Page 32 of Landing Her Eagle
Swallowing his bite and then taking a sip of his coffee, he says, “Other than a couple of loads of laundry and repacking my bags, I’m set. We can go out and do whatever you want, or we can hang out here. It’s your weekend. I want to do whatever makes you happy.” Logan’s smile is loving.
My heart hiccups. “I’d love to lock ourselves in this house and spend all of our time cuddling and canoodling until we have to go to the airport.”
Logan chortles. “Canoodling?”
I’ve read the wordchortle,but I’ve never seen it in action before. Until now. He has tears from laughing so hard.
“You seriously called what we do together canoodling? Daphne, I’ve always been very tolerant of your fondness forMatlockandMurder, She Wrote, but I draw the line at you channeling Jessica Fletcher when you describe our physical relationship.”
I’m sure I must be blushing, so I do what any mature woman would do and give him a hard shove in the shoulder to knock him off balance on his stool.
“Canoodling is an awesome word. You’re jealous you didn’t think to use it first.”
His heavy-lidded expression makes my insides quiver. “Sunshine, when I remember the things we’ve done, canoodling is not the word that comes to mind. When I consider all the things I plan on doing with you, and to you, in the future, it is most definitely nothing that anyone sane and under eighty years old would categorize ascanoodling.”
Oh my. I’m pretty sure if we were a sitcom, my character would have a thought bubble containing the gif of a cartoon character swooning with hearts in her eyes. But we aren’t a sitcom. We’re a new couple, having breakfast together, laughing, and trying to ignore the countdown clock until we must part.
Okay, Daphne Marie Foster, stop this train of thought. You’re going to ruin the time you have still being together because you’re focusing on the time you’ll be apart.I know I’m serious because I used my middle name. We have two and a half days together, and I refuse to allow us to waste another moment of that time moping. I’ll have weeks to be sad and mopey when he’s gone. Why would I waste time that we can spend being together, happy, and creating fun memories being miserable? Of course, it’s difficult for Logan to leave, but I don’t need to make it even harder by showing him how much I’m dreading it.
I take a sip of my cooling tea. I’m spending too much time thinking and talking and not enough time eating my breakfast. “Have you ever done a corn maze? There are a couple of farms that have them, so we could do one. The Physick Estate in Cape May has a scarecrow walk. Ooh, we could do a ghost tour! I’ve always wanted to do one of those.” I get my laptop so I can start searching for events in Cape May.
Logan grabs his phone. “So…I planned a surprise. If you don’t want to do it, it’s okay. But what would you say about a weekend in Cape May? I rented a room for tonight. We could sit out on the Adirondack chairs they have set up on the lawn of the hotel. I booked us tickets for a ghost tour, and the hotel is supposed to be haunted. Perfect for this time of year.”
I know exactly which hotel he means. It’s a grand beachfront hotel. I’ve always wanted to stay there. “I’d love that! Let me pack a bag.”
Logan gasps dramatically.
I jump slightly. “What?”
“You’re being spontaneous! I’m so proud of you!” He wipes an imaginary tear from his face.
I huff out a sigh. “I can be spontaneous with little things. Just because I’m not ready to uproot my life on a week’s notice doesn’t mean I’m not capable of spontaneity.” Logan is obviously teasing me, but it hurts a little. “I’m trying, you know.”
“Aw…sunshine, I know. I’m teasing. You’re wonderful and perfect just the way you are.” He leans forward and gives me a sweet kiss, his hand resting on my cheek. His gaze holds so much emotion. Maybe it’s love? I hope he sees my love for him as well. Just because I won’t allow myself to say it doesn’t mean I don’t feel it.
* * *
“I can’t wait to see the pictures you took,” I say as we leave the Cape May Zoo. My heartbeat speeds up. “Can I ask a personal question?” It’s silly to be so nervous about asking this, and I’m afraid of offending him, but these are things we need to discuss.
Logan glances at me while we wait at the light to get back on the Parkway. “Sure. Twelve inches.”
I gape at him and then crack up. “Notwhat I was asking, dude! It’s a serious question.” He was joking, right? I’ve felt him, and yeah, he’s big, but it didn’t seem ginormous. Not that I’m personally familiar with a variety of penises.
“Daph, you can ask me anything. You know that.”
The light changes, and I wait for us to make the turn before asking, “Does it bother you, seeing the animals in the cages at the zoos? Especially the eagles?”
We spent a couple of hours walking around, checking out all the animals. My favorites were the giraffes and zebras in the savanna area along the elevated boardwalk. Logan liked the big cats, in particular the snow leopards. There was an enclosure with a bald eagle in it, and it made me sad. I’m aware Logan is a golden eagle shifter, so he’s technically different, but the thought of him cooped up upsets me.
“No, why?”
“Well, you’re an eagle too. Did you feel a kinship with the bald eagle?”
Logan shoots me a quick glance with a furrowed brow. “Daphne, I’m a man. I shift into an eagle, but I’m human. Those animals there were never human. They’ve always been animals. For some of them, the sole reason they’re alive is because they’re in the zoo.” He takes my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. “That zoo isn’t an animal jail. They aren’t prisoners. They’re more like guests. Yeah, there are places where they don’t take care of the animals properly or they’re made to perform…I hate those things. But I can look at a cougar in a zoo enclosure and separate that from my mom in her shifter form.” He checks his mirror and signals to change lanes. “Does it bother you that I’m a shifter?”
I’m shocked he asked me that. “No! There’s so much I don’t know, so I have questions. I’ve googled things, but we know that isn’t always accurate.”
“Okay.” He nods. “Of course you’d have questions.” We’re at the end of the Garden State Parkway, so Logan reduces his speed as we enter Cape May. “You can ask me anything you want. I’ll answer you the best I can. Nothing is off limits.”
