In the end, though, he decided he didnt have time for such a foolish pursuit. There was no possible way the gorgeous woman sitting at her desk just down the hall with the tiny waist and the sleek hairand the straight, aristocratic, but definitely nonbeaky nosewas Jillybean, the girl he had humiliated in front of teachers, parents and half the student body.
The girl hed last seen in her underwear, streaking across the football field toward the locker room as fast as her stubby little legs could carry her.
The girl who had vowed to hate his guts for the rest of his days, who had cursed his unborn children and sworn to condemn to hell if she couldaccording to Jeff, anyway. Conner had been advised not to get within a hundred yards of her if he valued his manhood.
He smiled at the memory; then immediately a tremendous stab of guilt nailed him right in the stomach. The incident had seemed terribly funny at the time, and hed gotten extracurricular credit for participating in the science fair despite his inventions obvious drawbacks. Hed gained yet another notch of notoriety at his high schoolthe kind teenage boys thrived on.
But it hadnt been so funny to Jilly. Long after hed gone off to college, hed reflected on the incident and realized how mean hed been to laugh at her expense. But he hadnt felt bad enough to contact her and apologize.
Had she ever forgiven him? Probably not.
It was a good thing his new admin wasnt the chubby Jillybean from his past, or he might have to think twice about spending time with her in the woods, alone, where there were no witnesses.
CHAPTER FOUR
JILLIAN TRIED NOT TO LOOK AT Conner. Although the four-wheel drive Jeep Cherokee Sport wasnt a small car, it felt small when she was sitting in the front seat with Conner, whose sheer physicality dominated any space he occupied.
Instead, she experimented with her camera, consulting the instruction book, fiddling with the settings.
Is that a new camera? Conner asked once hed navigated out of the worst of the Houston traffic. They were headed for the East Texas piney woods, a trip that would take them about three hours. She wondered why they had to stay overnightit wasnt that far. But she figured he knew what he was doing.
Celeste had insisted he wanted to get her out of town so he could either murder her or seduce her with no witnesses, but Celeste was prone to drama.
Yes, I just got it yesterday.
I thought you said you knew how to use a digital camera.
I do. The one on her phone, anyway. This one was more complex than shed thought it would be. Shed snapped a few photos the previous evening just to be sure she had the basics down, but she had much to learn about settings and exposure. I needed a new camera anyway, and this seemed like a good time to buy one. What will I be taking pictures of?
Im not sure. Apparently the lumbering crew got overzealous and took down some kind of special owl tree.
Owl tree?
A hollow tree thats been a barn owl nesting site for the past ten years.
Oh, poor owls. So this is a big deal?
Since our agreement with the landowner specifically stated that this tree, and the area around it, wouldnt be disturbed, we could get sued. But even without the legal angle, its still a big deal. Hollow trees arent that easy to come by. For every cavity, the owls have to compete with other birds, like woodpeckers.
That explained why the back of the Jeep was filled with birdhouses. Apparently Conner planned to offer some alternative housing for the owls whose home had been destroyed, and some for their competitors, as well.
Are they endangered owls?
Theyre rare in this part of Texas. The state forestry people like owls because the little ones eat insect pests that harm trees, and the larger ones, like barn owls, keep rodents in check. Theyre an important part of the food chain.
Jillian didnt know anything about owls, but apparently Conner did. Hed always been interested in science, she remembered that about him. His father had been some kind of ecoscientist back before green was in. Conner had been smart, toostraight As. Hed managed to make that look cool.
Even entering the science faira notoriously geeky thing to dohad looked good on him.
Jillian stopped, determinedly focusing on the road ahead, the sky, the puffy white clouds. Thinking about that science fair when Conner was sitting inches from her was a dangerous thing to do.
Your guy didnt destroy a nest, did he? Like, with babies? Jillian didnt have any pets of her own, but that didnt mean she didnt like animals. Shed doted on Daniels golden retriever.
Nesting season is over. But the adult owls were still roosting at the nest site, and they were undoubtedly disturbed.
After a few more minutes Conner turned off the main road, then onto a still smaller road, then finally onto a logging road that was no more than a couple of tire ruts in the red dirt.
Conner was busy driving, skillfully lurching from bump to bump and avoiding the largest of the holes, so Jillian could study him without fear that he would notice. He seemed to change as they left civilization. The deeper they got into the woods, the more relaxed his face became, to the point where he was almost smiling.
Shed seen nothing but anger, impatience and irritation from him at the office; now he seemed to be enjoying himself.
However, his face and body grew tense again as they approached the logging site. This area, scarred by the trucks and saws, wasnt so pretty, littered with the stumps of pine trees.
What the hells going on here? he muttered.
Is something wrong?
Something is very wrong.
Eventually they pulled up behind a huge, flatbed truck half-filled with logs. A U.S. Forest Service truck was parked off to the side. Several men, mostly in work clothes, milled around.
Conner grabbed a folder from the backseat and nearly flew out of the truck.
Ready for anything, Jillian followed, her camera around her neck, a digital recorder in one pocket and a notepad in the other.
One of the workmen, a scruffy-looking redhead with a full beard, was already heading toward Conner, his long stride full of purpose. Mr. Blake. I didnt know anything about owls, I swear. I was just taking down the trees that were marked.
A second man had come forward, a tall, gaunt man in his sixties in overalls, clutching an unlit pipe in one hand. Hes practically clear-cutting! Our contract states no more than twenty-five percent of the trees were to be cut, and just look at this! Its a good thing I came to check on the progress.
I only cut the marked trees, Scruffy Redhead said again. You can check the truck. Every single tree on that truck is marked with blue paint.
Jillian switched on the recorder, then started scribbling notes as fast as she could. This wasnt anything like the civilized meetings she used to deal with at Daniels estate. It was a good thing shed developed her own version of shorthand.
Who did the marking, then? Pipe Man asked.
A man named Greg Tynes. Conners jaw tightened and he all but spit on the ground, so obvious was his contempt. I personally went over the contract with him and instructed how he was to mark. Obviously he didnt follow directions.
A man named Greg Tynes. Conners jaw tightened and he all but spit on the ground, so obvious was his contempt. I personally went over the contract with him and instructed how he was to mark. Obviously he didnt follow directions.
Jillians heart quickened. So the dead man had been violating the terms of the lumber companys contract with the landowner. Could that be a motive for murder?
Well, I hope you fired him! Pipe Man said indignantly. My forest looks like a wasteland.
Rest assured, Greg Tynes no longer works for Mayall Lumber, Conner said, giving nothing away. In fact, hell never work in the timber business again.
That was one promise Conner could keep.
The young, female forest ranger, whod been listening intently, finally spoke up. Theres more at stake than just the aesthetics of this woods. Mr. Whatleys land abuts public lands, forming a contiguous forest, the size of which is crucial to
The owls, Conner said.
Yes. Barn owl populations have been declining over the years. The nest site in question has been monitored by Cornell University for ten years. A camera has been in place for five.
I get a tax deduction for lettin em do that, you know, Mr. Whatley put in.
The owls are crucial to our woodland ecosystem, the ranger continued. They eat
Conner put his hand up to stop her impassioned speech. You dont have to convince me. Weve done something wrong here. I want to fix it. I want to make things right. Obviously, Mr. Whatley here will have to be compensated for the excess timber taken from his land. As for the owlswill you show me the nest site?
Conner retrieved a backpack from the Jeep. Then he, the forest ranger and Jillian began hiking.
How many acres have been screwed up? he asked the ranger.
Between seventeen and twenty. She seemed calmer, now that it appeared Conner wanted to make things right.
He breathed out a sigh. At least it wasnt the whole seventy-five.
Jillian didnt want to be impressed with the way Conner handled things. She wanted to continue hating himit was so much easier. But how many men would so easily admit responsibility for a mistake and pledge to make things right, all without anyone making demands or threats?
She well remembered how the suits at Logan Oil, of which Daniel was chairman of the board, consulted teams of lawyers if there was any hint that they might have made a misstep, searching for all possible legal remedies and never admitting to anything until a full investigation had been conducted.
But just like that, Conner had owned the problem.
The hiking wasnt as difficult as Jillian had feared; her two-hundred-dollar boots might have been overkill. But it was warm, given that most of the shade had been cut down, and she was glad shed bathed in sunscreen and worn a hat and sunglasses.
Not the special sunglasses Celeste had provided. Those were bulky and unattractive. But Jillian kept them in her purse, just in case.
Conner had a hat, too, a battered, Indiana Jonesstyle thing. It made him look quite rakish.
Finally they came upon a huge tree lying on its side. It wasnt pine, like most of the other trees around here, which Conner had said were planted maybe thirty years ago for the express purpose of timber harvesting.
This was something left from an older, slower-growing tree that had probably been here more than a hundred years.
It was dead, that much was clear. Dead, hollowand marked with blue paint.
Why the hell would Greg mark this tree? Conner wondered aloud. Its no good as lumber.
Poking around a bit more, Conner discovered the owl nest in a hole. A few whitish feathers drifted out on the breeze.
The female was using that hole as her roost, the ranger said.
Conner took his backpack off and rummaged around in it, producing a pair of binoculars, which he uncapped and used to scan the few trees that remained close by. No one said a word, so Jillian took a few pictures. Her camera lens was naturally drawn to Conner, whose straight back and wide shoulders pivoted this way and that as he searched, presumably for the displaced owl. Shed taken several shots before she realized what she was doing and made herself stop.
What was she going to do next, blow up prints and put them on her bedroom wall? This was Conner Blake, whom she would cheerfully have used for target practice if he ever showed up on the shooting range. Just because he was devastatingly handsome was no reason to stop hating him. After all, hed been handsome when shed started hating him.
There, Conner finally said. Shes in that tree right there, third branch from the top on the left.
The ranger had her own pair of binoculars. Ill be damned, she sure is. How did you spot her? Shes camouflaged perfectly with the tree trunk.
She cracked one eye open just at the right time, Conner replied. Shes watching us.
Jillian squinted at the tree, but she couldnt see anything. May I borrow your binoculars? she asked, surprising herself by how much she wanted to see the barn owl.
Sure. Conner lifted the strap from around his neck and looped it around hers. His fingers brushed her neck, and she gave a delicate shiver.
You see the tree I mean? he asked, standing close to her and leaning his head right next to hers. He pointed.
I think so.
On the left side, count three branches from the top. His voice was soft, intimate. A ball of light tan fluff right next to the trunk. Shes probably hiding her face under her wing.
I dont Omigosh, I see it! The bird turned its head and opened its eyes, as if it detected Jillian watching it. The round, black eyes shined from a white, heart-shaped face. Shes cute.
You wouldnt say that if you saw her swallow a whole mouse, Conner said. Or tear one apart to feed her babies.
You really didnt have to tell me that. She handed him back the binoculars.
You cant just put up a nest box and call it good, the ranger said. Owls are fussy. Although barn owls are more tolerant of humans than most owls, its very likely shell go someplace else next year.
Conner seemed not to be listening. He was inspecting the stump, the fallen tree and the surrounding area. At one point he leaned over, and a silver medal of some type, suspended around his neck on a chain, fell out from under his shirt.
When he straightened the chain caught on a branch and the chain broke. The medal landed in the dirt.
Aw, hell. Impatiently he scooped up the medal and chain and handed them to Jillian. Can you put that in one of your hundred pockets, please?
He was making fun of her hiking pants. Well, he could think what he likedthe pants were practical.
The medal was a Saint Christopher. She gave it a brief look before tucking it away. Conner hadnt grown up Catholic. She wondered why he would have such an object.
Well put the tree back up, he announced suddenly.
Beg your pardon? the ranger said.
Yeah, it can be done. Get a forklift out here, maybe a winch and a truck and some strong guys. Well drill holes and sink some dowels into the stump, maybe erect some bracesyeah, itll work.
That sounds like an expensive project, Jillian said.
Conner shrugged. Gotta give Mrs. Owl back her house. And well reimburse the university for the equipment that was destroyed, of course.