The silence was unsettling. No birdsong, no rustling in the underbrush, no small sounds of life moving through the forest. The fire had either killed or driven away most of the wildlife that normally called this area home, but Lacey needed to be thorough in her documentation.
She crouched beside what had once been a thriving palmetto grove, now reduced to charred stumps. Animal tracks were visible in the soft soil. There were raccoon prints headed toward the creek, the distinctive trail of an armadillo, and deer tracks leading toward unburned forest. At least some wildlife had escaped.
"Evidence of wildlife evacuation patterns consistent with rapid fire spread," Lacey continued dictating. "Animal tracks indicate most species attempted to flee toward water sources or unburned areas."
Moving deeper into the damage zone, Lacey cataloged everything with professional precision. Burned-out tree hollows that had once housed squirrels or birds. Destroyed ground nests. Damaged food sources that would impact surviving animals for months to come.
Near what had been a small wetland area, Lacey found what she'd been looking for and dreading. The area showed signs of burrowing animals, but a large boulder had rolled down from higher ground during the fire, blocking what appeared to be an active den entrance.
"Oh shoot," Lacey muttered, approaching the blocked burrow.
The boulder was easily three feet across and looked like it weighed several hundred pounds. She needed to see if therewere any animals trapped inside, but moving it with her injured shoulder was going to be nearly impossible.
Lacey braced her feet and grabbed the boulder with her left hand, trying to use her body weight to shift it. Pain shot through her injured shoulder as she strained against the weight, and she had to stop, breathing hard and fighting back tears of frustration.
"Can I help you with that?" The deep voice came from directly behind her.
Lacey jumped in fright and spun around so quickly that fresh pain lanced through her shoulder. Her heart did an involuntary leap as she found herself face-to-face with Dean Parker.
For a few seconds, she couldn't think of anything to say. Dean stood about ten feet away, wearing jeans and a well-worn, red-and-black checkered cotton shirt that had seen better days. His dark hair had a streak of silver-gray that caught and glinted in the late-afternoon sunlight. He looked exactly the same as he had a year ago, and seeing him brought back memories that Lacey had been trying to keep buried.
The last time they had been together was two weeks after Shaun's memorial service. They had spent hours talking after the reception, which led them to have lunch the next day, then dinner the next, and the pattern quickly picked up. They had spent nearly every day together in those two weeks. Dean had helped her out at the clinic and travelled with her to calls. Lacey had loved the company, and it had reminded her of how she and her late husband, Jerry, would work together. It had been the most wonderful two weeks Lacey had spent in the years since Jerry’s death. She’d felt alive again. Had even laughed more times than she could count and had woken up each morninglooking forward to the day, knowing she was going to be spending it with Dean.
On the day before Dean was to go back to Pensacola, he’d dropped her off at Hoops house. He got out of the car and walked her to the door, where he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She could still feel the impact of that kiss. Her lips tingled at the thought, her pulse had raced as her heart picked up speed, and the world had faded around them as she got lost in the embrace. When he’d lifted his head, they had stared into each other's eyes, dazed and breathless. Lacey had felt like a teenager on her first date again. A feeling she never thought she’d recapture, but then reality spilled in as Dean had told her that he was falling in love with her. He’d wanted to take their friendship to the next level as he’d never thought he’d feel that way again.
That’s when reality had hit her hard. It had been like a slap in the face, and suddenly, the loss, pain, and grief of losing Jerry rushed back at her like a tidal wave. His words had terrified her because they meant risking her heart again. She hadn't been ready then, and guilt had double-whammied her as Lacey suddenly felt like she’d cheated on Jerry. Or at least, that's what she had told him and herself. The excuses her cowardly emotions had sprung on her, and before she could stop herself, she’d told Dean that she wasn’t there yet. She wasn’t ready to move on in this way and couldn’t return his feelings. He’d stiffened. His eyes had gone from dark and emotional to cold and empty. Dean had put on a smile and apologized for getting the signals mixed. He’d laughed endearingly and told her, it had been many years since he’d dated, and he was rusty at this. Lacey had cowardly taken the lifeline this handsome gentleman, with the biggest heart, had given her and told him she, too, was a little swept up in their friendship. He’d been the first man besides herson in her life since Jerry had passed away. Guilt ripped through Lacey as she knew right then and afterwards that she’d wielded Jerry as her shield to push Dean further away.
But during the months that followed, traveling with the mobile wildlife clinic, Lacey had realized the truth was more complicated. It wasn't that she wasn't ready. While she did feel awkward about moving on, Lacey knew Jerry would want her to. They’d spoken about it when they had to update their wills. In fact, he’d made her promise that if he was to go first, she would try to find love again because he’d never want all the love Lacey had in her heart to go to waste just because he was no longer here. She had to swallow back the sudden sting of tears that burned the back of her eyes at that thought. But the fact was that Lacey had pushed Dean away, not because she didn’t have feelings for him, as she did. Lacey had fallen for Dean, too. The thing was, Lacey was terrified of losing someone else, and it was easier not to let them in than to watch them disappear forever, as Jerry had.
The more she’d thought about it in the past year, the more Lacey had realized just what she’d lost. Dean had lost his wife fifteen years ago and had somehow learned to open his heart again. For Lacey, even though her husband had been gone for five years, last year it had still felt too fresh, too raw. Or at least that was what her excuse had been. But now here he was standing in front of her with a warm smile on his face, still devastatingly handsome, and for a moment, just a moment, Lacey wondered if maybe she’d somehow conjured him.
“Lacey?” Dean asked, his eyes darkening with worry. “Are you okay? I’m sorry to have startled you like that.”
"Hello, Dean," Lacey managed, her voice sounding more formal than she intended as she snapped out of her deep thoughts.“I’m… I’m sorry. I’m fine.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I just got a fright, that’s all, and wasn’t expecting to see you standing behind me.”
"I’m sorry, I should’ve called from further away." Dean's smile was warm but cautious, as if he was trying to read her reaction to his unexpected appearance. “I saw how involved you were in inspecting the area and waited for a moment that wouldn’t break your concentration.”
“Don’t worry,” Lacey said, relaxing. “You’re right, I should’ve heard you approach, but as usual I was so absorbed in what I was doing…” She grinned. “But it’s good to see you.”
They moved toward each other automatically, the way old friends do, but the hug was awkward in a way it had never been before. Dean was careful of her injured shoulder, and there was a hesitancy in both of them that spoke to everything that had been left unsaid between them.
When they separated, Dean stepped back with the same careful distance he'd maintained.
"How are you?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice. "June told me you'd had a car accident. I was worried about you."
"I'm fine," Lacey said automatically, then caught herself. Dean had always been able to see through her polite deflections. "Well, mostly fine. Some bruises, a few stitches, and this stupid shoulder that won't let me work efficiently. I can't even take pictures properly with one hand."
Dean gave a soft chuckle, the sound bringing back memories of working together during fire season. "Would you like some help? I could be your muscle and photographer for the afternoon."
Lacey glanced around instinctively. June and Holt were nowhere to be seen, probably still examining burn patterns on the other side of the damaged area. She felt a flutter of apprehension at the thought of spending time alone with Dean, but she also genuinely needed the assistance.
"Thank you," Lacey said. "I'd appreciate that."
Dean moved past her toward the boulder. "What exactly are we doing here?"
"I'm worried there might be animals trapped inside this burrow," Lacey explained, pulling up her assessment notes on her phone. "It's been over a day since the fire, and if there are young animals in there without their mother..."
She didn't finish the sentence, but Dean understood. He was studying the boulder with the practiced eye of someone who had spent decades solving physical problems in emergency situations.
