Deane caught it, held it up and grimaced. “Do I really look like a T-shirt kind of guy to ye?”
Emery put her hand on her hip and snorted. “Isn’t that the problem? Do you really want to get your nice things dirty cleaning gator poo or whatever it is they’re going to have you do?”
He thought of Verity’s comment to him yesterday and grumbled his way out of the room. Deane peeled off his button-up shirt and went to carefully lay it on the bed in his own room. He pulled off the tag from the Florida Gators T-shirt and put it on. He stood in front of the mirror and raised an eyebrow at his reflection. The shirt hugged his torso and biceps, making him look like he belonged on the beach. He supposed that was the point.
Deane dragged his fingers through his hair and went downstairs. Riley was sitting on the same couch he’d been affixed to since they’d arrived. He had his phone up, but his eyes were focused on the other side of the room where the younglings were messing around and talking. Deane sat down perpendicular to the boy in a padded chair. “Hey, kid. What’s the plan for today?”
Riley turned to stare solemnly at him. He shrugged. “Watch YouTube videos, then maybe watch a few more and take a nap.”
Deane couldn’t imagine growing up in the world today. When he was this kid’s age, he was supporting himself and working harder than Riley could probably imagine. “Aerilyn tells me you’re smart. One of the best writers she’s ever taught.”
“So?” Riley leaned back into the couch.
Deane leaned his elbows on his knees. “So, sitting round here and rottin’ yer brain staring at that screen doesn’t seem like something a smart kid would do. We’re in Florida. Ye should go out and do what teenagers do.”
Riley muttered, “He says to the kid whose mother was murdered by his father and who has nightmares of the blood on his hands.”
Deane exhaled and looked at the boy. “Well, wallowing around here by yerself isn’t going to help ye through yer problems. Have ye met those younglings? Maybe ye could do something with them.”
A burst of laughter came from the other side of the room, and Riley stared at Georgina’s cousin and the others. Riley gave a slight nod. “Yeah. We were introduced, but they look at me like I’m a freak. I’m nothing like them.”
“What about food?” Deane rubbed his jaw, wondering how he was going to get his hands on some animal blood. “How ye feeling? Peckish? Will ye be needing blood soon?”
Riley didn’t answer. His cheeks flushed. He only acknowledged the question with an inclination of his head. Deane stood up and clapped his hands together. “Well then, I’ve got to leave on business. I’ll be back tonight. Ye should go out with Emery and have some fun.”
“Yeah, I’ll take a page from your book and loosen up and go wild,” Riley answered drily.
Deane glowered at him, then noticed Emery emerge on the stairs. He shook his head at her. She frowned and waved goodbye.
It was a forty-five-minute drive south to TailGators. The parking lot was empty when he pulled up and got out, looking for Julian. He gave a sideways glance at the house before walking through the hewn-beam entrance into the vegetation. His boots clomped on the wooden pathway, and birds chirped overhead in the canopy.
“Morning.” Julian was leaning against the barrier wall that surrounded the gator lagoon and staring into the shallows.
Deane went up to join him and followed his stare into the clear water. He felt Julian’s eyes on him.
The alligator wrangler cleared his throat. “We need to go over the ground rules. I know you may have some gator experience, but I’m going to treat you like you know nothing to make sure there is zero miscommunication. The rule of law around here is: never turn your back to a gator. You must always know where they are in relation to you. I can’t have anyone doing something stupid so I lose my license. Got it?”
Deane nodded and swallowed, looking at the submerged log-like bodies in the cement lagoon. He wasn’t sure what he’d gotten himself into. His tiger form was powerful, but no match for the bite force of an alligator. And when he’d said he’d worked with alligators, it had been a stretch of the truth. He’d only ever assisted and watched Claude the Incredible with his gator, Tic Toc.
Julian rubbed the back of his head. “Okay, how about I show you around the place?”
“Sounds good,” Deane said.
Julian stepped away from the barrier and pointed to the signs warning bodily injury if people went beyond the fencing and reminding patrons to keep children with adults at all times. “There are always thrill seekers who stick fingers into enclosures or throw food to the gators. Common sense seems lost on some.”
He gestured to the small hut that held the T-shirts and stuffed animals as well as the entrance fee box. “I started with just two gators and have grown my population to seven. People show up for feedings and wrestling shows, otherwise it’s pretty quiet around here, which gives me time to tend to the enclosures and animals.”
“I’m surprised you’ve been able to do this by yourself.” Deane followed Julian past The Gator Shack and the empty moat.
Julian squinted, shielding his eyes from the sunlight pouring through the canopy above. Deane thought he saw a slight smile touch his lips. “The gate through the moat leads to another enclosure that holds three gators. They’re the girls I use for my wrestling shows. They get along well together and aren’t too aggressive—they’re my sweethearts.”
Deane noticed the gate Julian mentioned and the cement walls that moved beyond view to form a large enclosure. They walked away from the seating and went across a spotty lawn. Julian approached one of the sides of the cement wall and clutched the fencing. “Hello, girls.”
Most of the large space was filled with a man-made pond. A small island was at its center, and sand and a few palms surrounded its perimeter. Two gators were lying in a sunny patch warming up, and it took Deane a moment to spot the third one floating in the water near a downed log.
“I don’t know if you know, but they’re quite smart. Their problem-solving skills are insane, and I hear they’re capable of using tools to get food. I haven’t seen it yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
The way Julian talked about them, Deane could tell just how much he cared for the creatures. Deane put his hands in his pockets. “Do ye feed them once or twice a week?”
Julian’s eyes remained on the gators. “Since it’s our cooler season, they don’t need as much. During winter, I feed them once a week, and when we get into the warmer summer months, I feed them twice a week.”
Although he already knew the answer to the question, Deane asked, “What do ye feed them?”
“It’s good for them to get a varied diet. They’re omnivores, so they eat some fruit and veggies here and there, but I mostly supply them rabbits. We farm their food supply at the other end of the property. Do you have an issue with euthanizing rabbits? My sister won’t go near my work shed when I’m doing it, something about it going against her veterinary ethics.”
Deane paused. “How do ye do it? Break their necks?”
Julian shook his head and moved around the enclosure to a gate. He bent over to pick up a large metal bowl of limp rabbits. “We don’t want them to suffer at all. It’s best for the rabbit, and I don’t want the gators to consume food with the added lactic acid buildup that’s created when an animal’s frightened in its last moments of life. I euthanize them with carbon dioxide, which puts them into a peaceful sleep before they die.”
Deane was trying to figure him out. The blood-suckers they’d come across in Denver weren’t the sort to care about a rabbit dying in fear. Maybe not all blood-suckers behaved the same.
Julian unlatched the gate and entered the sandy enclosure. He waved for Deane to follow and handed the pole to him. “It’s time for their feeding, and I’d like to introduce you to the girls. Remember, keep your eye on them at all times and for now, just stay behind me.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Deane said as he joined Julian in the e
nclosure and shut the gate behind him.
Across the pond, the submerged gator had begun to move closer to the sandy beach they were standing on, and the two females that were sunning themselves perked up. Deane felt their eyes on him, which made him wonder if they knew someone new had entered their home.
Julian slapped one of the rabbits on the edge of the pond. “Girls, time to eat.”
The gator in the water glided across the distance to the sandy beach, and Julian backed up. He said over his shoulder, “This is Carly. You can recognize her because of her pale scales. She tends to stay to herself but doesn’t mind the others.”
Julian threw the rabbit toward Carly’s open mouth, and she snatched it midair. The loud clacking sound sent a chill down Deane’s spine. The gators across from them started prowling their way. Julian pointed to the largest of the three. “That one’s Gertrude, who you saw me perform with yesterday. She’s the matriarch of the bunch and the largest. Beside her is Sobek, named after the Egyptian god. She’s a bit of a diva and has a flair for drama. You’ll recognize her by her missing scales just behind her front right leg.”
Movement caught Deane’s eye. Julian continued to talk, but his voice faded in Deane’s ears. Beyond the enclosure, he noticed Verity walking across the lawn to a trailhead. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she was wearing a string bikini with a towel wrapped around her waist. She was holding a book in her hand, and from all the exposed skin Deane could see, she looked every bit as human on the outside as any shifter.
Just as she disappeared from view, Deane was yanked backward by Julian. “What did I say about keeping your eyes on the gators?”
Sobek had moved close to Deane with her mouth open, looking for food one way or another. Deane stepped back even farther as Julian threw a rabbit into her awaiting jaws. Julian was clearly annoyed. Deane’s heartbeat raced as he tried to recover from the thrill and embarrassment caused by his momentary distraction.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” he assured Julian.
“You’re right.” Julian tossed Gertrude her share. “Because you’ll be missing your toes, or you’ll be out of a job.”
Deane couldn’t let himself get fired when he was so close to learning more about the blood-suckers. He focused on everything Julian did for the remainder of the feeding, trying to project a professional manner. As soon as they were back out of the enclosure and the bowl was empty, Deane braced his hands at his sides and caught Julian’s eye. “Ye need someone who ye can trust working with ye, and I swear I’m that man.”
A grin spread across Julian’s lips, and his cheek dimpled. “We all need lessons to learn from. I just wouldn’t want the girls to take any part of you you’d rather keep.”
“That makes two of us.”
Julian gestured to a small building and started walking. “Let me show you the shed where the water controls and drainage system are located.”
While they went across the lawn, Deane thought it best to drum up some small talk that might give the Society more answers before anything else went wrong. “So ye said yer moving home soon—where’s that?”
Julian’s eyes narrowed, and he scratched his cheek. “That would be California.”
“I can tell ye don’t want to leave. I hope everything’s all right.” Deane floated the sentiment, hoping Julian would share useful information.
Birds chirped loudly from nearby shrubs, and Julian inhaled deeply. “It’s my father. He needs us home.”
“It’s hard saying no to family.” Deane didn’t have any living family left, but his loyalty ran deep. He considered the Society family, and there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for them.
Darkness filled Julian’s eyes, and he grew serious. “Something like that.”
Deane could tell the subject was closed. He didn’t want to push too hard and lose the trust he was trying to gain. For the rest of the day, he worked hard like he was sixteen again, earning his place in the world. When Verity’s blond hair flashed in the sunlight, he didn’t even look her way. Or at least, not for more than a second.
Before Verity could even think about tying up loose ends, she needed to catch some rays. They’d searched for years for the right property. It had been a dream come true when they’d found so much land off the coast.
Verity exhaled sharply, slipped on her favorite yellow bikini and wrapped a towel around her waist. She grabbed the latest romance novel she’d started and waltzed out the back door. With all non-emergent appointments canceled for the day, she could deal with the fiasco of putting everything in their life on hold. But before that, she needed some sun, surf, and sultry escapades between the pages of a novel before she could think straight.
Verity walked through the parking lot past Deane’s car and wondered if Julian’s new hire had actually worked with a circus or if he was just an adrenaline junkie looking for an exciting, hard-to-get job. She looped around the gator enclosures to the trail that led down to the bay. Verity heard her brother talking with Deane as she went by.
She found it challenging to focus on her book while she lay out on her beach towel and let her mind wander. Fantasizing about getting swept away by a handsome hero who wanted her more desperately than anything else in this world was a lovely daydream, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen. Her reliance on blood to survive made her different, and the one thing her father instilled in all his offspring was the requirement to live inconspicuously and to never, ever draw attention to the family. It was paramount no one ever discovered their kind. This made it impossible to fall in love and settle down. So she did the next best thing. She lived vicariously through the characters in romance novels. But today she just couldn’t get swept away in the story.
The temperature was mild, and clouds slid by the sun, creating shade and an unpleasant tanning experience. She sighed in frustration, knowing her chill morning wasn’t going to happen while she couldn’t relax. How could she? In a matter of weeks, they would be moving back home with Lycos. A man she hated.
Verity set her book down to watch the seagulls flying overhead and stared at the ocean’s illusion of infinity, wishing she could sail out and get lost at sea, so her father could never find her. That daydream alone was enough to satisfy her as she stared at the horizon for a while longer.
When the wind began to blow and she was no longer comfortable, she gathered her things and returned to the house. She grabbed her laptop and took it upstairs to the lounge. Verity opened the shutters, then called her clients, canceling upcoming appointments, explaining she was closing her business for the season. It was depressing work. Most of her customers were sad to see her go, and a few even got angry at the disruption in service.
She took a break and opened one of the windows to touch her face to the breeze. From her vantage point, she could see Julian showing Deane around the rabbit hutches. Although she’d only just met the man, he didn’t seem himself in the bright Florida Gators T-shirt and work boots. But again, she’d only just met him. Despite that, she couldn’t help but notice his strong arms and the cut of his broad chest.
At the end of the day, Julian came inside, grungy and ready for a shower. Verity stood in the lounge’s doorway and watched him emerge upstairs. “How’s he faring? Think he’s worth the trouble?”
Her brother rubbed his sweaty cheek on his shoulder. “I think so.”
“Are you saying that because you think he’s the bee’s knees? I admit he’s a dish to look at, but…” she said hesitantly.
Julian unbuttoned his TailGators shirt and walked past her to the bathroom door. He put his hand on the knob. “I have a weakness for accents and strong jaws, but I don’t think he’s light in the loafers. He seems to be trying very hard. He did have a bit of a moment out with my girls. But we’ve all had to learn from mistakes.”
This was what she was worried about. Her brother had a good heart and was a softie whenever a pair of broad shoulders and soulful eyes came his way. Verity came into the hallwa
y to lift her brow at him. “What kind of mistake?”
“Well, he got distracted and wasn’t paying attention when Sobek raced up to him.” Julian lifted the edge of his shirt to wipe his forehead while he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “Actually, he was staring at you walking by in your skimpy bikini. You could have been responsible for a man’s death today. Why don’t you keep yourself dressed around the guy, so we don’t have to call the paramedics?”
Involuntarily, Verity’s cheeks flushed, and she sputtered, “Maybe it’s best to get someone who can do the job properly, so we don’t have to worry about death and dismemberment.”
“True.” Julian shrugged and opened the bathroom door, tapping it gently with his knuckle. “But he’s all we’ve got.”
Verity was left standing alone in the hallway. The sound of the shower running filled the air, and she spun around to return to the lounge. She looked down at her less-than-professional attire, smirked to herself and went to get changed.
After Julian’s shower, he brought out his guitar. He always knew just how to make her feel better. She’d been wound tighter than a jack-in-the-box since Dolan’s unannounced visit. Verity watched him sit on a padded chair. His fingers plucked away at the strings, tuning it. Then he stopped to looked at her. “‘Mood Indigo’?”
She nodded. There would be no resolving her sadness about leaving this place without some jazz. Julian’s fingers started strumming away, and song lyrics poured from her lips. She knew she didn’t sound like the great Ella Fitzgerald, but music was about feeling and emotion. And she had plenty of that.
Six
Deane sat at the white marble bar eating his breakfast while Emery rambled on about a list of people she’d seen over the last few days from the pool patio while he’d been undercover at TailGators. “You would not believe the bathing suit this dude was wearing when he walked by—it left nothing to the imagination. Nothing.”
Half-Blood Secrets: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 2) Page 6
