He growled softly and rolled to his back, exposing his belly.
Laughing, I shook my head. “Oh, no you don’t. I’m on to your tricks, mister. You’re trying to suck me into the cat tummy trap. Let’s go outside and get some exercise.”
After washing my hands, I put his harness and leash back on. The leash seemed more for tactile feedback so he could use me as a seeing-eye person. There was no way I could hold on to him if he decided to jerk away. When we went outside, Leonard walked close to my heels. Although I tried to stay away from the chickens, my rooster, Christian, was territorial and often protested anyone coming near his ladies.
He’d made friends with Antonio, though, which made Antonio even more special. I sighed and watched Christian race toward us, his wings flared. “Bird, you’re about to be fighting out of your weight class,” I warned. “I should have named you after the chicken from Moana.”
To my surprise, Leonard ignored the crazy rooster and I breathed a sigh of relief. As much as Christian annoyed me, I didn’t want to see him hurt. We kept walking and Christian wandered away, apparently confident the threat had been neutralized.
“Silly,” I murmured, scratching Leonard’s ears. “You don’t cat worth a shit.”
Maybe this would work out. Leonard was starting to grow on me and as long as he got along with the other livestock, everything would probably be okay.
He tugged toward a stand of bushes and I let out some of the retractable leash. After sniffing around for a few minutes, he did his business and returned to my side. We walked down my driveway past the pastures. None of the horses or the bison gave Leonard a second look.
A gray sedan I didn’t recognize turned into my driveway. People usually called before they stopped by, and I scowled when the car skidded to a stop, spraying gravel far enough to make me back up.
A man I didn’t know leaped out and held up a camera. He had stringy red hair and a face covered in freckles, and couldn’t have been much over twenty. “Are you Giorgio Acardi’s new girlfriend? Give us a smile, sweetheart.”
I barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding? Do I look like an overdressed trophy wife to you?”
“I just take the pictures, honey. He bought the property next door, so I’m thinking he did it to be closer to you. Any plans on having a bunch of little Acardis?”
Coño. My mother would wash my mouth out if she heard how much I cursed today. Giorgio was going to be my neighbor? Or had he bought the land to build the resort he’d wanted to put on my home? Neither alternative was appealing, especially if it was going to draw the attention of tabloid photogs like this one.
Then again, I didn’t do much that would keep their interest for long. They’d get bored and wander off eventually, but that didn’t mean I wanted strangers traipsing all over my property.
“And in your mind, him showing up on his neighbor’s land makes me his girlfriend.”
“Exactly.” The young man grinned. “Glad to see you understand how things work.”
“Uh huh. Thanks for explaining it. But there’s something you might not understand.”
“What?”
“Trespassing. You’re on my land without my permission, so you need to turn that car around and leave before I call the cops.”
Shrugging, he snapped several pictures, then said, “Who cares? I just need a few dozen shots. I’ll be long gone before they get here.”
Tightening my hand on Leonard’s leash, I glared at him. “You realize I’m not giving permission for those to be published, right?”
“Also not caring,” he replied, still snapping photos.
A low, threatening growl made my bones rattle, and I looked at Leonard with surprise. I’d never heard him sound so scary. He jerked hard on the leash, yanking it from my hand, then stalked the photog, his tail lashing.
Eyes widening, the man scrambled up on the hood of his car. “Call him off!” he shouted.
“Drop the memory card from your camera,” I retorted. “I’ll let you go after that.”
Still staring at Leonard, he fumbled for his camera, his hands shaking. After a minute, the memory card popped free and he threw it at me. “Please!” he cried. “I promise I won’t come back.”
I patted my thigh, making Leonard spin around and trot back. He sat next to me, resting his head against my hip. Picking up his leash, I said, “Now would be a good time for you to leave.”
Giving me one last terrified glance, he climbed down and got into his car. His tires wrecked my gravel again when he turned around and drove away.
He nearly spun out on the turn, making me grin like a fool. Scratching Leonard’s chin, I said, “This is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship, kitty cat.”
Giorgio
My ears ringing from Aubrey’s twenty-minute diatribe, I rubbed my eyes and put my office phone back on its base. I wasn’t surprised that she learned what happened. She’d have checked in with Carlina to make sure everything worked out like she planned.
Worse, I still felt horrible for how our breakfast had ended and wondered what I could do to make it up to her. As much as I still wanted to spank her butt until it turned red, she hadn’t deserved having her dishes tossed all over her kitchen.
Retrieving the phone, I called Aubrey back. Before she could yell at me again, I asked, “How many of Carlina’s animals came from Park Street?”
“Why?” she asked, her voice still angry.
“Because I’m going to sponsor all of them, but you can’t tell her.”
“And how do you propose I do that? She’s going to ask where the money came from.”
“Tell her it’s from an anonymous donor and give me a number, please.”
“She has two horses, a camel, and four American bison cows, so at least as much as you’ll be paying for Leonard. She has an account at the feed store and pays it monthly, if I recall.”
“Make arrangements for her bill to come to me.”
Aubrey went silent for a few seconds. “That would be for everything, so add in the chickens and her dairy goats, plus one additional horse.”
Well, that explained why she had milk in glass bottles. “I know. Just don’t tell her, okay?”
She let out a long sigh, then chuckled. “You are such an ass, Giorgio. Now, I can’t even be mad at you anymore.”
“Is that a yes?” I asked.
“Yes. Carli won’t see another feed bill and I’ll tell her it’s anonymous.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. And stop being a dick. You can’t buy your way out of bad behavior forever.”
I opened my mouth to disagree with her, but she was right. Having money was no excuse for being so nasty to a woman, whether she liked me or not. “I don’t expect her forgiveness,” I replied. “I just want to give her what she’d have had if she’d agreed to work for me.”
“Consider it done.”
I ended the call and shoved paperwork into my briefcase. I had too much to do to keep chewing over my mistakes. I needed to be at a construction site in San Bernardino in less than two hours, and I had to squeeze in an attempt at getting Antonio cheered up before a dinner meeting with a client.
Finishing up in San Bernardino took longer than I expected and I was starving and exhausted by the time I finished. My phone buzzed with an incoming call from Julie, Mr. Dennison’s wife and my housekeeper.
I accepted the call, and she said, “Thank God. I was hoping to catch you. Is Antonio with you?”
“No. He’s upset with me and might still be closed up in his room.”
“He isn’t here,” she replied, her voice getting shrill. “I can’t find him anywhere, not even down at the creek.”
My guts clenched and I started the car, peeling out of the parking lot. “Where’s Clyde?” I asked.
“He’s still looking. I was at the hospital volunteering all afternoon, so I haven’t seen Antonio since lunch.” She sniffed, and let out a choked sob. “What if someone took him? H
e’s so trusting, he’d have gotten into anyone’s car. What are we going to do?”
“Okay. Don’t panic. Call 9-1-1 and I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
I was at least two hours out with traffic and there was no telling how far Antonio might have gotten. Someone could have taken him, but he knew about stranger danger and I didn’t think he’d get into a car with someone he didn’t know.
We left him alone often, but never for more than a few hours at a time. He was perfectly capable of making sandwiches and cold cereal, and took care of his personal needs without help. He knew not to answer the phone or the door without someone else in the house.
But what if he had? I had money. What if someone had taken him, hoping for a fat ransom? I tried to control my racing heartbeat. If that was the case, someone would have been in touch with me already. Or, at least that’s how it always went in the movies.
By the time I got home, two police officers were already there and questioning Julie and Clyde. Julie wiped her face with the back of her hand, tear tracks staining her face.
“Mr. Acardi,” one said, holding out his hand. “I’m Officer Pete Carter, and this is my partner, Wendy Davis.”
“Do you have any news?” I asked, tossing my briefcase down to shake their hands.
“No. We’re fairly confident he hasn’t been taken. There’s no sign of a struggle, and according to your housekeeper, his jacket and shoes are gone. She also says all the deli meat and bread is missing from the kitchen, so we think he might have gone somewhere on his own.”
“Does he have any friends close by?” Officer Davis asked. “He might have gone there.”
“He has friends from school,” I replied.
“I already tried them while we were waiting for you,” Julie said. “He’s not with them.”
Shit. I rubbed my eyes and tried to think.
“Mr. Acardi, we’d like to issue a press release for your brother. Considering his Down Syndrome, it’s possible he’s gotten lost. Someone might have seen him.”
“Could we do an Amber alert?” Julie asked.
“No,” Officer Carter replied. “Unfortunately, Antonio doesn’t meet the criteria because there’s no evidence of abduction, and because he’s over twenty-one. A press release is the best we can do, but because of his special needs, we won’t have to wait twenty-four hours to put it out.”
My cell rang and I pulled it out, praying it wasn’t a kidnapper. I didn’t recognize the number and put it on speaker when I answered.
“Acardi here,” I said tersely.
“Mr. Acardi, this is Carli Pérez. You need to get your ass over here right now and explain to me why you told Antonio it was okay for him to walk ten miles to my house. And it better be good, or me slapping the shit out of you will be the least of your worries. How dare you put him at risk like that!”
My legs collapsed under me and I fell to the couch. “Oh, thank God.”
“What?”
“He’s been missing for hours. We’ve been worried sick, and the police are here, and—”
“Oh.” She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. He told me you said it was okay for him to walk.”
“He’s safe?”
“He’s asleep with Leonard in my guest room. And I owe you a huge apology. I should never have assumed you’d allow it, but after—”
“No,” I said, straightening. “You had no way of knowing. When did he get there?”
“About an hour ago. I fed him supper, but I wanted to wait until I was sure he was asleep before I called. I didn’t want him to hear me yell at you.”
“All right.” I got to my feet and handed Julie the handkerchief from my pocket. “I’ll pick him up.”
“Okay, but don’t knock or ring the bell. I’ll wait outside. Also, I’m really sorry I didn’t call first.”
“The important thing is that he’s safe,” I replied. “Thank you for taking care of him, and for calling me.”
“No problem. I’ll see you soon.”
She ended the call, and all the tension drained from my body, leaving me limp from the sudden absence of gut-wrenching fear and adrenaline. My stomach turned and I swallowed bile.
“Do you know Ms. Pérez?” Officer Davis asked, her expression speculative and distrustful.
“Yes. She agreed to foster Leonard the Lion for the Park Street Animal Shelter and I’m sponsoring his care. Aubrey Bateman made all the arrangements.”
“Oh,” Julie said. “That’s why he took off. He’d do anything for a chance to see Leonard in real life.”
I stood and grabbed my keys from the floor where I’d dropped them. “Maybe so, but he’s never walked ten miles and lied to do it.”
Officer Davis shared a telling glance with her partner. “You have a great deal of money, Mr. Acardi. Is there a possibility that she’s grooming him for extortion?”
“Did you not hear her chew on me because she thought I’d allowed him to walk to her house by himself?” I snapped. Rubbing my face, I tried to calm my irritation and softened my tone. “The only thing she’s likely to do is feed him and let him ride her horse. Trust me, Carlina is not interested in my money.”
“How can you know that for sure?” Officer Carter asked.
“Because I already offered her a fortune to cook for us and she turned me down flat.”
Julie barked out a surprised laugh, then schooled her face into an expressionless mask. Her lips twitched up once more, and she stood. “Excuse me.”
When I heard her laughing in the kitchen, I rolled my eyes and scowled at Clyde, who also seemed to have some trouble with his face.
“Shut it,” I muttered. “And go do something about your wife.”
“Sorry, sir,” he said, still grinning at me. “You’re not having very good luck with the ladies this week, are you? I’ll drive you over.”
“No, it’s getting late. Call Linsey and have her cancel my dinner meeting tonight. I’m already running behind as it is and I won’t make it.”
Officer Carter handed me a card, then said, “I’m glad everything worked out and your brother is safe. Call us if anything else happens.”
“Thank you.” I took the card and put it in my wallet. It was obvious they still didn’t trust Carlina, but that wasn’t my problem. “I’m sorry it was a false alarm.”
“No harm done, sir,” he replied. “We’re just glad you found him.”
Following them out, I got in my car, giving them a half-hearted wave when they drove away. It was irritating, but I could see their point. Not all disappearances ended so well for people with special needs. I started the engine and got on the road, heading north along the winding two-lane road my brother had walked. There was one turn between my house and Carlina’s. Although ten miles was a long way to walk, the navigation wasn’t difficult. When I looked down at my speedometer, I winced. I wasn’t the only one who drove too fast along this road. What if someone had hit him?
Something had to change. I needed to convince Carlina to come to some sort of agreement with me so I could prevent this from happening again.
Chapter Five
Carlina
A late-model Audi trundled down my driveway, running lights shining softly. I tilted my wine glass toward the vehicle, appreciating Giorgio’s manners. He parked next to my truck, the incongruity of a pretty coupe next to an old Dodge diesel making me chuckle.
It was a dry laugh. I was comparing more than cars. Next to him, I was the human version of an old pickup—unkempt, and a little dirty and worn. He still looked perfect, yet he was frayed around the edges. Long strands of hair had come loose from the clip, and his suit was slightly rumpled. The tie was gone, and the top few buttons of his dress shirt were undone, revealing crisp black hair.
I stretched my legs out, dragging the fleece throw around my shoulders. Nights got a little chilly, even in summer. Pouring wine into the second glass I’d brought out, I said, “Take a load off. I think we need to talk.”
Giorgio took th
e wine and drained it, and I silently refilled his glass. Holding the stem between two fingers, he said, “I’m sorry. I have no idea why Antonio decided to come here and not tell anyone.”
“He says he wants to live here with Leonard.”
“Shit.” He put his glass on the table. “I’ll wake him up so I can take him home.”
“No, it’s fine. Let him sleep. Are you hungry?”
He blinked at me and picked up his wine glass. “Yeah, I could eat.”
Grabbing the bottle and my glass, I got up and opened the kitchen door. “Come on. I have leftovers.”
He followed me inside and hovered for a moment, looking around at everything but me. “I… Yeah, we need to talk.”
“Yeah.” I got out the remains of the antipasto tray I’d made up for Antonio, and set it on the table, along with another bottle of wine. I had a feeling we were going to need it. “Has he ever taken off like this before?”
“No, never. Not even when he was a kid. I have no idea why he did this time.”
“That’s easy. I have Leonard.”
Giorgio laughed and took a piece of Parma ham from the plate, folding it into a triangle before eating it. “That’s what my housekeeper said. I don’t even know how many Leonards there are. Is he fixated on one that never made it on the show?”
“Not that many,” I replied. “It’s not like lions are cheap to feed, and there are laws about their husbandry if they’re used in the entertainment industry.”
“Good point.” He swiped a few olives and a piece of bread. “So, what do we do?”
I bit my lip and looked away from him, wondering if he’d tear my head off for what I was about to suggest. “Have you considered hiring a full-time caregiver for him? He’s aged out of public education and I don’t know if you have other arrangements for him. Where does he go during the day? Is he in school? Does he have a job or something to keep his interest?”
Reaching over the tray of food, he touched my hand. “Coming from anyone else but you, I’d have been insulted, but I know you mean well. To answer your questions, no. I won’t have him put into an institution.”
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