Everyday he watched the crowds of people pass through the zoo and hoped to see her face, but with no luck. For a while there everything in his life had been on track. It had felt right for the first time in years.
A group of children accompanied by a woman with long black hair gathered around the perimeter fence in front of the giant anteater. It wasn’t Shay. The woman was shorter, and her curves were all wrong, but the way she held her head as she watched every child in her group reminded him of Shay.
He had to find a way to reach her. If he could just get five minutes, he knew she’d understand and forgive him for breaking his promise.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder and Colin looked up to find PJ and a suit. The guy might have been wearing chinos and a polo shirt, but he reeked of executive authority.
“Everything okay?” PJ nodded in the direction of the exhibit. “I’ve been calling your name and you didn’t respond.”
“Yep, sorry. Running a mental check on supplies for the tigers. Did you need something?” He was fully aware of the other man taking stock of him.
PJ waved a hand in his direction. “I’d like you to meet Theodore Todd, the executive director of the Santa Barbara Zoo. He’s in the area on vacation and wanted to stop in and say hello.”
Colin cocked a doubtful brow at PJ before turning to Theodore. “Mr. Todd, welcome to the Naples Zoo. What brings you out our way?”
He shook Colin’s hand, keeping the grasp firm, decisive and short. “My niece is getting married tomorrow at a nearby resort, Casa Blanca. Since I’m in all the ladies’ ways today, I thought I’d pop over here and check the place out.”
Casa Blanca. Maybe this was his way in to see Shay.
“Beautiful resort.” Play it cool, he chanted in his head as he tried to figure out a way to engineer an invitation to visit Mr. Todd.
“I understand you have a Florida panther in your care.” At Colin’s nod, he went on. “We’ve been approached to handle a similar case for a puma that was recently rescued and I’d like to see the setup and hear about the care yours got, if you’ve got the time.”
Colin led Mr. Todd to the panther exhibit, bringing him up to speed on Uno’s history and present condition. He answered questions and demonstrated sound cues they’d taught the cat to help him learn his new environment. Todd’s questions bounced all over the place from Uno, to the other big cats, to Colin’s training and education, to questions about the area that had nothing to do with the zoo.
When Colin had finished his dissertation on the panther and showed Todd the back offices as well as all the other exhibits, the man thanked him for his time. Just as he was about to leave, Todd stopped and stuck his hands in his pockets.
“I’ve got a morning-after breakfast with the family Sunday, but if you’re free why don’t you pop in over at the resort, say around one. I’ve got a proposition I’d like to talk to you about.”
It took everything he had not to shout, “yes” in response. “I’ll see you then.”
“We’re staying in the Rockrose villa.”
They said their good-byes and Colin did a fist pump in the air. Now he just needed to figure out how to get Shay to listen to him so he could win her back.
*
Shay couldn’t believe she’d agreed to it, to be interviewed alongside her grandmother by the reporter from The Mimosa Times. The decision hadn’t been made lightly and only after she had talked with her parents, brother, and Lacey Walker as she wanted no backlash on the resort. She’d also received assurance from Nate Ivory, billionaire hottie, part owner of the Barefoot Bucks baseball team and father to one of her favorite little pirates, Dylan, that she could trust Julia Simpson with her story.
The day had been spent reminiscing, laughing and crying as she and her grandmother shared their experiences with the reporter, who asked intelligent questions and shed a few tears of her own. Hearing the story from start to finish gave Shay a new perspective on love and the lengths a person will go to protect those they care about. She no longer begrudged Colin for breaking his promise to her and spilling the beans to her gram about the evidence they had gathered.
He had done so to soothe Gram’s aching heart and because he knew Shay wouldn’t want her gram to hurt.
She got that. She even found out he hadn’t been the one who let the whole story slip to Charity Grambling. Nope, that had been Gram in her excitement as she was leaving town the next morning.
The problem Colin and she had was a simple matter of lack of trust and faith and without those two ingredients they could never have a happily ever after. It was one of the problems that had led to their big fight years ago. And for whatever reason, Colin and his team had gone back to Gram’s house, but he hadn’t told her about it ahead of time. Clearly he didn’t want her there and didn’t trust her to understand the reasons.
A part of her felt better than she ever had before, now that she knew the truth about her family and had come to accept her gift, and didn’t think she was losing her mind every time she heard the voice. There was another part of her, a huge part that included her heart, that ached like nothing she’d ever experienced before.
She missed Colin. Missed the way he made her laugh and how light and happy he made her feel. She missed the passionate way he talked about his animals, and how the future looked bright and shiny and something worth working toward with him in it.
Thanks to Lacey she still had plans to look forward to. Maybe she’d even visit the local animal shelter and adopt a dog, one with paws that were too big for its body or something small that wouldn’t take up a lot of space in her bungalow. She’d name him Bobokins.
As she walked up to her place, making plans to visit the shelter on her next day off, she didn’t notice the rose petals scattered all over the ground until she hit the first step, where the smell tickled her nose. She stopped and looked down at the ground, then back along the path she’d walked and finally at the front door.
Waiting amidst the petals were a dozen long-stemmed red roses and a note. Shay picked up a rose and the envelope, pulling out the card.
Meet me at the southern end of the beach where the Casa Blanca property stops.
There was no signature. Not that she needed one. Colin had been the only man in her life since arriving on Mimosa Key or for several years before that. She picked up the other flowers and went inside, half tempted to ignore the request as she pulled a vase out of the cupboard and arranged the blooms. She sat them on the small coffee table and stood there debating to go or stay.
Forgive him.
She hadn’t heard from Finn since Gram requested he give her some space. Kind of figured he’d be back now.
“Are you in cahoots with Colin, Finnegan?” She moved her hands to her hips and tapped her toes, waiting for a response.
Love is forgiveness.
“It’s not that simple. He doesn’t trust me, if he did, he would have confided in me the group’s plan to investigate without me present and trust I’d understand. Plus, he hasn’t even made an attempt to explain himself in over two weeks. If he loved me, he wouldn’t have walked away.”
Believe.
“Believe what? That he had a good reason?” She shook her head and stared at the flowers. “Unless he’s been hospitalized all this time, there is no excuse and I know for a fact he hasn’t been in the hospital. I checked.”
Believe.
“So we’re back to one-word answers.” She sighed. “Everything is so easy in your eyes. Faith, forgiveness and love are all it takes for you. Sadly the world isn’t that simple anymore and neither are relationships.”
Check your phone.
Her cellphone buzzed, and buzzed and buzzed at that moment.
What the heck? Was there some kind of emergency? She pulled it out of her purse and hit the envelope icon. A dozen messages…all from Colin, starting with the morning after the investigation.
As Shay read through them her feet had already started moving toward the door and d
own the path that would lead her to the beach. She had no clue why the messages hadn’t come through before, but it was clear Colin hadn’t just walked out of her life. She owed him a chance to explain.
It took everything she had not to break out running. Sundays were typically a slow day at the resort but they still had guests from the weekend’s wedding so she took the back path, cut around the villas, and crossed over the bridge. As soon as her feet hit the sand, she kicked off her shoes and picked up speed. The sun was riding low in the sky surrounded by a haze of orange, red, and purplish-blue streaks. The sea had turned a dark blue making the whitecaps brighter as they rushed to shore. Most of the guests had returned to their villas or gone to clean up for dinner. At the far end of the beach Shay could see a glow.
Her steps slowed. Colin stood, hands in his pockets, gaze on the distant horizon, looking lost while surrounded by about a hundred candles with a picnic set up in the middle.
He turned and their eyes locked.
“I see you got my message finally.” He held out his hand.
She looked down, only then realizing that she still had one of the roses in her hand. In the other she had her phone, which she held up to show him. “All of them, just now. I was debating on whether to come here or not. Arguing with Finn on the subject. By the way, I think he likes you. Then suddenly my phone started to blow up with messages…all from you over the last two weeks.”
“Mine did the same thing. I haven’t heard a word from you since the night we investigated your gram’s house. Every attempt I’ve made has gone unanswered or been blocked. I’m sorry I broke my promise.”
“Finn messed with our phones. He was rambling in my ear on the way over here. He said something about technology getting in people’s way. I think he was trying to make us talk face-to-face.” She swapped her phone to her other hand and with Colin’s help stepped over the lit candles to join him in the center. “Gram explained what happened that night to me. It’s okay, I understand.”
“So are we good then?” he asked.
Shay took a good look at everything he’d done to get her attention. The candles were in a giant heart shape with a romantic picnic set in the middle and “I’m sorry” was spelled out with driftwood. If it had just been the one thing, they’d be breaking open the champagne he had chilling.
“Not really. She took a step back, dropping his hand.
“It’s the investigation, right? My not telling you about it beforehand.” He turned back to the ocean. “I was hurt, Shay. Every time I tried to bring up the future—our future—you’d shut down or change the subject. Instead of talking to you, I shut you out. It was the wrong thing to do. I was wrong and I’m sorry.”
She’d come to stand next to him and for the next few moments they watched the sunset in silence. “Seems we’ve learned nothing over the years. We couldn’t communicate back then and we still can’t. You didn’t want me at that investigation, Colin, for whatever reason, but you didn’t trust me to understand. Just like before, instead of facing me and talking, you walked away. Nothing has changed. They say not all who come into your life are meant to be there forever. Maybe our season has passed.”
“Bullshit!” He spun her around to face him. “I’m not walking away, Shay. I screwed up. Yes, the team asked that you not be there for the investigation. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings and tell you, plus I was hurt myself. So I kept quiet. But I’ve learned I was wrong and I’m here. Talking. Trusting. Having faith in us.”
She laughed and laid her forehead against his chest. “Now you sound like Finn. Just throw in some pixie dust and we’ll be able to fly.”
“This isn’t a fairy tale, Shay. No one rides off into the sunset and lives happily ever after. In real life there’s ups and down, good times and bad. We’ll laugh and we’ll fight, but I wouldn’t want to do any of those things with anyone else.”
“So I just forget and move forward?”
“You forgive and we move forward together.”
Before she could respond the picnic basket started shaking and a noise that sounded like a whimper caught her attention. “Um, Colin. I think your dinner is alive.”
A black nose lifted the lid, followed by the sound of a small whine. Colin pulled her over and knelt down.
“It’s not dinner.” He lifted the lid and pulled out a wiggling, squiggling puppy with paws that looked like they belonged on a mastiff. “I couldn’t say no when I saw his face. I named him Bobokins.”
Every reserve she had built up inside came crashing down. Shay dropped to her knees and held out her hands. Little puppy kisses covered her face as she breathed in his sweet, clean smell.
“This is bribery,” she told Colin on a sigh.
He scooted over next to her so the puppy could climb back and forth from one lap to the next, his tail wagging ninety miles an hour while he licked and nipped at their chins. “Is it working?”
“I don’t know. How do I know you won’t get mad and walk away again?” The very thought hurt her heart. This man who knew her so well, yet didn’t trust her to have faith in him. She wanted more than a bribe. She wanted the dream life they’d planned all those years ago and she was ready. But was he?
“I was offered a new job today. Animal Care Director at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The executive director is here for a wedding and staying in the Rockrose villa. I turned him down, Shay. Told him that my future was here with you. Was I wrong?”
“Why would you do that? Give up a chance at something bigger, your dream?” Her voice was shaky, her breath shallow. She couldn’t believe he’d pass on such a great opportunity because of her and she couldn’t let him. It wasn’t right.
“Because you’re my dream.”
“This is the job you’ve been working for—”
“I don’t want to be three thousand miles away living a life without you. That’s no life at all.” He cupped her face so she had to meet his eyes. “Without you there is no laughter in my life. Give me another chance, Shay.” His eyes said so much more than his words did, but she still needed to hear those three words.
“One reason why?”
“Because I love you and you love me.”
“So sure of your charms, aren’t you Mackay?” She laughed and kissed him. “Yes, I forgive you and I don’t want to go another day without you in it because, yes! I do love you.”
Love always wins.
“Can it, Finn and go bug Gram,” Shay laughed as she scolded the meddling spirit.
“What was that about?” Colin looked around, rubbing the back of his head. “And why did he bop me upside the head this time?”
“I think to let you know he was here and approves. Gram will know before we can call, but we need to talk about this job. You can’t pass it up because of me.”
The puppy had fallen asleep again, so Colin gently laid him back in the basket and knelt in front of Shay.
“Your life is here. Your grandmother and Finn are here. I want a life here, with you and Bobokins. But this time I want more than just us living together.” He picked up a small, square blue box she hadn’t even noticed and opened it to reveal a solitaire diamond set in a band of tiny diamonds. “You don’t have to set a date now, but say yes. Say you’ll marry me.”
He was giving her everything she’d ever dreamed of. As she held up her left hand she realized her whole body was shaking and she let out a breath she’d been holding in without thought. “I may be crazy, but yes.”
Colin captured her mouth with his and sealed the deal before she could change her mind. Then he grabbed the champagne, popped the top and poured them each a glass.
“To you and me,” he said.
A small ball of fur came flying through the air and tackled her, making them both laugh.
“To our family,” she toasted.
To love, faith, and trust.
About the Author
Gail Chianese's love of reading began at the tender age of three, when she'd make her grandpa read Fourte
en Country Rabbits over and over and over again (and correct him when he skipped parts). While she's branched out over the years by reading mystery, women’s fiction, and urban fantasy, she always circles back to romance in the end. That's probably because she's married to her real life hero. Her wonderful hubby has served in the US Navy for the past twenty seven years and he’s done things he can’t tell her about. But it doesn’t stop her from being extremely proud of him and the sacrifices he makes for her, his family, and his country. He’s also uber-supportive of her dreams and of their three children. Living in Mystic, CT and a member of Connecticut Romance Writers of America, Gail loves to hear from readers. Visit her online at GailChianese.com, Facebook, follow her on Twitter @Gail_Chianese, or send her an e-mail at [email protected].
Books by Gail Chianese
The West Side Romance Series
Bachelorette for Sale
Boyfriend for Hire
Fiancé for Keeps
The Changing Tides Series
Love Runs Deep
Whispers in the Sand Page 9
