Chapter 26
26
B y Sunday morning, the clouds had finally parted. That meant a second day of respite from the rain and an opportunity for some floodwaters to drain and evaporate.
While the property remained surrounded by overflow from the bayou, the shelter itself was accessible once again. But things were still busy for the rescue, with kitten season hitting its peak.
Most of the people who had stepped up during the flood earlier that week continued fostering. They all agreed to take photos of the animals in their homes, so that only left some of the older kittens and puppies onsite that needed photos from Geena.
Liz returned to Geena’s portable studio corner with a squirmy teenaged calico kitten. The feisty feline was testing Liz’s ability to keep it contained.
“This is Pippi,” Liz said as she scruffed the older kitten just long enough to place it safely on the table.
Geena smiled and took some test shots, adjusting her camera to the kitten’s colors, while Liz tried to entertain it by dangling a wand toy with feathers.
“Like Longstocking?” Geena asked.
“That’s the one.” Liz shook and waved the wand in front of and over the kitten. “Not sure how long I can keep her up here.”
Geena snapped a few photos, checked the screen, then took a few more in rapid succession. “I can make these work.”
“Good.” Liz dropped the toy and picked up the kitten again. “I’ll put Pippi back and grab one of the others in there.”
On her way out of the room, Liz crossed paths with Sierra, who gave Pippi a quick scratch on the head. Sierra stood by one light and fanned herself, sweating through her tank top. The staff had all been working in high gear, getting the shelter back in shape from the flood, and the air conditioner was struggling to keep up with the early June heat.
“You sure you’re okay to be here?”
“Yeah, of course,” Geena said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Sierra frowned at her. “Uh, maybe because you were kidnapped and held at gunpoint just a couple days ago?”
Two days. It had felt like a lifetime since James had taken her and Gary hostage.
He was currently being held in jail, after his fiancee, Chelsea, had refused to post bail. It didn’t matter, though. From what she understood, the evidence was so stacked against him that the prosecutor expected James to take a plea deal as soon as they could get the case in front of a judge.
“I’m fine,” Geena said. “Everything’s back to normal. And I like coming here. It’s a nice bookend for the week I had.”
Back to normal meant her regular Saturday visit to the shelter, along with another round of waiting for her divorce to be finalized. She’d sent the tax returns to the mediator, and she was fairly certain he had everything he needed now.
A meeting was scheduled the following week so all three of them could work out the details, but she didn’t plan on fighting Ricky over anything. He apparently had been taking money under the table from Anthony Montesano in addition to several other clients. A lot of money. Geena didn’t care about that either. She just wanted it to be over, and she could finally see the light on the other side.
Sierra shrugged. “If you say so.”
“If you say what?”
Taylor breezed in, wearing her teal scrubs as she looked back and forth between her sister and Sierra.
Sierra aimed a thumb at Geena. “This one here insists she’s all good with her trauma and all of that.”
Geena sighed. They wouldn’t let this go, would they?
“Does she now?” Taylor frowned at her sister. “Good thing tomorrow is our running day. You can process everything on the pavement. Nothing a little sweat and blood flow can’t fix.”
Geena had forgotten all about her promise to run during the week. Surely her sister would cut her some slack on that.
“We have dinner with Mom and Dad tomorrow.”
Dinner with her parents and Taylor and Austin and a couple of extra guests.
“Right. Dinner,” Taylor said. “You’ll have plenty of time to shower and get ready after our morning run.”
Geena resigned herself to the fact that she wasn’t getting out of this. She didn’t believe running was a cure-all like her sister did, but she figured she could at least use some exercise and fresh air now that the storms were finished for a while. Even if it was miserably hot.
“Speaking of a shower.” Sierra fanned her tank top, then smelled her armpit. “I could definitely use one of those.”
They all needed showers by that point, but Geena had other plans before she’d get around to that.
“Not yet for me,” she said. “I’m headed downtown. I want to take some photographs along Main Street.”
It had been so long since she’d taken photographs just for the sheer pleasure of it. She missed enjoying the process as much as the product. She loved taking photos of the animals and the satisfaction she got from that, but she missed taking photos for no one but herself.
With Ricky gone and the whole birdnapping saga behind her, Geena had space in her life to fill. And she knew exactly where she wanted to begin.
Well, two places.
No, three.
“Sounds fun,” Liz said, rejoining them. “That was the last for today, by the way. We’re good with the ones here for this week, and hopefully we get good pics from the fosters.”
“Great.” Geena began gathering the supplies she needed to take with her, leaving the lights, backgrounds, and props in her little makeshift studio. “I can leave all of this here until next week?”
“Sure,” Sierra said. “We don’t need this corner except for supplies.”
Shelves filled with canned food and blankets lined the wall opposite the photography table. They weren’t in Geena’s way, and once she moved her lights into the corner, her studio stuff allowed easy access to the supplies.
Once she packed her camera and put it and her purse on one shoulder, she said her goodbyes and headed for the door.
“Don’t forget about tomorrow morning!” Taylor shouted at her back.
“I won’t.”
Geena had a suspicion her sister wouldn’t let her forget about their running date, anyway.
L auren stepped through the crowd leaving the lion exhibit. Cody had finished the afternoon keeper chat with the visitors, and he had a break before the next visitor experience with the snakes.
A smug grin grew on Lauren’s face as she approached him at the end of the raised wooden walkway.
“What’s that look for?”
“Nothing,” she said. “You just seem… lighter.”
“Not having to track down a bird thief will take a weight off.”
It had been two days since the whole ordeal with Geena and her coworker and Gary. Two days that felt like a lifetime. But also, two days wasn’t nearly enough time to fully accept that the people he’d been watching over for so long were actually safe now.
“Eh, it’s not that so much.” Her smile stretched wider. “Admit it. You’re happy.”
“Fine. I’m happy,” he said. “Happy?”
“Thrilled. Did you finally get a chance to look over the plans for the new herp area?”
“Yeah, this morning after my rounds.”
“And?”
The new exhibit looked great. It would be a fully enclosed walkthrough for guests to enter and view the reptiles and amphibians. The space would allow them to keep a lot more animals and give an opportunity to do more experiences for the guests, so they could interact with more species.
It would also allow Cody to do some new stuff, which was what he’d been looking for. Plus, he and the curator were talking about more improvements and more opportunities for Cody, without him having to give up time with the animals. In fact, he was going to do more hands-on training and behavioral stuff and less caretaking duties.
Exactly what he wanted all along.
But here instead of somewhere else.
Here was turning out to have a lot of advantages.
And Lauren was right. He could always take vacations and travel to new places while he kept a home base here and got to make some significant improvements to the zoo.
“It looks great,” he said.
“Is it great enough for you to be the one overseeing it?”
Cody shrugged. “Maybe.”
“That’s a heck of a long way from the shut-down I got on the idea a couple weeks ago. I’ll take it.”
“I said maybe,” he reminded her.
Lauren tilted her head. “Speaking of that maybe. How’s Geena doing?”
“Geena’s doing great.”
She was surprisingly handling the whole kidnapping and held-at-gunpoint thing really well. Cody wasn’t sure if that was just how she got through stuff or if it was shock that might wear off eventually. Either way, Cody planned to be there for her.
“And how are you and Geena doing?”
Cody’s insides squirmed a bit. He did plan to be there for her. But for how long had been the question of the last few days.
He was pretty sure he knew the answer, and he was completely at peace with it. He’d pulled his applications from all three zoos, and he deleted the dating app from his phone. Cody really was planning to be all in with Geena.
But that didn’t mean part of him wasn’t still a little apprehensive about the decision.
“We’re doing fine,” he said. “I’m having dinner with her parents tomorrow.”
“Dinner with her parents? That’s huge!”
“Not as big as you think. I’m sure they just want to thank me for helping Geena stay safe, although she pretty much saved herself with James.”
“Still, meeting the parents is kind of a big deal.”
“Speaking of dinners,” Cody said, changing the subject. “Sorry I bailed on our Friday night thing.”
“Not a problem. You were dealing with a lot,” Lauren said. “Melody and I went out instead.”
Cody smiled. “Melody, huh?”
“I told you, things are great with us. Getting better every day.”
Cody loved the way that smile looked on Lauren. He was happy for her, and he was glad he was going to see his friend’s relationship continue to grow.
“But that’s enough about me,” she said. “Circling back. You’ve got a new exhibit to oversee and a girlfriend you’re wild about and whose parents you’re meeting tomorrow. Can I say I told you so yet?”
Cody sighed. “Get it over with.”
“Well, for starters, I was right about you being scared. And also about Geena being worth the risk. And worth sticking around for.” She grinned, a satisfied but sincere expression on her face. “And I’m really happy for you.”
Cody took it all in, conceding that she had been right about all of that.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ve got a call to make before the next show.”
“Geena?”
“No,” he said. “I’ve got a video call scheduled with Gary’s previous owner. I get to tell him Gary is safe. For good.”
Cody was a little apprehensive about his call with Anthony. The cops had tracked down the hidden account James had been after, so Anthony had to be pretty pissed about that. But that wasn’t his or Geena’s fault. Cody was just delivering the news that Gary was back in good hands.
“Well, I won’t keep you from that.” Lauren aimed a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ve got stuff to do, too. If I don’t catch you again this afternoon, let me know how tomorrow goes.”
Cody was filled with trepidation and elation. Quite the cocktail for his stomach and brain to handle. But he decided to chalk it up to excitement rather than anxiety.
“Will do.”