The Defender

by Lindsay McKenna

  “Yeah? Well, what do you do for a day job? Sit behind a computer all day?” Janet wasn’t about to let on that she knew a great deal about her daughter.

  Katie compressed her lips. “No, I’m a falconer.”

  “A what?” Janet tilted her head, eyes narrowing. “What the hell is a falconer?” Janet already knew she was but pretended to not know.

  Quietly, Katie explained what she did for a living. When she said that Iris Mason had donated a building and acreage on her ranch, Janet shook her head with disbelief.

  “Are you the kind of kid that steps in manure and comes out smellin’ like a rose?”

  “I guess I am,” Katie said, her voice firm. She saw her mother’s face move into a grin.

  “So you’re out saving the world? One bird at a time? And then you tell me the state of Wyoming doesn’t pay you one red cent for their food, your time or anything else?” She waved her fork in Katie’s face, voice condescending. “You’d never make it in the business world, girl.”

  “My name is Katie.”

  “Yeah, all right, Katie. You’re basically poor. You have no real business that makes you money. I’ll bet you don’t even own a house.”

  “Iris gave me a suite in her ranch house.”

  “See?” Janet shook her head. “You didn’t get my business genes, that’s for sure.” The drug dealer who’d got her pregnant was a total jerk. So where had this love for nature come from? Janet wasn’t sure because all she wanted to do was stay high and run away from the pain of living in this hell called earth.

  “You’re right,” Katie conceded. “I rely on the goodness of others who have more money than I do.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not on the state dole for food stamps.”

  “I’ve been on it from time to time in the past,” Katie admitted, feeling shame. Her mother had no respect for her chosen vocation in life. That hurt. “When Iris gave me the donation, it allowed me to get off food stamps.”

  “Thank God. Us taxpayers are the ones footing your bill.”

  Frustrated, Katie added, “Sometimes it’s important to do things for the good of all, Janet. I am poor, that’s for sure. But I’m happy. I contribute to the ecosystem in this area. I help injured birds and set them free once they heal. I don’t think everything in life should be viewed as either making money or not making money.”

  Janet chewed her food and studied Katie’s set face. “Well, I was wonderin’ if you had a backbone or not. I guess you do.” She grinned. Her daughter’s face turned stubborn, her jaw jutted outward. There was fire in Katie’s eyes.

  “My backbone is about helping raptors. I know you don’t think much of what I do, but for me it’s fulfilling.” Katie almost blurted, And are you happy? You sure don’t look it. She swallowed the words and they became a lump in her throat.

  “You gotta fight for everything you get out of life.”

  “That’s for sure.” Katie watched her finish off the huge plate of chicken salad. She felt nauseous and had no appetite.

  “So, getting back to my new business here.” Janet pointed to her plate. “You gonna eat that?”

  “No.”

  “Good, I will.” Janet reached out and dragged the plate to her side of the table. “Anyway, as I was sayin’, my new business here, I might be able to use you part-time. I’ll know in a couple of weeks.” She peered intently at Katie. The girl was more foggy mist than human. There was something about her Janet couldn’t put her finger on. She was like a shadow who appeared and then disappeared. Right now, Katie sat stiffly, hands clamped together and her face more pale than before, if that was possible. “With your bird job—”

  “Falconry.”

  “Okay, whatever. Do you have time on your hands to do some part-time work at my new office once it gets up and runnin’?”

  Shrugging, Katie said, “Sure. I wouldn’t offer otherwise.”

  “Do you have any help with your bird duties?”

  “Yes, I just hired a full-time employee, Joe Gannon. He’s a falconer, too.”

  “For a donation kind of business, you’re doing okay. Maybe this Iris Mason is your fairy godmother? Sprinkling you with cash whenever you need it?”

  Hearing the teasing in her mother’s roughened tone, Katie said, “Iris is very generous to me. And, yes, she was the one who suggested I hire a full-time employee. She’s paying all my bills.”

  “What the hell do you get out of this?”

  “A sense of accomplishment. I’m helping nature stay in balance.”

  Shaking her head, Janet ate voraciously. “You’re a strange one.”

  Hurt flowed through Katie. Their conversation had turned to sparring and she felt off balance by her mother’s judgments. The woman had been a convict, but Katie wouldn’t throw darts at her. Her mother would never know what Norah had discovered about her sordid past. There were no words she wanted to fling back at Janet to equal the hurt rolling through her now. Gripping her hands together, Katie felt coldness and dampness between them.

  Janet ate without looking up at her daughter. Strange one. Yeah, the girl was that for sure. Janet wondered if her life hadn’t been about drugs and falling helplessly in love with Xavier down in Guatemala, she would have turned out like Katie instead. Pondering the possibility, she looked up between bites. “Animals are okay.”

  “Do you own a dog or cat?”

  “At one time I had a husky. Life got too busy and I gave him away. I don’t like taking care of anything except the important stuff.”

  Taking a deep, ragged breath, Katie nodded. Her mother kept on eating and sipping her coffee. The tension at the table thickened until Katie wanted to run away. Yet, she was the one who had initiated this meeting. A crushing disappointment flowed through her. It was as if she were a target to be shot at.

  “I remember a friendly dog down in Guatemala,” Janet said. “He was a small yellow mongrel. Xavier loved him. Animals always want something from you. I could never figure out why anyone would want a cat or dog for long. They’re just one more thing to take care of and I’m too busy to do that kind of thing.”

  “Who is Xavier?” Katie asked.

  “Oh, he’s my lover.” Janet smiled a little and blotted her lips with the napkin. “When I was younger, I followed him back to his country. We were very happy for a number of years.”

  “Do you like Guatemala?”

  “Sure I do. Beautiful tropics. I love the rain, the thunderstorms and being right on the Caribbean. We did a lot of scuba-diving. Nice to hunt for lobster, catch it and then have it for dinner that evening.” She smiled fondly over those memories. “Yes, those were very happy times.”

  Katie was dying to ask if she had any other children. Norah had said she didn’t, but one never knew. “Maybe your love of nature expressed itself in those ways? I like the sky and watching birds fly. You love the ocean and swimming in it.”

  Janet pushed the empty plate away. She blotted her mouth again, wadded up the paper napkin and threw it on the plate. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe we do share a little bit, after all. I like birds. Down there in Guatemala, the birds are colorful, like a rainbow.”

  Relief pushed away her fear. Katie nodded. “It sounds like a nice place to visit. I’ve never been out of the state of Wyoming.”

  Janet glanced at her watch. “I gotta go. Time to meet the Realtor.” She grabbed her purse and stood up. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for this.”

  Katie started to move but her mother opened her hand and stopped her. Didn’t she even want a hug? Just one?

  “I’ll call you in a week,” Janet said. “Nice meeting you, Katie.” The woman took off in a hurry for the cash register near the door.

  Katie felt crushed. Hot tears jammed into her eyes. She forced them back, gulping several times.

 
CHAPTER TWELVE

  JOE FORCED HIMSELF not to ask Katie questions after she walked glumly through the door of the facility. Judging from the look on her pale face, things hadn’t gone well. He was sweeping the front area when she arrived.

  “Hi,” Katie said, placing her purse in the drawer of her office desk. “How are the raptors?”

  “Doing great,” Joe said a little more enthusiastically than necessary. He forced himself to keep sweeping and not pay attention to her wounded look. Fighting himself, the desire to shield her, Joe kept his tone light. “Oh, the Idaho Falls, Idaho, television station called. They’re doing a piece on falconry in the area and wanted you to call them back.” He pointed to a piece of paper he’d placed on her desk.

  Katie nodded and picked up the note. “I see Donna suggested the story. That’s so sweet of her.” Some of her dark cloud lifted. She smiled and held up the note to Joe. “This is important. It’s tough to get airtime on raptor rehabilitation. Donna’s very proactive in the world of raptors. She figures the more people understand the value of hawks, falcons and eagles, the more people will protect them instead of killing them out of ignorance.”

  “That’s good news,” Joe said, resting his hands on the top of the broom. There was some life returning to her blue eyes. “Are you going to call them?”

  “Yes, right now. It’s an opportunity and I don’t want to miss it.” She sat down and picked up the phone.

  Joe continued sweeping as Katie talked to the producer on the phone. Keeping the raptor area clean was their number-one priority. Fleas, mites and other vermin could invade the area, get into the birds’ feathers and cause all kinds of grief. A clean facility was the only way to go. He was finishing up, dumping the last bit of dirt in a large trash can at the rear of the building when he heard Katie hang up the phone.

  “Guess what?” she called, walking down the aisle.

  Joe straightened up and turned. “Good news?” What a change in Katie’s demeanor. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with excitement. A smile even lingered on her lips.

  “Is it ever! Donna has outdone herself on this one, Joe. This is much larger than I thought.” Breathless, Katie said, “This is going to be a national one-hour television special. PBS will feature it across the U.S.A. Donna was called by the producer and she suggested filming my facility.” Clapping her hands, Katie added, “Isn’t this wonderful, Joe? A national platform to get the word out on our raptors.” Joyous over the news, Katie spontaneously threw her arms around Joe’s broad shoulders and hugged him fiercely for a moment. Just as quickly, she stepped back and saw the shock on his face.

  “You don’t know me very well yet. When I’m happy, I go around hugging people.” She laughed, then turned to go back to her desk.

  The producer had asked for specific scenes he and his camera person could shoot when they arrived at the facility a week from now. She had to get busy creating some interesting photographic opportunities. The lunch with her mother no longer felt as sharp and hard in her chest. The good news was helping her climb out of the doldrums.

  Joe stood in the aisle for a moment absorbing Katie’s unexpected hug. In that moment, she looked joyous, a wide smile on her lips. His shoulders still tingled where her arms had rested. For a second, he’d inhaled her feminine scent and it made him nearly dizzy with need of her.

  * * *

  LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, Iris Mason dropped by just as Katie finished with her photographic scenes for the television crew. Katie excitedly told Iris about the opportunity.

  Iris took off her straw hat and grinned. “That’s wonderful news, Katie. I hope you get the producer to emphasize that rehabbers like you get no financial support from the state to do what you do.”

  “Oh, I’ve got that in my notes,” Katie agreed, tapping the paper beneath her hand. “Can you look at what I’ve written? Maybe I’ve missed something?” She handed it to the older woman. Katie’s heart flew open as she watched Iris carefully read her notes. She loved the elder fiercely.

  “I like these ideas, Katie,” Iris said, handing the paper to her. “I would add that few people in the U.S. are awarded an eagle license. I’d explain the difference between hawks, falcons and eagles. People don’t realize eagles are different and it requires someone with a lot of falconry experience to work with one.”

  “Great. Anything else?” Katie said, writing quickly.

  Iris smiled and waved hello to Joe who was cleaning up some feathers in Sam’s mew. “Not right off the top of my head. I’m sure you’ll fly Sam. He’s so gorgeous to watch.”

  “I will.” Katie touched her chin in thought. “I need to work more with Joe and Sam this week. I know he has eagle experience, but I need to get him and Sam working well with one another for the videotaping of the show.”

  “Good idea,” Iris praised, settling her straw hat on her head. She watched Katie with pride. “This is a great opportunity for you, Katie, for your career. Did the TV producer say when this one-hour special was going to be shown on PBS?”

  “He said in nine months. It takes a long time to do the editing, the voice-overs and things like that. He said it’s already on the PBS schedule, but right now, it’s tentative. They’ll firm up a date later on and let me know.”

  “Might be good to let our local newspaper know, too. They could come out and do a nice piece with photographs on you and your facility while the TV crew is here.”

  “Great idea,” Katie enthused, writing it down.

  “Frankly,” Iris said, “I think the Elk Horn Ranch might send out a press release to all the major TV stations in the state of Wyoming and let them know, too.”

  “Would you?” Katie’s heart pounded, underscoring her excitement. Iris was a queen of public relations and had boosted her ranch to national notoriety. The elder knew how to maximize press releases to lure radio and TV people to film and talk about the huge ranch.

  “Sure.” Iris smiled and patted Katie’s shoulder. “Why not? It’s good for you and for us.”

  “Especially you,” Katie said, becoming serious. “If it wasn’t for your grant, Iris, I wouldn’t even be here.”

  “It was a grant given with love,” Iris said, smiling. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight?”

  “Yep, I’ll be there with bells on. Thanks for all you do.” Katie stood and gently embraced her. “You’re my guardian angel, Iris!”

  After giving her a kiss, Iris held Katie at arm’s length and said, “Katie, I love being your cosmic grandma.”

  The words touched her deeply and Katie hugged her again. “Iris, you have no idea how badly I needed to hear that today. Thank you...”

  Releasing her, Iris said, “Gotta get back to work! I’m cutting the rhizomes on my iris bed and Kam is helping me start a whole new bed on the south end of the ranch house.”

  “Get to work,” Katie teased and waved goodbye. She had a lot of paperwork to fill out for the state on the immature red-tailed hawk they’d taken to the vet yesterday. Her heart was singing, but as happy as she was, today’s meeting with Janet continued to plague her.

  Joe was getting ready to leave at 5:00 p.m. when Katie asked him to sit down at her desk.

  “Do you have a few minutes?” she asked him, looking at her watch. Joe was gathering up his bag of falconry gear from the locker. “Or do you have someplace you need to go?”

  Joe set the bag on the corner of Katie’s desk. “No, I’m just going home to make my dinner.” He noticed the worry in Katie’s eyes. He suspected she wanted to talk about her mother. Pulling over a chair, he sat down.

  “Thanks, I need to talk.” She took a deep breath and dove in. “Joe, how does your mother treat you?”

  He absorbed her question. “Depends upon what age you’re talking about?” His mouth curved ruefully. “As a teen, I was a handful.”

  Her nervous
ness dissolved beneath his smile. She liked the tenderness lingering in his green eyes. There was such instant trust with Joe. “That’s a fair question. How does your mother treat you now?”

  Joe chose his words carefully and said, “With respect.”

  “What do you mean by that? Can you give me an example?”

  Joe had a feeling things hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped with her mother. “I’m living in their rental house. I know my Mom wants it kept clean and picked up. I can be kind of a slob and leave socks and stuff lying around,” he joked. “I respect her and I want to make my mother happy. I pick up my stuff and I keep the house clean so she doesn’t have to come over and do it.”

  “I see...” Katie thought for a moment. “I guess I meant otherwise.”

  Joe’s brows moved down in confusion. “How do you mean?”

  “Well...” She took a deep breath and released it. “Does your mom ever hug you?”

  “Not all the time,” Joe said. “But every once in a while, yeah, she’ll hug me. And I’ll hug her back.”

  “Hmm...” She squirmed in the chair, the silence heavy. “Does she kiss you on the cheek sometimes? You know, to let you know she loves you?”

  Smiling, Joe nodded. “Yes, she does. Not often, but when I was a little boy growing up, she was always kissing my hair, squeezing me and she always gave me a good-night kiss at bedtime.”

  Katie stared at him. Joe’s expression was serious, his voice low with sincerity. He was able to soothe her fractious state with just his voice, whether he knew it or not. “Do you share certain food likes and dislikes with your parents?”

  “Yes. My mother hates okra because it’s slimy if cooked the wrong way. And I don’t care for it, either. We both love a lot of salt on our food. My dad doesn’t. And I know a lot of salt isn’t good for you. My mother is never that thirsty. She might drink one or two glasses of water a day and that’s all. I’m the same way. And we both love vinegar. My dad hates it.”