by Valerie Parv
“Imagining the headlines already?” Jo asked, avoiding the question.
“I guess I deserve that. No, this time I’ll wait until you’re ready to write the story yourself, if you decide to.” Still, Karen couldn’t resist adding, “Provided Australian Scene gets an exclusive on the wedding pictures.”
A wedding seemed like an impossibility after today. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”
“Neither should you. From what I’ve seen of Blake and read in your first article, he’s worth going after. And having you in the family would be one way to ensure I don’t lose my best writer to another magazine.”
She smiled to assure Jo she was teasing, although Jo suspected, at some level, her editor meant every word. What a surrogate mother-in-law she would make, she thought, and was amazed by her own thoughts. “Does that mean we have your approval?”
“Yes, although it wouldn’t make any difference. You and Blake have more in common than you think.”
Considering his refusal to believe her, Jo nodded. “He’s a stubborn, hardheaded son of a…”
“As I said, two of a kind,” Karen cut across her.
Was it possible? Then Jo remembered Blake’s avowed habit of getting in first, before others had the chance to hurt him. Maybe she meant something to him after all. If his feelings for her were strong enough to make him push her away, there was hope for them yet.
“You could be right,” she said, standing up. “Your nephew is about to find out that I can be every bit as stubborn as he can.”
“He left here in quite a temper. How will you go about finding him?”
“I have a good idea where to look.”
“Then what are you standing there for?”
From her research, Jo knew that Tiger Mountain Reserve outside Perth was one of only three centers in the world where visitors could interact with tigers. The second was on Queensland’s Gold Coast, on the opposite side of Australia, and the third in San Francisco.
She was pleased when the ticket seller remembered her. “Planning to write another story about us? You’d be surprised how many visitors still mention your last article,” she said.
“We’re going to meet Jo’s friends Bob and Blake, and see the tigers,” Lauren promptly told the receptionist.
The woman processed Jo’s credit card and returned it, together with two tickets bearing colored pictures of tigers. “If you’re official guests, I probably shouldn’t take your money. I can check with Bob, and let him and Blake know you’re here.”
“We’re just visiting,” Jo assured her. “I’m happy for the donation to go toward the reserve’s conservation work.” Her heart sped up. She’d read him right. Blake had come to the one place in the city where he would feel at home. Since Perth was short on crocodiles and rain forest, Tiger Mountain, where he’d first worked with animals, had seemed the obvious place to look for him.
Bringing Lauren along had seemed like a good idea when Jo thought of it. A chance to see her friend and give her a treat at the same time. And save Jo having to face Blake alone? Yes, that too, she acknowledged inwardly.
Striving to keep a tremor of anticipation out of her voice, she asked, “Where will we find Blake?”
“Either in the savanna area with Bob, or in the sanctuary, playing with Amulya. She’s the tiger he helped to hand-raise, and now she has two cubs of her own. They’re off display until the cubs are older, but I’m sure Bob will show them to you. Shall I let them know you’ve arrived?”
Aware of the line lengthening behind them, Jo smiled. “We’ll surprise him, thanks.”
Coward, she told herself. She didn’t want to take the risk of Blake making some excuse to avoid her. She hoped he’d be kind to Lauren, if not to Jo herself. At twenty-two, Lauren had blossomed into a lovely young woman. Only her childlike behavior betrayed her, although Jo was amazed at the progress she’d made since moving into the special home. Or was it the result of having a young man take an interest in her?
They walked past a series of naturalistic enclosures where koalas drowsed after feasting on eucalyptus leaves. Lauren bounced excitedly at Jo’s side, her long auburn hair swinging around her face. “I love animals.”
“I know you do.” Lauren’s bedroom was crammed with cuddly toy animals, many given to her by Jo. “I should have brought you to Tiger Mountain a long time ago.”
“You’re always busy,” Lauren said.
Jo gave her a sharp look but, as usual, Lauren wasn’t complaining, merely stating a fact. “You’re right, but being busy is no excuse for neglecting my friends.”
“I’m still your friend. And I have Adam, as well, now.”
They paused while Lauren leaned over a fence to pet a kangaroo and exclaim over a tiny joey poking its head out of the mother’s pouch. “Look, she has a baby. Do you think Adam and me could have a baby?”
Concern gripped Jo. “Have you talked about this with Mrs. Richardson?” The Richardsons were Lauren’s house parents.
Lauren’s look was scathing. “I don’t have to. I know we’re not supposed to make babies until after we get married.”
How easy it was to forget Lauren’s natural candor. “How long have you known Adam?” Jo asked.
“Two weeks. I love him.”
About to question whether Lauren could have fallen in love with Adam in such a short time, Jo choked back the words. Hadn’t she done the same thing with Blake? And from the sound of things, Lauren had behaved with a lot more restraint than Jo herself. Who was the smart one? She felt herself color and looked away.
“You’ll like Adam,” Lauren went on, oblivious to Jo’s turbulent state of mind.
“I’m sure I will. You don’t have to marry someone just because you like them.”
Lauren made an impatient sound. “I know that, too. But I will because I love him. He takes me out. Last week, we went for pizza. It was fun. He wanted us to go for pizza today but I told him we couldn’t because you needed to see me. He said we can have pizza after.”
Who was doing a favor for whom? Jo stopped beside a lake where a pair of black swans were herding a trio of fuzzy gray cygnets. “It’s okay to tell me if you have other plans, Lauren.”
The other girl scuffed her shoe on the gravel path. “You won’t get angry?”
“Of course not. I’ll be happy for you.”
“I told Adam you wouldn’t be angry. He said I should come because it would make you happy.”
“Your Adam sounds like a good person.”
“He makes me laugh.”
High praise indeed, Jo thought, suppressing a twinge of envy at Lauren’s uncomplicated view of the world. They went on to talk about the other girl’s job at a supermarket near her home, while Jo kept her eye open for signs directing them to the tigers. The closer she got, the more she felt like turning and running. This was Blake, not a stranger, she reminded herself, although what they’d shared in the Kimberley seemed like a dream now. If there was the slightest chance of turning the dream into reality, she owed it to them both to take the chance.
Suddenly, Lauren pointed excitedly. “Look, there’s a tiger.”
Jo recognized the towering cutout of a Bengal tiger dominating the entrance to the tiger habitat. In this specially created environment, a sign proclaimed, the tigers could play, swim and live together with their handlers while visitors learned about these critically endangered animals.
The entrance opened onto a savanna edged by stands of rain forest, with a lake and waterfall on one side where the tigers could swim. A moat and low wall separated the visitors from the animals. Inside the enclosure two men lounged on the grass, talking as easily as if three full-grown Bengal tigers weren’t climbing over and around them.
Common sense told Jo that Blake knew what he was doing. He had hand-raised some of these tigers and worked with them before opening his crocodile park. The assurance didn’t prevent panic from fluttering through her. Tigers, no matter how well socialized, were still wild and unpredictable
. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.
His distrust might have shaken her feelings for him, but they were still strong. He only had the power to hurt her because she cared for him so much. She could no more change her feelings than belay the sun from rising in the morning.
Leaning over the wall, Lauren asked, “Which man is your friend?”
Jo forced her fears aside. Both the handlers wore Tiger Mountain uniforms, she saw now. Not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed, she said, “He isn’t there.”
“Hello, Jo. Doreen at the gate told me you’d arrived.”
Jo smiled as a tall, rangy man in khaki shirt and shorts and a battered leather bush hat joined them. He looked to be about fifty, although Jo knew he was closer to seventy. “Lauren, this is Bob Stirton, who owns Tiger Mountain.”
The shy young woman and the older man exchanged greetings. Then Bob said, “It figures two beautiful woman aren’t looking for an old codger like me. Doreen said you’re hoping to surprise Blake.”
Cold feet was more than a metaphor, Jo discovered. Her own felt suddenly icy, although the day was warm. “Is he around?”
“He’s getting reacquainted with Amulya and her babies. This way.”
He took them behind the scenes to another rain forest area separated by a high glass wall from a series of gravel walkways. Behind the wall, Blake was on the ground with one arm around a huge female Bengal tiger. In the other, he held a squirming cub. Jo’s heart leaped into her mouth. “Is he safe in there?”
She was aware of Bob’s speculative look. “They’re old friends. He raised Amulya from two weeks old.”
“But with the cubs…”
“Watch.”
Hands pressed against the glass, she saw the mother tiger lift another cub gently in her mouth and place it onto Blake’s lap. Jo felt her eyes mist. She had never seen such trust in her life. Was it too much to ask for the same deal between her and Blake?
“Would you like to meet Amulya?”
“You mean go in there?” She wasn’t sure which scared her most—meeting the tiger or removing the last barrier between her and Blake. She didn’t hesitate. “What do I have to do?”
Bob told her, adding, “We’ll watch from out here. Okay with you, Lauren?”
The younger woman’s apprehension was obvious. “The tiger won’t eat Jo, will he?”
The older man shook his head. “Blake will take care of her.”
If only the rest of their relationship were so clear-cut, Jo thought. Blake didn’t seem surprised when he saw her with Bob in the small steel cage the handlers used to access the enclosure. Only when the outer gate was safely locked did Bob open the inner one, motioning for Jo to step through. Her heart was pumping with excitement at having no barriers between her and a full-grown tiger, and at Blake’s apparent acceptance of her presence.
Step one accomplished, she thought.
Bob rejoined Lauren behind the glass wall and then the outside world ceased to exist for Jo. There was only Blake, the man she loved, and the magnificent animal lying trustingly beside him.
“Hello, Jo. Walk up quietly and sit down beside me,” he instructed in a low, even tone. “This is Amulya. She’s five years old, weighs nearly three hundred pounds, and these are her babies, Tara, Kiran and Mohini.”
Wonder displaced fear as she followed his instructions. “Can I touch her?”
“You can stroke her flank but stay away from her head and paws. If she rolls over or gets up, stand up and move behind me.”
She was touching a tiger, Jo thought, her mind spinning. Under her hand, the animal’s flank felt firm like a horse’s, the fur thick and more doglike than feline. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“Why did you come?”
“To see you. I couldn’t let it end like this.”
One of the cubs sitting on his lap mewled and he passed it to the mother, where it immediately began to nurse. He placed the other two cubs alongside their sibling at the mother’s flank. Tiny paws with needle-sharp claws kneaded the tiger’s belly and the sweet smell of milk filled the air.
A maelstrom of sensations assailed Jo. She had never imagined herself as a mother, but seeing the cubs nursing stirred something deep inside her, primitive and irresistible. She wanted Blake’s children.
“Nothing has ended unless you’ve made up your mind it should,” he said.
She stared at him. “But I thought…you mean you believe I didn’t know about those headlines?”
“I admit I was suspicious at first. Coming on top of Karen’s revelations, I was so angry I could barely see straight. Heading for Tiger Mountain was reflex. Being around wild animals has a way of putting life into perspective. Going a few rounds with the tigers in the other enclosure worked off most of my frustration.”
She could barely breathe. “And now?”
“I’m grateful to Karen for giving me answers about myself, but I won’t let her turn my life into a circus.”
“She knows. I told her if she runs the story, I’ll never write another word for her again.”
“What happened to editor at thirty-five, publisher at forty?”
Pleased he’d remembered, she set her mouth. “I’ll find another way to get there.”
The tiger made a moaning sound deep in her throat. “It’s okay, she’s talking to her babies,” Blake said when Jo stirred in alarm.
“Does she purr like a cat?”
He shook his head. “Tigers are big cats, but the difference isn’t only in size. Big cats like the tiger are able to roar. Only small cats can purr.”
“You’re a fountain of information. Amulya obviously remembers you.”
“I take that as a compliment. I bottle-fed her from when she was the same size as these little guys, and I visit whenever I’m near Perth.”
Jo had a hard time imagining the huge animal ever being small enough to be bottle-fed. Then she looked at the cubs and melted. “I’m surprised you didn’t stay with the tigers.”
He smiled. “If we’d had wild tigers in Australia, I might have been tempted to go on working with them. But wonderful as Tiger Mountain is, the outback is where I feel most at home.”
Because he’d felt caged as a boy, being handed from one family to another, she assumed, understanding the appeal the outback represented. Her only complaint was being overprotected by her family, but she had also felt the overpowering sense of freedom in the Kimberley.
“And odd as it might seem, I like crocodiles,” he continued. “They may not be as endangered as tigers, or need as much help to make it in the modern world, but they’ve survived since the time of the dinosaurs. In my book, that makes them special.”
“‘Special in a way only a mother could appreciate,’” she quoted.
“Perhaps. Looks like this mother’s done her duty for the moment. We’ll leave the family to their nap.”
Jo gave the magnificent tiger a last pat and then risked stroking the babies one at a time. Amulya kept a wary eye on her, but didn’t seem to object. “How can you tell them apart?”
“Look at their faces. Every one has different markings. Hard to believe people still shoot them, isn’t it?”
She released a breath. “These little guys don’t know how fortunate they are being born here.”
His brow furrowed. “They’d be more fortunate if they could return to the wild, but Tiger Mountain is their only chance of survival. Bob appreciated the story you wrote, by the way. The more people who come here, the more he can do to help conserve what remains of the wild tiger population.”
“I’m going to ask Karen about doing a follow-up about Amulya and her babies,” Jo promised.
“Won’t that be difficult if you’re never going to write a word for her again?”
His teasing tone tugged at her. Was it to be as simple as meeting him on his own ground? “The threat only applies if she messes with you.”
Blake held out a hand to help her up. His gaze went to t
he tiger and her cubs. “You and Amulya have a lot in common.”
Outside the enclosure, Lauren was chatting happily to Bob. As Blake and Jo left the confinement area and were brushing grass off their pants, Bob said, “Come on up to the office for coffee. Doreen says you might be interested in writing another story for us. I’m in the middle of setting up a photo exhibition of the park’s history. Some of the pictures could interest you.”
“I’d be happy to look at them, but I need to put Lauren in a cab first,” Jo said. “She has a date.”
The other girl colored shyly. “Adam’s waiting for me. We’re going out for pizza.”
Bob nodded. “Sounds good to me. Thank you for visiting Tiger Mountain, Lauren. You bring your Adam here sometime and I’ll personally give the two of you a guided tour.”
Lauren’s face flushed with pleasure. “Is it okay for us to come when you’re not here, Jo?”
Another step in her friend’s growth, she recognized, trying not to feel slighted. Enabling Lauren to be as independent as possible had been her goal, and the hope of Lauren’s caregivers all along. “Of course it is. Just let Mrs. Richardson know where you’re going. I’m sure Bob will take good care of you and Adam.”
“Count on it.”
Blake walked them back to the entrance, waiting while she saw Lauren into her cab and gave the driver the girl’s address. Then Blake escorted Jo to Bob’s office above the park’s main restaurant overlooking the reserve.
“Up here, I feel like an eagle in his nest,” Bob said. “Make yourselves comfortable while I do a couple of things in the office and rustle up some coffee. I haven’t finished sorting the photos yet, but you’re welcome to go through them. Most of them have a written description of the shot on the backs.”
He set a box of photos on the desk between her and Blake. Jo waited until the door closed behind Bob. “Blake, I…”
“I’m the one who should apologize,” he said, cutting her off. “I blew up when I should have waited to hear your side of the story.”
“You’ve had an extraordinary day,” she conceded. “It’s not every day you discover a birth mother and a whole new family.”
