I put my phone face down on the counter and take another calming breath. This isn’t that bad. I’ll put my hair in a non-date-like French braid, throw on a T-shirt that screams friendship, and search the internet for some memory-erasing miracle later. Adam doesn’t need to know about the little spark in my chest, and I need to forget about it.
My phone buzzes against the tile countertop. With some trepidation, I turn it over.
SHIRTLESS ADAM:
Okay. See you at eight.
Good grief, the man is dry over text. He could’ve teased me, made a joke,something. But that’s what he went with. I add that flaw to his list along with being bossy and shirtless. I could never spend my life with someone who won’t banter with me via text message.
Not long later I park my car in the stretching shadow of a pine tree. I’m wearing my cutest T-shirt that still conveys the message that we’re just friends, and I put a Just Business braid in my hair. We’re here on Biddeford Land Trust affairs only, thank you.
Does my stomach flutter ever so slightly when Adam climbs out of his truck next to me? Maybe.
It’s not my fault. It’s biology. His black T-shirt sends the message that he could produce brawny, broad-shouldered babies. And his slightly damp hair tells me that he showered and perhaps put some effort into this business outing.
I keep him in the corner of my eye when I climb out of my car to coat my bare legs and arms with bug repellent. I’m completely focused on the task at hand. I’m helping the endangered rabbit population of York county. This is a community service.Yada yada yada.
“What kind of repellent is that?” Adam’s gruff voice breaks through my mental reminders.
I fumble the bottle in my hands.
“Oh, hey,” I say with surprise, like I haven’t kept him in my sights since I parked my car. “It’s just this stuff I found online. It’s made in Thailand.” I hold the bottle out for him to see.
He takes it, squinting at the label, then holding it up to his nose and sniffing the sprayer. He nods, handing it back to me like it passed his Guardian of the Forest inspection.
It’d better. I love this stuff, and it isn’t cheap. As someone who spends hours outdoors, one of the few splurges I allow myself on my teacher salary is this particular bug repellent. It smells more like fresh apples than the DEET it contains, and it works like magic. It’s also only available online. I have it shipped from Asia.
“You can try it, if you want.” I nod to the bottle. Then I remember the stupid screenshot I sent to him earlier, and a hot blush covers my face.
It’s like he read my mind. “I’m good, thanks,” he says, passing the bottle back to me with a smile. “Are you ready?”
“Whenever you are.” My words come out sounding competitive instead of friendly, and I try to smooth it over with a wide smile. I don’t know how to act on this rabbit outing, andI can’t stop thinking about that misdirected text while I follow Adam to the trailhead.
It’s the same trail where I had my original sighting. This is good. It’s exactly where I want to be tonight, and this time I’m going to focus. I’m not going to let my head get carried away by Adam, or his T-shirt, or the way he gets an appealing glint in his eye when he talks about invasive lupine or endangered rabbits. We’re looking for evidence of Bigfoot and bunnies. This is serious stuff.
When Adam leads me to almost the exact location where I had my sighting, I start to feel suspicious. Does he know this is where it happened? Did he see something on his trail cameras?
Wait. Adam has motion-activated trail cameras out here. They took pictures of whatever I saw.
I suck in a breath. “Adam.” I can’t believe I didn’t think of this already.
He spins, scanning the area around me before his eyes look down at mine. “Yeah? What’s wrong?”
“You have trail cameras out here, right?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Could I look at the pictures with you? See what’s on them?”Please say yes, I beg in my head. I peer up at him, batting my eyelashes shamelessly.
Understanding fills his eyes with light, then laughter that I don’t appreciate. He shakes his head in defeat. “Sure.” He turns off the trail, leading us deeper into the brush. “But I only put them out the morning after ... you know.” It’s like he doesn’t know how to say I saw a sasquatch, or he can’t bring himself to say it.
“I know. But there could still be something on them.” I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. This is going to help so much. There has to be something on those cameras. If not now, there will be eventually. I follow Adam with a spring in my step.
Chapter 13
Adam
I’ve made two discoveries about Stevie today. One, she smells like apples because of her Asian bug repellent. Two, she’s been talking to her friends about me. So far I know that she told them I invited her to observe rabbit burrows, and they’ve discussed whether it’s a date. The whole thing reminds me of something Ruth would be involved in.
