Talk Birdie to Me (Bayou Rescue #3)

Chapter 1

1

S aturday afternoons were quickly becoming Geena’s favorite time block of the week.

She snapped a couple shots of the table where she’d set up a solid blue backboard and portable studio lights. Then she adjusted her settings to account for the tiny stream of natural lighting entering from a high window slit on the narrow room’s far wall.

Her sister, Taylor, entered cradling a fluffy gray kitten. She wore bright teal scrubs and her blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a neat bun. She placed the kitten on the table, petting it with one hand while she kept her other hand close by to keep it safely corralled.

Geena adjusted her settings for his fur and the lighting, while her sister tapped her fingers to keep the kitten’s attention.

Taylor smiled at the fluff ball. “This little guy won’t need much advertising to convince someone to take him home.”

Geena loved coming to the St. Martin Animal Sanctuary on the weekends to photograph animals for the shelter’s adoption page and for social media posts. Her volunteer work here had started as a favor to her sister, who was the vet tech at the shelter. They’d been in a bind for a Valentine’s Day event, and Taylor had roped Geena into spending the day taking photos of people with their pets as a fundraiser. That one event turned into a regular volunteer gig that brought Geena much-needed joy every weekend.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t been snatched up already,” Geena said. “When did he come in?”

“Yesterday. He’s been with our foster, so he didn’t have to quarantine. But she said the lighting in her apartment isn’t great, and since he’s a wiggly worm, she couldn’t get any good photos. Figured we could sneak him in today along with the new litter that came in a few days ago.”

Geena took a couple more test shots while the kitten played with a noisy plastic ball. After a few more adjustments, she was ready to go. “Is the new litter still in quarantine?”

“Yeah, but they look super healthy. The mom is a gorgeous calico. We’ll need some pics of her, too.”

“No problem,” Geena said, moving around to stretch her aching feet and calves. She was wearing her most comfy sneakers with jeans and a navy T-shirt, much more comfortable clothes than she normally wore to work, but she wasn’t used to being on her feet this much. “I’ve got all afternoon.”

Taylor danced her fingers on the table in front of the kitten to grab its attention. Then she lured its gaze toward the camera with a feathery wand toy.

“Right,” Taylor said while she waved the toy, and Geena snapped some photos in quick succession. “Operation distract Geena from waiting for that loser to get his shit together is still in effect.”

That had been the case for the last couple of weeks while Geena waited for her ex to submit his half of the mediation paperwork. Since he was a lawyer—although a corporate attorney, not a divorce or family one—he was at least familiar with the legal speak. She’d assumed they could move through everything quickly without going to court since they didn’t own property or have kids.

She’d been very wrong to assume that.

Ricky had been the one to move out and drop the divorce bomb on her, so she’d figured he would want to settle everything right away. To move on with his life and all that.

What she’d really assumed was that he’d been having an affair.

Wrong again.

Sort of.

He knew legally and reputation-wise that wouldn’t look good for him. So he was adamantly denying any extra-marital shenanigans. Geena didn’t believe him for a second, but at this point, she didn’t care. If he wanted out, she wanted to cut all ties as soon as possible.

But the initial disclosure forms he’d filled out didn’t add up. The mediator they’d hired couldn’t make sense of it either and kept kicking the papers back to Ricky, assuming he’d made some sort of number error. But his assumption was wrong as well.

How that man thought he could slip funny math past his soon-to-be ex-wife accountant and the mediator, Geena would never understand.

The man had hubris. She had to give him that.

She still wasn’t entirely sure what exactly he was attempting to slip by her in the bank, loan, and credit card accounts she hadn’t known about. But once she realized he was trying to conceal some funny financials that she could end up holding the bag for, Geena promptly hired an attorney.

Things would take twice as long now, at least, but she could sleep well, knowing he wasn’t going to screw her over. Her attorney wasn’t sure what he was hiding either, but she wouldn’t let Geena sign off on anything until they figured it out and settled everything fairly.

Taylor dangled the wand above the kitten while Geena started shooting. The kitten lifted to swat at the feathers, looking like a fluffy little bear on his back legs.

“This is a good one.” Geena giggled as she held the camera out so her sister could see the image on the screen. “At least for a social post or story.”

“Oh my gosh.” Taylor turned her attention back to the kitten and scratched his face. “You are gonna have a bazillion applications in a heartbeat. Which means a whole bunch of disappointed people we can steer towards some of your other adorable pals in here.”

Geena laughed at the bait-and-switch scams the shelter was running. Although, if everyone left happy with a kitten, she supposed it wasn’t really a scam.

And there were plenty of kittens to be had. From what Taylor and Liz, one-half of the shelter’s management duo, had explained, kitten season was upon them. There was an underlying sense of dread whenever either mentioned it, and Geena had been reluctant to dig into where that dread came from.

All she knew for sure was their kitten supply wouldn’t be drying up anytime soon, and they needed to keep these furballs moving through the shelter and into adoptive homes as quickly as possible. So far, Taylor’s social media posts using Geena’s photos were doing the trick.

“You never told me how your date went last weekend.” Taylor held the kitten against her and rubbed his fluffy little body. “You brushed me off twice about it. Now fess up. How bad was it?”

Geena sighed. She really had been working late this week. But she also didn’t want to talk about that date. It had taken all of her courage to finally meet up with one guy she’d matched with on that app a coworker insisted she try. Her divorce was far from final, but since Ricky’s “new” girlfriend was already living in his apartment with her tiny purse dog, Geena was pretty sure she was safe to go on a date or two while she waited for him to get his stuff together and finalize their divorce.

“Go get that mama cat, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“Tell us all about what?”

Liz entered the room wearing a tight, black Betty Boop T-shirt over curvy faded jeans and dark shoulder-length waves. Her signature red lips were in a pout, waiting to hear what she was sure she had almost been left out of.

Geena sighed again. It was one thing to recount her humiliation to her sister. It was another thing entirely to lay it all out for one of her sister’s employers.

Liz and Sierra had renovated the old house they were currently in to serve as a shelter for their new animal rescue non-profit. Liz had already been running a black cat rescue out of her house, and Sierra worked part-time as a naturalist at a local park. Together, they brought animal experience and passion to the organization and shelter. Taylor had been their first hire, and Geena’s sister had been their sole vet tech ever since.

“Nothing important,” Geena said.

Taylor aimed the kitten at Geena like a pointer. “She was just fixing to tell me all about her bad date.”

“Ooh, sounds fun.” Liz aimed her head at the doorway. “Hurry up and get that calico, then.”

Taylor left them with a big grin on her face like she knew what Geena was in for.

“It’s not that interesting, I promise. You don’t need to?—”

“Oh, yes, I do,” Liz said. “I need all the reminders you’ve got about why I don’t need a relationship right now. Between Sierra and Taylor being all happy in love and all that mess… I’m beginning to forget why I stay single.”

“I could have used a reminder myself before I went on that damn app.”

She hadn’t wanted to sign up, but her coworker, James, had insisted this was the best way to meet new people. He said she deserved a little fun and companionship to help distract her from the divorce, even if it was only temporary relationships.

But, as that just-for-fun date had gone, she wasn’t interested in anything temporary again. Only matches with real potential.

“Who knows?” Liz shrugged. “Maybe you’ll get lucky like they did.”

“I already played that game. Don’t know why I thought I might get any luckier than last time I played.”

Everyone was blaming Ricky for her bad luck, but Geena knew better. She should have chosen better.

So she wasn’t about to make that mistake again.

“Because it’s your turn to get lucky.” Liz pointed a finger at Geena. “Don’t let that ex of yours get you down. Keep playing. You’ll find a good one.”

“You taking your own advice on that?”

Liz laughed. “I already got lucky once. You don’t hit like that twice. I’m out of the game for good now.”

Right. Luna’s father.

Geena didn’t know much about the man or Liz’s past. She only knew Liz seemed like a genuinely good person with a big heart for animals and her little girl. And she had some great business sense to boot.

Taylor returned with a lanky calico spilling over her arms. “This mama is ready for her spotlight and some hot gossip.”

“There’s no gossip,” Geena insisted. “Hot or otherwise.”

She might be confused about her ex’s shady financials and what she planned to do with the rest of her post-marriage life, but she was certain her life had never been a source of gossip. Nor would it.

Her life was boring by any standard. She had a 9-5 accounting job. She read cozy mysteries before bed and watched a lot of documentaries. The only interesting thing about her was the time she put in at the shelter.

“Where did you meet up?” Liz asked, taking her turn waving the feather wand at the calico. “Did you at least get a good meal out of the disaster?”

“We met at a sports bar.”

Taylor lit up with promise. “Ooh, nachos!”

“No. Not nachos.”

Nachos were not first-date food. Nachos were at least third-date food.

Her date, however, didn’t seem to follow the order of dating operations because he devoured a sandwich that poured wing sauce down his chin. He at least had enough manners to wipe the spillage after each bite, but it left her questioning his judgment.

If that was his best behavior or his first date version of being on top of his game, what would life look like with this man once he relaxed and stopped caring about how he behaved around her?

Dates had rules for a reason. They set the stage for what one could reasonably expect from the person sitting across from them. If her date couldn’t pull himself together enough to spot a chin sauce speed bump, how would he spot any bigger roadblocks ahead?

She wanted a partner. Not someone she’d have to babysit or watch, so he didn’t stumble around like a toddler.

Wing sauce might not sound like a big deal, and she knew if she explained this, she’d come across as judgmental. But she had logic and reasoning in her assessment. She was thinking ahead, something she realized other people didn’t always do.

If she was going to step into another relationship, she wanted something better than what she had before. She wanted a good match this time. Otherwise, what was the point? Better to make a quick assessment and move on rather than waste people’s time.

“At least tell me you had fries.” When Geena didn’t respond, Taylor rolled her eyes. “It’s like you aren’t even trying to have fun.”

“I can have fun without fries or nachos. Those aren’t fun requirements.”

“No, but they sure do help,” Liz said. “Moving on from food. Was he at least cute?”

Her date appeared in her mind. She remembered their first introductions. How he smiled at her, pre-wing sauce, when she arrived. He’d looked a little rough around the edges for her taste, with shaggy hair and a faded graphic T-shirt for some band she’d never heard of.

But he had a nice smile. And nice shoulders. She liked shoulders.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You can just admit the guy was cute,” Taylor said. “She does this all the time. She doesn’t want to admit when she thinks someone looks good. Like it’s a point against her for not being practical or some nonsense.”

“Physical appearance is the least important factor in a lasting relationship.”

Liz snorted. “Okay. Sure.”

“It is. A hot butt or whatever the trendy body part of the decade is won’t solve a disagreement or help make a tough decision down the road.”

Liz dropped the stick toy and let the cat have the feather while she scrunched her brow and turned to Taylor. “Is she always like this?”

“Always.”

Geena lowered her camera. “You mean reasonable?”

She would have thought Liz, of all people, would understand her on this. Sound decisions were more important than lustful ones.

“Reasonable is all well and good,” Liz said, “but aren’t you in the middle of a divorce?”

“Yes,” Geena said. “Even more reason to make better decisions going forward.”

“OR even more reason to give yourself a break and have some fun. The next guy doesn’t have to be the forever guy.”

Liz was correct, of course. But the idea didn’t sit right with Geena. She’d spent her whole life trying to do things correctly, to get the right answer. It’s why she liked math so much.

Dating wasn’t at all like math, which made it even more unsettling for her.

“So what was so horrible about this date anyway?” Taylor picked up the calico and held her close, nuzzling her face against the cat’s head. “Besides you ordering boring food to eat with a hot guy?”

“I didn’t say it was horrible,” Geena said. “It just wasn’t a match.”

“Why not? How can you know so fast if he didn’t do anything awful besides being a slightly messy eater?”

It was a little more than slightly, but Geena wasn’t going to belabor that point. Not when there was plenty of other evidence for her case.

“He’s an animal trainer,” she said. “And he spent half the date talking about all the places he’s lived.”

Liz and Taylor looked at each other in confusion. Then they both looked back at Geena.

“I don’t get it,” Taylor said. “Why are those bad?”

Geena couldn’t believe she had to explain this. “He won’t want to settle down with a boring accountant who likes tea and cozies.”

Liz chuckled. “I thought we established he doesn’t have to be Mr. Forever.”

Taylor petted the cat, still comfy in her arms. “Good luck teaching that lesson to her.”

“Speaking of animals that aren’t ours, I almost forgot why I came in here.” Liz snapped her fingers in recognition. “Would the two of you have time to run to the zoo?”

“The zoo?” Geena asked. “What for?”

Her sister’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Of course. I love the zoo!”

“They asked if we could take in some kind of bird. I don’t have a foster for it yet, but I’d still like to get a peek to make sure everything’s okay health-wise. And Geena, if you could get a couple of photos of it out there, that would be great. Then we could work on posts before it goes to the foster. Maybe we could even have someone lined up as a foster-to-adopt situation. Save everyone some time.”

Geena appreciated Liz’s commitment to efficiency. But she didn’t appreciate the zoo as much as her sister did. Taylor had always wanted to go to the zoo every year for her birthday. Their parents took them to every zoo in the state, and any out-of-state vacations had to include a visit to the local zoo wherever they were.

It was kind of fun when they were kids, but grown up Geena couldn’t get past the smells.

“I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on,” Taylor said. “You already admitted you were free this afternoon.”

“But there are still a lot of kittens to photograph.”

“They aren’t going anywhere,” Liz said. “And I’ve got a bunch of applicants waiting for kittens already, so we’ll probably move through this batch quickly, anyway. I think we have enough for posts this week.”

“Please.” Taylor drew out the word and clapped her hands together. “I’ll owe you one.”

Taylor already had a running tab of favors, but Geena wasn’t calling her to settle up anytime soon. What was another one on the list?

Besides. Taylor was right. Geena didn’t have anything better to do.

“Okay. Let’s go see this bird.”