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His chuckle was deep and low, and it did funny things to her belly, things she didn’t really want to think about.
“It’s not much of a waterfall this time of year, but it’s still a beautiful sight.” He stood, and she took a step back. “It’s breathtaking this time of year, and if you want to see it, we should go before the storm hits.”
“A storm is supposed to hit?”
He scooped up his plate and took hers out of her hand. “Yeah. We’re supposed to get a few feet starting tomorrow night, and it’ll continue until Sunday evening.” He set the dishes in the sink and turned around. Blake leaned against the counter and crossed his muscular arms over his chest. He hadn’t shaved yesterday, and the extra days’ worth of growth looked really good on him. “First, I’ll show you the office so you’re familiar with it come Monday, but then we can head up the mountain.” He grinned.
“Okay.” She headed back to her room to change into warmer clothes and freshen up then met Blake in the kitchen. He was already dressed, with his coat on and his car keys in hand.
Once in the SUV, they headed into town. They didn’t really speak, but that was okay, because a comfortable atmosphere filled the vehicle. They pulled into the small parking lot of the wildlife preserve, and Blake cut the engine.
The first thing Poppy noticed inside the building were the framed samples of different flora and fauna that lined the walls. A small desk was off to the right with stacks of paperwork littered atop it. A standard, gray filing cabinet stood next to that.
“So, that’ll be your desk.” Blake pointed to where her gaze was already. “As you can see, we are in desperate need of some help.” It was cute the way his cheeks turned pink after he said it.
Noise sounded down the hallway, and Blake gestured for her to follow. A door stood to the left, which was closed, and Blake told her that was where most of their records were kept.
“You guys don’t keep anything in the computer?” He continued to lead her down the narrow hallway and stopped in front of the only other door.
“We do, but internet connection out here is spotty, if we can even get it. Besides, we’re kind of old school around here. Maggie likes to have actual hardcopies of our findings, but we still have to input our data into the system. That’s where you come in.”
“Maggie?”
Blake pushed open the door and proceeded to let her enter first. A thin woman was bent at the waist and rifling through a box of papers.
“Hey, Maggie.” The woman stood at the sound of Blake’s voice. She pushed her wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose and smiled.
“Hi, Blake.” She flicked her eyes toward Poppy, and a slight frown wrinkled the skin between her eyes.
“This is Poppy Ellis, my sister in-law, and the one who is going to help us get the files organized.” Maggie smiled, but Poppy could tell it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Nice to meet you, Poppy.” Maggie wiped her hand on her brown corduroy pants before sticking her hand out. “Maggie Harris, wildlife botanist and Blake’s partner.” The way she said “partner” sounded almost like she tried to stake some kind of claim on him.
Okay.
Poppy took her hand and shook it and didn’t miss how the other woman tightened her grasp marginally. “Nice to meet you too.”
“I was just showing Poppy the place then we’re going to head up to Falls Cliff.”
“Oh, well, have fun. The storm is supposed to hit tonight, so you’re heading up there just in time.” Maggie looked behind her. “I’m just trying to find the files onHierochloe odorata. I could have sworn I put them there, but I’m having a hell of a time finding them.” When Maggie turned back around, she looked at Blake.
“I think you stored them in theCalamagrostis canadensis.”
Poppy looked between the two of them, not sure if they were speaking English. Blake turned to her and smiled.
“Those are just the scientific names of two different types of grass.”
Poppy nodded but still felt so completely out of place. She was totally out of her element. When she lived in Ohio, she worked in advertising. Now it seemed she had to work with long, foreign-sounding names for different types of grass.
“Don’t worry. We don’t expect you to memorize the scientific names or anything.” Blake threw his arm around her shoulders and grinned down at her. “Come on.”
Blake led her toward the door, and Poppy glanced behind her shoulder. “It was nice meeting you,” she said, but Maggie’s attention was on Blake’s retreating form. When she finally looked back at Poppy, she had a forced smile on her face.
“Likewise.” With that, Maggie turned away and continued to dig through the box.
Once they were back in the vehicle and on their way to the falls, curiosity got the best of Poppy. “So, uh, you and Maggie work together long?”
“About three years now. She came from Seattle to do an internship in my office. Once she completed it, she decided to stay in Blithe.”
