CHAPTER TWO. She stood at the edge of the grass and watched the sun rise out of the water, turning the sky into brilliant colors of pinks and reds

She stood at the edge of the grass and watched the sun rise out of the water, turning the sky into brilliant colors of pinks and reds. The cool breeze off the water lifted her short blonde hair slightly and she absently brushed it away from her face, her eyes never leaving the sunrise. Two Pelicans flew into her sight, crossing the sun, the colors bouncing off their white feathers and she watched them for a second, then slid her eyes back to the pinks and reds. Carly had missed this. It had been too many years since she'd been here.

" It's beautiful, isn't it? "

Carly jumped as the voice startled her.

" I'm sorry, Dr. Cambridge. I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

" It's okay, Martin. I just didn't expect anyone else to be out here this early."

" I was at the site when I saw your lights."

Carly nodded. She couldn't believe the progress they had made on the Visitor's Center in just a few short months, but Martin had been pushing the contractors hard, trying to get it finished before fall, when the migration would be in full swing.

" Got some news last night, " Carly said. " The Federal Grant passed. We'll have enough money to begin restoring the marshes now instead of next spring."

When Habitats For Nature had purchased the ranch last year, they found that most of the marsh land had been drained and filled in, then replanted with non-native grass for cattle. It would be a huge undertaking to try to restore it all to its natural state, but if they were going to make this preserve work, Carly had insisted that be their first priority. The migrating shore birds, ducks and especially the endangered Whooping Cranes relied on marshes for survival. Without healthy marshes, they would be hard-pressed to attract any wildlife to the preserve.

" I know that's what you've been most worried about, Dr. Cambridge. I've got contractors already lined up. We can start digging this week."

" Good. But please, stress to them again the importance of disturbing the land as little as possible. I don't want it to look like a construction site out there."

They began walking back to their vehicles and Carly turned once to look back at the sunrise, the soft colors having faded already, the sun sparkling bright now, only hinting at the heat it would bring on this spring day.

Martin showed Carly the progress they had made on the Visitor's Center in the past week. She had been in Washington, lobbying for their grant, kissing up to politicians, something she absolutely detested. One reason she had quit her job with the State was to get away from the politics of it all. When she started with the Parks and Wildlife Department, she had naive aspirations, thinking she could come in and change it all, clean up the rivers, preserve land for native species. But she quickly found that all things revolved around politics and money. That was why she had jumped at the chance to work for Habitats For Nature, a non-profit organization whose only goal was preservation. That and it afforded her the opportunity to come back to the Gulf Coast, where her family still lived.

" They should be through with the wiring this week, then we're ready to go full force on the interior. If the weather stays dry, another month and a half, two at the most, " he assured her.

It wasn't that she was anxious to get the Visitor's Center ready for the public. It would be another year before they would open their gates for tours, but she wanted the staff in place and the field technicians out there when the fall migration started. Their bird count would determine how much of a State grant they got next year.

But she knew it would be several years before the habitat was back to its native state, several years before the wildlife would return for good. Oh, they already had deer, raccoons, skunks and most of the other small mammals native to the area, mammals that didn't rely on the marshes for survival. What she really wanted was to attract the endangered Whooping Crane. The Aransas Wildlife Preserve, which was federally managed, was only a mile down the coast from them. She saw no reason why the Cranes wouldn't find the new marshes eventually. But she knew the ducks would find it first, then shorebirds and wading birds. And unlike the Aransas Preserve, they would not allow hunters to come in during the fall. She understood the need to cull the deer herd, but she also believed it put an enormous stress on the other wildlife with hunters tromping through the woods firing guns. The previous ranch owner had run day leases and the first thing Carly had done was take down the tree stands that had been put up in the big oak trees that the ranch was famous for.

The second thing she had started, even before they broke ground on the Visitor's Center, was to begin renovations on the old ranch house, making it into offices for the staff and remodeling the upper floor for an apartment for her. Eventually they would hire a manager to live full-time on the property, but for now, she would stay here while they got things underway.

" My assistant, Elsa Sanchez, is going to be moving down this weekend, Martin. She's going to set up our computer system. I'll bring her around on Monday. I want you to show her the blueprints so she can get an idea of what we'll need. They supposedly have it all mapped out but I want her to take a look. I want the servers in the ranch house where the offices will be, but I want to network the Visitor's Center, too."

" She's the computer whiz you were telling me about? "

Carly smiled and nodded. She knew Elsa from college, but they'd lost touch soon after. Then she met Elsa again in Austin years ago when they'd both worked for the Parks and Wildlife Department. Elsa was a field technician and she had been assigned to work with Carly on a project involving the Edward's Aquifer. The development boom in the Hill Country was quickly draining the aquifer and they were studying the effects on the natural springs in the area. Actually, they were watching them dry up before their very eyes. Carly's face hardened as she remembered the political pressure of that study. Development brought tax dollars and her findings were swept under the rug for nearly two years until environmental groups protested loudly enough. The development had been curbed, but it was too little too late.

Elsa had been as disenchanted by the whole process as Carly had been. That's when she decided to change careers. She went back to school, getting another degree in computer science and adding a C.N.A. certificate to it as well. They had remained friends and Elsa had been more than willing to give up her networking job in the city for a chance to work on the preserve, combining her computer and networking skills with her love of protecting the environment.

" She's wonderful, Martin. You'll love her. And it'll give you a chance to brush up on your Spanish. She's gets on a tirade sometimes and loses me when she launches into Spanish, " Carly explained.

Martin chuckled. " I'll try to keep up but the only practice I get these days in when I visit my grandmother."

Carly shook her finger playfully at him. " It's sad, Martin, when an Anglo such as myself knows more Spanish than you do."