CHAPTER 6
While heading toward the road leading to the cabin, Peio sat silently staring out the window, his face sullen. Zak looked askance at him. "Okay, out with it. You've been moping since we left Navarre."
Peio looked at him in disgust. "Why does she have to come?"
Zak fixed his eyes on the road ahead. "Because I'm climbing a tree and can't be worried about what you're doing while I'm up there." This wasn't going at all as he'd hoped. Tess had done nothing to rile Peio, unless he'd overheard his grandfather say something derogatory about the O'Reillys. "Did Grandpapa say something about Tess, maybe something unkind?"
"No," Peio snapped.
"Sorry you feel the way, bud, but she is coming with us and I expect you to be polite."
When they arrived at Tess's cabin, she climbed in the truck, smiled at Peio, and said, "Hi."
Peio moved close to Zak, folded his arms and said nothing.
Tess glanced over Peio's head at Zak, who said, while attempting to explain away Peio's poor behavior, "He didn't want to come today. He has a kitten at home, but I convinced him his kitten would be waiting when he got back."
Tess looked down at Peio. "A kitten. How exciting."
Peio ignored her.
Zak felt increasingly irritated with Peio, but didn’t know how to handle the situation. He was tempted to scrap the nest climb and take Peio back to Navarre, but that would be giving in to him. But this six-year-old was quickly trying his father's patience.
Eight miles down the road, Zak pulled into the back entrance to Spencer Wildlife Park, nodding to the guard as they entered. The truck passed through a set of remotely operated gates and into an area where a pride of lions stretched on rocks. Driving through another set of gates, he pulled up to a complex of concrete pens under construction. He hopped out of the truck and Peio scooted out the driver's side and followed behind. When Tess joined them, Peio moved to stand some distance away.
For a few minutes Zak stood beside Tess, saying nothing while looking over a network of pens that would eventually house timber wolves. Then he leaned his elbows on the top of a rail, and said, while gazing at the pens, "You have questions. Go ahead and ask."
"Okay," Tess said. "Why did you leave here?"
Zak noticed she said why did he leave here, not why did he leave her. From the moment she'd found him slashing through the woods he'd been biding his time while trying to learn how much she knew about what really happened behind the scenes seven years ago, if she even knew the extent of it. "My father sent me to France to learn about wine making," he said, giving her only half the answer.
"And you met your wife there." Not a question, Zak realized, but a statement.
He nodded. "She was the daughter of the owners of the winery."
"And she was Basque." Another statement.
Zak knew Tess was waiting for him to confirm what she already suspected. Basque married Basque. Years before, when they were discussing marriage, he'd told her that the Basque were pretty inflexible about that, but somehow, at twenty-one, the world didn't seem so cut and dried. Life was always ready for change. Except with his father. For him life was very simple. Basque married Basque. Period. "Yeah, she was Basque."
"Which makes complete sense," Tess said, with irony. "Your father knew exactly what he was doing when he sent you to work in a winery where there would be an eligible Basque girl to turn your head away from the unsuitable girl from Baker's Creek. So I guess your brother's right. Your father sets the rules and you follow."
There was a lot more to it than that, but Zak wasn't about to get into the whole Gib O'Reilly thing with Peio along. Eyeing the buildup of clouds over the mountains, he said, "We'd better get going. It can get pretty windy at the top of a tree when the weather changes."
After loading the truck with tree-climbing gear, they drove to the ridge behind Timber West and hiked to where the nest tree stood. As they approached the tree, the parent birds began circling and swooping overhead, their sharp cries echoing through the forest.
Zak removed coils of rope and other gear from his backpack and prepared to make a lifeline for the climb. Drawing an arrow with a blunt lead tip from his quiver, he threaded it with fishing line and shot it over a high limb of the tree. With careful teasing, the arrow made its way down to the ground, carrying with it the line, which was now over the limb. He tied the end of the line to a rope, and grabbing the other end of the line, pulled the rope up and over the same limb, then hauled it down the other side and secured it to a tree.
Before climbing, he said to Peio, "I want you to promise me you'll stay right beside Tess while I'm climbing."
Peio looked up at Tess, hesitated for a moment, the said to Zak, "I promise."
Satisfied that Peio would stay where he was, Zak started up the tree. With stirrups attached to the climbing rope, and spikes fastened to his boots, he began his tedious ascent, gradually making his way up the giant tree. Several minutes later, and over a hundred-and-fifty-feet above the forest floor, with one foot resting on the stub of a broken branch and the other spiked into the dry crumbling bark of the ancient fir, Zak looked up at the underside of the huge nest. Bracing himself, he took a few minutes to scan the tree tops around him, making a mental note of the location of several old snags thrusting through the canopy of second-growth trees.
One in particular caught his notice because it housed what looked to be a deserted nest of considerable size that was probably being used as a perch. He also saw, from the location of the tree, that it could be close to where Tess was logging. He'd check it out later.
As he scanned the surroundings, the pair of eagles began circling above the nest, their raucous shrieks shattering the serenity of the forest. After adjusting his safety gear to make sure it was secure, he prepared for the most critical stage in the climb, when he'd have to lean back while clinging to the nest, and reach up over the edge to capture the chick. Even with safety gear, one snap of a limb could release the lifeline, sending him plunging through branches that could easily part instead of stopping his fall.
Confident that the limb with the lifeline was secure, he propped his foot on a smaller limb, pausing to maintain his balance, then leaned back far enough to be able to peer over the edge of the nest at the twin chicks. They crouched, looking at him with alarm, their plumage rippling in a gust of wind that whisked about. As he clung to the nest, the adult birds swooped down to defend their young, passing close to his head. Pulling himself higher, he reached across the tangle of interwoven limbs and encircled one of the eaglets with his arm. The young bird gripped with its talons, refusing to relinquish the security of the nest. Zak tugged, but the talons held. He tugged again and the young bird slackened its grip.
With the chick tucked under his arm, Zak lowered himself to a limb below the nest and carefully placed the bird in a soft canvas backpack, then climbed down to where he could lower the pack by rope, hand over hand, to Tess, who reached up to receive it as it approached the ground. That done, he grabbed the climbing rope, and using a rappel device, rappelled in a controlled descent to the ground.
Once down, he glanced around, and said, "Where's Peio?"
Tess looked toward the spot where Peio had been standing while she was waiting to receive the eaglet in the canvas bag, and said, "He was here a minute ago. He can't be far."
Alarmed, Zak called for Peio. When he got no response, he ran a short distance and called again. Tess tried to reconstruct what happened. Peio had been standing with her, looking up while Zak retrieved the eaglet, but at that point she'd been so focused on what Zak was doing high above their heads that she'd momentarily forgotten about Peio, concentrating instead on the process of packing the chick into the bag and lowering it.
She surveyed the pile of climbing gear. Something was missing. A rope, a shorter one with a metal safety clip on the end. Glancing around, she followed what looked like a crude trail to a spot where brush was matted down. Her gaze locked on a rope dancing its way up a tr
ee. "Peio!" she yelled through the forest. "Zak! He's here!"
Zak rushed over, and said, "Peio! Get down here." The rope dropped to the ground and Peio climbed down. Zak grabbed his arm. "I told you to stay by Tess and I expect you to listen when I tell you something, do you understand?"
Peio nodded, and when Zak released his arm, Peio scurried over to a downed tree and started walking along its mossy trunk.
When Zak did nothing more, Tess said, "Aren't you going to punish him?"
"I just scolded him," Zak said. "That's enough."
"But just before the climb you told him to stay by me and he promised he would then disobeyed you."
Zak eyed her with irritation. "He's just lost his mother and he's still upset." Seeming to dismiss the incident, he went to where the canvas bag with the eaglet lay and began opening it to transfer the bird to a waiting crate.
Tess had little experience with kids, but she did know about losing a parent at a young age. Looking down at Zak, who was crouched beside the eaglet, she said, "Peio's obviously upset about his mother, but I think he's also testing you and wants to be given bounds. When I lost my mother I was angry. I felt like she didn't have a right to die and leave me like that. Everyone felt sorry for me, and when I misbehaved they did nothing, yet, I didn't like the way I was behaving, but I thought no one cared enough to stop me. So one day I got on my bike and rode it in the street like I'd been forbidden to do. When my dad saw me, he gave me hell and took my bike away for a month, and that was the first time I felt like anyone cared, and I stopped being angry."
"Peio knows I care," Zak said, while transferring the eaglet to the crate.
"You didn't care enough to punish him when he left to climb the tree. Next time he might go farther away to prove his point, and you might not find him."
"Okay, he's pissed because I brought you along," Zak said. "He's not ready for a new mother and until he is, he won't like anyone I'm involved with."
"We're not involved," Tess reminded him.
"We could be. I told you what you wanted to know."
"No, all you told me was you left to study wines in France and you married a Basque woman right after you got there, which was right after you gave me a promissory ring and vowed to love me forever. That was a very short forever."
"There's more to it than that, but if we're not involved, it doesn't matter." He closed the crate and stood. "We'd better get back. The vet's coming to check the chick before I send it off." He started gathering equipment, and Tess knew the discussion was over, for now.
As they drove back, Zak was quiet and Tess wondered if he was mulling over what she'd said about setting bounds on Peio, or if it was because she'd insisted they weren't involved, and from her earlier comment that what they'd had before was more about sex than substance, she made it clear that a future relationship was out.
But when they arrived back at her cabin, she learned it was neither.
She had just stepped onto the porch when she saw that Zak had gotten out of the truck and was walking toward her. It was clear he was troubled about something.
"Is there a problem?" she asked.
"Yeah. When I was at the top of the tree I spotted an abandoned nest and it looked like it was located close to where you're logging. If it's within six-hundred feet, you'll have to stop all operations there."
"You can't be serious," Tess said. "My father's been doing selective logging in that area for years and the eagles are still there."
"That doesn't mean they'll stay. It's their habitat, and nesting time's the most critical."
"But it's an empty nest."
"It's a perch."
Tess didn't even want to think about how her father would react to this. "I won't stop logging because of an empty nest. Besides, there are other old-growth trees in the area that can be used for perches."
Zak sighed. "Look, there's no point getting into this until I know whether or not you're logging in the primary area."
"And I can tell you right now, Dad won't stop logging because of an empty eagle's nest!"
"He might not have a choice. If the nest is in a primary zone he won't be dealing with my father, he'll be dealing with the law."
"Umm, if I'm not mistaken, you, in essence, would be the law in this case because you'd be the one to report it, right?" Tess eyed him and waited.
"I'd have no choice."
"You'd have the choice of turning your back and walking away. We're only talking about an empty nest used for a perch!" Tess cried.
"Like I told you, I don't want to get into this until I know. Meanwhile, will you be here tomorrow?"
"I don’t know. Why?"
"My parents are coming to pick up Peio, and my father wants to talk to you about the trees and the property line."
Tess looked at Zak in alarm. She'd never met Alesander de Neuville. The thought of meeting him face to face was troubling at best. "Is this in the form of a warning?"
"In a way. The problem is, we've got a couple of fathers who are as stubborn as hell, and who knows how it will turn out, but we don't need to be in the middle."
Tess glared at him. "That's easy for you to say. I'm managing a piece of land they both claim, and while they're fighting it out I'm trying to run a logging camp. I am in the middle."
"Just don't let my father intimidate you," Zak warned. "He's determined to stop the cutting."
"So am I. At least he and I are on the same side. You'll be coming too, won't you?" Tess asked, knowing she didn't want to face Zak's father alone.
"I'll try, but I might be late since I have paperwork to fill out on the eaglet." Zak swung up into his truck and left.
As Tess watched the truck drive off, she felt anxious. The thought of facing Zak's father made her uneasy. From what she'd heard, Alesander de Neuville was as unyielding as her father. Tomorrow's meeting, she suspected, would confirm it.
***
Tess opened the front door of her cabin and peered into a pair of eyes that shone like honed steel. "Miss O'Reilly," the man said. "I'm Alesander de Neuville."
Tess stared unblinking. Zak's father was perhaps the handsomest older man she'd ever met. His shock of white hair heightened the depth of his sun-bronzed face and softened the lines etched about his mouth. "Come in," she said, "I was expecting you." Her gaze brushed lightly over his suede coat and western-cut slacks then shifted to the woman standing beside him.
He reached out, taking his wife's arm, and said in a crisp voice, "This is Mrs. de Neuville."
Tess turned to Zak's mother. "Mrs. de Neuville," she acknowledged, noting that her blue eyes matched the shirt beneath her gray leather jacket. She was wearing jeans and clogs, which surprised Tess. For some reason she'd expected her to show up wearing a long dress and a head scarf. Instead, her long gray hair was caught up at her nape and held in place by a sterling silver clasp with turquoise inlay.
Alesander de Neuville fixed Tess with hard, unfriendly eyes, and said, "If the timber cutting on my property doesn't stop immediately, and compensation made for the trees that are down, I'll be forced to take legal action."
Tess swallowed hard. The man certainly got right to the point. "Please, won't you both sit down?" she said, indicating the couch and an overstuffed chair.
Frantziska de Neuville moved to sit on the couch, but Alesander remained standing until he caught Frantziska's eye and lowered his large frame into the chair. His eyes rested momentarily on the chess set, then he looked questioningly at Tess.
She gave him a quick, nervous smile. "My father and I play sometimes." She sat on the couch with Zak's mother, maintaining some space between them.
Alesander's eyes flashed with impatience. "According to my manager, ten trees have been taken from land your father believes is his. I assure you, Miss O'Reilly, the land in question does not belong to Timber West. The survey I've just had completed shows the property line to be forty feet east of where your father believes it to run. I want to remind you that the penalty for wrongfully cutti
ng trees on someone else's property is four times their value, and if your father doesn't stop cutting immediately—"
"Mr. de Neuville," Tess cut in, "I'm sorry about the trees and I'm trying very hard to clear up the misunderstanding about the property line with my father, and I assure you, I'll do my best to see that no more trees will be cut."
"My son indicates he was given that assurance once before, and after that, two more trees were cut," Alesander, fired back.
"There's a question about who cut the last two trees," Tess said. "I believe Jed Swenson, the man who's working for you, cut the two trees and is trying to blame it on one of my men."
Alesander rose. "You're accusing my manager of cutting my own trees?" he said, his voice a subtle blend of irony and challenge. "That's about what I should expect from an O'Reilly—"
"Alesander!" Frantziska broke in. Alesander looked at his wife. "I'm sorry," he said, shifting his gaze from his wife to Tess. He lowered himself into the chair again. Frantziska caught Tess's eye and gave her a brief, apologetic smile.
"I know you're upset about the trees, and I don't blame you," Tess said. "All I can do is assure you that I'll do everything I can to see that no more are cut. If you'll give me an estimate of what you think the trees are worth, I'll see that you're reimbursed for the first eight. The other two are still in question."
"Jed Swenson did not cut the trees," Alesander insisted.
"Perhaps not, but neither did Curt Broderick. I guess the question is, who did?"
Alesander stood. "If you'll excuse me, I want to drive up the road to where the cutting took place and take a look."
"Please do," Tess said. "Shall I go with you?"
"That's not necessary." Alesander looked at his wife. "Frantziska?"
Frantziska waved him off. "If Miss O'Reilly doesn't mind, I'll stay here."
"That would be fine," Tess said.
Bittersweet Promises Page 7
