into the wild.”

“And everyone around the table represents a different
organization?”

“Yes.
 
There are
people here who look after nature trails or who specialize in gopher tortoise
preservation. Others organize wildlife research or maybe just represent a
particular area that their community thinks should be preserved. There’s a
place at the table for everyone.”

“So it’s a sort of conservation network?”

“You could call it that I guess.” He grinned at her.
 
“And if you have any more questions I’d be
glad to answer them over supper tonight.”

“I bet you would, but it’s a no go Stan!” Daniel had stopped
talking to his neighbor and turned back to Claire just in time to hear the
proposition. There was a hint of steel in his voice as he answered for her.

“Hey!
 
I was just
asking,” Stan’s voice was apologetic.
 
“I
didn’t know you two were an item.”

“We’re not,” Claire said, glaring at Daniel as she pushed
back her chair.
 
“And it was sweet of you
to ask, but I can’t tonight I’m afraid. Another time perhaps.”

* * *

“What makes you think you can interfere in my private life?”
she asked Daniel angrily as soon as they were out of earshot. “I’m quite
capable of making my own decisions you know!”

He didn’t look in the least contrite.
 
“He’s a lech and he knows it. I was just
looking out for you.”

“Well don’t!
 
I
already managed to negotiate a lot of bad Internet dates if you remember, so I’m
quite capable of recognising a bad proposition when I get one.”

“I guess,” Daniel seemed about to say something else, but
then he shrugged and changed the subject.
 
“I’ve found out where we’ll see the wild turkeys, so how about we duck
out of the networking bit and go look for them.”

Slightly mollified, Claire agreed.
 
She couldn’t begin to imagine what had gotten
into him but it was clear he wanted to stop arguing as much as she did, so the
sooner they changed the subject the better.
 
Retrieving her camera bag from beneath her chair she smiled
apologetically at Stan, waved a general farewell to everyone in the room, and
followed Daniel outside.

* * *

“Look!
 
They’re over
there in that long grass. Can you see the hen’s head bobbing up and down?”

Claire and Daniel were crouched down close to one another
behind a fallen tree, peering through its network of shriveled branches. In
front of them was a grassy clearing surrounded by patches of dense vegetation
and a few trees.
 
Claire, her camera
ready, hardly dared to breathe as the turkey hen led her brood of poults
towards them.

“There are so many of them,” she whispered to Daniel in
amazement as the last one broke cover.

“Each hen lays anything between ten to twelve eggs,” he told
her.
 
“Not that many of them make it to
hatching. Bobcats, raccoons, skunk, owls, hawks, bald eagles, even snakes, all
enjoy turkey eggs.
 
It doesn’t get any
better after they’ve hatched either.
 
Only about thirty per cent survive more than a couple of weeks. I would
guess that this lot are seven or eight days old.”

She stared at him and then returned her gaze to where the
foraging poults had suddenly stopped as a group to investigate something in
front of them on the ground.
 
“That’s
terrible!”

He gave a wry smile.
 
“That’s nature Claire!
 
The wild
turkey is what is known as a prey species, which means almost everything likes
to eat it, even humans.
 
That’s why the
hen lays such a large clutch of eggs.
 
It’s the only way the species can survive.”

Then he laughed.
 
“Hey
look!
 
They’ve just found a tortoise.”

Claire, following the direction of his pointing finger,
joined in with his laughter. The poults were darting around what appeared to be
a slow moving boulder and making excited cheeping noises.
 
She pointed her camera and took several
pictures, safe in the knowledge that they were making too much noise to hear
the faint click each time the shutter closed.

She was still clicking away when suddenly the little family
in front of her was torn apart by a dark flurry of beating wings as a hawk
swooped down out of nowhere and seized one of the squawking poults in its
claws. Instantly the rest of them vanished and Claire was left staring at an
empty space.

“That was awful,” she said shakily, lowering her
camera.
 
“I mean I know it’s nature and
all that but…well it was still awful to see it happen so close up.”

“It wasn’t nice but you get used to it when you work with
nature every day,” Daniel told her sympathetically as he took her camera from
her and stowed it back in its bag.

“If that’s the case then I think I’ll give nature a miss for
a while and spend more time in the office,” she said as they picked their way
out of the undergrowth.
 
“Now that I’ve
taken all the photos I need for the leaflets, I can work with Carl on those.
Then I must concentrate on doing some cataloguing. I’m afraid I haven’t managed
to start that yet,” she added apologetically.

“Not a problem. The leaflets have always been the
priority.
 
And the educational programme
too. We need them both for the summer visitors.”

She nodded moodily.
 
She could still see the image of the tiny limp poult hanging from the
hawk’s sharp talons.

“Are you okay?” Daniel could see something was wrong.

“I’m fine,” she said, and then she burst into tears.