“Absolutely.” He felt his own mouth stretching into a grin. “Rowan, it’s good to see you. No more glasses?”
“Laser surgery.”
“You’re here visiting your family?”
“Taking care of my grandmother for a few days.” She came closer to look into the stall. “Aw, the baby goats are so cute. Look at that.”
Zack watched the first kid teeter on shaky legs and find his way to a teat. Lauren was rubbing the other two kids dry while Fudge watched. The goat already looked stronger. Zack smiled. “They’ll be fine now.”
“I love a happy ending,” Lauren said, as she guided the other two kids toward their mother.
“Me, too,” Zack admitted.
Rowan tilted her head. “Speaking of happy endings, I saw your segment on the news. You run a wildlife rehabilitation center?”
“It sounds grander than it is. We have a bit of land behind the vet clinic, and my partner, Christine, agreed I could use it for wildlife rehab.”
“Your moose calf is adorable. Does he have a name yet?”
“I don’t know.” Zack shook his head. “Jessie, the volunteer who does all our web stuff, is handling that. I don’t believe in naming animals we’ll be releasing in the wild, but I was overruled.”
“It’s a cute hook for a fundraiser. Getting attention is half the battle of marketing, you know.”
“I guess. I really hate the promo part of the job.”
Rowan looked amused. “The moose calf is irresistible. And the volunteer with white hair—Maggie, right? She’s a natural in front of the camera.”
“See, I need you to tell her that. She insists I do interviews, when she’s so good and I’m just plain awful.”
“You’re not awful. You’re just—”
“Bad?”
“Untutored. Public speaking is a skill, just like, oh I don’t know, delivering baby goats.”
“You do much public speaking?”
“I’m more of a background person. But I do coach public speakers.”
“Is that what you do for a living?”
“It’s a small part of my job. I’m with a marketing consultant firm. We facilitate partnerships and connections between overseas businesses and those in Japan. Sort of like a matchmaking service for business.”
“Wow.”
“It sounds grander than it is.” That dimple on Rowan’s cheek deepened as she repeated his words. “Do you have time to stop by the house for a cup of coffee once you’re done here?”
“Sorry, I don’t.” He wanted to. He really, really wanted to spend some time with Rowan, to see what kind of woman the girl he knew had become. But he did have two more calls to make today. “If you like, you could stop by and I’ll give you a tour of the wildlife center one evening.”
“I thought the public wasn’t allowed.”
“You’re not the public. You’re a friend.” Zack fished in his pockets until he found a dog-eared business card. “Here’s my cell.” He scribbled his personal number on the back. “Just call when you have time, and we’ll set something up.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“Good.” Zack paused, watching the smile spread across Rowan’s face until he realized he was staring. “Well, I’d better get to my next appointment.”
“Thanks, Zack, for coming so quickly,” Lauren said.
“Glad it all worked out.” He patted the mama goat on the rump. “You take good care of those kids, now, Fudge.”
Rowan walked him out. “Can’t wait to see your wildlife center.”
“Like I said, it’s nothing grand.”
“Still, I’m excited.” She reached up to dust a piece of straw from his hair. “I’ll call you soon.”
“I look forward to it.” Zack put the truck into gear and waved as he drove off, and he realized that, for once, the polite phrase he’d uttered was the absolute truth. He was looking forward to it, more than he’d looked forward to anything in a long time.
CHAPTER FOUR
“CAN I HAVE ice cream? Please?” Clearly ice cream was the only thing on earth that would make Becca’s life worth living.
Zack checked her plate. “What about those peas?”
“I don’t like peas.”
“Sure, you do. It’s beans you don’t like.” Or at least last week it had been.
Becca used her fork to push a few peas around her plate while she wrinkled her nose.
“At least taste them. Vegetables are good for you.” When she looked askance at his plate, Zack made a show of scooping up a big forkful of peas and popping them into his mouth. “Mmm, healthy.” Mushy canned peas weren’t his favorite, either, but they were quick.
Becca put one pea in her mouth and made a horrible face. “Can I have carrots as my vegetable?”
“Fine.” Zack pulled a couple baby carrots from the refrigerator and set them on her plate. He probably should have just done that in the first place. His mother had always maintained a hard-and-fast rule about a clean plate before dessert, but some of the advice he read online said making too big a deal of it discouraged healthy eating habits. This parenting thing seemed fraught with conflicting advice.
Becca nibbled on the first carrot. “Do I have to eat them both before I can have dessert?”
“Yes.” He would at least stick to that. “So, did anything interesting happen at camp today?”
She shrugged.
“Did you get to go out on the paddleboats?” That was listed on the activity calendar the camp sent home every week.
“Yeah.” Her face brightened. “We saw a beaver.”
“A beaver? Tell me about it.”
“Charlotte and me drove our boat over to see some ducks, and a beaver swam by with a stick in his mouth. Charlotte wanted to go closer, but I said not to scare him.”
“Good for you.”
“Then the counselor said we had to go back with the others, so we couldn’t watch anymore.” She finished the last carrot.
“That’s great, though, that you saw him.” Zack opened the freezer. “Peanut butter and chocolate, or caramel swirl?”
“Peanut butter.” She watched him spoon ice cream into a bowl. “Is the moose better?”
“She is. We’ll probably be able to release her and the calf next week.”
“Jessie says Charlotte and me get to pick the name for the baby moose tomorrow, from all the ones people wrote. Can I see the baby moose again before he goes?”
“Sure. You want to come tomorrow?”
“Can I help feed?”
“Absolutely.” Zack set the ice cream in front of her.
A blissful smile crossed her face. He wasn’t sure if it was the ice cream or the chance to see the animals, but it was good to see her happy.
After dinner he nudged her through the bath and toothbrushing routine. She dressed Zuma, her beloved stuffed animal, in red pajamas. Dad used to find it amusing to buy Zuma outfits designed for Chihuahuas. As a result, Becca’s toy probably had a bigger wardrobe than Zack did. With Zuma on one side of her and Fluff, their rescue cat, on the other, Becca snuggled into bed. They read three chapters together before she was almost asleep. He kissed her forehead. “Good night, Becca. Sweet dreams.”
“Night, Zack.”
Downstairs, Zack measured out Ripley’s kibble and dumped Becca’s uneaten peas into the dog’s bowl before setting it on the floor. “You’ve gotten a little more variety in your diet since Becca came to stay, huh, Ripley?”
The dog wagged his tail. He might have gotten a few bits of Becca’s hot dog under the table as well, but if so, he wasn’t talking. Zack’s cell phone rang. He frowned. He wasn’t on call, unless it was an emergency at the wildlife center. If it was, he’d have to wake Becca and take her to Jessie’s.
He pulled the phone from his pocket, ch
ecked caller ID and braced himself. “Hello, Clarissa. How’s the weather in the Caribbean?”
“Fine, I guess.” She gave a soap-opera-worthy sigh. “It’s hard, you know. Being alone.”
Judging from the music and laughter he could hear pulsing in the background, she wasn’t exactly alone. Not like Dad would have been when he died if one of the nurses hadn’t called Zack. Zack made it to Dad’s bedside when he woke briefly and tried to speak, but before he could form the words, he’d slipped away. Clarissa never had explained why she’d called the ambulance but not come to the hospital. But that was water under the bridge. “I’ve already tucked Becca into bed, but she might not be asleep yet,” Zack told Clarissa.
“Don’t wake her. I need to talk to you. The hotel says there’s a problem with my credit card. I just can’t deal with this right now, and with the money tied up in the estate... It’s too much. Can you check it out?”
“Yeah, okay.” As executor of his father’s estate, Zack had the authority to do that. And as someone who cared about Becca, he had a vested interest in keeping Clarissa relatively content until he could figure out the best way to help his sister. “Which card is it?” He wrote down the information she gave him. “I’ll call tomorrow.”
“First thing, okay? The hotel is being difficult.”
“All right, first thing. Was there anything that would have flagged the system? Unusual charges, maybe?”
“No. Well, my spa bill might have been a little higher than usual.” A male voice in the background called her name. She hissed that she’d just be a sec.
“But the spa charges are legit?”
“Yeah. It’s just a facial, seaweed wrap and a hot-stone massage. I’ve been so tense. You know how it is.”
“Sure. I’ll let you know what I find out tomorrow.”
“Thanks. Um...” She hesitated briefly, “Any word on when the estate will be settled?”
“The lawyer says it takes time.” Especially when documents were missing. “I’ll let you know what I find out about the credit card.”
“Okay.”
“Becca’s doing fine.” Not that she’d asked.
“That’s good. You’ll call the hotel tomorrow once you get the card straightened out?”
Well, her priorities were clear. “You didn’t give me the name of the hotel.”
“It’s the Anguilla Transcontinental. Here’s the number.”
He wrote that down, as well. “Okay. I’ll let you know. Good night, Clarissa.”
“Bye, Zack. Thank you.” She hung up, but not before he heard a soft giggle.
Just what he needed: a couple of hours of phone calls cleaning up Clarissa’s financial messes. But he had been appointed executor of Dad’s estate, based on a will written long before Dad married Clarissa, which, ironically, meant she was entitled to a bigger share of the estate than she would have been if Zack had been able to locate a will written after Becca was born. There should have been one in his father’s office safe where he insisted on keeping all his important documents, but if it existed, it, along with the prenup Clarissa signed before the marriage, had mysteriously vanished.
Zack added the task to the calendar on his phone. It was his turn to drive Becca and Charlotte to camp tomorrow, followed by three surgeries in the morning. Which meant he’d better set his alarm two hours early so he could handle Clarissa’s “difficulty.” Zack rubbed his temples where a headache was beginning to take root. Maybe he should look into a hot-stone massage. Whatever that was.
* * *
“LOOK, MAISY, your mom is here.” Zack handed over the boxer’s leash. “Bring her back in ten days to have those stitches out. Karen will give you a sheet on aftercare, and you can call if you have questions.”
“How long should we keep the cone on?”
“The same, ten days. Maisy will try to convince you it’s not necessary, but when it comes to these matters, she is not to be trusted.” As the dog moved forward, the plastic cone bumped against the receptionist’s desk, knocking her off balance. She sent Zack a look of reproach as though she knew he was responsible. He laughed. “She’s still a little wonky, but she’ll be fine soon.”
“Thanks, Dr. Vogel.”
Maisy was Zack’s last patient of the day. Zack yawned as he updated her chart. “Hey, Karen, is there any coffee left back there?”
She rocked back to look toward the coffee station behind her work area. “None fit to drink. There’s a half inch of road tar in the bottom of the pot.”
“Desperate times.” Zack pushed through the exam room door and circled around toward the coffeepot.
“Ew, don’t drink that,” Karen insisted. “If you’re that hard up, I’ll make a fresh pot.”
“No time.” Zack poured the dark stuff into his travel mug. “I have to pick up Becca. I’ll be back in half an hour.” He tried a sip, grimaced at the bitterness and started out the door.
Becca and Charlotte waited at the parent pickup area, something colorful hanging from their hands. When he reached the front of the line, a counselor helped them climb into the back seat and buckle in.
When they stopped at a traffic light, Zack looked over his shoulder to ask, “What have you got there?”
“We made—what are they called?” Charlotte asked Becca.
“Lanyards,” Becca supplied. “Like necklaces with a hook on the end.”
“Yeah, lanyards. Mine’s blue and pink, and Becca’s is red and gray.”
“Nice. Crimson and gray are school colors where I went to college and vet school.”
Becca held her lanyard up where he could see it. “I made it for you.”
“Wow, it’s beautiful. Thanks, Becks.” Zack wasn’t sure what he was going to do with a lanyard, but he would find a use for it.
When he pulled up in front of Charlotte’s house, Jessie stepped outside to meet them. “Hi, guys. Zack, donations are up about twenty percent since you did that television appearance.”
“I don’t suppose it’s enough to qualify for the next year’s matching grant.”
Jessie shook her head. “Not even close. It helps, but at the official board meeting next Saturday, we’re going to have to figure out a major fundraiser.”
“I figured.” Their quarterly meetings consisted of Jessie, her husband, Greg, Maggie, and him meeting for breakfast at the local diner. Maybe one of them would come up with a brilliant plan between now and Saturday. “I’ll tell Maggie.”
“Do that. Thanks for driving today.”
“No problem. See you.”
Becca waved goodbye as they pulled away. Zack turned his truck toward the clinic. “I have a little more paperwork to do and then we’ll go to the wildlife center, okay?”
“I’m kinda hungry.”
“We can stop off at home for a snack.” Zack tried to remember if they had any fresh fruit left. He should have gone shopping a couple of days ago, but he hadn’t found the time. As it was, dinner would be something involving a can of tuna.
The time he’d spent on hold this morning trying to get Clarissa’s mess straightened up didn’t help. As he’d expected, they’d locked the card because of an unusual pattern of charges and Clarissa hadn’t bothered to answer the text alert they’d sent. At least it was good to know that spa charges totaling more than twelve hundred dollars were unusual enough to merit an exception. Something about a twenty-four-carat facial? Zack didn’t even want to know what that was. Dad and Clarissa had done a fair amount of traveling, but Zack was reasonably sure they hadn’t traveled in the style reflected on Clarissa’s credit card. Dad was a successful investor, but he hadn’t been rock-star wealthy.
When they arrived home, Zack took a minute to admire Becca’s lanyard crafted from colored plastic laces and beads. “Wow, you made this? I’m so impressed.”
Becca beamed. “You can put your keys on it a
nd never lose them.”
“What a great idea.” He transferred the wildlife center key from a peg on the wall to the clip and hung it around his neck before checking the pantry. No apples or oranges left. “How about peanut butter on...celery?” They did have celery, didn’t they?
“Okay.”
He spread peanut butter on slightly limp celery stalks for Becca. While he was at it, he made a couple for himself and spread peanut butter in a hollow rubber bone for Ripley.
“Can I take a carrot for Puddin?”
“Sure.” Zack packed Becca’s celery in a plastic dish and together they walked next door to the clinic, leaving Ripley to lick the peanut butter out of his toy. Karen and the rest of the staff had gone home. Becca ate her snack and then entertained herself with the building toy Zack had set up in his office while he made his notes on that day’s patients.
As he finished, his phone rang. Not a number he recognized. “Hello?”
“Zack, hi, it’s Rowan.”
“Oh, hi, Rowan.” It had been two days and he’d concluded Rowan wasn’t going to call. He took the phone away from his mouth and whispered, “Let’s get those blocks put away, Becks, and we’ll go see what Puddin is up to.” He walked a few steps away. “How’s your grandmother?”
“She’s doing well. She’s back in her place in the senior apartments, and they’re having a big bridge tournament tonight, so she sent me away. I was wondering if this is a good time to see the wildlife center.”
“Now?” If he’d known she was coming today, he would have spruced up a little. If he’d had a moment to spruce up, that is.
“Whenever it’s convenient. You said evenings, but—”
“No, no. Now’s fine. I was just about to head over there, as a matter of fact. The center is just behind the vet clinic. Do you know where that is?”
“Yes, I’m in the parking lot right now.”
Well, all right. “I’m inside. I’ll let you in.” He hung up and turned to Becca. “Wait here. I’ll be just a sec.” On the way to the front door, he caught sight of his reflection in the window looking into a now-darkened exam room and paused to run his fingers through his hair and straighten his T-shirt. He considered removing the plastic lanyard, but that might hurt Becca’s feelings. He opened the door to see Rowan getting out of an old jeep, probably a spare car someone in the family kept around. “Hey, there.”
Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set Page 27