Chapter 6
“W e’re here to register Luca Wright.” Seya glanced sideways at Gina, as if to keep her quiet.
Gina tipped her head sideways and cleared her throat because Seya was doing things outside of the agreed order. On the way over, they decided their first move would be to find out about the dog. Standing at the counter, Gina asked herself why she let Seya talk her into another visit.
We could have tried somewhere else, instead of coming back here. She didn’t say the words, but Seya stared hard at her as if she’d heard that thought.
“Luca will love it here,” she offered, squeezing Gina’s arm. “He told me so.”
“Right,” Gina grumbled. “Maybe we should get him some rabies shots first.”
“He’ll be fine.” Seya lowered her voice. “I haven’t forgotten about the dog. Stay positive.”
Gina would have asked about the bright side of this situation, which she couldn’t see, but Seya turned away to speak with the attendant. Friday’s incident brought back terrible memories she’d rather forget.
A stray dog bit Gina when she was ten, and she’d had a tetanus shot. She hated needles, so having her parents hold her still while the doctor administered the injection made that trauma worse.
She’d bawled and grizzled most of that afternoon and wouldn’t allow anyone to console her. Since then, she avoided dogs but hadn’t lost the deathly fear that made her relive the experience every time she came across aggressive four-footed critters that didn’t have owners.
“ That dog only bit you because the boys were taunting it and it felt threatened,” Seya said gently.
“Don’t remind me,” Gina replied under her breath. “And anyway, this is a daycare, not a petting zoo, which brings back the one question I have.”
She faced the female at the counter, who reminded her of Zack a little bit. “Sorry about that. I already filled in the paperwork, but changed my mind yesterday afternoon.”
“I remember.”
Gina was grateful the woman didn’t laugh in her face. She could have, after Gina’s outrage yesterday and canceling her payment. Now, thanks to Seya, here she was again. Gina’s gaze strayed to Emily’s polo shirt with the center’s logo on the chest and her name spelled out on a small gold pin framed in black.
“That’s perfectly okay. How will you be paying?”
“Credit card.” She handed it over, then asked, “Where is the gentleman who brought in the dog?”
Seya glared to indicate she was working her way around to the question they should have asked when they first arrived. Gina didn’t care. If she left the matter up to Seya, she’d make small talk all afternoon.
“Zack is in the office. You wish to speak with him?” Emily asked.
A weird shiver passed through Gina’s chest as she nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Can you wait a moment?” Emily asked, holding out the receipt.
“Sure.” Gina stashed the slip of paper inside the sleeve with her bank card, where she could find it if she needed it again.
Meanwhile, Emily went through a door behind the counter, interrupting the flow of graphics that extended across the wall. No wonder children loved the place.
While they waited, Seya wandered to a set of chairs on one side of the room and pulled out her phone.
Gina scanned the area behind the counter for want to something better to do. Everything was neat and organized, which was a good sign. A tidy environment was a plus in Gina’s book, even if she still wasn’t one hundred percent comfortable with this place.
The door opened again, and Emily pointed to the gate built into the counter. “Zack is inviting you inside.”
Seya rose from the seat and joined Gina. They followed Emily down a corridor, which connected with another passage. The door she held open carried an unusual name plate. A riot of pink flowers circled ‘Lizette’ written in elegant cursive.
“Thanks for coming, ladies.” Zack Winters rose from an ergonomic chair behind the glass-topped desk and invited them to sit. Gina introduced him to Seya and when they were comfortable, Zack focused on Gina. “I figured you wanted to hear about the dog.”
“That would be a good place to start.” She glanced at Seya, warning her not to say a word. She faced Zack again, and his warm smile stole her breath. He was halfway through whatever he’d been saying when she caught up with him.
“... not normally here.”
“Huh?”
Seya’s smirk irritated Gina, but also confirmed that her sister knew she’d missed most of whatever Zack said.
“Gina’s a bit distracted. Can you explain again, please?”
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
“It will be fine once we understand why you had a dog in here.”
A slight frown creased Zack’s forehead. “You have a thing against dogs.”
“Only the ones that bite,” Gina said, scanning the pale pink walls decorated with animated figures. A huge whiteboard filled with tiny columns dominated one wall.
When she looked back at him, Zack’s faint smile acknowledged her facetious comment. “My sister is afraid of dogs,” Seya explained. “Because of one that—”
“Mr. Winters doesn’t need to hear my history.”
“Actually ...” He cleared his throat as if giving himself time to think, then said, “Champ shouldn’t have been here, and I apologize for that. He’s my parents’ dog. I planned to leave when my brother dropped him off, but had to get something from this office. Normally, I’d have him on a leash.”
“Thanks for explaining.” Gina relaxed, sensing his sincerity. “You’re saying that was a one-time incident, right?”
“Definitely. It won’t happen again. We take the welfare of the children in our care seriously.”
Gina ignored Seya’s I-told-you-so expression and concentrated on Zack, who was studying her. She avoided his eyes, straying to the royal blue polo shirt with the center’s logo on the left side of his broad chest.
“I hope I’ve convinced you to be part of the Wintertime family, and that you’ve forgiven me for Friday.”
He waited for her response, as though he had all the time in the world. Gina’s brows pulled together as she wondered why she didn’t simply tell him she’d already paid the fee.
Her mental wandering stopped when Zack brushed his beard with the back of one hand, pulling her attention to the lustrous black hair framing his face. When he smiled, she struggled to remember what he’d said. Talk about perfect teeth. His smile faded as she unscrambled his words, then shrugged.
“Luca already likes the atmosphere, so I expect he will enjoy it here.”
“I’m sure he will.” Zack glanced at the computer, then the notepad to his left. “If there’s nothing else, I can walk you out.”
Warmth spread into Gina’s cheeks from her neck. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to eat into your time.”
“It’s no problem. The customer always comes first.”
Zack walked around the desk and escorted them down the corridor. At the front desk, Emily gave Gina an envelope which she said contained information on the facility’s operations.
“Thanks, I guess we’ll see you on Monday.”
Giving them a breezy wave, Emily said, “See you then.”
At the front door, Zack held it open, then walked out behind them.
“Thanks for making it Wintertime,” he said, holding out one hand for them to shake.
“We should thank you for running such a great daycare,” Seya gushed.
Gina wanted to tell her to dial back the enthusiasm, but of course, she couldn’t.
From the top of the steps, Zack watched them leave.
The moment she sat in the van, Seya locked the seatbelt and nodded with satisfaction. “I told you it would work out. You worry too much.”
“Whatever.” As they drove toward the exit, a white SUV passed them going toward the building. A silver haired woman was behind the wheel and the same dog Gina encountered the previous day sat in the back seat, looking through the window. “I don’t believe this.”
“What’s the matter?” Seya asked, frowning.
“Over there.” Gina eased her foot off the gas and tipped her head toward the SUV, in two minds whether to head back inside. “That’s the dog I was talking about.”
“You don’t know that she’s taking him inside the building.”
“Want to bet?”