Sharon Dunn - Night Prey

“You always did just fine.” His voice warmed.

His face was close enough for her to hear the soft intake and exhale of air. She could smell his soapy cleanness. She’d kept Keith Roland frozen in time. All these years, he’d been the boy who was her summertime buddy. But he wasn’t a boy anymore. His transition into manhood had been marked by such tragedy that she’d held on to the part of him that had been so wonderful, the boy part of him. Here in front of her, holding her, was the man she couldn’t make heads or tails of.

He scooted away, and the coolness of the night enveloped her. “Let’s see if we can spot anything from here,” he said, clearing his throat.

Jenna pulled her knees up to her chest. Then she studied the outline of the mountains. Again, a light flickered and disappeared. She pointed and grabbed his arm. “Right about there.”

He lifted the binoculars, craning his neck slowly.

“See anything?”

He shook his head. “Maybe if we stand.”

“On the roof?”

He laughed, and there was something of the adventurous boy in the laughter. “Come on, you know I can talk you into almost anything.”

“That was when I was twelve. This is not a mountain. We don’t have any ropes to catch our fall. You stand up.”

He nodded. “Suit yourself.” He handed her the binoculars and eased himself to his feet. His hand reached down, brushing the top of her head while he continued to look straight ahead. She grabbed his hand at the wrist and placed the binoculars in them.

He wobbled as he lifted them to his face but maintained his balance. Jenna held her breath. She tilted her head.

“I see them,” he said a moment later. “Lights…moving.” After putting the strap around his neck, he let the binoculars fall against his chest.

“What could it be?”

“People on my grandfather’s land.” His voice intensified. “It’s hard to tell exactly where they are at this distance. Gramps and I used to ride all over the place on dirt bikes, but it’s been a while since then. I don’t know the trails as well as I used to.”

“I’ve gotten pretty good at reading the landscape from having to rescue birds in the weirdest places.”

“That would involve you having to stand up,” he teased.

She took in a breath. “I can do it.”

“That’s my brave girl.”

Her heart lurched. That was what he used to say to her when she made the decision to do something, even if it scared her.

He extended a hand to her and she rose to her feet. She leaned against him to steady herself. She could see the front edge of the roof from here. Even before she straightened her legs, the night sky was spinning around her. She dug her fingers into his arm. He braced her by placing his arm around her waist.

“Steady,” he whispered in her ear.

His hair brushed against her cheek. “Ready now?” She nodded, and he brought the binoculars up to her eyes. The view through the lens was not spinning. Pulsating circles of light floated phantomlike across the landscape. She could discern another larger stationary glow. “Somebody is definitely out there.”

“But where are they exactly? Gramps’s place is thousands of acres.”

She moved the binoculars across the view in front of her. The outline of the mountains revealed the shape of a wizard’s hat and a formation that everyone called the Angel’s Wings. “They have got to be close to Leveridge Canyon.”

“I remember that area. Should we call the sheriff, tell him where to go?”

Jenna shook her head. “The sheriff’s still looking for fingerprints at my place. It would take him a while to get over here. We should go out there now before they leave. What if what is going on out there now is connected to the shooting and the note?”

He rubbed his hands on his jeans, angling his head away from her.

“Someone is trespassing on your grandfather’s land. We can find out who is doing this and turn them in,” she persisted. If they caught whoever was doing this, they wouldn’t be able to harm the birds at the center.

The thought of any kind of confrontation terrified her, though. She needed Keith’s help. Why was he hesitating? The events of the afternoon showed that he could handle himself just fine, better than she could. “Please Keith, I can’t do this alone.”

He crossed his arms and stared out at some unknown object as though he were mulling over options. He turned toward her. “I don’t want you going out there by yourself. It could be dangerous.”

“Thank you.”

He shook his head and let his arms fall to his side. “I’ll see if I can find a map that might help us pinpoint where they are. The dirt bikes are fueled and ready to go in the garage.”

In less than fifteen minutes, they had climbed down from the roof and run to the garage. Jenna placed the bike helmet on her head. She watched him buckle a gun belt around his waist. Considering what had happened this afternoon, the gun was a reasonable precaution. Still, her heartbeat quickened as she slipped on her bike gloves. What were they riding out to?

Jenna turned the petcock on the fuel tank, choked the engine, flipped out the kickstart.

Without a word, Keith sauntered over to her bike while she stepped aside. He jumped down on the kick start. The engine revved to life. She had never been able to get a bike started on the first try.

While Keith started his own bike, Jenna swung a leg over the worn seat. She twisted the throttle to a high idle.

Keith burst out of the barn on his bike. Jenna clicked on her headlight and sped out after him. He waited for her on the road. The hum and putt putt sound of the bike motor surrounded her as she caught up with him, and they headed toward the dark horizon.

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