“You need green in your house,” she mused.
“Yes. But not just green.”
“Are those wild huckleberries?” she asked, leaning forward in the seat as if that would give her a better view of the bushes that were lined up along the trees.
“I’m not sure, but I think so.”
“Don’t huckleberries bloom with white and pink flowers?” Tara asked.
“You’re asking the wrong person. I eat them. And I’ve only noticed them in the wild when they were ripe and I could smell them. I think it’s too early for them to have fruit.”
“I guess you’ll just have to come back again at the end of the summer to see if the fruit bears out.”
She thought about the bowl on his kitchen table. At first, she thought the colors weren’t part of nature. They were bright. Bold. But now she realized she was dead wrong. There was vibrant green all around them. In a few months those bushes, if they were indeed huckleberry, something native to the area, would be bursting with purple and blue berries. Right now, the bushes were filled with tiny white and pink flowers. Those were all the colors that were painted in the bowl in different shades.
“Stop here,” Tara said.
“But we’re not there yet.”
“It’s okay. We can go wherever you’re headed in a minute. I want to get closer look at the bushes.”
Brody stopped the truck in the middle of the dirt road and killed the engine.
“What do you see?”
“I don’t know. Just follow me.”
* * *
Follow me. Brody did just that without hesitation. As she walked in front of him, stepping in the high grass, he hated himself for gazing at the sway of her hips as she moved, just as he’d done in the barn.
“Is that a nest over there in the tree?” she asked.
Brody searched in the direction Tara was pointing. “You saw that nest from inside the truck?”
“It’s not that hard to see.”
“Please tell me you’re not putting a nest in my house.”
She chuckled. “You’re questioning my judgment now? Don’t tell me you’re rethinking asking me to help you decorate. I won’t forget that comment about spending lots of money.”
“Anything you do is a far cry better than anything I could do.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“You think I’m being sarcastic. I’m serious. If I hadn’t gone to the shop and asked for help, that bowl would be the only thing in my house for at least a year.”
She stopped walking and turned to him. “No way. You wouldn’t have picked up a few things along the way? People always do.”
“Some people. I’m used to living kind of minimalistic life.”
“I guess that suited you.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You said that you moved around a lot. I imagine it would be a pain to constantly pack up if you’re always leaving and moving somewhere else.”
He nodded. He hadn’t meant to be so sensitive. But obviously she’d hit a nerve that always seemed to be exposed.
It had taken a long time not to be suspicious of everyone and everything when he’d left prison. Even now, he found himself living as if he was still in a regimented environment. Get up in the morning, work out, take a shower which wasn’t always the greatest of places, and then have breakfast. Sometime after that, if he were lucky enough, he’d be able to walk outside in the yard and feel the sunshine on his face for an hour or so. That’s what he missed the most being in prison. The sunshine and warmth of being outdoors.
Those days were behind him. Today he was out in the sunshine in a beautiful meadow with an even more beautiful woman who with every smile took his breath away.
“I wonder if there are any eggs inside the nest.”
“I don’t want to touch the nest,” Brody said. “The mother bird might not come back if she smells my scent. Did you happen to take your cell phone with you?”
“Yes, it’s in my purse in the truck.”
“I left mine back at the house. Why don’t you get yours? I might be able to reach up and take a picture of the nest so you can see what’s in it without actually getting my scent all over the nest and risking the mother bird not coming back.”
He watched as Tara ran back to the truck and quickly grabbed her purse from the floor and of the cab. She rummaged through it, and pulled her cell phone out. Then she tossed her purse back into the cab, and slammed the truck door.
Brody patiently waited, reveling in just watching Tara as she fiddled with the phone as she walked back to the spot where the nest was located. When she finally reached him, she looked up at him with wide eyes that astounded him. Why had he never noticed that her eyes were so big and magnificent? Maybe because every time he’d seen her in court she’d been crying or angry.
But today she had a wide smile on her face. He wouldn’t trade a day like this for anything.
“Do you know how to use the camera on this phone?” she asked.
“I’m pretty sure I can figure it out.”
Brody reached up his arm up as high as he could so that the phone was still a good distance from the nest on the branch. He took about six pictures before he stepped away from the tree and handed the cell phone back to Tara.
Giddy, she glanced at the pictures he’d taken. “This is amazing.”
“What? Were there eggs inside the nest?”
She shook her head. “No. Well, yes, but they’re not eggs anymore. Just shells. The eggs have hatched and the babies are gone.”
“Let me see.”
She handed the phone to Brody so he could inspect the pictures he’d taken.
“That’s too bad.”
She beamed as she smiled up at him. “No, it’s not. That’s nature. And look at the color of those eggshells. I love that.”
“What color would you say that is?” he
