“Dr. Castile, wait!”
When he turned, she felt like an idiot, but she had to ask. “Could you leave the chainsaw here? The Paleo Indians believed trees this old hold the spirits of their ancestors and are sentient. Just in case they’re right, I don’t want to take the chance of scaring the old tree to death.”
He stared at her like she’d grown a second head.
“And in doing so, you’ll free up your hands,” she added.
Finally, he returned to her and placed the chainsaw at her feet. “Should we cover it up so these younger trees aren’t frightened by it as well?” One corner of his mouth tugged.
“They’re too young to know what it is.”
“Ah!” He laughed and followed her.
When they arrived at the beauty, he reached out to touch its bark, but she pulled his hand back. “You have gloves in your right pocket.”
He stared at her as if she were nuts.
“There’s no reason to risk inducing unnatural contaminants into the tree,” she explained. “Your hands could have fuel from the chainsaw.”
He nodded and investigated his right vest pocket, discovering high quality medical gloves. Once he pulled them on, he smiled at the tree and wiggled his fingers. “No surgery, I promise. I just want to feel your bark.”
Tess smiled. He might think her precautions were crazy, but at least he was willing to humor her.
He slowly circled the massive tree, inspecting the base and poking about the soil.
“Small hand shovel is on the right side of your belt.”
He reached back, retrieved it, and then continued digging about. He brought a scoop of dirt to his nose and breathed in, then sorted through it.
She knelt beside him. “What are you looking for?”
“Signs of Oak Lace bugs,” he replied.
She pulled out her binoculars and stared up into the canopy high above. “The leaves look okay to me.” She handed him her binoculars, and he studied the leaves.
“How often do you inspect the trees?” he asked.
“Every tree or just samplings?”
He chuckled. “Samplings.”
“Every two weeks.”
“Ever find anything?”
“Two years ago, we had a problem on the north side with Lace bugs that appeared from nowhere. I brought in boxes of ladybugs and green lacewings. That got them under control.”
“No pesticides?”
“No. That kills off the natural predators and damages the soil nutrients.”
He smiled. “I agree.”
“You do?”
“Yes. And I think the health of these woods is proof your way is better. The woods on the East Coast are being decimated by bugs and poor soil due to overuse of pesticides. Not to mention the water quality issues.”
She breathed out in relief. “Might not want to say that to Mr. Barkman. He doesn’t agree. However, he did say these were the healthiest woods he’d ever seen.”
Steel nodded in agreement, then they headed back to the trail. Once he retrieved the chainsaw they continued down the trail. “Tom’s from an earlier era when pesticides truly seemed a miraculous solution to destructive insects. Now we’re seeing the negative side effects, but traditionalists still want to believe in the past.”
Tess thought of her father and brothers wanting to “revive the family to its glorious past.” She snorted. “Tell me about it.” If her father had his way, he’d return Iowa to a Mafia-controlled state where anyone who didn’t obey his command would wind up dead.
His hand fell on her back. “No reason to get grumpy. I’m on your side.”
She refrained from telling him she’d moved on to something worse than the Oak Lace bug. “Speaking of Grumpy, have you decided what’s to be done with him?”
He glanced at her. “Normally, people who name wild animals don’t want them shot.”
She sighed as she walked ahead of him so he couldn’t read her face. “I just don’t think it’s necessary to kill a prime specimen just because he’s in a bad mood. Look at it from his perspective. He’s got these gorgeous woods to call his own, plenty to eat, roads to sleep on, no one shooting at him.”
“And yet, you didn’t name him Chuckles.”
“No…he’s definitely Grumpy, but I think it’s because he has no one to share the woods with.”
“Not sure what you mean.”
She stopped and faced him. “There aren’t any female bears for him to share his paradise with. He’s programmed to mate lots of she-bears every season, and yet he can’t find a single one.”
Tess thought Steel being male, and almost certainly able to mate with many females, would sympathize with Grumpy’s problem. However, the grimace of pain on his face indicated otherwise.
“So your solution is to bring in a bunch of females to make him happy?”
“No! That would be a serious impediment for the tourists. They probably want to leave with their kids.”
He chuckled. “Then what?”
He was laughing at her. Great way to impress the boss, getting all emotional over a damn bear. “I just don’t think Grumpy deserves to die for being a beautiful specimen of his kind and for wanting what all male bears want.”
“Do you have any viable solution that saves Grumpy?”
“Minnesota is pretty good about taking their bears back. They’ve never once insisted it wasn’t theirs.”
He massaged his temple. “Do you know how hard it would be to tranq the bear, drag him into a cage, and then get the cage out of these woods?”
“Actually, I do. We tried that earlier this year. Grumpy seems to have a sixth sense for trouble. We got one tranq into him, but he ran off before we could shoot him again. He went into hiding for six months.
“My new idea is to put a female in a cage inside a truck located where Grumpy likes to sleep on the road. The big fellow might just climb into the truck by himself. Then we can close the cage and shoot him with as many tranqs as necessary and once both bears are asleep, we can return them to Minnesota.”
“And where do you plan to get a female bear from?”
“From the same place I plan to get the truck.”
The corner of his lip tugged up. “At the local bear and truck rental shop?”
“At the Black Bear Wildlife Sanctuary in Minnesota.”
“Have you spoken to them?”
“Yes, and sent them a picture of Grumpy. They agree he’s a beautiful specimen worth saving. If we donate twenty thousand to their cause, they are willing to bring down a female in heat and spend two weeks trying to capture Grumpy. At the end of two weeks, they’ll go home, with or without Grumpy, because the female won’t be in heat anymore.”
He frowned. “I thought a female bear remained in heat for three weeks.”
“She does, but they evidently lose a week locating a female that’s just gone into heat, luring her into the truck, and then bringing her to Iowa.”
“Got it. Twenty thousand… I’ll have to think about it.” By the tone in his voice, she didn’t think he liked her idea. She opened her mouth, but shut it. Even Grams thought it was a waste of money. She turned and walked on. She’d done her best to save Grumpy despite the last car he had tipped and gutted had been hers. It was out of her hands now.
She pointed out another ancient white oak. “We’ll need to visit it another day. Grams is probably worried we’ve been eaten by Grumpy.” She reached out her hand. “Would you like me to carry the chainsaw so you can walk faster?”
He gave her a half-grin. “I’m following you, Tess. If you think we need to walk faster, then do it.”
She picked up her pace but listened to make sure he wasn’t falling behind.
When they arrived at the giant downed tree, Grams was rustling about in its treetop. Tess took the chainsaw from Dr. Castile. “You’ll probably want to join Grams. Ear plugs are in the small top pocket of your vest.” She patted it so he’d know which one.
“You need help?”
he asked.
“Nope, but I think by now Grams has found the cause of death.”
Steel made his way up to her grandmother. She had no idea what Grams was looking at, but she was pretty certain he had been about to decide he should cut the tree instead of her.
Just in case he changed his mind, she raced to get her helmet and safety glasses on.
***
“Find something?” Steel asked as he maneuvered around fallen the treetop brush.
Helen pointed to a blackened scar on the top of the trunk.
He knelt beside her and inspected the wound. “Looks like lightning, but it’s not recent. See how the bark has been trying to heal over on this side.”
She nodded. “But not on the other side.” She pulled out a two-inch-wide knife and pried the bark off the dead wood.
“Good eye,” he commented. “May I borrow that?”
She chuckled. “Reach behind you with your left hand. Third loop.”
He felt three loops over and found a handle. Pulling it out, he now had his own wicked blade. With it, he uncovered the amount of wood that was dead. Only a foot wide, but it appeared to be running the full length of the tree. “This shouldn’t have killed the tree.”
Helen touched the green leaves they stood in. “It didn’t. But now I know why it took to leaning after a bad storm about four years ago.”
“Why’s that?” he yelled over the racket of the chainsaw.
Helen nodded to Tess. “Let her finish her cut, then I’ll know if I’m right.”
He watched with amazement at how expertly Tess handled her massive chainsaw. He had yet to see her in anything but long sleeves and pants, but she had to have some serious muscles beneath.
He had intended to handle the cutting, but after carrying the chainsaw for several miles at a running pace, he wasn’t up to it and had no desire to embarrass himself. So he planned to let her try and then lecture her about biting off more than she could handle.
Thank God he waited until after she cut the tree. Otherwise, he’d look like a stupid ass again. Only this time he doubted she’d be laughing about it later.
She cut through the four-foot base like it was butter. The chain had to have kick-backed at least once, but he never saw it. Once she killed the power, they joined her as she studied a four-inch-thick wood slice she’d cut off.
“Do you have lightning marks up there?” she yelled at the top of her voice.
When Grams pointed to her ear, Tess grimaced and removed her earplugs. “Sorry. Do you have lightning scars?”
“Yes, we do,” Helen replied.
Steel studied the rings again. “Happened maybe six years ago?”
“That sounds about right,” Tess said, smiling at him with pride.
He considered pointing out to Helen she’d said four years ago, but decided it really didn’t matter.
Tess wiped the sweat and sawdust from her face. “Well, here’s my theory. Six years ago, lightning hit one side of the tree, creating a small dead zone that went all the way down to the roots.” She pointed to a jagged dead stump on the overturned root system. “With most of the tree intact, it continued to survive. Only it had lost one of its main roots. Then four years ago, we had a really bad storm with tornado warnings going off left and right.”
Helen nodded in agreement.
“Afterward, this tree had a slight tilt.”
“Yes, it did.”
“And it’s been slowly falling ever since because the healthy part of the tree couldn’t counterbalance its initial tilt.” She sighed. “Had we realized what was happening, we could have trimmed branches on the other side and possibly given it the time needed to self-adjust.”
Helen beamed at Steel.
“Grams, why are you smiling. Our failure to act killed this tree!”
Steel spoke. “She’s smiling because she was certain you’d divine exactly what happened.” He moved closer and ran his hand over the clear sign of death on the one side. “Maybe ten out of a thousand forest managers could have followed the progression of events that killed this tree. But not one of them, including myself, would have assessed how this could have been prevented. The rest of us would have blamed the lightning and gone on, destined to make the same mistake if it happened a second time.” He smiled. “You make a far more impressive forest manager than driver, bellhop, or maid.”
He then admired the perfection of her cut. “And I’ve never seen anyone who can saw through this much wood and stay straight in their cut, not once, but twice. If you weren’t already going to be my employee, I’d hire you without hesitation.” He met her gaze. “Clearly, you’re more qualified than I am to manage this forest. While I can’t change the unfairness of that, may I suggest you get credit for the skills you already have? That should knock a year or two off your college schedule, at least.”
Tess had been smiling until his last suggestion. Now she kicked the ground. “Tried that. Since all my time in the woods was not supervised, they wouldn’t even consider it.”
“I’ll put that on my list of things to work out,” he promised. “Along with Grumpy.”
His words earned him a grin.
When Tess pulled out the vials to collect soil samples, Grams gripped her arm. “Let me do that while I wait for Sam. You take Steel on up to your surprise. He deserves a reward for saying so many nice things.” She then smiled at him. “Enjoy yourself, Steel.”
What the hell were they up to? He hoped Tess hadn’t planned a seduction because, honest to God, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to refuse and he’d promised Tom he’d keep matters strictly professional with her.
Chapter 4
Steel’s curiosity continued to grow as Tess led him into the wetlands. For half an hour, they sat upon a white oak bench and watched the diverse wildlife through binoculars, neither of them speaking, only the occasional whisper and pointing to some animal.
Maybe this was his surprise. Tom had told him there was more wildlife in this tiny corner of Iowa than there was in the rest of the state. After a while, though, he grew bored with the animals and turned his binoculars toward the hills. “Have you seen any odd lumps on any of those hills?”
Tess grinned. “Why do you ask?”
“Because, according to my research, there were once Paleo-Indian hunters in Northeast Iowa, and this area looks geographically similar to the Harpers Ferry site.”
“We’ll be going up the cliff trail next so let me know if you see anything,” Tess replied with a touch of humor to her tone.
He turned and studied her, but she focused on the birds flying above them. After eyeing her with caution, he returned to evaluating the cliffs for probable sites. “Has an archeologist ever been up there?”
“Nope. Some people asked after they found the mounds on Harper Ferry, but Grams refused. She didn’t want her forest confiscated by the State.”
“They would have paid her for the land.”
“Yes, and razed the forest under the excuse they needed to pay her for the lands.”
Tess’s response seemed a bit paranoid until he remembered they were mafia. The government might be less than fair when reimbursing criminals from bygone eras.
He studied the brown line that cut across the side of the bluff. “Did you cut the trail on the ridge?”
“No. It’s safer than it looks, but I’m not sure I want tourists on it. I can just imagine some little tike running off the edge.”
“I agree. Did Helen cut it?”
Tess chuckled. “No. It was there when she got the land.”
“Were the other trails here?”
“Yes, but most were animal trails.” She rose and put away her binoculars. “The animals use that trail, too, but they didn’t make it. That was made by humans.”
“Really? Why are you so certain?”
“You’ll see.”
Of that he had no doubt, but honestly, he wanted to know now. By the time he put away his binoculars, she was already thirty feet down the trail.
Never in his life had he met people who walked as fast as Tess and Helen. He jogged to catch up, the clanking of his tool belt scaring off the birds.
She turned and placed her finger to her lips. “Quiet like a Paleo-Indian,” she teased.
“You laugh, but I think there are probably burial mounds somewhere in those hills.”
“And what do you plan to do if you find them?”
“Excavate them. They’d be a great draw to make this a premier state park in the Midwest.”
“I agree,” she replied and grinned.
“Tess, you’ve already found some mounds, haven’t you?”
She tried to move up the trail, but he snared her arm. “Tess…”
Facing him, she met his stare. “When I gave Mr. Barkman a tour, I didn’t show him any mounds. It wasn’t a state park then, and the governor at that time was in my father’s pocket, so had they any proof of mounds, they could’ve grabbed all the land under imminent domain laws, then sold my dad back ninety-eight percent of the land which he would have razed for money.”
He could see the worry in her eyes. “That can’t happen now. It’s a state park.”
“But Mr. Barkman could perceive my failure to tell him as a lie of omission. And while I know Meg has conditions in the contract about me being the manager as long as I wish, I’m pretty sure Mr. Barkman could get rid of me if he really wanted to.”
“Tom adores you,” he assured her as he rubbed her arms in an attempt to calm her. “But in the off-chance his feelings might be hurt, I’m willing to take credit for their discovery if you wish.”
She smiled at him. “You did latch on to that ridge trail pretty fast.”
He rubbed his forehead, realizing he’d just been played. “Is that why we’ve been staring at wildlife for the last thirty minutes?”
Her eyes rounded in innocence…too much to be real. “The abundance of wildlife is a big deal!”
He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “In the future, will you trust me to be on your side?”
Her lack of response surprised and disappointed him. “Or not,” he stated and walked around her, taking the lead.
She didn’t complain about the change in leadership. In fact, she didn’t speak at all as she followed him through the marshland to the ridge.
Unexpected Love (White Oak-Mafia #2) Page 4
