The Bucket List Read online

  “I agree. Whatever we design as our retirement home, I want it as easy maintenance as it can be. I don’t want you out crawling around on a roof when we’re in our seventies.”

  “I’ll second that, even though heights don’t scare me. Our rock-climbing vacation was perfect. Climbing up behind you gave me the best view of your ass.” Aggie laughed and pulled Noeul closer, catching the hand that was about to smack her.

  Laughing softly, Noeul kissed the hand holding hers, reveling in the moment. “Happy to be able to provide you visual stimulation my love.”

  “Oh, it’s stimulating alright.” Aggie pulled Noeul on top of her.

  Noeul enjoyed Aggie’s direction and straddled her wife’s hips with an audible groan, as Aggie began to move below her.

  “I love you, Noeul, I have since the moment I saw you.”

  Noeul wove her fingers through Aggie’s light hair. “And I fell in love with you the minute you wrapped me up in your arms after almost mowing me down.”

  “It was original.”

  Noeul leaned down and kissed her. “And effective.”

  “Obviously, because I walked away with a date.” Aggie moved her hands to Noeul’s breasts, lightly squeezing as she rose to take a nipple in her mouth.

  “And I walked away with a marriage proposal and shortly thereafter, the girl.” Noeul closed her eyes as the passion began to build and her hips began to rock without conscious thought.

  Noeul felt Aggie slip a hand between their bodies, finding Noeul’s wet center.

  “I did get that a bit bassackward. Although, if I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  Noeul felt Aggie’s fingers slide into her, as she allowed her head to lean back, eyes closed, her body shuddering with the sensation. “And neither would I. Now make love to me like you did our first time together.”

  Noeul lost herself in the passion, riding her lover’s hand to a bone-melting climax that left her weak and satisfied. Aggie climaxed soon after, with no other stimulation than the sight of Noeul and the sound of her guttural release. When they lay together in the waning light with shadows from the trees dancing across the walls, Noeul relaxed into the security of the strong arms that held her and the promise of a long life together.

  Noeul woke from the memory, her cheeks wet with tears. She threw the book in her hand and startled Kyo. “I’m sorry girl. Don’t mind me.” Loneliness overwhelmed her, as she missed those intimate moments with Aggie. There were times when she could still smell her, hear her, and even see her when she touched herself before going to sleep. The problem was that after the brief moment of release, there were no strong arms to hold her through the night. When she woke, she would still be alone. Whispering to herself, she spoke the truth of it. “My God, Aggie, I still miss you so much.”

  She rose, wrapping her arms around herself, as she walked over to the kitchen to begin the preparations for her meal along with Kyo’s. “How about some dinner, girl?” Constantly hauling big bags of dog food up the mountain was no issue as there was no processed dog food she’d ever give Kyo. Noeul had always prepared for Kyo a steady diet of poultry mixed with vegetables that could easily be put on her own plate, though she wouldn’t because it lacked the spices she loved. There were only a few food items she required from outside her mountaintop world: coffee, tea, and the spices she got from Mr. and Mrs. Anderson at the farmers’ market.

  “I really need to get to town. I’m running low on a few things, Kyo.” The dog cocked her head at Noeul and panted softly. Her mismatched eyes twinkled, and that made Noeul smile. Twice a month, Noeul would ride one of her horses two miles down the mountain and take the truck she parked at Miranda and Kelly’s to town for supplies. They also accepted deliveries for things Noeul ordered, as well as the mail the attorney would forward to her. Most of her online orders were things she couldn’t pick up at the general store in the small town of Green Bank. “I probably need to schedule dentist and eye doctor appointments while I’m down there. I think I need new glasses, or longer arms.” She chuckled at her own joke. At fifty-five, she enjoyed excellent health and was still in very good shape. Living on the mountain left her no option to be anything else.

  Kneeling, she put her arms around Kyo’s neck and kissed between her eyes. “I think we need a trip to see Aunt Miranda and Aunt Kelly. Bet they have a cow horn or two for you.” The couple were her closest friends since she’d moved there. They were her source of comfort when the sound of her own voice began to grate on her nerves or was too raspy from lack of use. “We’ll get an early start in the morning.” She looked out the windows as the shadows grew long. Her life had its joys, without a doubt, but she knew the solitude was never meant to be her day-to-day reality.

  “Our Life was supposed to be so very different, Aggie. We were supposed to be watching the sunset here together.”

  ***

  Jordan climbed the stairs to her apartment, with Bandit carrying her dinner basket from Sam. Once inside, she pulled out a portion of lasagna, a small salad, and some bread. “Bandit, it’s a good thing your dads are married.” Bandit tilted his head sideways and whined at her. “Don’t worry buddy, I’ve sworn off love forever.”

  She finished her meal and fed Bandit his reward. While she booted up her computer, she copied the information from her pictures into her leather-bound notebook. Her eyes were drawn to one set of numbers that seemed extremely familiar. She traced the numbers over and over, making the marks darker as she thought about the range. The light in the room changed, and her attention was drawn to a piece of stained-glass window art in the shape of a rainbow. Jordan snapped her fingers. “That’s why it seemed familiar. The numbers could be related to the wavelength range of blue and green light.” Excited, she called her sister. The phone didn’t have time to ring more than once before the rapid-fire questions started.

  “How did the search go? I’ve been waiting for hours. What did you find? Come on, start spilling your guts, JJ!”

  Jordan shook her head at the impatience and laughed. “Can’t I call because I want to talk to my amazing little sister?”

  Dava growled. “Good God, Jordan, I’m going to have to get my chair’s wheels cleaned with all the bullshit you’re making me travel through. Now give.”

  “Okay, okay, Miss Impatient. I hiked down into the gorge and looked around. I didn’t see anything until sunlight glinted off something in the waterfall area. It was a cylinder about the size of one of those reusable aluminum water bottles. The contents were two letters and a small sealed canister with engraved initials. If I’m not mistaken it likely contains ashes of Professor James.

  “Oh, that’s creepy, JJ.”

  “Don’t I know it. I felt like a grave robber.”

  They were both quiet for a moment before Dava finally spoke. “Okay, creepiness aside, what else did you find?”

  “The letters were dated at different times. Aggie’s letter was written back in July of 2001 and the other is dated November 2009, over a year after Aggie passed away. I’m going to send you pictures of both, and before you ask…yes, it feels weird to read what wasn’t meant for me.” Jordan drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Dava didn’t speak as she waited on the pictures.

  “Ok, I’ve got them. Let’s see.”

  Jordan read over the letters again, and she knew Dava was doing the same. “I think I figured out at least one part of Aggie’s clue, see what you think. I’m looking at that set of numbers, 4 0 - 4 9 0 to 5 0 0 - 5 6 5. I’m going to take a guess that those are the wavelengths of blue and green light. It’s possible I’m wrong.”

  After a few seconds, Dava finally spoke. “Nice, JJ, that’s a really good possibility. At this point, I tend to think you’re right. Noeul and, for that matter, you would have dealt with this in agricultural research. Let’s see about the others and if they fit together. The first clue contains two sets of Roman numerals and comes out to forty-eight and nineteen twelve. We’ll figure out what they mean after we�
��ve deciphered the rest of the clues.”

  Jordan looked at the numbers. She didn’t have any idea what they meant. This was Dava’s area of expertise; it would only be a matter of time for her to crack it.

  Dava laughed in triumph. “Ah, simple letter number substitution for the one clue that starts with twenty-three. Those numbers correlate with the word water.”

  “Humm, so we have blue, green, and water. Where can you find blue-green water?”

  “Several places around Florida at first thought, the Florida Keys come to mind. Maybe we can narrow it down with some of the other clues. Let’s look at the next set. An up arrow and a series of numbers separated by slashes, with the last set of numbers including dashes. Hang on for a minute and let me try something.”

  Jordan sat looking at the numerical clues. “Twelve, twenty-four, and six fifty.” She could remember creating puzzles like this for Dava when she was a child. Their endeavors had never materialized to this extent.

  “Gotcha, you little bugger.” Dava’s enthusiasm filled the phone.

  “What is it, Watson?”

  Dava made a drumroll sound. “It’s the element magnesium, Sherlock.”

  “What?”

  “Twelve is magnesium’s position in the periodic table, twenty-four is its molecular weight and the six fifty…”

  Jordan finished for her. “That’s magnesium’s melting point in degrees Celsius. I’m almost positive that last number is the chemical abstract service number, now that I really look at it. It’s the unique numerical identifier assigned to each chemical substance by the registry. As researchers, we must use the reference in all our scientific publications. Damn, I wonder if the arrow means elevated or high magnesium concentrations? That can cause water to have a blue-green tint.” Jordan giggled. “I’d forgotten how much fun creating these for you were.”

  Dava’s deep laugh came through the speaker. “Glad you enjoyed my misery. Okay, what haven’t we decoded yet?”

  “The last clue is the word metimur with the set of numbers five, zero, six, eight, eight, zero. Metimur means measure in Latin.” Jordan mused.

  “Well, if you put those numbers into a distance conversion calculator, it gives you a list of measurements from nanometers to nautical miles. This one could be tricky, Jordan, because we don’t have any idea if this measurement is on land or water. The clue has to do with water, so it could be nautical miles.”

  “True. Let me try something. The book they wrote together was about national parks. I wonder if there are any that might have blue-green water. Something with a high magnesium concentration.” Jordan scratched her head. “I’ll work on that while you work on that first clue in Roman numerals. Maybe that will help pinpoint the location.”

  “Okay, and by the way, I’m having fun doing this with you. Thanks for making me a part of your project.”

  Jordan could hear Dava’s smile through the line. “I love you, little sister, don’t you ever forget that.”

  “Okay, enough mushy, back to work. I did a simple internet search for forty-eight and nineteen twelve. Arizona became the forty-eighth state in 1912. Does that fit with anything?” Dava asked her sister.

  “Let’s recap for a second and bring it all together.”

  “Okay, Sherlock. Putting it together in simple terms, we’re looking for blue-green water in Arizona with a high magnesium concentration. Got any ideas?”

  “Well Google hasn’t failed us yet, putting that in…” Jordan stopped.

  Simultaneously they yelled, “Havasu Falls!”

  Dava filled in a few points. “Havasupai means…”

  “People of the blue-green waters. Wow, I think I found the measurement too. It's eight miles from Hualapai Hilltop to the village of Supai, according to the official page of the Havasupai tribe. Then another two over to the falls. That’s got to be it. The Grand Canyon is in their book. Not Havasu specifically, but the canyon itself. Maybe it was a place they visited or wanted to go back to. I’ve got to do some planning, if I’m going there to look for a clue.” Jordan thought about her schedule. “I have some annual leave coming to me.”

  “Now hold your horses, my dear sister. You can’t just jump on a plane and take a hike. Mom will worry, not to say anything about me.”

  Jordan stopped to consider the wisdom of a trip like this. Over her summer breaks, she’d worked in various national parks throughout college. She had the money and the time to do this, not to mention she was stuck in her research and truly believed her next breakthrough would be in finding Professor Noeul Scott. Jordan knew she might not even be able to find the next clue once she got there, but she had to try.

  “Watson, I know you worry about me. I have a gut feeling this is something I have to do. I promise to take every precaution and keep in touch as much as I’m able to. We’re in this together, if not in body, in spirit.”

  There was a long pause before Dava answered. “So, when do you leave?”

  ***

  Noeul finished her list and tucked it into her backpack. Kyo was jumping around like a jack in the box. “Be patient, silly. I need to go set the timer to drop the food for everyone.” Along with training Kyo to bring the flock in at a whistle, the animals had been trained to come to a buzzer on a digital timer. That same timer-controlled feeders that allowed her to be gone for the evening and morning feedings. Rico had a big bowl of food and water. Before the animals had joined her existence, it wasn’t a problem to leave the property for a few days, or even a week if she’d needed to. After she made the decision to include them in her life, she developed a system to feed them while she was away. The solar-powered, electric fence added an extra layer of protection around their grazing area.

  All systems were double-checked before she and Kyo headed down the trail to Miranda and Kelly’s. With the horses being re-shod, the trip on foot would take them almost two hours at a steady clip, longer if Kyo found she needed a dip in the stream. Noeul couldn’t begrudge her that simple pleasure. Dealing with the wet dog smell was the only downside. Hopefully, when she and Kelly took their evening run, Kyo would dry out.

  “Kyo come,” she called to the border collie who dutifully took her place at Noeul’s side as they set out. Noeul adjusted her backpack to sit more comfortably on her shoulders and pushed down the holster holding the Glock she carried when walking the trail. Kyo’s presence normally kept the large black bears and occasional coyotes at bay, but Noeul took no chances when Momma bear might be out for a stroll with her cubs.

  About halfway down, they reached the stream that ran off the mountain and right through Miranda and Kelly’s property. Noeul scanned the clear creek bottom for any fish. “This time of year, the fishing should be good, Kyo.” Native trout were plentiful in the area, and Noeul had joined her friends in catching their limit of rainbow trout many times. Her mind drifted to where it always did when she thought about fishing. Aggie loved to fly fish and put a line in the water. She was so beautiful in that element.

  Aggie was a patient teacher as she taught Noeul both the art of tying the flies and the movement needed to cast the line in fluid arcs without hooking herself. Their bucket-list trip to Havasu Falls had included a side trip to fly fish near the Grand Canyon in the Colorado River. They’d spent their summer vacation each year visiting several of the national parks in the Grand Circle. Parks like Arches, Bryce, Mesa Verde, and Zion had given them ample research for the book they’d coauthored.

  Cold water splashed up on her as Kyo bounded into a deeper section of the stream and took a drink. Noeul wiped water from her face. “Thanks for the bath, goofball.” Noeul had to laugh at what looked like a smile on her dog’s face as water streamed out of her mouth. “Okay, break time. You swim.” Noeul sat on a log she frequently used to watch Kyo play in the water and pulled out a small bag of dehydrated peaches to nibble on.

  Kyo showered her again when she bounded after a squirrel. “I’d really like to know what you’re going to do if you ever catch one of those.” No
eul absently chewed and thought about the trip to Havasu Falls. It was still a favorite memory. They’d spent many hours each day around the falls, swimming and enjoying the area free of electronic distractions and modern life. Unfortunately, they’d only managed a few more trips from Aggie’s list. Two months after they’d returned from one of them, she’d sat by Aggie’s side, willing her to live. The memory of Aggie collapsing on their run still haunted Noeul’s dreams.

  Noeul noticed for the second time as Aggie rubbed her chest. “Honey, are you okay? You look a little pale. Let’s drop the pace down a little bit.”

  Aggie grinned at her, sweat rolling off her jawline. “I’m fine, babe. I think it’s a little muscle pull.”

  Noeul protested. “Let’s find a place to cool off and let me look at you.

  “Honey, I’m fi—”

  Noeul watched in horror, as Aggie stared blankly and reached out for her. “Aggie!”

  “Noeul…love you.”

  “Aggie! Aggie! Somebody, help.” Aggie was slumped against her, as Noeul tried to ease the much-taller woman to the ground. They fell into a heap, and Noeul positioned Aggie on her back. She was conscious, but not responding. Her color was pale, and she was sweating profusely; her hands felt cool and clammy. Noeul placed her fingers on Aggie’s wrist to find the pulse thready and irregular. Reaching into her small pack, she found her phone and dialed 911.

  “911, where is your emergency?” The dispatcher asked.

  “I’ve got a woman collapsed on the Bebee Lake trail at the Cornell Botanical Gardens. We’re at…shit! I can’t see any markers. We’re about three miles around the loop, starting from the visitors’ center.”