Wild Ice by Rachelle Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page B

egret fishing there.
    As soon as the sun came up over the mountains, its heat warmed the cool morning air until it was balmy. The heat in Red Valley was much different than South Oakdale. Here, the sun baked the earth so violently that Lauren feared the wetlands would catch fire. But they never did. The tall swamp grass swayed gently in the summer breeze and the trees wilted from the sun’s intensity but they never burst into actual flames.
    Bright white puffy clouds dotted the sky and the smell of Bermuda grass and pepperweed filled Lauren’s nostrils. The beauty of this place was overwhelming and made her want to frolic through the meadow and have a The Sound of Music moment.
    Aunt Cora was always happy living on her own slice of the refuge, where the land was untouched by visitors and cars. Lauren still couldn’t believe that she was now the proud owner of that same little slice of paradise.
    When Lauren was little, Aunt Cora would lead her and her brother, Scott, down the trail and point out the wildlife along the way. She knew the difference between a California gray squirrel and a mottled ground squirrel and she knew every species of bird on the refuge. Cora was kind and patient and oh-so-knowledgeable of the area. She would have made a wonderful mother. Lauren always thought it was a shame that Aunt Cora never had children of her own. She’d never asked her aunt why she didn’t marry or have a family; Lauren was young and the question would have been inappropriate. But now, as the sun illuminated the wetlands and cast a glow over the sycamore trees, Lauren wondered if the beauty of this place was enough to fill that kind of void.
    Lauren cut across the field behind the mansion and followed the trail. The mansion’s windows shimmered in the sunlight bringing it to life despite its dilapidated state. It didn’t look any less imposing from the back. A large covered patio ran the length of the house and the empty field acted as a barrier between it and the refuge. What a pity for such a magnificent house to sit empty! The view must be insanely stunning from inside. Especially from the upstairs. You could probably see the entire refuge from way up there.
    The trail cut east and Lauren left the mansion behind her to follow the pathway through the clearing until she reached the trees. The path was narrow, created long ago by Aunt Cora’s diligent footsteps. Sure enough, there was the creek, running parallel to the path. The trail forked with one direction leading north and the other going south. Lauren chose the path to the right and walked south.
    A marsh wren sang from its perch between the cattails before dipping back into the cover of thick vegetation. A flock of tree swallows glided gracefully across the sky. Up ahead she saw the ears of a black-tailed deer bobbing up and down in the tall reeds as he fled her approach. Although the refuge was managed mainly for waterfowl, it also supported a diversity of wildlife.
    A few feet up the trail , a twig snapped behind her. Slowly, Lauren turned around, not sure what she’d find. It wasn’t uncommon to see deer and jackrabbits grazing in the grasslands and on the edges of the wetlands.
    Lauren held her breath and scanned the trail behind her. Suddenly, a giant yellow dog bounded through the brush and Lauren gasped in surprise. A dog was the last thing she’d expected to see way out here.
    The dog licked her hand and looked up at her as if to ask “Where are we going, Boss?”
    “Well, hello there ,” she greeted the overly friendly canine.
    His thick tail wagged and his pink tongue lolled out of his smiling mouth.
    “Have you been following me?”
    He whined his answer and she patted him on the head. “ Who do you belong to, Buddy?”
    She waited and listened for his owner to come walking down the path behind him, but no one came. The public walking trails at the refuge were on the other side of the creek and a fence separated the wetlands from the mansion and