They sat in the middle of a small lake fed by the waters of Brices Creek. It wasnt large, maybe a hundred yards across, and she was surprised at how invisible it had been just moments before.
It ectacular. Tundra swan and ada geese literally surrouhem. Thousands of them. Birds floating so close together in some places that she couldhe water. From a distahe groups of swans looked almost like icebergs.
"Oh, Noah," she finally said softly, "its beautiful.
They sat in silence for a long while, watg the birds. Noah pointed out a group of chicks, retly hatched, following a pack of geese he shore, struggling to keep up.
The air was filled with honking and chirping as Noah moved the oe through the water. The birds ighem for the most part. The only ones who seemed bothered were those forced to move when the oe approached them. Allie reached out to touch the closest ones aheir feathers ruffling under her fingers.
Noah brought out the bag of bread hed brought earlier and ha to Allie. She scattered the bread, fav the little ones, laughing and smiling as they swam in circles, looking for food.
They stayed until thunder boomed in the distance - faint but powerful - and both of them k was time to leave.
Noah led them back to the current of the creek, paddling strohan he had earlier.
She was still amazed by what she had seen. "Noah, what are they doing here?"
"I dont know. I know the swans from up north migrate to Lake Matamuskeet every winter, but I guess they came here this time. I dont know why. Maybe the early blizzard had something to do with it. Maybe they got off track or something. Theyll find their way back, though."
"They wont stay?"
"I doubt it. Theyre driven by instinct, and this isnt their place. Some of the geese may winter here, but the swans will go baatamuskeet."
Noah paddled hard as dark clouds rolled directly overhead. Soon rain began to fall, a light spri first, then gradually harder. Lightning, a pause, then thunder again. A little louder now. Maybe six or seven miles away. More rain as Noah began to paddle even harder, his muscles tightening with every stroke. Thicker drops now. Falling... Falling with the wind... Falling hard and thick... Noah rowing ... rag the sky.., still getti.., cursing to himself.., losing to Mother Nature...
The downpour was steady now, and Allie watched the rain fall diagonally from the sky, trying to defy gravity as it rode oerly winds that whistled over the trees. The sky darkened a little more, and big heavy drops fell from the clouds. Hurrie drops.
Allie ehe rain and leaned her head back for a moment to let it hit her face. She khe front of her dress would soak through in a couple of minutes, but she didnt care. She did wohough, if he noticed, then thought he probably did. She ran her hands through her hair, feeling its wetness. It felt wonderful, she felt wonderful, everythi wonderful. Even through the rain, she could hear him breathing hard and the sound aroused her sexually in a way she had in years.
A cloud burst directly above them, and the rain began to e down even harder. Harder than shed ever seen it. Allie looked upward and laughed, giving up any attempt at keeping dry, making Noah feel better.
He hadnt known how she was feeling about it. Even though shed made the decision to e, he doubted that shed expected to be caught in a storm like this.
They reached the dock a couple of minutes late