Rocks, in true fashion, clicked forward, a rock in his right claw clunking against the hood. “What did you bring me?”
Dawson stepped over to the crow and held out his hand. He’d learned not to try to take anything from either crow. They were highly intelligent, and if they wanted to give him something, they’d give it to him.
Rocks jutted out his foot and deposited a stone in Dawson’s open palm. And Dawson swore the crow wore a proud look on his birdy face when he looked up at him. “Oh, this one is glinting with silver.” He grinned at the gifted rock Rocks had brought him.
Sometimes he kept them, and sometimes he just pocketed them and tossed them back out with the other stones when the crow wasn’t looking. He wondered ifRocks had ever found the same shiny rock again and brought it to Dawson for a second time.
Ruffin arrived and put his paw up on Dawson’s leg. He looked down at his cattle dog and bent down to greet him to get a brief reprieve from the shocked look on Caroline’s face.
“Hey, you. You workin’ with Duke this morning?” Dawson looked over to his brother’s truck, but Duke didn’t manifest himself. “Where is he, huh?”
Ruffin barked, because he’d just caught sight of the crows, and Nugget fixed his beady bird eyes on the dog and barked back. Just barked on back, his crow voice almost the same as Ruffin’s.
Dawson grinned, because while he hadn’t been thrilled with the crows seeking him out in the beginning, they brought him joy now. He’d learned a lot about the birds, including that they could imitate sounds—including dogs barking.
“I didn’t realize you had a zoo here,” Caroline said, and Dawson straightened to face her.
“Uh, well, no cowboy is worth his hat if he doesn’t have a dog. This here’s Ruffin.” He looked from her to the dog, who seemed eager to please as usual.
Caroline smiled down at him and then crouched in front of the canine the way Dawson had. “He’s just so handsome.” She took his face in her hands and smiled at him the way Dawson wanted her to grin in his direction. “I bet you can round up cattle, bring back that Frisbee Isaw at your master’s house, and keep his feet warm at night too.”
She trilled out a laugh Dawson had never heard. He’d actually never dreamed she could even make such a noise. She looked up at him, and Dawson’s hormones fired through his body. Hard.
The sun haloed her, making her blonde hair shine like spun gold. She beamed radiance at him, and he somehow managed to offer her his hand to help her back to standing.
She took it, and the whole world came to a complete stop. Sure, the New Year’s Day sun shone overhead, though it wasn’t too hot today. It wasn’t terribly cold either, but the temperature would nip in the shade.
His skin sizzled against hers, and he wondered what Caroline felt. What she thought. What might happen next.
“He refuses to sleep on the bed,” he said. “So alas, I sleep with cold feet.”
“Alas,” Caroline said, and if Dawson had to classify how she’d said the word, he’d label it as flirty. She wasflirtingwith him. Wasn’t she?
Nugget cawed, and that made Dawson flinch and then press his eyes closed in a long blink meant to infuse some patience into his system. Now he’d never know if Caroline had been flirting or not, and suddenly he wasn’t so happy to have the crows around.
“Introduce me to your birds,” she said.
Dawson caught the look of delight on her face as he opened his eyes. “First,” he said as he turned toward the two crows still standing on the hood of his truck. “They’re notmybirds. These are wild crows.”
“Yes, they look positively feral.”
Dawson pulled his hand back and indicated the bigger, closer crow, appreciating her wit. Of course, when that wit turned to ire, he better watch out. But that only made him want to stick around to see what would bring out that fire in her, what would make her laugh, what would make her lean toward him again, her eyes falling to his mouth, like she maybe wanted to kiss him too.
He cleared his mind, focusing on the nearly blue-black quality of the crows’ feathers as they glimmered almost holographically in the sunlight. “This is Nugget. He likes to sing and talk and imitate other animals.” He glanced down to his dog. “Especially Ruffin.”
“Do they get along?”
“Yeah, they don’t give him any trouble; Nugget just likes to use his voice.”
“And the other one?”
“Rocks,” Dawson said, clearing his throat. “He likes to bring me shiny things.”
“I see.” She didn’t say anything else, and Dawson wasn’t going to be all,Rocks and Nugget, this is Caroline. Don’t be swooping down to peck her eyes out or anything. She’s a friend.
Friend.
The truth was Dawson didn’t know what Caroline was. Enemy, friend, woman he’d made breakfast for, or simply the person he’d have to deal with when it came to these owls for who knew how long.
