“It’s gorgeous,” I whispered in agreement.
Gabe looked back at me and our eyes locked. “Do you think you’ll still love me in five years?”
His question startled me. I looked out at the grounds for a moment then turned back to Gabe’s eyes. “I’ve never been in love before—not until I met you—so, I’m not really sure how to answer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bored or anything, I just don’t have much to compare it to, you know? On the plus side, I don’t have to get buzzed to be with you.”
He threw his head back and laughed, his white teeth shining in the moonlight. “That’s quite a compliment. You don’t have anything to compare us to and you don’t have to get drunk to be with me.”
I stilled his smiling lips with my fingertip. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at this stuff. I could see us together in five years.”
Gabe quieted and his eyes shifted, darker and more serious. We stared at each other for what seemed like an hour, and somewhere in between, an understanding settled between us and I felt like we were back on the same page again.
“We’re quite a ways from the house, aren’t we?” I asked as I broke eye contact and stepped towards the edge of the pool.
“I guess,” Gabe replied. “What did you have in mind?”
I flashed him a naughty smile and untied the red belt around my dress.
“Okay, carry on. I like where this is going,” Gabe said and his smile broadened as I finished undressing for him, slow and seductive.
“You do, huh?” I walked into the water and it was warm and soothing against my skin in the Floridian night air.
I stood on the steps while Gabe watched me and kept walking until the water was up to my knees. I felt beautiful and desired as I swirled around in a circle, my fingers cutting rings in the surface of the water. It was like a fairy tale. Well… a naughty fairy tale. Nobody could see us here, it was just Gabe and me. He stood grinning with his hands on his hips.
“Aren’t you going to join me?” I playfully kicked at the water, my breasts bare as I tossed my ponytail behind my back.
“Well, I would but there are piranhas in there.”
“What?” I screamed and leaped out of the pool.
He laughed again. He grabbed me, picked me up in his strong arms and held me over the water. I held onto his neck, kicked my legs and tried to break free then he tossed me into the pool. I went under the warm water and bobbed back, sputtering, to the surface.
“Gabe! I’m going to kick your ass for that!” He laughed even louder but he undressed quickly and jumped in with me. I tried to run away, but my legs moved slowly in the water, and he caught me with ease. He pulled me against him and the water dripped off our skin and ran down between us as I nestled my curves against his hard body.
“This place is amazing,” I breathed into his ear.
“It’s never looked better,” he replied before capturing my lips with his in a deep, passionate kiss that must have raised the water temperature at least another ten degrees.
And what happened next made it hot enough that I was surprised the water didn’t bubble like a Jacuzzi tub…
Chapter Five — Gabe
I woke up to a mass of blonde hair in my face and smiled—Pepper’s hair, wild and undone. Kind of like our lovemaking. How did this happen? I still wondered that from time to time. How did someone like me get to become the luckiest guy in the world? I moved her hair gently out of the way and tried to get out of bed without disturbing her. She was twisted in a sheet and her bare, tanned body looked relaxed and perfect.
I hopped into the walk-in shower as quietly as I could. I had to go to work but there was no reason to rush her out of the house. I wanted her here and I wondered what it would be like to have her here when I got home? We hadn’t gotten around to talking about that last night—we both had other things on our minds. I’d left the dinner feeling pissed that Mom was probing so hard, being nosy, but Pepper had lightened up everything with her moonlight strip tease.
The two of us had skipped dessert and never returned to the house so I guess they got the picture. It was strange to feel rebellious towards my parents at my age. I must be a late bloomer, I mused as I stood under the hot water cascading down on me. I’d planned to make a rare visit to the gym this morning but I’d woken up late. No time for that now.
“Hey, Gabe.” Pepper’s sleepy voice startled me.
“Good morning. Want to jump in?” I replied.
“Not yet. I need some coffee and your phone keeps ringing. It says Sea Lab’s been calling. They’ve called about four times in the last few minutes. I’m not trying to be nosy but I thought you should know.”
I turned off the water and walked back out of my exquisitely tiled bathroom. I reached for a fluffy, white towel from the rack and patted off quickly before wrapping it around my waist. “That’s weird. Thanks.” I shook my hair and accidentally splashed her as I scrolled through my phone.
“Hey!” She smacked my ass, got up and as she walked out of the bedroom, she called back, “I’ll make some coffee!”
“Great! Espresso for me, please, babe.” I called Sea Lab back and waited for someone to pick up but nobody did. That was strange. I started to towel-dry my hair when my phone rang again. This time it was Bobbie Joe.
“Hey, boss. We’ve got a situation down here. Someone’s damaged some of our tanks. There’s trash everywhere and we’ve got to move the animals and clean it up.”
“Which tanks?”
“Singh’s tank and the turtle area. He’s not looking so good, either.”
“I’m on my way. Be there in twenty. Just keep the animals as comfortable as you can.”
“You got it.”
I hung up, ran to the closet and grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt.
“Pepper!” I called out, and she came back into the bedroom wearing an old t-shirt of mine she’d found. It was huge on her.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“We’ve got a problem at Sea Lab. Vandals broke in and damaged Singh’s tank. We’ve got to move him.”
“Oh, my God! I’m going with you. My poor dolphin. Is he okay?” She was practically in tears as she rushed to get dressed.
“I hope so. I’ll bring the car around. See you outside.” I jogged down the pathway and pulled the car to the service entrance. I’d never had any staff on site, but it was convenient when I wanted to unload groceries into the kitchen. Pepper hopped in and we took off.
“Who the hell would do something like that? To a defenseless animal? I understand breaking in and stealing stuff, but to hurt an animal? This is disgusting.”
“I know it, but let’s wait and see what’s happened. Maybe it’s not as bad as we think.”
But when we got there, I could see I was wrong. It was as bad as we’d thought. Worse, in fact. Someone had emptied the park’s garbage cans in the two tanks and spray-painted graffiti all around it. Pepper stood with her hand over her mouth before she ran barefoot up the steps to the deck.
Singh had been segregated into the holding pool and she slipped out of her white pants and slid right into the dirty water with the animal. She sat on the steps and slapped the water in her underwear and t-shirt. With her hair piled up in a sloppy ponytail on top of her head, she looked like an unkempt mermaid. Bobbie Jo brought her a pail of fish and she tapped her fingers on the surface of the pool.
Singh chirped but wouldn’t come near her. “It’s okay, Singh. See, Pepper’s here. See?” She patted the water again and he dove and came back up, clearly upset by the ordeal. She spoke to him in soothing tones. “It’s okay, Pepper’s here. See? See?” He got a little closer as she continued to pat the water. “Want a snack? Singh want a snack?” He nodded and chirped, dove and came closer.
“Good job, Pepper. Keep it up.” I walked away knowing he’d be okay.
A crew was already working in the tank, pulling out trash, and all of them looked disgusted and saddened by the heartless act. Bobbie Jo walked up to me.
“Thank goodness, she’s here. I can go deal with the turtles now. It took forever to get him into the holding tank. I’ve already asked the vet to come look at him, just to make sure he didn’t ingest something that might make him sick. Who the hell would do this?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m about to go talk to Charlie. Thank you, Bobbie Jo, for getting to this so quickly. I’ll hopefully have some answers soon.”
I drove the golf cart to the security station. Charlie, the head of security, was there as well as a couple of detectives from the Destiny Beach Police Department.
“Good morning, sir. I’m pulling up the tapes right now,” he said without prompting.
I nodded. They were actually digital files but I knew what he meant.
Everyone huddled around the screen and watched as Charlie played the footage.
“Here. This is when the first alert was registered. Looks like there were three of them. Three kids in hooded sweatshirts and baggy pants. Looks like skater garb to me. Probably those kids I run out of the parking lot every weekend.”
The security cameras were motion sensitive so when anything moved in front of it, it took still photos and recorded the video footage. It had cost us an arm and a leg to install, but it was worth it. At least I hoped it would be.
“There! They have something propped up at the back wall. They climb it and then drop to the ground where camera four picks them up. The next camera that records something was camera five. They break into the performance shed and steal some equipment. I haven’t done the inventory yet,” Charlie continued narrating as the scene unfolded on the screen.
All I could do was watch in horror. “Okay, what’s next?”
“Camera seven comes online. You can hear Singh chirping and that asshole, the tall one, throws the garbage can into the pool. The other kid laughs and throws another one. Oh, shit! He hit the dolphin.” Charlie looked at me. “Is he okay?”
My stomach turned at the image. “I think so.”
I unclipped my walkie-talkie from my belt and called Bobbie Jo as we continued to watch the tape. “Hey, looking at the video, Singh was hit with a heavy aluminum can. Please tell Pepper to be careful handling him. He might be injured.”
“Bastards! Roger that.”
“Now they throw more trash in with the sea turtles and the tall kid pulls out a can of spray paint and tags the tanks—I guess with their gang sign? What does that say? Seven Thirteen?”
One of the detectives chimed in, “Yeah, we’ve seen that before. They’re a new gang to this area. We don’t normally have gangs around here, but in the past few years, we’ve seen more and more of them spring up. There’s about ten in this group and destruction seems to be there goal—that and petty robbery. If you send us a copy of these files, I think our electronics guy could grab some facial shots and we could use them for our canvassing and investigation.”
“Whatever you need, guys. We’re at your service. Charlie, any idea why the alarm didn’t go off?” I asked.
“No idea, boss. The security people are on their way to check everything out.”
“Okay, well keep me posted. I’ve got to make some phone calls.”
The lead detective shook my hand before I turned away. “I’ll call you this afternoon, Mr. Gregory, and let you know where we stand. I don’t know how quickly we’ll find these Seven Thirteen guys, but we will.”
“That’s good to hear. Thanks. Charlie, call me when the security company representative arrives.”
I walked down the hall and up the stairs to call Brenda Lowe, the chairman of the board. This was the kind of thing I hated telling her about, especially after we made such a major investment in the security protocols with nothing to show for it.
I went into my office and picked up the phone to deliver Brenda the bad news. She was all about the facts, and naturally wanted to know why our security system didn’t send signals to law enforcement. I assured her we were going to get to the bottom of it. She wasn’t happy but not necessarily with me. I assured her we’d find out how this happened and that I’d keep her posted on any arrests or information.
This kind of cruelty was unthinkable. How could someone harm an animal like that? I sighed and walked back down to the tanks. Most of the trash had been removed but the tank had to be drained and refilled before we could allow Singh to swim in it. I couldn’t take the chance that there might be something dangerous in the water. I walked up the concrete steps and squatted next to Pepper. She smelled like fish and was completely drenched but at least Singh was beside her, bobbing up and down calmly.
"How is he, babe?”
“Frightened, quiet. He’s a fat little butterball, though, after eating all that fish. Could you hand me that toy? I tried tossing his ring for him. I think he wants to go for a big swim but I keep telling him not now. I guess you have to drain and scrub the pool?”
“Yeah, unfortunately. I can’t take a chance that there isn’t trash at the bottom or worse.”
“I hope they arrest these ass-wipes today. Any ideas who it is?” she asked, not taking her eyes off the subdued animal.
“Yes and no. The good news is you can plainly see their faces on the video but unfortunately, I don’t recognize them. The police think they’re part of a new gang in the area. I’ve had a few problems with them before but nothing like this. They stole some equipment, but they hit this poor guy here with a metal garbage can.”
“Oh, my God! Poor baby!” She patted the water and stroked his head as he approached. “Pepper loves Singh. Pepper loves Singh. See?” Singh nodded. Whether he understood her or not, he enjoyed the interaction.
“He’s in good hands. Do you need anything?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m going to stay with him a little while. Actually, yes, I’d love a bottle of water.”
“I’ll make sure you get one.” I walked into the staff office, opened the little fridge and grabbed two bottles of water. I went back to the pool, handed her one and cracked open the other one for myself then I bent down and kissed her.
“I’ve got to go oversee the inventory in that shed they broke into. Before I go, do you want me to get your swimsuit from the locker room? The park is going to open soon, not this area of course, but just in case. I’d hate for you to get photographed in your panties and a wet t-shirt.”
“Right,” she said slowly, but I could see her focus was consumed by Singh. “Would you mind? I don’t want to leave him right now. That’s probably a good idea.”
“All right, what’s your combination?” She gave me the info and I hurried back up to the second floor to get her clothes. I grabbed her suit and returned.
“Okay, I’ll be right back. Okay, Singh? See? Okay?” He squawked and dove up and down, still agitated. She slid out of the water and he immediately squeaked and chirped.
“She’ll be right back. Okay? Okay?” He didn’t respond, just looked at me like, “Who are you and why are you talking to me?” I laughed. “I’m the boss, okay? Gabe? Okay?” He squeaked once and moved to the steps, looking past me at the closed door. True to her word, Pepper returned quickly and sat on the step.
I kissed her again. “I’ll be back.”
Chapter Six — Pepper
I was bone tired the next day. So tired, I hit the snooze button twice, but on the third ring, I dragged myself out of my bunk and got myself showered and dressed ready to leave. Spending the whole day in the tank with Singh and helping the crew clean up had stretched muscles I’d forgotten I had, but despite my aching body, it felt good knowing I could help my favorite dolphin—and my favorite guy.
However, I couldn’t sleep in today. My sister had her ultrasound appointment at nine-thirty and she’d insisted I go with her. Of course, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I drove from the marina to what had been my family home and after I walked in, I found Mills downstairs, already waiting for me in the living room, but when I saw the look on her face, my heart went out to her.
She wore the exact same expre
ssion I’d seen when our mother forced her to participate in a regional beauty pageant at the age of twelve. I think you could describe it as a cross between sick and tortured. “Hey, put a smile on that face, sis! This is a happy appointment, right? We get to see Fallon Junior today—or Mills Junior, whichever the case may be.”
“I wish I could smile but I’ve been puking ever since I got up. Not such a good feeling. It just started this week. I wonder if I should cancel my appointment? No, I’d better not. I don’t see this going away anytime soon.”
I patted her back and grabbed my purse. We took my car but I didn’t put the top down like I normally do. I didn’t want to make her any sicker and I did my best not to jerk the car when I changed gears but honestly, Mills looked pale-ish green the entire ride.
“I have something to tell you,” she said when we were halfway to the clinic.
“Something else? You aren’t having twins, are you? I’m afraid I can’t take one of them if that’s what you’re about to ask,” I joked with her.
With a flat expression, she said, “No, that wasn’t what I was going to ask. Of course I’m not having twins. Why would you say that?” She looked like she was ready to cry just thinking about it.
“No, of course you’re not. That was a really bad joke. I’m sorry, Mills. What do you want to tell me.”
“I chickened out yesterday. I didn’t tell Evangeline.”
I focused on the road and wondered where she was going with this. “Okay…”
“I thought I could but I can’t face her by myself. I just can’t. I need you to come with me. I’m supposed to have lunch with her today and I plan on telling her then. You don’t have to say anything, but I want you there. I know I’m a coward, please don’t be mad.”
“Mills, you know I would never deny you anything, but that’s not such a good idea. We’re oil and water! Me being there when you tell her is only going to stir the pot. I think you should do it yourself. Or, maybe Dad can go with you. Or what about Fallon!”
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