by Wendy Heuvel
Lexy and Daniel exchanged glances.
“What?”
Daniel laughed. “I see broken soffit, loose deck boards, and a cracked post that’s about to make the porch roof collapse under the weight of the snow.”
“Such a romantic.” Cassie put her hand on her hip.
Lexy approached the front entry. The outer, wooden screen door hung on an angle from only one hinge at the top. She tugged on it, but it didn’t budge. “I think it's frozen.”
“Let me try.” Daniel grabbed the door on both sides and gave it a tug. The remaining hinge let go, leaving him standing holding the entire door in the air. “Uh. There?”
Lexy laughed. “Whatever works!”
“Please be careful,” Cassie pleaded as she helped Daniel set the door against the wall.
Lexy tugged and pushed on the old brass handle. “Door’s locked.”
“Too bad.” Cassie shrugged. “Let’s go then.”
“Nice try.” Daniel tried the door handle himself, then backed up and examined the front of the house. “Maybe there’s an open window or a loose panel.”
Cassie frowned and crossed her arms as Lexy and Daniel parted ways walking opposite directions on the porch, following it around the sides of the house to check for any openings.
Daniel soon reappeared around the corner. “Here!” He waved her over. “I think I found a way.”
Cassie sighed and waited for Lexy, who quickly returned from her side. Together they carefully picked their way along the porch, avoiding snowdrifts and broken boards. As they rounded the corner, Daniel had already removed a large piece of weathered plywood from in front of a window opening.
“See?” He set the wood down. “That one was only held up by a couple of old nails.”
“And how are you going to put it back up when we’re done?” Cassie stared at him.
“I’ll pop over tomorrow with my hammer on my way to Zach’s. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Daniel raised his leg over the windowsill. Within seconds, he disappeared inside the house. A hand popped out towards Cassie. “M’lady?”
“Lexy. You’re next.” Cassie crossed her arms again.
“I’m pretty sure he meant you.”
“Fine.” Cassie unfolded her arms and grabbed Daniel’s hand. Even through her mittens, she could feel the electricity from his touch.
“Be careful.” He gently grabbed her arm. “There’s still some broken glass stuck to the frame.”
Cassie let him lead her into the house. As her feet hit the worn, dusty floor, she stomped them to remove any loose snow—no sense traipsing it through the house.
Lexy hopped through the window and appeared beside her. She looked up. “Woah.”
Cassie followed Lexy’s gaze. Faint light broke through the few remaining windows and the opening they just came through. The sight was nothing like Cassie had expected.
They stood in a grand room, with high ceilings and an old wooden staircase leading to the second floor. The handrail curved at the bottom with a touch of elegance. An old chandelier still hung from the ceiling, the remaining crystal droplets catching the odd hint of light between all the cobwebs and dust hanging from them.
But most unusual of all, the room remained full of furniture and old belongings. An old chaise lounge stood against the far wall, with a dust layer almost as thick as the pillows on it. Paintings hung, their pictures barely decipherable between the darkness and the coat of grime covering them. Graffiti names in spray paint covered the blank areas on the wall. A desk full of yellowed papers and warped books stood in one corner—an old grand piano in the other.
Cassie’s mouth hung agape as she took in the sights around her. “It’s... it’s...”
“Like a museum,” Daniel said.
“Someone just walked away from everything.” Lexy shook her head. “It’s hard to believe.”
Daniel stepped over a loose floorboard and grabbed a framed photo from a small table by the staircase. He blew on the picture, and while some dust blew off, a thick layer of dirt remained. He rubbed the glass with the thumb of his glove to clear a spot.
“What is it?” Cassie peered over his shoulder.
“Looks like a photo of a woman.” As he cleared more glass and held the photo up to the light, the faint image of a lady appeared. She wore a sixties-style mini dress with what must have been psychedelic flowers before the picture had faded. Her long hair was held off her forehead by a thick hairband, and the ends bounced off her shoulder with a flip.
“I bet she’s the ghost.” Lexy jabbed the photo with her forefinger.
“Would you stop with that?” Cassie said.
“Tell me more about this ghost.” Daniel returned the photo to the table.
“Rumour has it the married couple who lived here in the sixties had a big fight, and they both ran off. Years later, after she died, her ghost returned to protect the house while she waited for his ghost to join her here.”
“Whatever.” Cassie rolled her eyes.
“I would think that would add to your romantic notion about the place.” Daniel gently grabbed her arm.
She ignored the sparks from his touch. “It would, except ghosts aren’t real. At least not those kinds.”
“There are kinds that are?” Lexy asked.
“Well, no. I mean—you know what I mean. There are angels and demons in the spiritual realm, but the whole I’m-haunting-you-after-I-die thing isn’t real.” She made air quotes with her fingers, forgetting they were covered by mittens. “Oh. Those were air quotes...”
Daniel laughed. “I guessed.”
“Obviously, I don’t believe it’s haunted either,” Lexy said. “But that’s the story.”
Daniel stepped farther into the room. “But something strange happened here. Who would just up and walk away from their house?”
“Maybe the first part of Lexy’s story is true. Maybe there really was an argument, and both the husband and the wife left.”
“It’s not my story. But it does make sense. What other explanation could there be?”
Daniel made his way over to the grand piano and pressed a key. The hammer moved but only struck a mat of dust. Even so, a very faint hum from the string vibrated through the room. “Do you think they both left, not knowing the other also walked away?”
Cassie shook her head. “That’s silly. It still doesn’t make sense. Even if you were going to walk away from a marriage, you’d take your things with you, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe they packed a suitcase.” Lexy shrugged. “Let’s check out the rest of the house.”
“Hey!” The room dimmed as a figure blocked light from the window they’d just entered. An old man stared at them, the ear flaps of his plaid woollen hat sticking out at the sides. His nose was big and red, and his eyes were too tiny for the rest of his face. “Get out of here before I call the cops!”
Lexy shimmied behind Cassie to hide. In part, she was ‘the cops’. She was the administrative assistant for the Ontario Provincial Police satellite office in Banford and worked for the local officer, Brent.
“We’re sorry!” Cassie held her hands up out of instinct. “We mean no harm.” She nudged Daniel on her way by.
“Don’t care. You don’t belong here, so scram!”
Cassie gingerly approached the man who stood on the opposite side of the window. “Do you live near here? Our friends just moved across the street.”
“Them? Figures. Only takes one young couple to bring all kinds of riffraff into the neighbourhood.”
“No, no. They’re quite kind! They’re expecting a baby soon.”
“Great. I was hoping she was just fat.” The man snorted. “That’s all we need around here. A screaming kid.”
“You’re not very nice! I’ll have you know—”
“We’ll be leaving right away, Sir.” Daniel grabbed Cassie’s arm and gently pulled her away from the window. “So sorry to disturb you. No need to call the cops.”
“I’ll be bringing a hammer by tomorrow to take care of it properly.”
“Whatever.” The man waved his hand and stomped across the snowy porch, as much as his old, feeble legs would let him. “Dumb riffraff. Gotta cause problems on my street...” He continued to mutter as he disappeared around the corner.
Lexy placed her hand on Cassie’s arm. “Did you really say, ‘We mean no harm?’ Did you think he was an alien or something?”
“Very funny.”
Daniel laughed. “He did kind of look like one with that hat.”
Lexy giggled. “Well, let’s go.” She climbed out of the window. “Brent would kill me if he answered a call and I was the culprit.”
“I told you we shouldn’t have come here.” Cassie allowed Daniel to help her through the window.
“But aren’t you glad you got to peek inside?” He hopped out after her.
“That’s not the point, is it?”
“Ha! I knew it.”
A satisfying glint settled in his eyes, causing a warmth to spread through Cassie’s chest. Had he done this for her? Knowing she’d longed to see the inside? Cassie playfully swatted his arm as they left the porch and followed their footsteps back out to the sidewalk.
Daniel was right. She’d avoided the house her whole life, fearing reality would burst the romantic image she’d created over the years. How wrong she’d been. A glimpse into the young couple’s long-forgotten life was better than she’d dreamed.
Way better.
Not only did the grand home surpass her dreams, but the place also came with a mystery. She couldn’t wait to get home and research the history.
But first, it was time to look for the eagles and a little romance in the skies.
Chapter 3
Cassie lifted her backpack onto the kitchen table and checked the contents one more time. Binoculars? Check. Scope? Check. Bird books? Check. Collapsible tripod? Snacks? Water? Check, check, check.
“Rowr?” Pumpkin, Cassie’s large orange-and-white tabby, jumped on the table.
“Hey! Get down, you!” Cassie gave the cat a shove, but instead of pushing her off the table, she only succeeded in mashing the cat’s fat rolls together.
“Rowr!” Pumpkin stood her ground.
“Fine. I’ll give you some attention.” Cassie smiled and used both arms to pick up the cat and cradled her like a baby. “Who’s my favourite kitty? Who’s my baby bear?” She nuzzled the cat and enjoyed the feel of the soft fur against her cheek.
A knock on the apartment door distracted her. “Come in!” She set the cat on the floor.
Daniel appeared, with a backpack of his own. “Hi! Thanks for letting me tag along.”
“Of course! The more, the merrier. Eagles are for everyone to enjoy.”
“Hey, Pumpkin!” Daniel crouched as the cat waddled over to him. “How’s baby bear today?”
Cassie felt heat rise to her cheeks. “Oh. You heard that?”
“No worries. I’m sure anyone would be happy to be your baby bear.”
Cassie cocked an eyebrow.
“I mean any cat, or dog, any... animal. Not...” He ran his hand over the back of his neck as his face grew red. “Are you ready to go?”
Cassie giggled. “Sure.”
He waited as she put on her snow pants, boots, coat, hat, mitts and scarf. “Are you ready to go, now?” He glanced at his watch.
“Very funny.”
“Not trying to be funny. But I could’ve run across the street to get a coffee in the meantime...”
Cassie playfully swatted his arm and grabbed her backpack. “I’ll be back soon, baby bear!” She smirked as she patted Pumpkin on the head before closing the door on her way out.
Daniel followed Cassie down the stairs, out onto the street, and across the park to the Rideau River. She turned to follow a trail along the shore, grateful people had already been using it since the last snowfall, so she didn’t have to trudge through deep snow and make the trail herself.
As they made their way along the river, between snow-covered shrubs and branches coated in white, a few chickadees called to one another and flitted from bush to bush, following along. Cassie felt a twinge of guilt as she recalled going down this same path last fall with Spencer to have a picnic under the big tree at the end. Was it wrong to be here with Daniel, now? Was she treating him like a cheap substitute?
But then again, they weren’t seeing each other, so why would it be wrong?
Maybe she shouldn’t have invited Daniel. Would it give him the wrong idea? No, he knew she just wanted to be friends. But if it was okay to be here with him, why was her stomach turning over?
“What’s that?” Daniel pointed to a bird landing in a large tree ahead.
Thankful for the distraction, Cassie stopped and whipped her backpack off her shoulder, ready to get her binoculars out. As the bag hit the ground, she stopped. “It’s only a crow.” She threw the bag back on.
“How can you tell from here? How do you know it’s not a raven?”
“Easy. Size, shape, mannerisms. Not to mention sound. Do you hear him calling?”
Daniel turned his ear toward the tree. “Oh. Yeah.”
“And see how he stretches out his neck and rocks when he caws?”
“Yeah. The bounces match the calls.”
“Exactly. Ravens don’t do that. They only hunch their wings a little. Not to mention they’re bigger than crows, and their bills are thicker. When you see the same birds over and over again, you get to know them. You start recognizing them by what they do as much as by what they look like. Kind of the same way you recognize people you know from a distance.”
Daniel turned his eyes to Cassie and stared at her with a smile. The sunlight bounced off the snow, making his blue eyes sparkle.
“What?”
“You’re so passionate when you speak about birds. It’s very cute.”
“Cute?” Cassie continued on the trail, walking ahead of Daniel, so she didn’t have to see his face—and so he couldn’t see hers as he talked about her.
“Cute might not be the right word. Beautiful, maybe?”
“Maybe?” Cassie laughed.
“Definitely.”
She swallowed and continued walking. She didn’t mean for this to turn into an opportunity for him to compliment her in that way. While it caused a warmth to flow through her, it also caused confusion. Her brain fought against her heart, and the resulting turmoil made her feel nauseous. Spencer’s face swam into her mind’s eye. She’d hurt him. She’d rushed ahead of God, and the results were disastrous. She couldn’t do that to Daniel, too. She wouldn’t.
“There’s the blind.” Cassie lifted her pack off her shoulder again as they approached a dilapidated wooden lean-to standing on the shore. The roof carried the weight of the last snowfall, but the constant, chilly wind picked away at it, sending tufts of snow into the air. Surrounding the blind, bent, brown reeds of last year’s cattails peeked out from the snow. Cassie tightened the scarf around her neck to cut off the piercing wind as she stepped into the blind and sat on the bench.
Daniel plopped down beside her. “Whew! Who knew it would be so much colder out here?” His breath became visible in the freezing air.
“Me. That’s why I wore all this winter stuff.”
“Hey. I’m prepared!” He held up his hands covered in large ski mitts.
“And I’m even more prepared.” Cassie unzipped her backpack and pulled out two thermoses. “Hot chocolate?”
“Ah! Yes! And yours is Earl Grey tea, I presume?”
“Nothing but!”
They opened their thermoses and sipped their hot drinks, the steam creating a bit of a cloud between them.
After a few sips, Cassie replaced the lid on the thermos and yanked her binoculars out. She removed the case and lens cap, leaving them ready on the bench beside her. Then she pulled out the tripod, extended the legs, and mounte
d the scope on top.
“Quite the setup! Want to see mine?” Daniel pulled out binoculars of his own.
“Hey! When did you get those?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I didn’t want you to have all the advantage while we’re birding.”
“Wait. Birding? You used the right word. And these...” Cassie grabbed the binoculars from his hands. “These are amazing! These are some of the best birding binoculars out there!” She held them to her eyes and scanned the ice on the river until she came to the open areas in the middle. “Look! There are some ducks out there.”
“Give ‘em back, and I will look.”
“Just a sec.”
Cassie suddenly felt warmth as Daniel reached across her to grab her binoculars off the bench. Her heart skipped a beat at his closeness.
“Sorry, here.” She handed him his binoculars.
“No, it’s fine. Go ahead. I’ll use yours. What kind of ducks are we looking at?”
Cassie eagerly put the binoculars back to her eyes. “There are three different kinds I can see right off the bat.”
“Where?”
“Do you see the big chunk of ice standing taller than the rest? Right where the water starts?”
“Yes.”
“Start there, and then move a little to the left. There are two ducks there.”
“Hey! I see them. One has a white mohawk with a black edge on it.”
Cassie smiled. “Exactly. Those are hooded mergansers.”
“But they look different. Only one has the hood.”
“The other is the female.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
“Keep moving left. There’s a group of about a dozen ducks taking turns diving under the water. See if you can identify them using the bird book.”
Daniel found the ducks, and with Cassie’s guidance, was able to identify common mergansers, and after them, another pair of hooded mergansers. Beyond those ducks, several mallards bobbed in the icy waves.
“This is so cool.” Daniel pulled out his phone, tugged his leather glove off with his teeth, and typed the names of the ducks he’d seen into a list.
Cassie smiled. “Do you really think so? Or are you doing this for my benefit.?”
