Page 9 of Call of A Eagle

“Of course I knew. I’ve lived a long time, and I’m not easily fooled.” She smiled and then shrugged her shoulders. “Figured I’d see what you were up to, especially after I noticed the way you and my granddaughter looked at each other.”

“Does Lyra know?” I asked, wondering if that was the cause of the skepticism I’d picked up on from her.

“No. I wanted to see how this played out between you two. Also, I wanted to get a little free labor out of you first.” She winked.

“Free labor?”

She arched a brow at me. “Of course, you didn’t think I’d pay an imposter, did you?”

I laughed, unable to help myself. “You’re something else, ma’am.”

“Don’t ma’am me,” she insisted. “My name is Alma.”

“Alma,” I repeated.

She hadn’t said Maribel, which meant she wasn’t who I was looking for.

Well, that complicated things.

“Expecting my name to be something else?” she asked, her intense gaze fixed on me.

I hesitated for a second, then figured there was no harm in being honest. After all, the woman already knew I wasn’t who I’dclaimed to be. “I was hoping you were someone I’ve been looking for—a woman named Maribel.”

Alma bent to pluck a yellowed leaf from a basil plant. “I’m not Maribel, but I know her.”

“You do?”

Maybe this hadn’t been a total waste of time.

She nodded. “If it’s information about her you’re after, you’ll have to earn it.”

This old woman had spunk, no doubt about it, and her sharp wit made it clear she wasn’t one to be underestimated.

“Let me guess—by taming these jungle garden beds you have?” I asked with a smirk.

“Bingo.” She bent down again, this time to push an overgrown plant I didn’t recognize away from the edge of the bed. “A tip, every herb in these beds are labeled. Find the popsicle sticks and pay attention to what the plant looks like behind it. Then weed out what’s around it.”

How had I missed that?

“Thanks,” I said, right as Lyra stepped out onto the porch with a glass of water in hand.

“You’re welcome,” Alma replied.

Lyra started down the porch steps, heading for us. “I didn’t know you were making lavender lemon scones.”

“I figured we could all use a special treat.” Alma smiled.

I met Lyra halfway and took the glass of water from her. “Thanks.”

She didn’t say a word to me. Instead, her attention remained on Alma. “What were you two talking about?”

“We were looking at the mint,” the old woman said without missing a beat. “Waylen was saying how surprised he is to see that it hasn’t overtaken this whole garden bed since mint grows so quickly. I told him that while it might not look like it, I’m more than capable of maintaining these beds on my own.”

Lyra sighed, and I gathered this was a conversation they’d had at length. I downed my water while the two of them bickered and then I got back to work. I needed information on Maribel, but Alma wasn’t going to give me anything more than she already had.

Not until I earned it.

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