Page 106 of Let the Light Shine Through

Out of nowhere, a flapping noise has me looking up to see a flurry of rapidly beating wings above our heads.

“There’s your birds,” I tell Gia, blindly reaching for the binoculars.

She tilts her head to the side, like she’s listening at first, then squints one eye skyward, saying, “Those are bats.”

“What the fuck?” Everything in my body tenses while hers begins to shake with laughter. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Bats…that are…catching lunch, I’m guessing. Or breakfast maybe.”

“Right above our fucking heads?” I’m already hunching over, trying to make sure mine is off the menu, but Gia just remains upright, completely unfazed. I pull her down too, which makes her laugh even harder.

“Hey, we’re in their territory. They’re doing some serious hunting, and we’re the ones in the way.”

“We can’t stay out here,” I say, tugging the blanket up to cover our heads.

“They don’t want us. We should be okay if we leave them alone.”

I shoot her a scowl. “What if one falls on us? And it has rabies?”

“What happened to that adventurous spirit you used to get me up here?”

“Gone. It’s gone. Shriveled up like my dick from the cold.”

She barks out another laugh.

“We’re leaving. Now,” I tell her, and before she can say anything else, I scoop her and the blanket up, hopping off the lowered tailgate, grateful my lazy ass didn’t get around to taking my shoes off yet.

I drop her in the back seat, shoving all our shit to the floor to make room. “Move to the front and I’ll get the rest of the stuff,” I tell her, stealing the blanket off her to use as a shield. Her laughter shadows me as soon as I take off with it over my head like a makeshift umbrella.

Real sexy here. Real fucking sexy.

After getting my shorts back on, everything is moved from the bed to the back seat—with a good shake to check for any unwanted stowaways—and then I flip my truck around, putting the overlook on display through the front windshield instead.

Gia and I both grab shirts from my bag sitting on the center console. Her bag is still on the floor in front of her, but she went out of her way to grab mine from the back. She loves me. She so loves me.

Well, she loves my clothes at the very least and that I can live with.

We crack the windows and recline our seats, then I motion out the windshield, asking, “Do you think they’re eating fireflies?” That’d be a pretty foreboding nightcap.

“No. Their lights warn bats off.” She looks over at me, explaining, “They’re toxic to most predators.”

There’s a loud nasally cry followed by what sounds like a truck roaring past, then it stops, the rushing of air disappearing altogether like it never even happened.

“What was that?”

Gia’s already got the night vision binoculars fitted over her eyes, leaning forward on her seat.

“That’s a Nighthawk. And they actually do eat fireflies. I’ve never seen one before.”

“I’m honored I get to help you check it off the bird bucket list.”

“There is no bucket list. Not a physical one anyway.”

“What? Do you just remember them all?”

She nods, absorbed in whatever’s flying across the sky.

“Really?” I don’t even think I can remember every country I’ve been to.