Page 40 of Courting Danger

“Man, those ravens better fly faster,” Ocean said, keeping his voice low as the spectacle played out.

“What do you think they did to piss off that eagle?” Roan asked.

“Probably flew too close to its nest,” Ocean mused. “I’ve seen it happen on the eagle cams a few times.”

The eagle cried out again and changed direction, chasing the second raven now, the trio growing smaller and smaller as the eagle chased them across the valley.

“I’ve never seen an eagle in the wild before,” Ocean said. “Only on camera.”

“I’ve never even watched them on camera,” Roan admitted. “They’re bigger than I thought.”

“Their nests are huge,” Ocean said. “I’ll have to show you some of the eagle cam feeds I watch.”

“Fuck yeah.”

Danger hadn’t said a thing, but he hadn’t looked away from the valley either, even when the birds disappeared from view.

“This is the only thing I miss about where I grew up,” Danger muttered, elbows on the railing as he peered out over it. “Nothing but green woods to get lost in and creeks to explore, though coming home with leeches sucked. Half the time my old man couldn’t stop laughing as he got them off me.”

“How many times did he tell you to keep your ass out of there?” Pope asked.

“Was his favorite thing to yell after me when I rushed out the door, right behind,Don’t you go getting into shit and leading the pigs back here.Like they could find the place. We lived so far off grid that sometimes I forgot towns existed.”

“Bet it was peaceful,” Roan said.

“Nothing like laying in the grass and staring at the stars with no other sounds in the whole world but the crickets chirping,” Danger admitted. “On the nights when the fireflies were out it was…”

He shrugged and let his words trail off, only for Ocean to finish his sentence.

“Magical.”

Danger nodded. “Yeah.”

“I loved to follow the fireflies through the forest,” Roan said. “There was a spot my friends and I claimed that had this crumbling old house on it. We’d hole up in there until we’d have to sprint to get home on time. Had all kinds of shit stashed there, from cigarettes to comic books. Bobby’s mom always had these ninety-nine cent shots of alcohol at their place that he’d stuff in his pockets and bring with him. I loved when he brought a bunch of the same flavors because that meant I could slowly sip one and if anyone asked, tell them it was my second or third.”

Seeing them appreciate the majesty of the place, so relaxed and at ease they’d started opening up to one another, was exactly what Pope hoped to see develop during their trip. Hearing Roan admit to pretending to drink more just to fit in with the crowd he’d run with was more confirmation that he was desperate for acceptance. The fact that he’d stopped Pope from pouring him more on the deck showed trust.

That was the kind of foundation they could build on.

“I never saw a firefly until I was in Australia,” Ocean admitted. “And I kinda freaked out the first time one lit up as it flew past me. It was my first trip over there, and I’d heard all kinds of wild stories about how everything there wanted to kill you, so I thought it was glowing because it was poisonous.”

“Oh man, I bet that got a laugh.”

Ocean groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dude, it took more than a year for most of the guys to stop giving me shit. Waru still calls meFireflywhenever he sees me. Those guys didn’t have to take us to the beaches they surfed or share their culture, but I’m grateful they did, and I’m glad you brought us up here today. It’s as peaceful as standing on the shore.”

“Figured we should enjoy as much nature as we can before we hit the city,” Pope admitted. “After that it’s just neon lights and people until it’s time to head home.”

“I missed Oklahoma on my trip east,” Ocean said. “I wanted to see the gulf, so I drove through Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas until I found it and followed the coast until I’d driven through Florida and decided it was finally time to head north, but only after I’d spent a couple days surfing off St. Augustine.”

“Nice spot for big waves,” Pope said. “I’ve surfed the area a few times myself.”

“How much of the country have you seen?” Roan asked.

“All but a handful of states,” Pope admitted. “Ocean has me beat when it comes to seeing Arizona and New Mexico. I’ve never been to Idaho, and it’s unlikely I’ll ever see a need to drive through it. The only reason I’ve been to Utah was on a run to Vegas. We went through the Rockies on that ride. Hands down Colorado is the most beautiful state I’ve ever driven through. Never been to Maine, Vermont, or New Hampshire either. Otherwise, I’ve seen the rest.”

“Even Alaska and Hawaii?” Roan asked.

“Yup, a couple times,” Pope replied.