Chapter 5
ALEX
A few minutes later I held the door for Zina as she climbed into the front seat of my brother-in-law’s truck. Since Dave obviously wasn’t using it, Char told me I could borrow it while I was in town.
I gave the door a gentle push to close it as Zina got settled.
She didn’t seem too thrilled at the idea of showing me around the warehouse, but if I wanted to get started on constructing a temporary habitat for those birds, I needed to get a move on.
At least Lacey seemed to be on board. Hopefully the wedding wouldn’t get too out of hand.
They’d started by requesting penguins. How much wilder could it get?
“Thanks for being willing to show me around.” I glanced to Zina, who stared straight ahead. “How long have you been living in Ido?”
“Too damn long.” She clipped her seat belt and gave me a smile. “Sorry if I came across as being a little difficult. Lacey has a way of taking over and expecting the rest of us to fall into line.”
I chuckled as I turned the key in the ignition. “My sister’s kind of like that.”
“Does she live around here?”
“Yeah, we grew up over in Swynton. Although, I spent plenty of time under the lights at the stadium here in Ido.”
Zina nodded. “And you’re back in town now to take care of some penguins?”
“Seems that way.” I couldn’t hold back my smile.
I liked the curvy, dark-haired woman in the seat next to me.
She had attitude. And based on the way she talked to Lacey, she didn’t take a bunch of shit from people.
Reminded me of some of the badass women I’d met in Antarctica.
“How did you get involved in the dog shelter?”
She gave a brief history of her experience in the military as a dog handler. “And then I came home and decided to take over For Pitties’ Sake. Now we seem to be a hot spot for people to dump their unwanted pit bulls.”
“My sister said something about a local dog-fighting ring?”
“Bodie thinks he’s closing in on them, but they keep moving their operation, and I get stuck with the leftovers. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel to an animal.” She shifted her gaze to straight ahead, but not before I caught a hint of hurt in her eyes.
“That sounds kind of dangerous. You ever think about a different line of work?”
“Running away only makes them think they’ve won.”
Spoken like a true warrior. My opinion of Zina rose by a few notches. “Sometimes the best bet is to retreat for a bit and come up with a game plan.”
“You’ve never been in the military, have you?”
I shook my head as I navigated the truck down the drive to the Phillips House.
“If I don’t stand my ground, people will think it’s okay to walk all over me.”
“I see.” I said the words, but I didn’t see. Not at all. To me, there were few things in life worth risking everything for.
The truck stopped in front of the warehouse and before I could make my way around to open Zina’s door, she’d hopped out. By the time I met her on the concrete pad by the door, she’d leaned down and removed a key from underneath a potted plant.
“That doesn’t seem so secure.” If I planned on housing the penguins here, I’d have to talk to Lacey about beefing up her security.
“There’s not much in here that anyone would want.” Zina unlocked the door and pushed it open.
I followed her into the front office space, where several desks had been stacked and piled against the wall. “I take it she’s not using the space for anything but storage right now?”
“That’s right.” Zina moved toward a door at the back of the office and then stepped through.
I followed, my eyes adjusting to the dim interior.
Tall ceilings rose above us. The warehouse was a blank slate, just waiting for someone to create something useful out of it.
Immediately my thoughts went to how best to utilize the room.
There was plenty of space for a water feature, which would be vital for the penguins.
They wouldn’t need anything too spectacular since they’d only be there for a while, but a saltwater pool and some ice were going to be required.
“What do you think?” Zina asked. “Do you think you and your birds could be happy here?”
I let my gaze float around the room before settling on her and matching her smile with one of my own. “Yeah, I think we will.”
Zina
I tried to squelch the nervous jitters coursing through me as soon as Alex smiled at me.
He had a nice smile. The kind that used to work its way into my core and made me want to turn on the charm.
But that was a long time ago. I hadn’t acted slaphappy over a man in years, and I wouldn’t start again now.
No matter how being around him made my stomach churn.
And thanks to Lacey I was riding shotgun in his brother-in-law’s truck while he drove me back to the shelter.
“Turn right up here,” I directed. With him at the wheel next to me, I was almost reminded of being on a date. But the last time I’d been on a real date, I’d still believed in happily-ever-afters. Which meant that was a hell of a long time ago, before reality had given me a giant kick in the ass.
The shelter came into view. My heart expanded, opened up like a freaking blooming flower seeking the sun every time I saw it. The shelter was the one good thing I’d managed to do with my life. Keeping it afloat took more than a full-time effort, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“You can just let me off in front.” I unclipped my seat belt as the truck slowed.
“Don’t I get to come in?” Alex asked.
“You want to?” He didn’t strike me as the type who’d want to chill out with the dogs. He seemed like he had much more important things to do, especially if he was going to get started on creating a penguin habitat out of nothing.
“I’ve got a little time to spare. I’d love to meet some of your dogs.” He killed the engine. It was settled. He was coming inside.
I led the way.
“So are you open to the public?” He stood behind me as I unlocked the front door.
“Yeah. That’s the only way we get dogs adopted out. But I’m short staffed so if there’s no one around to work the desk, we have to lock up.” I pushed the door open, and he put an arm out to catch it, insisting I go first.
We entered the foyer and I immediately went to the pile of wet towels on the floor. The ceiling was still leaking, and I’d been waiting for two days now for someone to come take a look.
“You got a leak?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. Whole roof really needs to be replaced. I’m supposed to be getting an estimate soon. The guy’s canceled on me two days in a row.” I shook my head as I set my purse down behind the counter.
“I take it that’s not exactly in the operating budget?”
“You got it.”
“I know how that goes. I used to do some work for a nonprofit and we were always having our funding pulled.”
Neither of us said a word as the reality of that statement sank in. It was rough being at the mercy of donations and sponsors. Maybe Alex did know a thing or two about my situation.
“You want to meet some of the dogs?” I asked.
He nodded, his eyes lighting up a bit.
“Okay, but it’s about to get really loud.” I pushed into the back area where the kennels were. The dogs began to bark just like they did every single time I entered the back room. “You’d think they’d get used to me coming back here.”
“What?” He leaned closer, unable to hear me due to the noise.
“I said, you’d think they wouldn’t bark every single time I come back here.”
“One good thing about penguins”—he nudged his chin upward—“no barking.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I reached Buster’s cage. The dog’s head rested on top of his paws. He wasn’t one to bark; he barely lifted his chin as we stopped in front of his kennel.
“This is Buster.” I wrapped my hand around the bar on his cage. His tongue slowly lapped at my fingers. “He likes belly rubs, watching reality TV, and hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows.”
“Really?” Alex let out a laugh. “How do you know that, exactly?”
“I take a different dog home with me each night so they get some time out of the shelter. It’s good for them to be exposed to what it’s like to be in a house instead of a cage. Some of them have spent their whole lives in kennels like this.”
“Why?” Alex stuck a finger through the squares of the cage. “Why get a dog if you’re only going to keep it locked up?”
I used to wonder the same thing. But then I learned about dog fighting. “A lot of these pups came from dog-fighting rings. They’re raised for the sole purpose of competing for their owners.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” Alex’s brow furrowed.
My heart squeezed at the show of concern. “Yep. But it doesn’t stop them. Sometimes one escapes or gets dumped somewhere and we find them. Then they get rehabilitated and have a chance at a good life with a family and a real home.”
“Wow. What made you want to run a dog rescue?”
“I’ve always loved animals”—I unlatched Buster’s cage—“and when I found myself back in Texas, I wanted to do something that would make a difference.” If I didn’t turn the conversation soon, we’d be trekking over some sensitive territory and I wasn’t ready for that yet, maybe not ever. “You want to pet him?”
At Alex’s nod, I swung the door of Buster’s crate open.
The dog, who could have passed for comatose a moment before, jumped to his feet and sprang out of the crate.
He attacked me first in a flurry of slobbery kisses.
Then he turned his affection on Alex. By the time I caught Buster’s attention and got him into a sit-stay, Alex had been knocked onto his back by the overzealous pup.
“He must like you.”
“Really?” Alex got to his feet, wiping slobber off his chin. “I’d hate to see what he’d do to someone he didn’t like.”
“Buster, come.” I held out my hand, and Buster moved forward a few feet, then sat in front of me. “That’s better.”
“Are they all so . . . enthusiastic?” Alex asked.
“No. Buster’s one of my ambassadors. He usually makes a good impression on people.”
“What’s his story?”