“I think you can call that a success.” His hand creeps higher on my thigh, squeezing rhythmically. His mouth hovers above mine. My lips tingle, though he hasn’t fully kissed me yet. “Should we find these wolves?”
I open my mouth to sayyes,but Cord swallows my reply with the soft pressure of his mouth against mine. It’s the kind of kiss that’s sweet enough to keep my dreams on hold for a handful of breaths.
Or maybe a few more.
ELEVEN
LANIE
Echoes of Us
“All right, that’s great. And up she…goes,” Cord calls, triumphant as his fingers slide across the remote screen. The drone lifts above the icy ground, a large piece of cardboard from the back of his truck having provided a launch pad. “Looking good, Lanie.”
“Show me.” I sneak beneath his arm to stare at the screen, the forest receding below as the drone rises higher, only slightly off-kilter. The forest appears in grayscale, warm dots already appearing that represent the heat signatures of whatever is below. They might or might not be wandering cattle. “That’s incredible.”
“Thermal imaging.” Cord’s face glows like a kid at Christmas. I wonder who, exactly, we’re out here for, and then decide I don’t care.Gimme wolves.“We should be able to spot your pack if they’re around. But if snow is predicted, like for tonight…” He flicks the display over to a different setting to show an array of colors. “We’ll be able to see them with clarity from inside the tree line once we’ve worked out where they are. They birth in January, right?”
It might be late summer, but the chill of an early fall seasonencroaches from the white-capped mountains on a brisk wind that heralds a cold night.
“You’ve done your research.” I offer my approval. “Usually, yes. Show a girl how to fly?”
Cord provides me with a quick set of instructions and hands the pristine tech over. After a few false starts, I get a feel for the device, sending the drone skimming above the treetops. Concentration edges in on a tension headache, but what could become a migraine will just have to hold off for one damn day. I know willpower won’t actually prevent anything, but I’ll be damned if it will spoil my moment. Cord hums beside me, loose and easy, tension leaving his frame.
A gust of wind catches the drone, lifting it higher than I intend the device to fly. I swear liberally, fighting the tech as he laughs at me. “How long do the batteries last?”
“Maybe an hour?” His hand closes around mine, helping me guide the device back on track.
“That’s not very long.” I frown, calculating in my head. “So, thirty minutes in and out? There’s an awfully large area to track.” I risk a glance at the mountains that suddenly seem both close and a long way out.
“Five hundred thirty thousand acres, but you’re only seeing the back end of that so…maybe one seventy. We will find them. Even if it takes a few tries. I promise.” Cord drops a kiss on my shoulder, and I nearly drop the remote.
“Five hundred thirty—as in, half a million acres?” I squeak high enough for my voice to rasp.
Cord laughs into the crook of my neck, the sound and the reverberations doing terrible things to my flying ability that, let’s be honest, is pretty crappy to start with. “That’s why we have three drones.”
I kill an abrupt laugh. “Of course we do.”
The wolves prove to be too elusive for my first flight. One drone returns to its landing pad with no movement recorded, though at one stage it took both of us the better part of ten minutesto work out the difference between a rock and a tree. From above, they all look the same, no matter which screen we are on, and the heat signatures of smaller forest creatures became muddled.
The second returns with a similar result, though it, at least, covers more ground, scooting out further and much faster with no head wind. Cord waits patiently on a picnic blanket he’s laid out, our gear scattered around it. No matter where I am, he’s never far away, always in contact with me somehow.
Right now, his arm curves around my waist. I thought the constant touching would freak me out, but away from the house, away from everyone else…I kind of love it. Sharing this with him, even when I’m frustrated with the elusive pack, my lack of understanding at the excess of tech, and my own skills.
“Aren’t you bored?” I ask, landing the second drone without breaking anything—a small miracle.
“I haven’t been out past the second field for nearly a month, Lanie. Once you’ve found your wolves, I’ll show you what Coyote Falls really looks like.” Cord traces my cheek with his knuckles, the promise in his eyes sending a shiver skimming through me too fast to catalog.
“I’m looking at it now.” I gesture to the screen that shows the third drone’s bird’s-eye view, high enough to scope acres of forest land.
“Yeah? Have you found the falls yet?”
I turn away from the screen to look at him. “You have a real waterfall?” Of course he has a waterfall. Why would I expect anything less?
“Whoa. Let’s fix that.” He grabs my hands, manipulating the controls to take the drone out of its headlong plummet and back on course, bringing it home to land. “We can recharge them from a station back in the truck. I’ll take you swimming at the falls one day when it warms up again. The water’s ice-cold, regardless of the season, but it’s beautiful. And peaceful.”
Warms up again… His lips brush the nape of my neck.Summer. He’s talking aboutnextsummer. A whole year away.Ishiver as he pulls the collar of my jacket back, his lips trailing the bare skin to the scooped neck of my long-sleeved tee.
“I’m supposed to be looking for wolves,” I protest, switching the drone off. “And this stuff is getting yuck.” The landing pad sinks into a squelching mud puddle from recent rainfall on cue.
