The Defender

“Really? Why? I mean, my goodness, I didn’t know that! Tell me more, Joe.”

“While I was recuperating at Bethesda Medical Center, my doctor suggested I work with Eddie Barton, a well-known falconer, who also has an eagle license, in the Washington, D.C., area. He said working with the birds would help me not only physically but also emotionally. I’d always loved the hawks and eagles here in the valley, so I gave it a try. I spent my recovery going over to Eddie’s place and helping him for six months. Eventually, I applied for my falconer’s license. It takes two years to get one and I need to find a mentor around here like Katie, who can continue to teach me so I can apply for it.”

“My goodness! Why, Joe, I’m just speechless. Are you thinking of applying for the position to help my Katie?”

He could see Iris had a deep emotional attachment to Katie. It broke Joe’s heart to lie to this woman who had always been such a positive person and had helped so many people over the length of her life, but swallowing hard, he said, “Yes, I was thinking of calling her up and asking for an appointment. I was hoping she would agree to continue to train me while I help her.”

“But what about your dad? You said he was training you to take over his ranching and landscaping business? Could you do both?”

“Not to worry, Miss Iris. My dad is going to retire in ten years. What I’d like to do, if Katie will hire me, is work with my dad on weekends and slowly learn the businesses. I figure in ten years I’ll know enough to take over when he retires.”

“And how old are you now?”

“Twenty-seven, Miss Iris.”

“Oh,” she crowed with a laugh, “you’re just a baby in comparison to me!”

Laughing with her, Joe felt like a traitor. “That’s true. Well, if you think it’s a good idea, I’ll call Katie.”

“Absolutely,” Iris gushed, her hands clasped in excitement. “I’m going over to the Horse Emporium but I’ll be home later. I’m sure Katie will hire you! She was very worried no one would apply. Falconers don’t grow on trees and she desperately needs someone like you. You sound perfect.” Iris gripped his arm and said in a conspiratorial whisper, “Joe, you’re just the salt of the earth and I’ve always admired you. If you take the job, I will guarantee a very good wage for you. Plus, medical insurance is included.”

He grinned. “Miss Iris, you’re such a saleswoman. But I have to see if Katie thinks I’m right for the job first.”

“Oh, of course, of course.” Coloring, Iris touched her flushed cheek. “My, this is so fortuitous meeting you here at Mo’s. This is our lucky day!”

“It’s kismet,” Joe agreed. “Let me buy you breakfast, Miss Iris. It’s the least I can do,” he said, digging into the pocket of his Levi’s.

Iris slid off the stool. “Why, that’s very kind of you, Joe. You don’t have to do it.”

“But I want to, Miss Iris.”

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Oh, all right. Welcome home, Joe Gannon. I know Katie will love you as much as I do. Bye-bye...”

Joe paid the bills, feeling pretty good himself. Dizzied by the synchronicity of events, he walked out the door and into the late-morning sunshine. Why hadn’t this happened earlier in his life? His divorce from Zoe had devastated him. Now he had some sudden good fortune...and a woman who interested him. It was time to call Katie Bergstrom. Would she want to hire him? Joe really didn’t know. This was his chance to at least prove one way or another whether she was working with her mother, Janet.

* * *

KATIE HAD JUST PUT SAM into his mew after cleaning it out when her cell phone rang. Hurrying up the long concrete walkway between the fifteen mews, she picked it off her small oak desk near the front door.

“Hello, this is Katie. Can I help you?” Her voice sounded breathless.

“Hi, this is Joe Gannon. I saw your ad in the paper this morning for a falconer.”

Katie sucked in a breath of air. “Oh!” And then she released the air. “Are you calling about the position?” Iris had persuaded her to try the ad, but Katie had doubted anyone would apply. Her fingers tightened around her phone as she prayed for a miracle.

“Yes, I am. I’m working toward my falconer’s license with Eddie Barton, back in Washington, D.C. Perhaps you’ve heard of Eddie?” Joe knew the man was a very famous falconer who had written a number of books on how to handle eagles. There wasn’t a falconer in the world who didn’t know about this respected man.

“Why...yes, of course I’ve heard of Mr. Barton. You studied with him.”

“Yes, I did. I’ve just moved back home to Jackson Hole. Is it possible to meet with you and apply for the position in person?”

Katie felt joy thrum though her, as if her heart would explode with joy. She closed her eyes, took a breath and tried to slow down her speech; when she got excited, she talked at the speed of light, or so her friends told her. “Of course I’d be interested. You said you’ve just come home? Did you live in Jackson Hole before this?”

“I was born here, Miss Bergstrom. It’s a long story and I’d be glad to answer all your questions if I can come over.”

“Absolutely. I’d love to talk with you. Anyone trained by Eddie Barton...why...you must be good. There’s a waiting line of falconers who are dying to train with him.”

“I guess I got lucky, then,” Joe said. “I just had breakfast with Miss Iris. I know where the Elk Horn Ranch is, may I come over now? Or is there a better time?”

“That would be terrific. Miss Iris loves my raptors. I’m sure she told you she moved my raptor facility to her ranch.”

“Yes, she did. I’ll be showing up in a dark green Ford Focus.”

Katie blinked. She recalled a similar-colored car at the elk fence this morning. Had that been Joe Gannon? Her intuition told her it had. “Great, come on over.”

“See you in about twenty minutes,” he promised.

Katie moved from one foot to the other. Rubbing her hands in excitement, she danced a little dance around the office area. She heard Hank, her red-tailed hawk, whistling softly. Moon, the barn owl who had the mew next to her office desk, was sleeping the day away in her wooden nest box. Sam, the golden eagle whistled, his piercing call echoing throughout the facility. Laughing, Katie called out, “It’s okay, Sam. I’m dancing for joy. There’s a falconer coming for the job! Yippee!”

* * *

JOE EASED OUT of his car and admired the huge metal-and-glass building with louvered windows. He could see the many mews through the clean glass. The entire roof was draped in dark netting, shielding the inner area from an excessive build-up of heat. Raptors don’t do well in high heat. He spotted a propane tank at the other end of the building to warm it during the winter. Huge fans positioned on both ends of the building were turned on to push fresh Wyoming air through the state-of-the-art facility. Iris had said she had spared no expense on this modern raptor facility and she was right.

As Joe shut the car door, he saw the glass entrance door slide open. Katie Bergstrom appeared. He wasn’t prepared for her natural beauty as she waved enthusiastically and hurried toward him. Her black hair was loose, shining like a raven’s wing in the sunlight, blue highlights dancing here and there. But it was her eyes that mesmerized him as he walked around the front of his car to greet her. They were a turquoise blue, the kind of color he’d found in Belize where he had scuba-dived. Her oval face was wide, her eyes incredibly alluring and yet, as his swift gaze dropped to her mouth, Joe felt himself go suddenly hot. How to keep his face carefully arranged?

“Hi, I’m Katie. You must be Joe Gannon?” She gripped his hand and felt his monitored strength. Indeed, her heart pounded, but not because she was excited about his possibly working with her raptors. No, Joe was ruggedly handsome and he made her pulse race. Katie drowned beneath his very male smile, those forest-green eyes alert as an eagle’s. His black pupils were large, the surrounding color reminding her of the Douglas firs on the slopes of the Tetons. What was there not to like about this gorgeous man? Nothing! Breathless with building hope, Katie released his hand.

“Yes, I’m Joe Gannon. Nice to meet you, Miss Bergstrom.”

“Call me Katie. I don’t stand much on formality. Come on in. Let me show you around.”

Joe admired her willowlike form and those legs fired his imagination. Joe tried to tamp down his unexpected reaction toward her. Katie was far more attractive than any photo in the FBI files. Her eyes danced with life, like gold sunlight dappling across a blue lake’s surface. She moved ahead of him to the door and turned, a wide smile on her lips. She wore no makeup, and he thought Katie looked more like a wood nymph from the Greek myths than a real woman. He sharply reminded himself that she was suspected of working for the Los Lobos cartel, yet, she had a trusting face.

Inside the facility, Joe stopped to admire it. Katie stood off to his right, cheeks flushed. Why was she blushing? Because he was applying for the job? He secretly wished it was her reaction to him but that was idiocy. “Wow,” he uttered, admiration in his tone, “this place rocks. I thought Eddie had a modern facility, but yours puts his to shame.”

“Thank you. I owe it all to Iris. I showed her blueprints of other state-of-the-art raptor facilities and she wanted the whole package. I feel very lucky to have her underwriting my business.” Katie wished she’d stop blushing like a teenager, but the timbre of Joe’s voice, the admiration gleaming in his eyes as he absorbed the facility, excited her. If he liked what he saw enough, he might want to work for her. Katie had never thought a man would apply for the job; every falconer she’d ever worked with had been a woman. Could a man be as gentle and intuitive as was needed in order to work with her super-psychic raptors? Katie would test Joe on this very point to find out. If her raptors didn’t respond well to Joe, she wouldn’t hire him. Her birds would evaluate him.

“Well, this is something else,” Joe said in a low murmur. He heard the chirping calls of the hawks on the right side of the concrete aisle. On the left, halfway down, he spotted Sam, the golden eagle. He had a mew twice the size of the hawks or owls. Turning, he held Katie’s warm gaze. Why did she have to look so damned innocent? Why couldn’t she be much less attractive? Joe wanted to find some way to dislike her. Katie reminded him of an excited girl who couldn’t stand still for two seconds. He could clearly see her interest in him, but how to read it?

“Let me show you around.” Katie gestured toward the small office on the right. “You can see we have a cabinet and lockers on the other side of the desk along the wall.” She walked over and opened up one of the lockers. “All the kangaroo leather and tools you need to make jesses, hoods for the falcons or anything else are located in here. You can use the desk to work on.”

Joe saw the tools of their trade neatly placed in individual drawers. The kangaroo leather was in different colors. “Are your raptors color-coded?” he asked.

“Yes. In fact,” Katie said, “I picked up that idea a long time ago from Eddie Barton’s books on eagles. You can see there’s a name of a raptor on each color of leather. That way, you can identify them.” And then she laughed. “Not that you wouldn’t be able to recognize each raptor. But you know what I mean.” She looked up at him. Joe was pure eye candy. Without thinking, she glanced down at his left hand. Was he wearing a wedding ring? No. But that meant nothing nowadays. She didn’t dare ask if he had a partner. More than likely, with his rugged looks and fabulously athletic body, Joe had a woman in his life. Maybe more than one. A bit of her found that a disappointing possibility. She closed the locker doors and gestured across the aisleway.

“This is the whiteboard where I write up the list for the coming day. The hours of the job are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. When you come in each morning, this is the first place you’ll come. I have a lot of speaking engagements and I put the info up along with the names of the raptors I take with me.”

Joe studied the huge whiteboard. Clearly, Katie was in demand as a speaker. He saw ten engagements in the next two weeks. “You are busy,” he agreed, his hands coming to rest on his hips. “No wonder you need help.” He shared a slight grin with her. Her cheeks reddened even more.

“My passion in life,” Katie said, “is educating the public about how important our raptors are to the overall environment. I made a promise to myself to talk wherever I could. The more people who know not to shoot raptors or think of them as vermin, the more I feel I am accomplishing my mission.”

“It’s a good mission to have,” Joe agreed. And it was a perfect cover being part of a cartel, too. Katie could travel wherever she wanted and not be suspected. “I trained with Eddie two to three times a week. He has the same belief as you and he does a lot of speaking engagements around the Washington, D.C., area. One time, he took his bald eagle, Jefferson, into the Senate. The senators had invited him to come and speak to all of them about our country’s national bird. Jefferson wowed them by flying from the lectern down on the floor up to where I was standing in the balcony. That got their attention.”

“You’ve got some eagle training, too?” Katie desperately needed a falconer with some knowledge of how to handle an eagle. They were very different from working with a hawk, falcon or owl.

“Yes, I do,” Joe said, “but I’m not licensed to work with eagles.”

“Right, I understand,” she said, not hiding the excitement in her voice. “But working with Eddie, you worked with his eagles?”

“Yes, every day. He has two bald eagles, a golden eagle, a harpy eagle from South America and a Black eagle from South Africa, among others.”

Katie said in a wistful voice, “Joe, you are an answer to my prayers. You know that getting an eagle license is rare? Most falconers have no knowledge of how to handle an eagle. I told Iris I was praying someone who had training with them would answer my ad.” She gazed up into his green eyes. “Truly, you are an angel.”

Joe felt his conscience bite him. Was Katie for real? She seemed like a rainbow shimmering in the sky after a destructive storm. And rainbows magically dissolved back into the sky. Yes, magical was the word for this woman who held such hope in her eyes. Joe searched her innocent features for the woman who worked for the cartel. Her resemblance to Janet, her mother, was obvious, but unlike her drug-addicted mother, Katie was engaged with her life’s passion, the raptors. They were a different kind of addiction: one that grabbed a person’s heart and spirit and never let them go.

Joe mentally compared the two. Janet had a deeply lined face with pockmarks caused by a meth habit. Her blue eyes were wild-looking, as if she teetered on the edge of insanity. Joe wondered if mother and daughter were in touch with one another. Evidence indicated they probably were, but it was up to him to prove it. He pulled himself out of his reverie and offered her a slight smile. “Eddie’s license allowed me to work with all his eagles. I’m sure you could allow me to work with that golden eagle down there?” He pointed toward Sam’s mew.

“Absolutely, I do have an eagle license,” Katie said. “Come on, let me show you my raptors.”

She was part child, part woman, and as she walked down the clean concrete aisle between the mews, Joe couldn’t harden his heart against her. Somehow, he’d have to remain immune to Katie’s charisma. Most importantly, he had to pass the tests he knew she’d put him through. Raptors knew people far better than any human did, and sooner or later, Katie would invite him to hold and handle some of the raptors. Birds could pick up on the dark side of a human, and they would never relax on their gauntlet as a result. Instead, they’d move around or, worse, try to fly off their gauntlet to get away from the person. Joe silently prayed he could remain low-key, calm and able to fool even the raptors. If he couldn’t, Katie wouldn’t hire him.

CHAPTER THREE

“THIS IS OUR STAR, Sam, the golden eagle,” Katie said proudly.

Halting in front of the huge mew, Joe admired the curious eagle. “Eddie had two of them when I was training with him.” Sam cocked his head, his piercing yellow eyes on him. Joe wondered if Katie would ask him to handle the eagle, but he hoped not. Eagles were heavy, large and given to wanting things their own way. Who could blame them? They were the apex predator of the sky.

“That’s great to hear,” Katie said, smiling up at him. She liked the way Joe was studying Sam. There were earmark traits all falconers shared. They were laid-back and easygoing. Someone who was hyper or had a type A personality couldn’t work around these supersensitive raptors. A tense, stressed human affected the raptor adversely and it would refuse to sit quietly on the gauntlet. Frequently, the raptor would open its wings or try to fly away from upsetting energy. Joe had that quiet, calm demeanor Katie was looking for.

Joe looked across the aisle. “Is this a peregrine falcon?”

Katie walked over to the smaller mew. “Yes, this is Quest. She’s an endangered tundra peregrine falcon.” Pointing to the cage next to Quest, Katie added, “And this is a male tundra peregrine from the Arctic Circle area in Canada. We call him Harlequin. They’re both on loan to me as part of a broader Canadian breeding program to bring the tundra species back to that country.”

Joe nodded. Falconers often were part of global breeding programs from other countries, programs that would rescue a raptor species from near extinction. “Looks like those two are lovebirds.” He smiled a little.

“Actually, I’m going to be putting them together next week. It’s breeding season. As you know, peregrines mate for life. If I’m lucky, they’ll mate. Once the eyasses, or babies, are hatched and grown, a member of the Canadian Peregrine Foundation will fly down here and pick them up. Canada has lost most of its peregrines to the insecticide DDT.”

“It’s a worthy project,” Joe agreed, watching the pair who sat as close to one another as they could, the mew wire wall separating them. Clearly, they liked one another and that boded well for a successful pairing. In a stoop or dive, peregrine falcons had been clocked at two hundred and twenty miles an hour. They stunned their prey by striking it with speed. On the ground, the hapless bird’s spinal cord would be severed by the hawk’s sharp beak. Peregrines mainly hunted other birds such as ducks, pheasants and pigeons.

Joe glanced down at Katie. She was smiling, her eyes soft as she studied the pair of falcons. There was no question she loved her birds. “Do you have any other breeding-program raptors here?”

Rousing herself, Katie nodded. “Yes, let’s go down to the end on the left. “I have an African auger buzzard from South Africa.”

“Mmm, a red-tailed hawk in disguise?” Joe said teasingly. Although the name was different and the hawk was from Africa, it was from the red-tailed family. Each continent had similar species but their markings were different. As they walked over to the mew, Joe saw the hawk study him.

“This is Nar. He’s a male auger buzzard. The falcon society of Cape Town is sending over a female shortly. I’ve signed up for their breeding program and hope that we’ll be producing eyasses for them.”

The auger was a magnificent hawk, and Joe had never seen one of his kind before. “Do you use Nar in your shows?”

“Yes, but he’s a handful,” Katie warned. “He’s got a temperament more like a falcon.”

“Really?” Joe said, lifting his brows. “I handled a red-tailed at Eddie’s and he was a laid-back dude. What makes this auger different?”

Shrugging, Katie said, “I don’t know. When he first arrived and I started handling him, he was constantly flapping and trying to escape. I had to put him on a crèche line for a couple of months for fear he’d fly off and never come back. My mentor, Donna Pierce, said that in her experience, overseas raptors have a very different temperament from their American cousins.”

“Is Donna your teacher?”

Katie turned and studied his serious features. In some respects, Gannon reminded her of an intent eagle focused on his prey. “Yes, she’s actually my foster mother. She’s been a falconer all her life and she has an eagle license.” The words had slipped out and Katie bit her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to say anything about her past.

Joe noticed the sudden darkness cloud her gaze. He took the opportunity, having nothing to lose by asking the question. “Does your mother live here with you? Is she a friend of Iris Mason?”

Katie frowned. “Well...truth be known, I was given up at birth. I don’t know who my real mother is. I’ve been trying for years to get the state to open up the sealed records and tell me.” Pushing strands of hair off her brow, she said, “I grew up in a series of foster homes in Wyoming. And when I met Donna at sixteen, she saved my life. I wasn’t a stellar human being. I was pretty angry all the time. I got thrown into her falconry program as a last chance. Donna took me under her wing, figuratively speaking, and she taught me all she knows. We really bonded and Donna agreed to legally become my foster mother. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Lifting her hand, she gestured to the mews. “Donna does know Iris Mason and had approached her about helping me expand my facility. Iris agreed to build this facility for me and my raptors. She’s been a godsend.”

“I heard that Mrs. Mason donated this land to you.”

“Yes, she’s very ecologically oriented and wanted to help me expand the breeding programs.”

Joe smiled. “You were very fortunate to have a donor. Most falconers struggle all their lives to feed their raptors. The state and federal government don’t pay them a thing for all the good they do.” He saw Katie’s brow wrinkle, as if she were in pain of some kind. Could he really believe she didn’t know who her mother was? She sounded genuine, but who knew? And he wanted to ignore the pain he saw in her eyes. Pain over what? That she was lying to him? That she really knew that Janet Bergstrom was her mother? Joe couldn’t tell one way or another and it made him uncomfortable.

Katie walked quickly up toward the office area. “I’m very lucky. Iris has been a guardian angel to my raptors.” She wanted to forget she’d blurted out her sordid past. After all, Joe was a stranger applying for a job—why had she told him about her unknown mother? Mentally kicking herself, Katie knew why. Finding her mother had been her sole focus since she’d turned twelve years old. Why had the woman abandoned her? Did her mother not love her? Was she such an ugly baby her own mother had wanted nothing to do with her? Was she an inconvenient pregnancy, born into her mother’s life at the wrong time? Was that why she’d been given up for adoption? Biting her lower lip, Katie forced all of her dark past deep down inside herself. She halted at the desk. As Joe sauntered up the aisle, stopping every now and again to appraise the raptors, she took several deep breaths to calm herself.

“I imagine it must be hard not to know who your mother is,” Joe said in an understanding tone. “That’s a heavy burden for anyone to carry.”

“Yes, it is.” Katie wanted to change topics. “So why don’t we move on to a happier topic? Do you have a résumé I can look at?”

Joe nodded and drew a folded paper from his back pocket and handed it to her. When their fingers met and touched, hers felt cold. “Here it is....”

Katie’s hands trembled as she unfolded it and forced herself to read. Some of her stress melted away. “You were in the Marine Corps?” Glancing up, she gave Joe a sympathetic look. “First, thank you for your service. I’m so sorry you got injured. Are you okay now?”

Touched by her apparently genuine concern, Joe said, “Yes. I’m fine now. It was while I was recovering at Bethesda Medical Center that I was sent to Eddie as part of my rehabilitation. He was in the Army during the Vietnam War era and offered his services to the neurology department at the hospital. I got lucky enough to be assigned to him and began to learn falconry.”