Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126823 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Edward’s smile was the biggest she’d ever seen. He even puffed out his chest a little as the ladies cooed over him. The men from the university carefully wrote his name down, as did the Myers family, probably with the idea of booking a sightseeing flight over Yosemite with him. Shabina could tell Eve and Felicity liked the idea as well. She hoped she hadn’t gone too far in promoting the man. She didn’t want him shoving the men from Algeria, Turkey or Belgium from his helicopter or harassing the Garner sisters. She tried not to think about shoving the men from Paris out of the helicopter. It wasn’t like she knew for certain they were members of Scorpion’s cabinet.
She glanced at her watch. She had to get everyone moving before first light. “As for my education. Bale is correct: there isn’t a specific degree for being a bird-watching expert.” She gave a little self-deprecating laugh. “I pulled off a double major at the University of California, Davis, getting both my bachelor’s and master’s in wildlife biology, and I’m working toward my PhD. I also have a bachelor’s and master’s in botany. I’m working toward my PhD in that as well.” She gave a little shrug. “What can I say? I like to learn things.”
“You look very young to have earned such degrees already,” Jamal Talbi said. “I’m going to the university and have a workload I thought was heavy.”
Shabina snuck a quick glance at Bale. He hadn’t expected her answer or the group’s reaction. He had no idea what to do. She’d called attention to the three men and described them as heroic. If they made their snide comments to her or any of the other women, they would look bad. She’d also answered questions about her education in a way that was totally unexpected. Bale hadn’t done his research on her at all. Now the group looked at her as if she was a superstar, especially the ones from the university.
“We need to get moving if we’re going to see the birds we’d like to observe this early. You have to remember to stay as quiet as possible. I don’t usually have such a large group.”
She started up the narrow trail toward the first wide meadow where they would be able to catch a variety of early morning birds calling out to one another. If they were really lucky, in the dim light before dawn really broke, they might catch a glimpse or two of one of the owls that had been nesting close by. There was also a pair of red-tailed hawks nesting in close vicinity of the meadow. It was the first time she’d seen a pair of the hawks there. That meadow wasn’t large, and usually, the hawks preferred a larger open area to hunt prey. The group might get lucky enough to spot the male high up in the branches of a tree, watching for prey.
She took them along the trail leading to the meadow, and when they reached the edge of the trees, she halted the group so they could spread out. Each of them had brought along binoculars and little earbuds, allowing them to hear when she spoke to point out a bird or tell them about it.
Shabina had been giving tours for the last year and a half, and she found it easy to slip into the role of instructor. She had a group, including the teenage girls, that seemed to be very interested in the various species. They studied them and took photographs. Before moving on to the next site, she would answer questions. They asked very good ones.
The two businessmen claiming to be from Paris didn’t speak to her during the walk as most of the others did. They seemed to be, like the others in the group, caught up in the different types of birds as they went from meadow to rockier terrain and then to forest. There were a few times when she caught one or the other watching her instead of the birds, giving her a very uneasy feeling.
During the break for lunch, she kept her distance from Bale, Edward and Sean, gratified to see they were surrounded by females asking them questions and generally being admiring. Every few minutes, Bale would lift his head and stare at her across the distance, a malevolent look on his face. With a sinking heart, she could see Bale was working himself up to something. She knew the afternoon wasn’t going to be quite as easy as the morning had been.
She made her rounds, Harlow by her side, visiting with each of those on the tour and answering specific questions they had. It took effort to approach the students from the university, but she called on the months of discipline, not allowing her hands to tremble or her facial expression to be anything but absolutely calm.