“Violet, you scared me to death.”

Violet smiled. She’d talked to Naomi just yesterday and told her she’d be in after her survey to use the computer. “I’m sorry, Naomi. Didn’t mean to scare you. I just have a little bit more to go and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“My hair’s fine and you’re not in my way. I just forgot you were coming in.” As Violet focused her attention back on the screen in front of her, Naomi crossed the room to her desk in the corner, the surface of which was as cluttered as Violet imagined her friend’s brain was. “I’m glad you’re here though. I have a new volunteer for you.”

“It’s about time.” Violet tapped out her remaining notes. Species: Black-necked stilt. Count: 5. Notes: One feigning injury to protect nest. “We’re down a few volunteers, and we always need extra during breeding. That last volunteer couldn’t walk thirty feet without complaining.”

“This one should be better. Let me see if I can find where I wrote his name down.”

Violet typed, her fingers slowly pecking across the keys, while Naomi fished around for the piece of paper in question. “I know I have it here somewhere.”

“Mm-hmm.” Violet had become Naomi’s go-to surveyor to train new volunteers in the finer points of birding surveys. Maybe it was her lingering penchant for teaching, or maybe it was the fact that Violet grasped the basic tenets of bird-watching better than most. To be a bird-watcher—a good one at least—required stamina, knowledge, the right equipment, and a dedication that many lacked.

“Ah well. I’ll have to go on memory.” Naomi came from around her desk and leaned against the wall next to the desktop computer where Violet worked. “Let’s see.” She tapped her chin like it was an antenna she had to tune to retrieve the information in her mind. “He’s older like you.” Older? Wasn’t she just twenty-five yesterday? “He’s from this general area—oh! I remember!”

“His name?”

“No, not that.” She waved her hand, as if the name of a new volunteer was a frivolous piece of information. “But he’s a retired police officer. That was the part I found interesting. He said not many people expect an ex-cop to enjoy bird-watching.”

Violet’s fingers stilled over the keyboard, and her mind flashed to a warm night, a cool drink, and a shy smile. Naomi was still talking, but all Violet heard was a buzz in her ears.

A moment later, Naomi leaned down to meet Violet’s gaze. “Violet? Did you hear me?”

Violet blinked once, twice, then focused her gaze on the screen in front of her. She clicked the green Submit button, then stood and dropped her clipboard into her backpack. “Surveys are once a week. Let me know when he’s ready to join in.”

Naomi rubbed her hands together. “He’s ready now. He wanted to start on his own, but I told him he had to complete training before he can take a route by himself.”