Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel by Pamela Clare (well read books .TXT) 📗

north end of the property had been built to hold the school bus Naomi planned to buy next spring. For now, it served as a tool shed.

While Zach, Jason, and Grandpa cleaned up the area around the cabins, Winona packed up the leftover food, washed the remaining dishes, and wiped down the kitchen. By the time she had finished, Zach and Jason were packing their gear in the back of Zach’s SUV.

“Are you heading home?” She fought to ignore a stab of disappointment.

It’s not like you and Jason hit it off.

No, they hadn’t. She’d blundered into him, and then she’d freaked the heck out when he’d woken her. Besides, Kat had said he was taken.

Zach shook his head. “I thought Chiago should experience Knockers at least once in his lifetime. There’s no place else like it.”

“So, we’ll see you tonight then.” Her disappointment ebbed. “I’m going to drive Grandpa home so he can have a nap and then check on the animals at the sanctuary. I’ve got a golden eagle who’s always hungry.”

“Do you mind if we tag along?” Jason asked. “I’d love to see an eagle up close—that is, if you don’t mind.”

Winona’s spirits lifted. “I don’t mind at all.”

Jason followed Winona’s vehicle down a winding road toward Scarlet Springs, McBride in the passenger seat, watching him. “What?”

“Have you got a thing for Win?”

Jason kept his expression impassive. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“That wasn’t a denial. So, you and Elena are truly done.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be.” Jason hoped McBride would let it go.

“Chaska is a pretty good tracker, by the way. He helped the Marshal Service with a couple of cases in the past.”

Jason couldn’t resist. “You couldn’t handle it yourself after spending a whole week learning to cut sign with the Wolves?”

McBride snorted. “All I learned in that week is that you guys are really good, and I have no fucking clue what I’m doing.”

The drive to Scarlet took less than a half-hour. Winona pulled into the driveway of a large Victorian house, climbed out of her car, and walked to Jason’s window. “I need to carry the food inside and get Grandpa settled.”

“You take care of your grandfather. Let us handle the food.” Jason parked, and he and McBride carried the boxes of leftovers inside, setting them on the kitchen counter. Winona disappeared upstairs with her grandfather, the soft sound of her voice drifting down to him.

Jason glanced around. “Nice house.”

It was bigger than any home in Sells.

“This is Chaska and Naomi’s place,” McBride told him. “He works for an aerospace engineering company building rocket parts or some shit. She’s an artist—jewelry mostly.”

Engineering and jewelry-making—two skills that could surely be put to better use on the reservation.

Winona came downstairs. “Grandpa thinks I fuss over him, but he’s ninety-three.”

McBride leaned back against the counter. “I bet he loves the attention.”

“Let me put all of this away.” She stuck the leftovers into the fridge, then walked to the back door. “We can get to the clinic faster through the back gate.”

As it turned out, the rear entrance to the clinic was only a short distance from Chaska and Naomi’s backyard.

Winona opened the door with a key card, reached inside, and flipped on a light. “This was a hectic summer because of the fire, but things have slowed down now.”

She gave them a tour, showing them the treatment rooms, the two operating rooms, and the indoor rooms lined with cages for smaller animals.

Jason was impressed. “You run this by yourself?”

“No.” Winona laughed. “I have an army of volunteers who clean cages and handle a lot of the feedings. I also get several interns from the university each summer. That’s my busiest time.”

She opened a door and turned on the lights. “We’ve got a raccoon and a beaver back here. The raccoon was hit by a mountain biker and has a broken leg. The beaver got tangled in barbed wire, and the lacerations on her little webbed feet were infected.”

Jason stayed back so as not to scare the animals. Winona checked them, speaking to them in what he assumed was Lakota, her voice sweet, her devotion to the animals shining on her face—and stirring something inside him.

McBride bent down to get a better look at the beaver, which sat, tail between its legs, chattering to itself. “Hey, buddy. What’s the biggest animal you’ve ever treated?”

She closed the raccoon’s cage. “That would have to be a bull moose last fall. He had a volleyball net tangled in his antlers and was dragging it everywhere, along with every branch and twig it caught. Eventually, he couldn’t move at all. A game warden freed him, but he was hungry and badly dehydrated. I had to tranq him to get close enough to treat him.”

Jason had to ask. “Who pays for the animals’ care—the state? It’s not like wild animals have owners.”

She led them from the room. “The sanctuary runs on donations. I get some grants from the federal and state governments, but most of it comes from ordinary people who want to help injured wildlife. Let’s go outside.”

They stopped at a snug enclosure that held a red fox.

“You can smell why I don’t keep this guy inside. Red foxes have a musk gland that would make the entire building stink.”

Jason had wondered what the odor was. “I believe that.”

McBride wrinkled his nose. “Good decision.”

“The aviary is over here.” Winona led them to a tall enclosure with thick, wooden perches—and an enormous golden eagle.

Jason stared. “It’s … huge.”

McBride was also impressed. “I’ve never seen one up close like this.”

“I measured its wingspan at just under seven feet. When the warden first brought it in, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to save it. Broken wings are tricky. We’ll be releasing it into the wild in the next few weeks.”

McBride rested a hand on her shoulder. “Well done, Win.”

The eagle eyed them from its perch, sharp talons gripping wood. Then it flew from one side of the aviary to the other.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”