Chapter 1

The blue herons were jostling for position, intent on asserting their territorial right to feed on the perch and bullheads in the shallow water of the estuary. There were about ten of them, fairly near to shore, as I walked up the stairs to the viewing platform. They were squawking like pterodactyls as they made runs at each other, wings flapping, their long beaks poking viciously at intruders that got too close.

It was a gorgeous sunny late Fall day, albeit a bit cool and breezy after the frontal passage in the morning that had brought much needed rain. Having taken the ferry from the mainland the previous day, I had until the end of the week to relax and enjoy my seaside cottage before heading back to Seattle. And then the ugly thoughts surfaced, at least this is one thing that she didn’t get from me ... the bitch! Fuck, I have to stop thinking like that. Get over it!

I tried to stay in the moment as I continued to watch and listen to the action in and over the water ... gulls dropping shells on the rocks, eagles and turkey vultures circling overhead, cormorants diving, sea lions wailing. Boats of various sizes departed and arrived from the nearby marina.

We had bought the cottage twenty years ago, shortly after we got married. We used it a lot in the early years, many family gatherings, great times with friends. My wife, ex-wife that is, and I really loved it. Well, in truth still my wife as we hadn’t got around to getting divorced after dividing assets and property about a year ago. I was left with a condo in the city and she kept the big house in the suburbs, shacked up with my ex best friend. Yeah, she messed around with him. Bastard. Okay, stay away from those negative thoughts, I reminded myself, as I walked down the stairs heading home.

I was so into my brooding self that I almost ran into her.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” I said to an attractive young woman, bundled in a large coat.

“That’s okay. I could see that you were deep in thought. The herons are wonderful aren’t they? But I feel so sorry for them. They are such loners for most of the year and then they get together and mate for a couple of weeks, seemingly going through the motions and not really enjoying it and then they are back to their pathetic existence. Sorry, I tend to talk too much, I’m Amy.”

“I’m Jake,” I said sticking out my hand. As we shook, I had a good look at her. She appeared to be a few years younger than me. Quite pretty, medium length dark hair, large and thick glasses, very nice smile.”I don’t recognize you. I used to know most of the people on the Island but I haven’t been here that often recently. Are you new here?”

“I don’t live here but I come to the Island quite often. I work for the county. I’m a marine biologist. I’ve always loved the sea and all the creatures who live in it, especially the orcas. Some people still call them killer whales but they’re not whales, dolphins actually. Oh sorry, there I go again. I always talk a lot when I’m nervous. I’m not very good around people, especially the ones I don’t know. I spend so much time on my own in tidal pools and inflatable boats tagging fish and mammals. Okay, I’ll stop. I should get going. I have to go back to my tent to see if it’s dried out after all the rain we had last night.”

She jogged away quickly and was almost out of sight, heading down a nearby trail when she finished her last sentence. I thought about running after her, offering a place to sleep for the night. She could have the second bedroom at the cottage, although I was having some carnal thoughts about her sharing my bed instead. She was really piquing my interest and I was wondering what was under that bulky coat of hers.

I went back to the cottage, prepared and ate supper. I turned on my laptop, answered a few emails and then watched TV for a while. I kept thinking about Amy, cold, likely wet and alone in her tent. I should have gone after her. I hadn’t been with a woman since I left my wife, other than a rather disastrous one night stand with a co-worker a few months ago. Thankfully, she didn’t tell anyone as I’m her boss and there is a zero tolerance for sexual relationships with underlings. And the sex wasn’t even that good. I came after about two minutes leaving her unsatisfied and me apologizing profusely. Since then, I hadn’t had the balls to try again.

But there is always porn, I thought, feeling horny now picturing Amy in place of the woman servicing a well hung guy as I watched one of the cable adult sex channels. I pulled down my underwear and rubbed my cock until I came after about ten minutes of slow-stroke edging.

As a middle manager for Boeing, I still had some duties to perform the next morning. After an hour long rather boring and unnecessary Zoom call, I poured a second cup of coffee, flopped down in a lounger on the deck and looked out over the bay. There was a solitary heron skimming just over the waves that immediately made me think of Amy. I wondered how she was faring in the tent. It was quite cool, almost freezing overnight. I really should have invited her to the cottage, only thinking of her welfare, of course.

Who was I kidding, thinking of her ... right. Mostly it was for me. I wanted to fuck her! That made me think of my teenage years when the guys would divide the girls into two groups - the ones you wanted to fuck and the ones you didn’t. A girl would walk by (or sometimes a teacher) at school and a guy would say “I’d fuck her.” Most of the time we’d nod and agree, but sometimes there were debates about whether the subject was fuckworthy or not! Amy was definitely in the first group!

But shouldn’t I get to know her first? I thought, admonishing myself for objectifying her, thinking only of a means to a piece of tail, going against all that I’d learned in the office sexual harassment courses that I’d taken over the years. And, it would be great to finally have a relationship not just based on sex, wouldn’t it you horny bastard?

Having finished my work for the day, I decided to hunt Amy down and see what she was up to. Hey, if nothing else, maybe I can learn something about sea life.

I found the trail and followed it until it opened to a small horseshoe shaped bay. I quickly spied Amy in a shallow tidal pool, clad in hip waders, a floppy sou’wester type hat and her bulky coat.

“Hi Jake. You’re just in time. Can you hand me a few more specimen bags from my backpack over there? I don’t want to take any more steps than I have to and harm the creatures or their domain.”

I handed her a dozen or so of them. “Is that enough?”

“Yes, that’s fine. I’m almost done here. It’s important to collect specimens periodically to see what changes are going on in them internally and we also check the plant life to get an idea how it is evolving. The two always work together in a symbiotic relationship, you see.”

Did she always talk like this? Yes, I was learning stuff but I was still focused on my libido, that hadn’t waned a bit, in spite of her scientific banter and sexless attire.

After a while, she emerged from the pool, stuffed the specimens in her backpack and headed over to a small boathouse. I followed her as she went inside, opened up the backpack and deposited the contents on a small table. She carefully labeled all the specimens with their Latin names and date and then put them in large metal container. “With the cooler weather, they’ll keep in there for a few days until I get them back to the lab for analysis.”

“Do you have anything planned for the rest of the day, Jake? I was supposed to have an assistant with me on this trip but he canceled at the last moment. I’m heading out this afternoon to a sea lion colony and I could sure use some help.”

“I don’t have anything planned. I would love to help you. What do I have to do?”

“I have a fair amount of gear. You can help me load it into the Zodiac and then assist me when I tag the animals. It’s mostly light work but it goes so much faster with two people. But first, let’s have some lunch.”

There were a couple of specimens left on the table. “Do you like clams and mussels? It won’t take long to cook them,” Amy said, lighting a propane frying pan. “I always collect a few extras to eat.”

“Sure, I love seafood!”

She shelled the mussels and clams and placed them in the pan. “I’ll add a couple of indigenous plants as well ... some nettles and ground camas root for nutrition and medicinal value. Also a few wild blackberries and salal berries for sweetness.”

In a few minutes lunch was cooked, and we shared a plate. Everything tasted great! We loaded up the Zodiac, floating in the back of the boathouse, started the outboard motor and headed out to sea. In about twenty minutes we pulled up to a small island littered with sea lions. It was easy to find them as they were bellowing well before our arrival. Also the stink was incredible! We landed on the other side of the island where there was a small cut in the rocks.

Amy jumped out and pulled us onto a patch of sand. I handed her all the gear and then got out. We slowly made our way over to the sea lions.

“What’s the gun for?”

“It’s a tranquilizing gun. I want to tag a couple of the cows.”

With some trepidation (on my side) we closed in on the herd. What am I getting myself into? Some of those bulls are huge. They probably won’t like us messing with their harem!

“Jake, while I approach the two cows over there to the left, will you slowly move to the right and get the attention of the big bull sunning himself on the rock? I need you to distract him after I shoot the girls. I have about ten minutes to get the electronic tags in place - two for the drug to take effect and about eight to attach it on them before they recover. He probably won’t hurt you if you don’t upset him too much.”

Probably, what the hell does probably mean. Fuck, I’m doomed.

But everything went well. The bull did make a rather terrifying run at me full of noise and bluster, but fortunately, retreated back to the rest of the herd, still keeping an eye on me until Amy was finished with the cows. We motored back to the bay, parked the Zodiac and stowed away all the gear. It was about five o’ cock ... supper time. There was quite a chill in the air already. I was concerned about Amy in the tent. Okay, there was another thing on my mind.

“Would you like to have supper with me at my cottage? It’s the least I can do after all the entertainment you provided to me this afternoon not to mention the delicious lunch.”

“Sure, I’d love to Jake. I’ll change and be right with you.”

“One more thing, and don’t take this the wrong way - would you like to stay the night? I have a spare bedroom that you’re welcome to use. I’m pretty sure that there will be a frost tonight.”

“Yes, that would be great. I was hoping you’d ask me. Give me a sec.”

She came out dressed in jeans and a black jacket. The zipper was open a few inches, showing a purple blouse and a tiny bit of cleavage. Quite the transition!

We arrived at my place as it was starting to get dark. I showed her around the cottage and then we spent a few minutes out on the deck, appreciating the view until the pink glow of the setting sun disappeared.

“Would you like a drink before supper?” I asked her after she plopped herself down on the living room sofa.

“I don’t drink much but I’ll have some red wine if you have it.”

“Coming right up. Turn on the TV if you like. The remote is on the side table.”

While I went into the pantry to find some Malbec, I started to hear grunts and groans and a few shrieks coming from the living room. OMG, I forgot to change the channel. What is she going to think of me? I’ve really fucked up now!

I raced back to turn the set off. When I got there, a muscular well hung guy was spraying large jets of cum over a babe’s boobs. I didn’t say a word ... I just had no idea what to say.