Rescue My Heart

by Jerry Cole

  “He says he came out here to ask the couple to take Ginger back, but they refused and told him to just dump her somewhere. He panicked because she was screaming and upsetting his neighbors, and his landlord said he would evict him.” Jeanie took a sip of her latte. “And he will be charged with something, probably a misdemeanor. But the bigger issue is that these people are running some kind of shady operation, and they are getting away with it because someone keeps tipping them off.”

  “Okay, but that’s outside your jurisdiction,” Jensen pointed out. “Correct me if I’m wrong…”

  “It is. But Sheriff Winston talked to the sheriff over there, and he’s gung-ho about having some help getting these bastards since someone in his office is almost certainly the mole.” Jeanie grinned. “So we’re going to do whatever it takes to get these bastards.”

  “What is that going to entail?” Blake asked eyebrow raised.

  “We haven’t gotten that far in the plan yet, but I think Sheriff Winston wants us to somehow get footage from inside the barn. If we have incontrovertible proof that they’re keeping their animals in unsafe, unsanitary conditions, we can get the ball rolling legally and do something about it.”

  “Also, hopefully, figure out who might be tipping these people off with enough time to get their barn cleaned…” Blake sat back. “Where are they putting the other birds when the police come knocking?”

  “We have no idea. A few neighbors told the sheriff that they saw some old trailers hidden at the back of the property, but that’s it. They never had enough proof to get a warrant to search everything. They were dependent on them allowing the inspections.” Jeanie hesitated. “Unfortunately, the woman, Prudence, was arrested here for a drunk and disorderly in a bar about a year ago. We’re not sure who she might have come in contact with, but it means that nobody from our office is really a good bet to send in as the buyer.”

  “This is sounding more and more insane the longer you keep talking, Jeanie.”

  “I already filled Angie in, and she said the same thing.” She looked pointedly at Jensen. “We were hoping you’d be willing to pose as the buyer for this stunt. You’ve only been in the area a year or so, and they would have no reason to think it’s weird if they do happen to recognize you if they saw you working here. You’re obviously not a cop.”

  “You’re nuts, Jeanie. You can’t just get Jensen embroiled in this mess. I’ll do it if you really need someone who the woman wouldn’t recognize.” Blake sounded stressed and anxious, and Jensen put a hand on his shoulder without thinking about it.

  “You’re too recognizable, Blake. You’ve handled livestock emergencies in every county on the Front Range. There’s every possibility they’ve seen you around at neighbor’s places, or even hired you themselves at some point. It’s a liability, and you know it.”

  “I could do it…” Alex said quietly. “I mean, I’ve lived here a long time, but I’m not really memorable either, and everyone claims Asian guys look the same anyway.”

  “Alex…aren’t you kind of terrified of birds?” Jensen asked gently. “I mean, you ran into traffic when a crow flew at you a few weeks ago. This is probably going to involve you actually handling some really large parrots.”

  Alex winced. “Yeah, I mean, maybe I’m a little spooked by them. But I can try.”

  “Or you could just get a cop from another jurisdiction…” Blake grumbled. “This is absurd.”

  Jeanie huffed. “You make that sound so easy.”

  “It’s less dangerous than involving some civilians in a madcap sting operation!”

  “Blake…what if Rosso is there?” Jensen asked quietly. “What if Ginger’s mate is still at that place?”

  Blake paused. “I guess it’s possible.”

  “Wouldn’t you want to get him out of there if at all possible? If I pose as a buyer and can get them talking, maybe I can find out what happened to Rosso, if they know anything.”

  “There’s every possibility that if they did have Rosso, he died. I know that’s hard to hear, but these bird mills are brutal. They could have killed Ginger’s mate a long time ago.”

  “But there’s a chance that they didn’t. There’s a chance we might be able to get them back together. I’m willing to go in and do this.”

  Blake looked ready to continue arguing but then sighed and nodded. “All right, all right, fine. As long as you’re okay with it, I’ll stop being belligerent about this.” He looked up at Jeanie. “But you have to promise you’ll do everything you can to keep this all under control.”

  “You know we will, Blake. I’m not going to send him in without people acting as backup.”

  A few minutes and a bit more bickering later, a group of teenagers came into the coffee shop, and the impromptu meeting broke up. Jeanie left, eyebrow raised, as Blake waved her on. Blake then turned to Jensen, blushing.

  “I’m really sorry…for not answering your texts faster and all that. I wasn’t sure how to say ‘I’m not handsome, to begin with, and now my face is black and blue from a goat so can we wait to go out until I look less stupid?’”

  Jensen grinned up at him. “I think you’re good-looking either way, though the goat kick had to hurt.”

  Blake nodded. “It was worse a few days ago. It’s a little better now, but I don’t recommend it.”

  “Jens, a little help?” Alex yelled over the pastry case.

  “I’ll be right back.” Jensen kissed Blake on the cheek and hurried behind the counter. The teenagers were in a cluster, all ordering very complicated blended drinks and looking haughty. Jensen got to work on the drinks as Alex rang them up. A minute later, he felt another person shifting behind him, and turned to see Blake washing his hands in the sink. He then quickly started bagging up pastries from the case as Alex pointed them out.

  Jensen wanted to laugh, and he definitely wanted to kiss the other man. He was just so…kind. He just wanted to help and fix things where he could, and maybe he was bad at returning texts and explaining himself in certain situations, but at least he was genuinely a good person. It was a complete contrast to Eric, who would have gotten bored and exasperated at the situation and who would have left in a huff. Eric then would have held it over Jensen for days that he’d been too busy all the time and never paid any attention to Eric’s needs…

  Jensen shook himself, pouring a smoothie into a large cup and adding a pile of whipped cream to the top. Blake wasn’t Eric. Blake wasn’t anything like Eric. Eric had been stunning and model-perfect, and he had been all too aware of how good-looking he really was. But his black hair, blue eyes, and white teeth had masked an abusive personality and a complete lack of empathy, and by the time their relationship ended, Jensen had lost his friends and his sense of self-worth. But…Eric was long gone, and Blake was here now. Blake might have had a limp, and one of his eyes might have pointed just slightly in the wrong direction, and he could be a little gruff and terse, but he had a sweet smile and kind eyes and the gentlest hands of any man Jensen knew. Not to mention a very, very nice body under all that flannel and denim.

  They knocked out the orders quickly, and the teenagers were satisfied, so Jensen pulled Blake into the back room to kiss him thoroughly.

  “Thank you for that, that was really sweet of you.”

  Blake blushed under the bruising. “It wasn’t a problem…felt useless just sitting there watching you guys.” He leaned down to kiss Jensen again, hands warm on Jensen’s back. “I can’t make drinks, but I can at least put things in bags using tongs.”

  “Oh, veterinary school is good for something then!” Jens grinned up at him, teasing. He wrapped his arms around Blake’s neck. “Do you have to get back to work soon?”

  “In a few minutes. I told Beth I’d get something to eat while I’m out. She always complains I don’t eat enough.” He paused. “She’s my secretary…and she meddles a little.”

  “Hmm, well I’ll send you back to the office with a hot sandwich and a scone then. Wouldn’t want to up
set Beth.”

  “The doctor said the swelling in my face should be less noticeable in a few days, so maybe dinner next Wednesday?”

  “Absolutely. And then maybe dessert at my apartment later?” Jensen asked a little too innocently.

  Blake buried his face in Jensen’s neck. “If by ‘dessert’ you mean me sucking you off? Then yes, let’s do that.”

  It was Jensen’s turn to turn a vivid red. “You’re such a charmer.”

  ***

  Blake returned to the office a few minutes later, feeling happier than he could recall feeling in years. He still wasn’t thrilled about the situation with the bird breeder sting, but at least he had an honest-to-God date with another man lined up. Jensen had made him a ham and swiss panini and had then thrown two scones and a cookie into a bag for him. Blake had tried to pay for it all, but Jensen waved him off, saying it was his paycheck for helping with the teenagers. Alex had just winked at them.

  Beth looked up from her computer as he came in. “I saw Jeanie drive off a while ago and you didn’t come back… I was starting to wonder where you got off to.”

  “I was earning my lunch helping the café with a huge herd that swamped them.” He offered Beth the bag with the baked goods. “I already ate my sandwich, but they sent these along too.”

  Beth smiled and selected the cranberry orange scone. “Well, we’ve been slow here today, so it isn’t a problem either way.”

  “I’m sure you would have called if it were.” He wandered down the hall to his office to find Ginger eating some nuts out of her treat bowl on the top of her cage.

  “Hey, Ginger…we might have figured out where your boyfriend is…” He said quietly, scratching the bird’s head. “We might know where Rosso is.”

  “Rosso!” Ginger exclaimed. “Rosso pretty bird!” Ginger leaned into his hand and closed her eyes, and made a cooing noise.

  He was just sitting down to check emails and reorder some medications when someone knocked on the frame of his door. He looked up to see Mich grinning at him, dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans. They hadn’t been able to meet up when Blake was in Ft. Collins and he hadn’t seen Mich since college.

  “Holy shit, Mich, what are you doing here?” Blake stood up, trying not to wince at how stiff his leg was from walking and standing more than usual. He came around the desk to give the other man a hug and a slap on the back.

  “I’m on my way back from skiing, and I figured I’d swing by and say hello. Figured I could try to coerce you away from work with the promise of beer and dinner,” the other man grinned.

  “I have two more patients in about half an hour, but if you can stick around for a bit then sure.” Blake sat back down and gestured to the chair across the desk.

  “Ginger! Hello Ginger!” Ginger squawked, bobbing her head and raising her crest in an obvious ploy for attention. Blake had quickly discovered that she did not appreciate being ignored whenever anyone walked into his office.

  Mich laughed. “Hi, pretty bird. You remember me?”

  “Ginger!” she held up her foot, and Mich obliged by putting his arm out for her to step up.

  “She’s awfully friendly for a dumped bird. You really lucked out.”

  “Yeah, she was good-natured from the time they pulled her out of the box. From what we’ve pieced together about her, she hasn’t had a good life, and yet…” he shrugged.

  Mich smiled. “Yeah, funny how animals are like that.”

  Blake’s last patients arrived not long after. But, when an emergency sped in at the last second, Mich found himself helping remove porcupine quills from a dog’s face. Blake was thankful for the help, and it took both of them plus Beth, to remove the last of the quills lurking just above the poor terrier’s eye. The owner, an older woman from Hong Kong who Blake had only seen a handful of times around town, was sobbing with relief by the end. The dog was everything she had since her husband passed away, and Blake was thankful that the unlucky dog would be sore but ultimately no worse for wear.

  After that adventure, and with Blake’s promise he was buying dinner, they made their way to the bar and grill down the street. It was snowing again and blowing cold, but the walk was short. Blake knew he’d have to take a muscle relaxant later or face the consequences, and he mentally limited himself to no more than one beer. He had given Ginger a fresh bowl of food and promised he would be back in a few hours to take her home with him, then turned on the TV in the corner for her. Beth had already left with a wave.

  “I should have known better than to set foot in another veterinarian’s office on my day off!” Mich laughed as they gave the waitress their drink order, and Mich asked for some fried cheese sticks.

  “Yeah, you definitely should know better than that. At least there weren’t too many quills. Worst I’ve done was over 200 in a bull mastiff. It took us hours to go through every wrinkle on that dog.”

  Mich winced in sympathy. “Yeah, fuck, I can only imagine. I haven’t seen too many porcupine incidents in Ft. Collins, but holy shit have I seen a lot of rattlesnakes. I had to put an iguana down that got bit by a rattlesnake. How the fucking hell does an iguana come in contact with a rattlesnake, you may ask? The owner was walking it on a fucking leash, on a path in Westminster and didn’t notice the snake.”

  “I have a lot of questions, and I doubt there are any good answers.”

  The waitress deposited their beers and took their food orders. “So…I told you the mess with Natasha. Are you seeing anybody? I didn’t hear anything about it through social media, but you never were one to kiss and tell.”

  Blake looked down at his beer and ran a finger through the condensation. “I’m sort of seeing someone, but I’m not entirely sure where we stand yet.”

  “Oh?”

  “I haven’t really dated since the accident. Just…hookups occasionally. Nothing serious. This feels serious. Like maybe I really don’t want to fuck this up.”

  Mich grinned. “Going that well, huh?”

  “Yeah…yeah, I think it might be.”

  Mich opened his mouth to say something, then grinned instead, looking over Blake’s shoulder at the door of the bar. “Does he have really, really red hair and is he very short?”

  “How did you know?” Blake spun around to look where Mich was staring to see Jensen and Alex walking in. Jensen was looking vaguely confused and maybe a little bit worried, but he smiled and waved when he caught Blake’s eye.

  Blake quickly waved them over.

  “Fancy meeting you here so soon!” Alex stated, eyebrow quirked at Blake that said he better not be doing what it looked like he might be doing.

  “Jensen, Alex, this is my old classmate from vet school, Mitchell. He stopped by on his way down from skiing to say hello. Jensen is the one who found Ginger, and Alex is his coworker at the coffee shop.”

  “You look kind of familiar…” Jensen said, shaking Mich’s hand.

  “You saw me briefly when you dropped Ginger off. I was one of the vets looking her over.”

  “Oh!” Jensen perked up. “Small world.”

  “Sit down, join us.” Mich moved his coat to make room. “Blake is buying since he made me de-porcupine a dog on my day off.”

  “I did not ‘make’ you do anything, you came in because you heard the dog yelping.”

  Alex and Jensen laughed.

  ***

  Jensen had to admit, he’d felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Blake with another man looking cozy and laughing together at the restaurant. He wasn’t usually a jealous kind of guy, but Mich was good-looking, tall, and had a swimmer’s build. Tousled black hair, bright blue eyes, and a killer smile were all things Jensen categorically did not have. He’d been hoping that Blake would introduce him as…well, he wasn’t sure what he wanted Blake to introduce him as, but maybe it was too soon for that.

  Mich seemed to have sensed a mild discomfort because he immediately referenced his ex-fiancé and her philandering. Jensen appreciated what the other man was obviousl
y doing, and a moment later, He felt Blake slide a hand to his knee and squeeze gently.

  Jensen scooched his chair closer in response.

  Alex soon began to regale them with a story about a particularly belligerent customer who had come into the coffee shop a few days before, and the four of them slipped into the sort of companionable chatting and drinking that, Jensen realized, he’d missed a lot. He had missed having friends to just…shoot the shit with. He had missed knowing that the people he was hanging out with had no ulterior motives besides socializing. Eric had always had other motives. Nothing was ever just a casual dinner and drinks, it had to be at a trendy place where he could be seen, and they had to order the best thing on the menu, and God forbid Jensen ever argue that no, he didn’t want a steak, he just wanted a chicken Cesar with kale, thanks. He couldn’t help making the comparison as he ordered a cheeseburger with extra pickles with absolutely no comment or facial expression from Blake. Because Blake wasn’t like Eric. He didn’t care about the “optics.”

  He was just… a guy.

  Mich and Alex were doing most of the talking, seemingly determined to out-raconteur each other with increasingly more outrageous stories, but given that they were all two or three beers in, it didn’t seem to matter. Jensen had moved closer to Blake, and Blake had thrown his arm over Jensen’s chair. They were all eating slowly since the restaurant wasn’t busy and the waitress was offering them happy hour prices because she was a client of Blake’s and he’d apparently saved her cat’s leg at some point.

  It was nice. The food was good.

  All of a sudden, he felt the overwhelming urge to text Sophia and Manny. He wanted this kind of warm comradery with his friends again. He wanted to introduce them to Blake and Alex and hell, Mich now too. He wanted to rebuild his friendship circle. Eric’s voice in his head had been so loud, saying he didn’t deserve friends, saying he was annoying and weird and too quiet. But that voice was getting easier to ignore or drown out, and at that moment, he knew he had to fix things with Sophia and Manny.

  They finished eating and made their way outside. Mich and Blake were heading back to the clinic, and Alex was going to drive home.