by Dylann Crush
Morty nodded. “We could all learn a lot from the way animals treat each other, don’t you think?”
Zina held the door for him as they made their way onto the porch. “How so?”
“Acceptance. Willingness to see each other for who we are and where we come from. Miss Greta doesn’t know those pups from Adam. Yet she’s taken them in and is giving them a home, a family. Seems like if more people acted like dogs, the world might just be a better place.”
Hmm. He might be onto something. Nine times out of ten she’d much rather spend time with her four-legged friends than a human. She turned her attention forward and pulled the door closed behind her.
“Oh no.” As they approached the warehouse, a sinkhole seemed to materialize in her stomach, sucking all of her hope for a drama-free day right down the drain. A couple dozen cars sat in the parking lot, and a line of people stretched from the front door and wrapped around the side of the building.
“Good thing you’ve got backup this morning.” Morty ambled ahead of her, apparently excited at the idea of having to turn the crowd of people away.
Zina increased her step to catch up to him. “What do you think they want?”
“To see the penguins, of course.” He looked at her like she didn’t have a working brain cell in her head. “I told you they probably haven’t seen one in the wild before. This is their big chance.”
“I don’t think I’m up for this today. I’ve got to start making some calls to see if I can find a place for my dogs to go until I can get the roof repaired. Alex doesn’t think it’s such a good idea for them to be sharing space.”
“Nonsense.” Morty waved a hand in the air. “How much do you think we can charge for all these fine folks to meet a real-life penguin?”
“Oh no.” Zina’s heart pounded like a brass knocker on a wooden door. Boom-boom-boom. The echo reverberated through her limbs. “We can’t charge people to come in and meet a penguin.”
“Why not? You need to raise money to fix your roof, don’t you?”
She did. If she could get the roof fixed up, she could move the dogs back to the shelter before the wedding and not have to worry about rehoming them in such a hurry. She considered the idea for a moment. A short moment. It did have some merit to it. Whom would it hurt if they showed off the penguins for a bit? Alex wasn’t around—he’d left the two of them in charge. No harm, no foul in her opinion.
“I don’t think Alex would like it.” That was a lie. He’d be furious if he heard she’d pimped out his penguins. Zina flip-flopped back and forth. It was a bad idea. Something was bound to go wrong. It always did. But instead of shooting down the crazy idea, she decided to embrace it.
“What Alex doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?” The older man gave her a wink as they reached the edge of the crowd.
That sealed the deal. She was in. Wasn’t Alex the one who went through life with the motto “You only live once”? Well, if he hadn’t said exactly that, he sure seemed to embrace the idea.
The crowd parted as she reached the door and slid her key into the lock.
Morty leaned over and mumbled to her, “Just leave this to me. You go get everything ready and we’ll be pulling in a mint before you can say cock-a-doodle-doo, young lady.”
Zina didn’t want to be the one to break it to him that penguins didn’t crow like roosters. Maybe Alex was right to think his grandfather needed to be in the care of a home. But then he put his hands to his mouth in a makeshift megaphone and shouted out directions.
“Listen up, everyone. Yes, we’ve got a dozen of the best-trained penguins in the world. If you want an up-close and personal encounter, it’s going to cost you twenty bucks apiece. Taking a picture with one bird is going to run you an extra ten. Give us about fifteen minutes, and we’ll let you in one small group at a time.”
Wow. Did Alex know his gramps might have been a circus ringmaster in a previous life? She yanked the door open and then pulled it closed behind her. If her dogs had to share space with the infamous birds, at least they could get something out of it. She made the rounds and fed the birds, then cleaned out their pen as best she could. Thankfully she wasn’t on the morning shift for the dogs. But if they had that many people moving through the building, she ought to have an ambassador pup at the table in case anyone wanted more information or felt moved to make a larger donation to the rescue.
But who would be well behaved around the birds? She moved to the back of the warehouse to see who might be in a good mood today. Not Herbie. And Greta was on nursing duty. Maybe Aurora. She was sweet and gentle and could probably be trusted not to eat their main attraction.
Zina walked over to her kennel. The pup’s tail began to wag, thumping against the raised dog bed. “Hey, girl. Feeling friendly today?”
Aurora nudged her nose through the front of the kennel. Yeah, she wouldn’t give anyone any trouble. Zina opened the door and clipped her leash to her collar. Operation “Raise Money for the Pitties by Exploiting the Penguins” was well underway.
Ten minutes later the first group came into the warehouse, led by Morty. Zina fumbled and bumbled her way through the information she’d looked up right before they came in. They met the bird—the one some clever aquarium worker had named Thelma. Gramps posed the family around Thelma for a quick picture and then ushered them out the door. He handed Zina a wad of cash.
“Tuck this under the table somewhere, will you?”
She glanced around, looking for somewhere to stash the cash before the next group came in. Finding nothing suitable, she tucked it into her sports bra as he opened the door. Another group, another info dump on emperor penguins, another hundred bucks. And so it went. Zina gave Thelma a break after the first couple of groups came through, and ended up rotating through all of the penguins at least once. She skipped Gilligan on the second round. That bird was goofier than the crazy character he was named for.
By the time Morty announced there was no one left outside, Zina was more than ready for a break. They were just about to count up the cash when the warehouse door opened. Alex came in, his boots clip-clopping across the concrete floor as he stalked toward the two of them.
“What the hell’s been going on around here today?” Oh, he was pissed. She could tell by the set of his jaw and the heat that blazed in those baby-bluish eyes.
“What do you mean, son?” His gramps might as well have been an award-winning actor, too. He turned from the table to face his grandson. “We’ve been taking care of your birds”—he hooked a thumb toward Zina—“and this one’s dogs. It’s a virtual zoo around here.”
“More like an animal exhibition from what I hear.” Alex dropped his hat onto the table. “I thought we were trying to keep a low profile?”
“By ‘low,’ you mean what, exactly?” she asked. It wouldn’t be fair for Morty to take the heat on this one by himself. Selling out the penguins might have been his idea, but she hadn’t argued against it very long.
“I was in Houston.” He paused, most likely for dramatic effect. “Houston.”
Zina clapped. “Yay, you survived your trip into what most Texans consider the armpit of the state and lived to tell. What do you want, a medal?”
“No.” He rounded on her, shifting his anger from his grandfather to her. His glare hit her smack-dab in the center of her chest. “I want to know what’s been going on. Why are there pictures of the Ido penguins trending on social media?”
The color drained from her face. She knew it because it all pooled in her gut, creating a woozy feeling in her stomach. But she tried to play it off. “What do you mean?”
He held his phone out, tipping it toward her. One of the families who had been through their penguin meet and greet stared back at her. There was Thelma, right in the middle. They’d tagged the Phillips House and hash tagged #PhillipsPenguins in their post.
“I guess you wouldn’
t believe me if I said someone broke in to photobomb a feeding session?” Her voice softened as the words drifted out of her mouth. She waited for a quirk of his lips, for that easygoing smile of his to appear.
“I can’t believe you did this.” He turned away, shaking his head.
“Hey, now.” Gramps stepped in. “It was my idea.”
“No, Morty. We’re both to blame. I guess I don’t see what the big deal is though. Thanks to Cyrus and that article in the paper, people already knew they were here. We made some people very happy and put a small dent in the amount it’s going to take to fix the roof of the shelter.”
“Part of my agreement with Munyon was that we’d keep the damn penguins under wraps as much as possible until right before the wedding. He’s the kind of guy who wants to make a splash. Now that it’s leaked, hell”—he paused to scrub a hand over the scruff on his chin—“the whole project might be at risk.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Zina’s heart stopped for a moment. If the wedding fell apart, she’d lose out on the cash he’d promised to help pay the high deductible on the shelter. That wasn’t an option.
“I didn’t think I had to. What the hell were you thinking?”
Gramps moved closer to Alex. “We were thinking we had a good opportunity and we took it. We’re all to blame for this. You should have told us.”
“Who would have thought you’d turn them into a roadside attraction within twenty-four hours?”
Zina nodded to herself. “So it’s okay for you to make commitments like agreeing to move up the wedding date without talking to anyone about it, and taking on double the birds, but we aren’t allowed to make any decisions without consulting you?”
“It’s not like that.” He’d turned to face her, his shoulders slumped.
“Fine, handle them how you see fit. You’re the one in charge, Mr. Sanders. From now on you can call all of the shots.” Before she said something she’d regret, she retreated to the back of the warehouse.
Alex didn’t come after her. She could hear him arguing with his grandfather. Maybe she’d been too quick to open herself up to the man candy with the gorgeous eyes. She thought he might be ready for change. Based on the way he’d overreacted, she was wrong.
twenty-three
Alex grabbed another bucket of sardines. With the promise of fish and the sound of the clicker training tool he’d picked up at the pet supply store, he’d made fairly good progress on getting the birds to waddle down the red carpet he’d laid out as a makeshift aisle. Now all he needed to do was to get them to stand still when they reached the end. He hadn’t done much actual training of penguins since he’d spent summers at the marine life park. Even then, he’d only been an assistant.
“How’s it going?” Zeb peeked his head around the corner of the temporary shelves they’d set up.
“I’ve been better.” Alex dropped the bucket to his side. One of the penguins moseyed up and tried to stick her beak inside. “Hey, no fish yet for you.”
Zeb came closer, a cardboard box in his arms. “You got a package from someone named Chyna. Zina asked me to bring it over to you.”
He and Zina had yet to make up over his accusation about the penguin exploitation. Since she’d moved into the mansion, he’d gone from king of the master suite to trying to fit his six-foot-three-inch frame onto the antique sofa in the formal living room.
“She say what it is?” Alex asked.
“Nope.” Zeb set the box down on a table. “Want me to open it for you?”
“Sure.” What would Chyna be sending him? He hadn’t heard much from the wedding planner in the past few days, although she seemed to appreciate the pictures he texted her of how the training was going.
“What’s this?” Zeb held up what appeared to be a string of glittery snowflakes. “There’s a note.”
Alex reached for it and scanned the handwritten card. Unbelievable. Seemed Chyna wanted the penguins to accessorize with snowflake necklaces and bow ties. What would she come up with next?
“Come here, Thelma.” Alex held out a sardine, capturing Thelma’s attention as he slid the necklace over her head. The bird didn’t seem to mind as she scarfed down her treat.
“You think this is going to work?” Zeb held out a silver sparkly bow tie.
“I have no idea.” Alex took it and located Gilligan, the tallest male penguin in the group. “Come here, Gilligan. Let’s see how handsome you look in a bow tie with your tails.”
Zeb shook his head. “This is nuts, you know that, right?”
“Yeah. It was nuts to begin with. Now we’re nearing the line of absolutely ridiculous, wouldn’t you say?”
“Is there anything you want me to relay to my sister?” Zeb asked.
Where should he start? He’d tried to apologize for overreacting but hadn’t been able to find the right words.
“Just tell her I’ll try to get the birds to cooperate with their new wardrobe.” It was easier to leave it at that.
“You know, for what it’s worth . . .” Zeb stopped, although he looked like he wanted to say more.
“What?”
“I don’t know what’s going on between you and Zina, but she seems happier when you’re around.” His big shoulders rolled. “I just wanted you to know.”
Alex’s chest squeezed tight. “Thanks.”
“Are you planning on sticking around? Like after the wedding?”
“I’ve got a lead on a job that will probably have me traveling all the time.” Alex lifted a shoulder in an apologetic shrug. “So probably not.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured.” Zeb nodded. “See you around.”
“See ya.” He waited until Zeb disappeared around the corner again, and then silently cursed himself for the way the conversation went down. It’s not that he didn’t want to stick around. The more time he spent in Ido, the longer he wanted to stay. He could easily see himself settling in, moving out to the ranch with Gramps, and giving things a real chance with Zina. But he didn’t know if he could. What if he started to feel stuck? What if things didn’t work out and he missed the chance to take the job with Munyon? There were too many unknowns. The possibilities spun around in his head until he couldn’t see straight.
He handed out the rest of the sardines to the motley crew of penguins. “Let’s call it quits for today, okay, gang?”
The penguins milled around, waddling in their small group at the end of the red aisle runner. He’d taken to chatting with them while they worked. Not that he expected them to talk back, but it was better than spending all of his time alone.
“You done for the day?” Gramps came in with Herbie on a leash.
“Yeah.” Alex secured the last penguin. “Want to grab a burger or something tonight?”
“Nah. Your girlfriend’s got me working with one of the dogs who might be a candidate for that veteran program. Her brother’s been helping.”
“She’s not my girlfriend, Gramps.” Alex shook the idea out of his head. He and Zina had shared some amazing time between the sheets together. But that was all it was. And hell, they weren’t even doing that anymore. She was still pissed at him. Once the wedding came and went, so would he. That was his MO, the way he’d lived all of his life. Onto the next adventure.
“Well I don’t know what you young folks call it then. Is she your booty call?”
“Hell, no.” How did his grandfather even know what a booty call was? “Have you been trying to order pay-per-view again?” Lacey would kill him if she ended up with a huge cable bill. She’d already been generous enough to let them stay rent-free.
Gramps waved off the question. “Why don’t you take that non-girlfriend of yours out to dinner tonight? You’ve both been burning the candle at both ends. Might be good to take a break.”
Alex let his chin drop to his chest. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.�
� It wasn’t a bad idea. He probably should spend a little time making up for the way he’d overreacted about their penguin stunt. His grandfather had been coming out of his shell more and more since they’d been at the mansion together. He might actually have a good idea from time to time.
“Good. That woman deserves to be treated well.” Gramps disappeared back behind the barrier.
He had a point. With the penguins crated and fed, Alex didn’t have any other responsibilities until morning. Maybe he and Zina could find a middle ground, somewhere between the physical attraction and their apparent mutual desire to strangle each other. He might even be willing to make a little conversation. Truth was, he missed her.
When he got back to the mansion, he knocked on the door to the bedroom she’d stolen from him.
“Come in.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, kicking off her shoes. “You need something?”
“I’m done for the evening. Wondered if you might want to head out and grab a burger?” He tried to sound nonchalant, like it wouldn’t matter to him one way or another if she didn’t want to go.
“Where?”
That was a good sign; she hadn’t shot him down immediately. “Up to you. There’s the Burger Bonanza. Or if you’d rather, we can go to Ortega’s.”
“I don’t know.” She pulled her feet up onto the bed and leaned against the ornate wooden headboard. “I just got back from running Zeb home. I’m kind of tired and was thinking I might just stay in tonight.”
He gestured to the spot next to her. “Care if I sit down?”
“Be my guest.” She pulled her feet up underneath her to make more room.
The mattress creaked as he sat down. “I think we should talk.”
“Should?” Her eyebrows lifted, causing a series of lines to crisscross her forehead.
He dug deeper. This woman tested him in ways he didn’t ever consider. “Let me try that again. I’d like to talk.”
“About what?” She drew a throw pillow against her stomach.
