The Star-Fire Prophecy by Jane Toombs

her. She has a feel for what will work with each individual child. And many of these game-like lessons were her idea.” He paused, then went on. “Being a show-off Gemini, I have to confess the one we just did was my own invention.”
    Danica smiled at him. “I had fun playing it and the children obviously love it. And they love you, too.”
    His smile turned mocking. “You’re forgetting the jargon. We relate well to one another. Love ’s too imprecise a word.”
    “They love you,” she repeated stubbornly.
    His aquamarine eyes slid away from hers. I’ve made him uncomfortable , she thought. Is he embarrassed by love ?
    “This is the last lesson for today,” he said. “I’m planning to take my group outside to play catch when they tire of coloring. You’re welcome to join us.”
    Danica felt this was a dismissal. “I think I’ll look in on Lydia,” she said.
    “I’d like to talk to you later this evening,” he said. “Maybe you could come by after the children are in bed?”
    “Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know what Lydia has planned.”
    I won’t be hasty , she reminded herself silently. She let herself out of Evan’s house and took a deep breath of the clear, crisp air. She liked the foothill country. There had been hills around Santa Barbara where she’d grown up, hills closing off the city from the east and north, the ocean to the west and Los Angeles to the south. Here the Sierras stood between her and the eastern desert, the Tehachapi Mountains to the south and the flat bed of the San Joaquin Valley to the north and west.
    The Sierras were snow peaked already; perhaps the crispness of the air came from that not-so-distant snow. A bird circled in the sky far above her head. A hawk, she thought. Almost beneath her feet a ground squirrel popped his head out of a burrow, then scampered across the path and up the hill to disappear into the bushes.
    “That’s right,” she said aloud. “Stay hidden.”
    “Who are you talking to?” Galt’s voice came from behind her. She whirled around.
    “No one. That is, well, this ground squirrel,” she said.
    “They don’t need advice to stay hidden,” he said. “They’re very crafty little animals. Fast, too. A wonder they ever get caught.”
    “There’s a hawk up there,” Danica said, pointing.
    Galt watched the bird for several minutes. “Hawks are magnificent fliers,” he said. “And eagles—have you ever seen an eagle in flight?”
    “No.”
    “There are some left in the mountains. Golden eagles, a rarity now.”
    She nodded and smiled, thinking she didn’t care to see a golden eagle. Magnificent maybe, but pitiless—a killer by nature.
    “How do you like Star-Fire so far?”
    “The children respond so happily. That’s quite an accomplishment. Evan’s group really enjoys being with him. I hope I’ll be able to do half as well.”
    He smiled, but Danica thought the smile was forced.
    “You do want me here?” she asked directly.
    “You are a forthright Sagittarius,” he said. “I haven’t changed my mind about you, but I would like to talk to you.” He glanced around. “Do you ride?”
    “Horses? Yes, some.”
    “Then we’ll take a horseback ride into the hills.” He looked her up and down. “You ought to be able to go as you are.”
    The horses were kept behind the hill in a corral shaded by oaks.
    “Who looks after them?” she asked.
    “Usually Dave. We all try to pitch in, but I’m afraid Dave does most of the work.”
    “I haven’t met him yet.”
    “We’re having a staff meeting soon; you’ll meet everyone then. You’ll like Dave—he claims he’s a frustrated cowboy. He’s taught most of the children to ride.”
    “That’s remarkable.”
    “They haven’t much fear and they love animals.”
    “Amy’s afraid,” Danica said.
    Galt frowned. They had reached the corral and he busied himself with saddling two horses and didn’t speak again until they were both atop their mounts.
    “That’s why