Chapter 10 #2
She clomped down the hall in some sort of footwear that was too heavy to be the plastic princess shoes. As she entered the kitchen, my head felt like it might explode.
“I’m ready, Uncle Alex.” The voice sounded like my adorable niece, but the creature it came from didn’t look anything like the four-year-old I’d sent back to change a few minutes ago.
“What the hell did you do to yourself?” My heart skipped a beat, then another as I took in her makeover. She’d wrapped herself in toilet paper from head to toe. All except for her face, which peeped out from the white shroud.
“What the hell. What the hell.” Why did the damn bird only repeat swear words? That was a question for another day. Right now I needed to get Dolly cleaned up and out the door.
“Now I won’t get dirty.”
“Come on, we’ll unwrap you as we go.” I grabbed her under my arm and swept her out the door behind Gramps, the bird squawking as we slammed the door.
Zina
I checked my watch again. The contractor Alex hired to start work on the penguin habitat had been pacing for the past fifteen minutes.
If Alex didn’t show up soon, I’d have to lock up and tell him to reschedule.
I had quite a few errands to run before heading to Lacey’s for our meeting.
As if the whole idea of creating a wedding around penguins wasn’t ridiculous enough.
The least Alex could do was be considerate of my time.
It’s not like I was on board with this stupid idea to begin with.
Any lingering warm feelings toward him faded the longer I stood there waiting for him to arrive.
I was about to start turning off lights, when a vehicle pulled into the gravel parking lot. Finally. Alex deserved an ass chewing for keeping me waiting this long. I opened my mouth, ready to deliver when he entered the front door.
“Where the hell have you been?” I asked, ready to meet his gaze with a glare of my own.
Instead, a child walked in. Barely three feet tall and wearing some sort of shredded toilet paper gown with thick-soled boots, the girl opened her eyes wide.
Alex appeared behind her. “Language, please.”
I startled. I didn’t like being caught off guard, especially when my mood had gone sour from waiting so long.
The contractor thrust his hand at Alex. “Good to see you again.”
Alex gave me a smug grin as he took Toby’s hand. “Thanks for meeting me out here. I’m sorry I’m late. We had a wardrobe issue.”
“My daughter’s got a mind of her own also, so I completely understand.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, ready to interrupt the moment of male bonding. “Should we check out the back?”
“Let’s do it.” Alex walked ahead of us, leading the way with his hand on his niece’s shoulder. “Dolly and I are eager to put some plans in place, aren’t we?”
The girl nodded. “Uncle Alex says I can pet the penguins when they move in and help feed them.”
I rolled my eyes. Who else would want to feed the penguins?
Ido had already turned into a tourist mecca with all the weddings.
What kind of unhinged visitors would a penguin habitat bring in?
I’d have to talk to Lacey about that. Maybe we could keep it on the down low until we got closer to the wedding.
“Gramps, you want to wait out here or come to the back with us?” Alex asked.
“I’ll wait here.” Morty slumped into a chair and set his chin in his hands.
“Suit yourself.” Alex opened the door to the warehouse. “Shall we?”
I followed the small group into the cavernous space. I didn’t know exactly how big it was, but Lacey had said we could fit a regulation-sized football field inside, so there was plenty of room for whatever half-baked idea Alex might come up with. I stood to the side while he counted off steps.
“I figure we can bring in a temporary dome. That way we don’t have to insulate the entire space. We’ll need to keep the temperature regulated for the penguins.”
“Of course.” Townsend jotted down a few notes.
While the men volleyed ideas back and forth, my gaze wandered around the warehouse. They’d moved all of the shelving to one side, so the vast majority of the space was open, making it seem even larger than it probably was.
Dolly spun and danced in a wide circle around us, her shoes thunking on the concrete floors. I remembered her from the restaurant last night. She’d been dressed in sparkles and a tutu then. “I like your shoes.”
“Thanks.” Dolly spiraled closer. “Uncle Alex said I would get dirty here, so I wrapped up.”
I stifled a giggle. So that’s why the kid was outfitted in layer upon layer of toilet paper. “Don’t you have a jacket or something you could have put on instead?”
Dolly stopped spinning and wobbled slightly. I put my arm out to keep the girl from falling over. “If I wore a robe, you wouldn’t be able to see my sparkles.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“Do you like sparkles?”
I thought for a moment. “Yeah, I like some sparkles from time to time.” The truth was, I’d rather dress in camo than adorn myself with glitter and jewels. But Dolly obviously preferred to shine, and I would never take away someone’s right to sparkle.
“Mama says I’m obnextus.”
“Obnoxious?”
“Yeah, that’s what she says. But Daddy likes it. He says I’m his little princess.”
“I’m sure your daddy’s right.” I smiled at the girl.
I’d felt like my daddy’s little princess once upon a time.
The memory made my stomach twist. I missed my dad, especially in moments like this when I was reminded of the special bond between a dad and his little girl.
I’d been a daddy’s girl from the beginning.
That’s why I’d gone into the military in the first place—to follow in my father’s footsteps.
But when Zeb came home a damaged shell of the eager eighteen-year-old who’d gone off to serve his country, my dad hadn’t been able to handle it.
He’d taken a civilian assignment on the other side of the world, and I hadn’t heard from him in over a year.
“Uncle Alex says you have puppies here. Can I meet one?” Dolly glanced up at me.
“Sure, but one at a time. They get pretty wound up when they have visitors.” That was an understatement.
So many of the pitties at the rescue had such little socialization with people, especially kids, that they got super excited when exposed to a new person.
Most of the animals had acclimated to having me around, but new dogs came into the shelter just about every day and there was no way to predict which ones might be used to kids and which ones needed to stay separate.
“Daddy said we could get a dog someday when he’s home all the time.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Where’s your daddy now?”
Dolly twirled, making the toilet paper flop up and down. “He’s in Ganistan. Mommy says it’s far, far away.”
“Afghanistan?”
The girl’s forehead wrinkled. “I think so.”
“Yeah, that is far away. I went there once.”
“Is there lots of sand?”
I chuckled, immediately taken back to where the sand blew across my face all day, finding its way into cracks and crevices I didn’t even know I had. “Yeah, there’s lots of sand.”
“Like at the beach? I like the beach.”
“Not quite like at the beach.” The beach had the ocean, where you could take a quick dip and wash off the hot stickiness of the day.
The sand in the Middle East was relentless.
It found its way into my hair, my nose, and the cracks between my toes.
No matter how many times I rinsed off, I’d still find it everywhere.
Not to mention how many pounds of sand I probably ate since it seemed to coat everything at camp, including the food.
“Who would you like to meet first?”
“Do you have any puppies?” Dolly asked.
I mentally raced through the dogs in residence. “Not really. We don’t get a ton of puppies unless one of the mama dogs we rescue is pregnant.”
“That’s too bad. I love puppies.”
“Yeah, they’re super cute. I did have a dog that just came in who’s about six months old. That’s kind of still a puppy. Would you like to meet her?”
“Yes, please.” Dolly took my hand, her tiny fingers wrapping around mine, making me feel a strange sense of protectiveness inside.
Danger zone. I wasn’t used to caring for small children.
Big children, either. I hadn’t spent too much time around kids at all.
Maybe entertaining Alex’s niece for a few minutes would be good for me.
It would give me a heads-up on what it might be like when Lacey and Bodie delivered their little bundle of joy.
I led Dolly into the back section of the warehouse. “They’re going to bark a lot when we go in. Not because they’re mad or anything. They just get excited when they get visitors.”
Dolly nodded as she pulled her hand away and covered her ears.
“You ready?”
The little girl smiled up at me. “Yep.”
“Here we go.” I stepped past the shelves. A chorus of barks and yips erupted. Tails wagged and dogs came to the front of their kennels, hoping for a treat or a chance to head outside and play with their friends.
I smiled at the volunteers who’d come to help the dogs settle in as I led Dolly toward the space we’d designated for the younger dogs. Sometimes the older pups got too wild with the smaller ones, so we kept them separated until they put on enough bulk to handle themselves.
I stopped in front of the kennel of a female who’d been brought in the previous week. The pup had passed the health exam but was a little shy around strangers so needed to be socialized a bit more before she’d be eligible for adoption.
“What’s her name?” Dolly asked.
I checked the tag on the front of the kennel. “Looks like they haven’t given her one yet. Would you like to name her?”
Dolly’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes, please!”
“Great. Let me get her out so you can get to know each other better.” The door to the kennel swung open and the pup took a few tentative steps toward us, her tag wagging. I slipped a leash over her head and led the way outside.
“Can I pet her?” Dolly asked.