she’s talking to you in that soft whistle of hers. She’s accepting you as her parent.”
“The whistle is driving me crazy,” he said tightly. “And I’m not going to be some bird’s foster parent.”
“You’ll get used to it after a while. Okay, I’ll take her now. Thanks.”
Grudgingly, Linc watched. He was fascinated with Brie’s understanding of so many things—first battery cables, then a garden, now a pigeon. Who had that kind of broad spectrum of knowledge? No one he knew. He saw her in a new light and decided she was like a well of unfathomable and unknown depth.
For the next fifteen minutes, Linc was taught a lessonof interaction between a human and an animal. He’d seen nothing like it. Brie talked and chatted with Homer as if the bird were human, and occasionally reached out and petted the pigeon’s back or short, stubby tail. The bird dived into the jar of baby food, flapping her wings wildly, whistling shrilly, dancing around it as she gobbled down the food and had a great time. Linc crossed his arms against his chest, sourly admitting he was enjoying the odd spectacle. More than anything, he saw Brie’s pale features glow with a breathtaking radiance as she communicated with the orphaned bird through voice and touch. Linc actually felt a bit envious. What also fascinated him was that a pigeon was responding to Brie with joy because of the attention.
There was a heavy knock at the back door, and Brie’s face registered relief. “That’s probably Jeff,” she told Linc. “Come on in,” she called, raising her voice.
Linc scowled. “You always just tell someone to come in without first finding out who it is?”
“I always know who’s coming here. Why should I leave Homer half fed and go find out?”
“Look, this place is in the sticks, Brie. What if it was a burglar? Or someone else up to no good?”
She shook her head, confused by the sudden tension in his body and voice. Again, her instincts begged her to be on guard toward him. Linc’s reaction was ridiculous under the circumstances. “I’ve lived here three years, and nothing has ever happened.”
He was about to give her a lecture on the topic when a string bean of a man with a narrow face appeared before them. Linc’s scowl remained as he sized up Jeff Laughlin. String bean was a good word to describe him,Linc decided irritably. Laughlin was his height and a third his weight. Dark brown hair lay neatly against his skull, emphasizing his large, twinkling eyes of the same color. There was a relaxed quality to the twenty-five-year old man, and Linc decided the haz-mat tech wasn’t darkly handsome enough to interest Brie. That particular thought surprised him because he didn’t normally assess another male in that manner. And on the heels of that thought came a bizarre realization: he didn’t want Brie to have any romantic relationships right now.
“Hey, Brie!” Jeff greeted, throwing her a wave.
“Hi, Jeff. I’d like you to meet our second trainee, Linc Tanner. Linc, this was going to be my partner, Jeff Laughlin.”
Linc shook the smiling man’s slender hand. “Nice meeting you,” he said. Liar.
“Same here. Welcome aboard, Linc.” Jeff leaned over Brie’s shoulder. “You feeding the Bottomless Pit again?”
She laughed fully. “Remember what I told you. Homer is sensitive. What if I called you the Bottomless Pit? How would you feel?”
“But it’s the truth! I keep trying to fill out and look like Linc here to impress the women, but it just doesn’t happen.”
Brie’s jade eyes lightened with genuine happiness. “Maybe you ought to start eating baby food and see what happens.”
“Ugh!”
Linc sat there for the next ten minutes listening to the easy banter between them. And he was uncomfortably jealous of Jeff Laughlin. Brie’s lovely green eyes were sparkling with happiness. He had begun to wonder if shewas always in a serious state, but now he knew differently. And he didn’t like it each
“The whistle is driving me crazy,” he said tightly. “And I’m not going to be some bird’s foster parent.”
“You’ll get used to it after a while. Okay, I’ll take her now. Thanks.”
Grudgingly, Linc watched. He was fascinated with Brie’s understanding of so many things—first battery cables, then a garden, now a pigeon. Who had that kind of broad spectrum of knowledge? No one he knew. He saw her in a new light and decided she was like a well of unfathomable and unknown depth.
For the next fifteen minutes, Linc was taught a lessonof interaction between a human and an animal. He’d seen nothing like it. Brie talked and chatted with Homer as if the bird were human, and occasionally reached out and petted the pigeon’s back or short, stubby tail. The bird dived into the jar of baby food, flapping her wings wildly, whistling shrilly, dancing around it as she gobbled down the food and had a great time. Linc crossed his arms against his chest, sourly admitting he was enjoying the odd spectacle. More than anything, he saw Brie’s pale features glow with a breathtaking radiance as she communicated with the orphaned bird through voice and touch. Linc actually felt a bit envious. What also fascinated him was that a pigeon was responding to Brie with joy because of the attention.
There was a heavy knock at the back door, and Brie’s face registered relief. “That’s probably Jeff,” she told Linc. “Come on in,” she called, raising her voice.
Linc scowled. “You always just tell someone to come in without first finding out who it is?”
“I always know who’s coming here. Why should I leave Homer half fed and go find out?”
“Look, this place is in the sticks, Brie. What if it was a burglar? Or someone else up to no good?”
She shook her head, confused by the sudden tension in his body and voice. Again, her instincts begged her to be on guard toward him. Linc’s reaction was ridiculous under the circumstances. “I’ve lived here three years, and nothing has ever happened.”
He was about to give her a lecture on the topic when a string bean of a man with a narrow face appeared before them. Linc’s scowl remained as he sized up Jeff Laughlin. String bean was a good word to describe him,Linc decided irritably. Laughlin was his height and a third his weight. Dark brown hair lay neatly against his skull, emphasizing his large, twinkling eyes of the same color. There was a relaxed quality to the twenty-five-year old man, and Linc decided the haz-mat tech wasn’t darkly handsome enough to interest Brie. That particular thought surprised him because he didn’t normally assess another male in that manner. And on the heels of that thought came a bizarre realization: he didn’t want Brie to have any romantic relationships right now.
“Hey, Brie!” Jeff greeted, throwing her a wave.
“Hi, Jeff. I’d like you to meet our second trainee, Linc Tanner. Linc, this was going to be my partner, Jeff Laughlin.”
Linc shook the smiling man’s slender hand. “Nice meeting you,” he said. Liar.
“Same here. Welcome aboard, Linc.” Jeff leaned over Brie’s shoulder. “You feeding the Bottomless Pit again?”
She laughed fully. “Remember what I told you. Homer is sensitive. What if I called you the Bottomless Pit? How would you feel?”
“But it’s the truth! I keep trying to fill out and look like Linc here to impress the women, but it just doesn’t happen.”
Brie’s jade eyes lightened with genuine happiness. “Maybe you ought to start eating baby food and see what happens.”
“Ugh!”
Linc sat there for the next ten minutes listening to the easy banter between them. And he was uncomfortably jealous of Jeff Laughlin. Brie’s lovely green eyes were sparkling with happiness. He had begun to wonder if shewas always in a serious state, but now he knew differently. And he didn’t like it each
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