“Hi.” Rowan’s hair was tied back today, but soft wisps curled around her face. Her smile was like a beam of sunshine, warming his skin. “Good to see you again. Oh, hello,” she said as she looked past him. Zack turned to find Becca peering around him. “I’m Rowan.”
“Rowan, this is my sister, Becca.” He rested his hand on Becca’s shoulder. “Rowan and I knew each other a long time ago.”
“Hello.” Becca acknowledged Rowan but then frowned at Zack. “When are we going to the wildlife center?”
“Right now.” Zack shepherded her out the door and led them toward the gate behind the clinic. “Rowan’s coming, too.”
Becca eyed Rowan suspiciously. “I thought just us and volunteers were allowed.” Becca was a stickler for rules. “You said to the TV people—”
“It’s okay. Rowan is considering becoming a volunteer like Jessie and Maggie, right Rowan?” He caught her eye, sending her a silent plea to play along. It was easier than explaining why Rowan was an exception.
“Sure.” Rowan seemed a little surprised, but she didn’t contradict him. When Zack removed his new lanyard from his neck to unlock the gate, Rowan smiled. “I remember making those at camp when I was a kid.”
“I made this one,” Becca told her. “I go to camp, too.”
“Did you pick out the colors yourself?”
“Yes. They’re Zack’s favorites.”
“Wow. Zack is so lucky to have a sister as thoughtful as you.”
Becca beamed. As soon as Zack opened the gate, she grabbed Rowan’s hand and tugged her forward. “Do you want to see the baby moose? He’s really cute.”
“I do! I saw him on television.”
“I have to have an adult with me to look at the moose. That’s the rule. And we can’t get too close, because they’re wild and they shouldn’t get used to people.”
“I see.” Rowan flashed a smile at Zack before following Becca.
He came up beside her on the trail. “As you can tell, Becca is really into rules,” he said in a low voice. “That’s why I told her you were thinking of volunteering. It was easier than explaining.”
She nodded. “Gotcha.”
Becca led them up the hill so that they could overlook the pen where the moose was convalescing. She had her head down, munching on the alfalfa Maggie had left. Zack lifted his binoculars and focused on her leg. The stitches were holding, with no sign of infection. So far, so good. He let the binoculars dangle from their strap.
The fuzzy calf also had his head down and seemed to be sniffing something. Suddenly he jumped backward. His mother stopped to look at him before going back to her hay. He tilted his head as if to get a different angle and slowly reached forward to sniff again, only to startle away.
Zack focused his binoculars and laughed. “He found a frog, and he doesn’t know what to do with it.”
Becca and Rowan laughed, too, as they watched the calf follow the frog until it escaped under the fence.
Rowan gave a happy sigh. “He’s adorable.”
“His name’s Pattycake. The wild animals don’t usually get names, because they’re not staying, but Jessie put his picture on the website and people gave their ideas. Charlotte and me got to choose the best one. Charlotte is my best friend. We go to camp together. She made a lanyard, too, but hers is blue and pink. Do you want to see Puddin? She’s a porcupine.”
“Sure.” Rowan kept pace as Becca tugged on her hand. “Why is she called Puddin?”
“Because she’s sweet,” Becca explained. “She was real sick when she was a baby, and Zack made her all better. He’s an animal doctor. But she was so little when she came, Zack and Maggie had to feed her with a bottle and now she thinks people are her mother, and so she can’t ever go out and be wild again.” Becca raised the small gate to Puddin’s pen, and the porcupine came running down the ramp, grunting happily. Becca pulled the carrot from her pocket and broke off a piece. Puddin sat up, squealing with excitement until Becca handed over the carrot.
“Look how she’s holding it in her little paws,” Rowan exclaimed. “That’s so cute.”
“You want to give her some?” Becca asked, offering Rowan the other half.
“I’d love that. Thank you. Now, what do I need to do? I know I can’t get too close to her quills.”
“Just hold it like this.” Becca demonstrated, and then watched as Puddin took the carrot from Rowan’s hand. Zack wasn’t sure which of them was more delighted.
He opened the main door and stepped inside to clean the pen and check that the automatic waterer was working. According to the chart on the wall, Maggie had already fed Puddin. He’d seen her car in the parking lot, so she was still around somewhere.
“Wanna go see the otters?” Becca asked Rowan.
“Definitely.” Rowan followed Becca along the trail, listening to her spiel on otters. Zack wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Becca put so many sentences together at once.
Rowan looked back at the porcupine, who was following on Becca’s heels. “Does Puddin need to go back in her pen first?”
“She’s okay if she’s with you,” Zack said.
“You’re not coming?”
“I’ll clean out this pen. Remember, Becca, stay away from the moose and foxes.”
“I know. Come on, Rowan. I hope the otters are out.”
He chuckled at the sight of the three of them walking single file on the trail: his sister, the porcupine and then Rowan following along as though this was an everyday occurrence. Rowan was adaptable; he’d give her that. It probably came from all that moving she’d done as a child.
Having left the state of Alaska only a dozen or so times before he reached sixteen, Zack had been fascinated by the little bits of commentary Rowan would drop about places like Greece or Denmark. Not that she’d talked much about herself. But Scarlett, the girl he’d dated for a few weeks that summer, had been to Paris with an aunt the year before, and she liked to bring up Rowan’s international background as a segue to talking about her own trip. Rowan never seemed to mind. She’d listened repeatedly to Scarlett tell the same story about almost dropping her camera from the Eiffel Tower, and she always laughed at the punch line.
It was no wonder everyone in their group liked having Rowan around. She had a smile for everyone, and she listened as though the speaker was the most fascinating person she’d ever met. She was pretty, too, with her long chestnut hair and bright eyes behind her glasses. He’d kicked himself a hundred times for never asking her out.
Could this be a second chance? He had noted that Rowan wore a dainty silver ring on her right hand and none on her left. They could go out to dinner or something. If she was interested. And if he could find the time. And a babysitter. He sighed. Or he could face reality and admit there was no room in his life for dating. Even if it was his teenage crush.
He’d just finished the pen when he heard them on their way back, laughing. Even Puddin seemed to be chortling. When Rowan spotted him, she waved. “The otters are adorable. And you didn’t tell me you had a talking raven.”
“I’m not sure ‘hello’ counts as talking.”
“Sure, it does.” Maggie had come up the trail from the other direction. “Hi, Becca. Who’s your friend?”
“Her name’s Rowan,” Becca told her. “And she’s going to volunteer, like you.”
“Today, she’s just taking the tour,” Zack was quick to say. “Rowan O’Shea, this is Maggie Ziegler. She pretty much keeps this place from falling apart.”
“Hello, Maggie.” Rowan stepped forward to shake the older woman’s hand. “I saw you on the news. Great job.”
“Thank you. Are you considering—”
“Oh, and Jessie said to tell you donations are up, and to remind you of the meeting Saturday,” Zack interrupted before Maggie cornered Rowan about volunteering.
“Up how m
uch?”
“Twenty percent.”
“That’s good, but it’s still not enough. We’re going to have to do a real fundraiser this summer to raise enough by September.”
“Any ideas?” Zack was resigned that they had to do it, but he had no idea how to start.
“Have you considered an auction?” Rowan asked. “You can usually get local merchants to donate prizes for good causes.”
“I don’t know.” Would they donate more than a coupon for a free pizza? And if they did, how could the small volunteer staff handle the logistics? “Like an auction on our website?”
“You’d like that.” Maggie laughed. “If we’re going to raise big money, it needs to be an event, with a party atmosphere. They’ll see their friends bidding and their competitive streaks will kick in. Maybe we could have a dinner or something.”
“Or a food tasting,” Rowan suggested. “I’ll bet Now and Forever farms would donate the cheese. And there are probably other artisan bakers and food venders who would be interested, too. It would be a good marketing opportunity.”
“Are you in marketing?” Maggie asked.
“Yes. I’m doing business to business now, but I’ve done some public relations work and fundraising in the past.”
“I don’t suppose you’d be interested—” Maggie began.
Zack didn’t want Maggie strong-arming Rowan into anything. “Rowan is just visiting. She’s helping her grandmother after surgery.”
“O’Shea. You must be Bonnie’s granddaughter. Bonnie was one of my favorite customers when I worked at the credit union. She used to bring us cookies at Christmas.” Maggie grinned. “She really put Palmer on the map last year. Too bad there are no historic gold nuggets on our property, Zack.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice?” he said. “Although it still wouldn’t count as matching funds.”
“Our grant will only distribute funds to match the amount we raise,” Maggie explained to Rowan. “It’s a shame you won’t be around long enough to help with that.”
“Well, if you like the idea of a food tasting and auction, maybe I could at least get the ball rolling. I can talk to Lauren—”
“We shouldn’t be taking you away from your grandmother,” Zack said.
“She won’t mind. The only thing she needs me for is to drive her to physical therapy appointments. I’d love to help the wildlife rehab center as much as I can.”
“Great!” Maggie said.
“The board would need to approve the idea,” Zack cautioned.
Maggie scoffed. “We have half the board right here, and you don’t seriously believe Jessie or Greg are going to turn this down. In fact, Rowan, why don’t you meet us this Saturday at the Sunrise Diner and give them your ideas?”
“That would be great. If it’s okay with Zack.”
“Sure.” He didn’t want to railroad Rowan, but the idea of spending more time with her was appealing. “But before you agree, you might want to look at our website.”
Rowan smiled. “I will, but I’ve already seen enough to know that this is the coolest place in Palmer. Right, Becca?” Rowan held out a hand.
Becca slapped her a high five and grinned. “Right.”
“Sounds good, then,” Maggie said. “See you Saturday, Rowan.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Maggie headed off for the evening.
They passed an empty cage. “What’s this for?” Rowan asked.
“Most recently, an injured marmot. We released him about three weeks ago.”
Rowan tilted her head. “That must give you a lot of satisfaction, when you’ve helped heal an animal and it can return to the wild.”
“It does.” Zack chuckled. “And that’s the only reason I’m willing to do news segments and fundraisers.”
“Well, I’ll see how much I can get done before Saturday.” Once again, that dimple flashed.
“We really do appreciate it.” But Saturday was still three days away. Maybe instead of trying to figure out what to do with a can of tuna, he could take Rowan and Becca out to dinner tonight, and he wouldn’t need a sitter. “Say, are you hun—”
Her phone rang. She held up a finger as she checked the ID. “Oh, sorry. I do need to take this. Excuse me a minute.”
“Sure. We’ll just be...” He indicated the way down the trail, toward the creek. Rowan nodded and walked a few steps away to answer her phone. “Hi, Sutton.”
Sutton? Zack sincerely hoped that was Rowan’s boss’s name. He herded Becca along the path. “How many otters were out today?” The otters weren’t technically part of the wildlife center, but a pair were raising a family on the bank of the creek that ran through it, and Becca loved watching them.
“All three babies were playing. Rowan liked them.”
“I’ll bet she did.”
“Rowan’s nice. And she has really pretty hair.”
“Yes.” Zack couldn’t argue with either of those points.
“Sorry about that.” Rowan came up the trail behind them. “We’ve been playing phone tag all day.”
“Of course.” Now, how was he going to find out if that was her boyfriend on the phone? He couldn’t just come out and ask, could he?
“Who were you talking to?” Becca had no such hesitations, bless her.
“Sutton Tanaka. He’s my, um...” Rowan licked her lower lip. “...my fiancé.”
And poof, Zack’s plans went up in smoke. No second chance for him and Rowan. At least he’d avoided the awkwardness of asking her out. “It’s getting late. We’d better get home and see what we can dig up for dinner, right, Becks?”
“Thanks so much for letting me visit,” Rowan told them. “It was nice to meet you, Becca.”
“How long are you staying in Alaska?” Zack asked.
Rowan looked away. “I’m not sure. It depends on how things go.”
“Where do you usually live?” Becca asked.
“In Japan,” Rowan told her.
“Wow. Can you talk Japanese?” Becca asked.
“Yes, conversationally.” Rowan smiled. “Jaa ne, Becca. That’s like ‘see you later’ in Japanese.”
“Jaa ne.” Becca tried it and seemed to like the way it felt on her tongue. “Jaa ne, Rowan.”
“See you Saturday.” Zack held the gate for Rowan and Becca. “I’ll text you the details.”
“Thanks.” Rowan waved as she walked to her jeep. “With luck, I’ll have good news to share.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“HOW WAS THE bridge tournament?” Rowan held open the car door and handed Gran her cane.
“Good. Molly and I placed second.” Gran pulled herself to her feet and they started toward the physical therapy center. “Alice and Ralph won, as usual, but we gave them a good run for their money this time.”
“Alice.” Rowan thought back to all of Gran’s friends she’d met at Patrick and Lauren’s wedding. “She’s the former librarian?”
“No, Linda is the librarian. Alice used to work in the governor’s office.”
“Oh, yes, Alice is the one who set up the fishing trip for a visiting congresswoman and her new husband, only to discover at the last minute the boat captain was her first husband.” Rowan chuckled. “Your friends have some great stories.”
“The Mat Mates meet for yoga tomorrow. You should join us.”
“Mat Mates? Cute name.”
The receptionist greeted them. “Hello, Bonnie. David is just finishing up with another client. He’ll be with you soon.”
“Thanks, Marley.” Once they’d settled into chairs in the waiting room, Bonnie continued. “It’s nice having you here. How long are you staying?”
“At least two weeks, until you can drive.”
“My friends could drive me around if you need to get back.”
“No
, no particular reason I need to.”
“Not work?”
“I took a leave of absence. It’s a slow period right now, anyway.”
“What about your apartment?”
“My roommate has a cousin staying with her. She was happy to take over my part of the rent in exchange for using my room. As far as she’s concerned, the longer I’m away, the better.”
“And you don’t have anyone waiting for you in Tokyo? Like whoever gave you the rather large diamond ring you were wearing when you arrived from the airport?”
“No, uh.” Rowan could feel her cheeks growing warm. She’d asked her mother not to say anything, that she wanted to tell Gran and Patrick about her engagement herself, but now she almost wished she’d let Mom be the one to break the news. “Sutton is in Palo Alto on a business trip.”
“Sutton?”
“Sutton Tanaka. We’ve been dating for a while.”
“How long of a while?”
“About two years.”
“Two years.” Gran raised her eyebrows. “And yet I’ve never heard his name before. Tell me about him.”
“Let’s see. His father, Asao, is the founder of Tanaka Electronics in Tokyo. Sutton works in mergers and acquisitions. His mother is American. Coralie Sutton was her maiden name. She and Mom were in the same sorority at William & Mary, but Mom is three years younger, so they didn’t know each other that well until they met again in Japan.”
“Your fiancé didn’t come with you to your brother’s wedding.”
“He was in Zurich. Sutton travels a lot, negotiating contracts and, um, stuff.” Rowan really wasn’t clear on what he did. Much of Sutton’s work was confidential, and he couldn’t really share the details with her. Or at least he didn’t.
Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set Page 28
