by VK Powell
“Wow. That’s a big boy,” Dani said, not hesitating to enter the pen. Giant rabbits were known for their gentle nature. She approached slowly, then ran a hand along Thumper’s luxurious pelt.
Betty beamed. “Big Wig sires them large. He’s near four feet long. Thumper is three feet six inches and still growing.”
“How about you handle this, Dani. Betty can give you a hand if needed, while I go say hello to Tom.”
Betty waved toward the red barn. “He’s in the horse barn, waiting. He wants you to look at Ranger’s eye. It’s better, but still a bit runny.”
Trip headed toward the barn, and Dani pulled her kit bag closer. “Betty, would you mind petting Thumper to keep him calm while I sterilize the wound?”
“Sure thing.”
Dani cleaned the gashes along Thumper’s ear and patted them dry before applying tissue glue. She blew lightly on the area until the glue set and then nodded for Betty to release him. He hopped away, flipping at his ear only once before becoming more interested in a stash of carrots.
“No stitches?”
“I used the equivalent of superglue for skin. No numbing required and no pesky stitches for tiny toenails to snag on while scratching. It’ll work better since he’s so active. Just keep an eye on the injury, flush it with saline a couple of times a day, and apply this antibiotic ointment. He should be good as new soon. If anything changes, give us a call.”
“Will do. Thanks, Dani. I see why Trip hired you.”
If only her touch carried over to people. She thought about Grace again for the hundredth time and started to call and check on her, but Trip motioned her toward the truck.
They left the Kings and dropped in on a client whose pet potbellied pig had gotten into a squabble with the neighbor’s dog. Dani cleaned Annabelle’s punctures, instructed Mrs. Ludwell how to care for the wounds, and prescribed a course of antibiotics.
Dani had no idea there were so many interesting animals around Pine Cone, but she suspected Trip had planned for her to be surprised, maybe even enough to stay on. They treated a ten-foot albino Burmese python with mouth rot and were headed to a local reptile farm to treat the infected foot of a six-foot alligator when Trip’s truck indicated an incoming call.
Jamie’s name flashed on the caller ID, and Trip tapped the screen to accept the call.
“Hey, Jamie. Petunia okay?”
“She’s home, taking a sick day to rest. The antacid seems to be helping some, and she’s eating a bit of that prescription food, the chicken flavor. I just didn’t want her out in the heat.”
“Good. Make sure she’s drinking a lot of water, too.”
“Okay. But I’m calling about something else.”
Trip glanced over at Dani and quickly added, “Okay. Dani’s in the truck with me and you’re on speaker.”
Dani had witnessed several exchanges between Trip and Jamie, and the attraction was obvious. If they didn’t hook up soon, Dani thought Trip might lose it.
“Good. I’m out on the highway at, uh…Big Earl’s Exotic Emporium, and we have an animal situation I hope you can help with.”
Trip slowed the truck and did a three-point turn in the highway. “Is this an emergency?”
“I think so. Big Earl’s orangutan, Kiki, has escaped her enclosure and managed to lock herself into a tourist’s car. The car is parked in the shade, and the window’s open about an inch, but I’m afraid the interior will heat up quick.”
Trip stomped on the accelerator. “We’re headed your way, less than five minutes out.”
“Jamie, it’s Dani. Get a towel or rag and dip it cold water, ice water if there’s any around, and pass it through the partially open window. Apes are smart, and Kiki will use it to cool herself.”
“Will do. See you in a few.”
Trip grabbed the CB radio mic. “Fast Break to Paint Ball. Got your ears on?”
“This is Paint Ball. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“My place.”
“Put your clothes on, grab your locksmith tools, and meet me at Big Earl’s pronto. Kiki has locked herself in some tourist’s car.”
“Paint Ball out and on the way.”
Dani raised an eyebrow, and Trip shrugged. “The CB handles are something we dreamed up in high school. They just stuck.”
Dani started to comment, but Trip whipped into Big Earl’s parking lot. A small crowd gathered next to a luxury SUV, its alarm horn blaring every other second. Jamie stood off to the side, positioned between a middle-aged Chevy Chase doppelgänger and Big Earl, who looked like he’d been an NFL lineman, as they yelled at each other over the racket of the car alarm. Trip rushed toward the crowd closing in on Jamie while Dani went to examine the SUV surrounded by a crowd of children. She elbowed her way through and peered at the orangutan.
“Who owns that Toyota over there?” Dani waved over the woman who raised her hand, ignoring the scuffle and flash of handcuffs where Jamie was between Big Earl and the angry tourist. “Give me your keys.” She dangled them next to the window where Kiki sat.
Kiki pursed her lips and made little squeaking noises, but she stared at the keys Dani jangled outside the window.
“She’s blowing kisses,” one bystander said.
“No,” Dani said, still waving the keys in a hypnotic fashion. “Orangutans do that when they’re stressed or agitated.”
“Aw, baby,” Big Earl crooned, moving closer. “Daddy’s going to get you out of there.”
“Stand back, Earl, and let Dani work,” Trip said. “You’ll just distract Kiki.”
Cahill’s tow truck lumbered into the small, gravel parking lot and stopped. Clay hopped out. “What’s up?”
“Kiki’s locked herself in that car, and we’re trying to get her out,” Trip said. “Can you unlock that door?”
Clay rubbed her chin and shrugged. “That model is too new to open with a Slim Jim. I’d have to drill out the lock, and he’d have to replace it. Pretty expensive way to go.”
“Before we go that route, there might be a better way. Do you have any grapes?” Dani asked Big Earl.
He shook his head. “She ate all of them yesterday, and I haven’t gone by the grocery.”
“Mom, I’ve got grapes in my lunchbox,” a girl said, tugging on her mother’s arm.
“That’s right. They’re in the car. Go get them,” the woman said.
The orangutan touched the window glass next to where Dani held the keys, but Dani concealed the keys in her hand and pointed instead to the keys on the seat next to Kiki.
Kiki pursed her lips again and pointed to Dani’s hand. Dani pointed to keys on the seat. Kiki finally followed Dani’s line of vision and looked down at the keys next to her, then picked them up. Dani pressed her key fob against the glass, and Kiki did the same with her fob. Dani set the fob on top of her head, and Kiki did the same, beginning to mimic Dani’s motions. Dani held the fob up and pressed the alarm button. Kiki did the same to her fob and everyone, including Kiki, seemed to relax in the silence that followed.
“Everybody get back,” Jamie said, directing the growing crowd of bystanders to step back about ten feet.
The girl returned with the grapes, and Dani waved her closer. “What’s your name?”
“Amy.” The girl was bold and confident. Dani judged her to be around eleven years old, and a bit of a tomboy.
“Okay, Amy. I want you to stand here and show the grapes to Kiki, then eat one. Smack your lips like it’s really good, but don’t smile at her. She’ll think you’re being aggressive by baring your teeth.”
“Okay.” Amy lifted the cluster of white grapes to the window than plucked one and popped it into her mouth. She had Kiki’s full attention.
“Now eat another and smack your lips. And when I reach to take one, too, don’t let me.”
Amy did as she was told, pulling the grapes out of reach and shaking her head when Dani attempted to get one for herself.
“Good girl.” Dani held up
the fob in her hand and pointed to it. “In the wild, orangutans have been observed offering trades for items they want from another orangutan.” She pointed to the grapes. “Now I want you to offer the grapes to me in exchange for this fob.”
Amy did, and they swapped grapes for fob while Kiki watched. Dani popped a grape in her mouth and smacked her lips. Then she held the grapes near the two-inch opening at the top of the window and pointed to the fob Kiki held. The ape didn’t hesitate. She pushed the fob through the opening, and Dani squeezed the remaining grapes through into Kiki’s waiting fingers.
“Jamie, can you uncuff Earl? I’m going to unlock the door and I want him to calmly help Kiki out of the vehicle.”
“Sure thing.” Jamie released Big Earl, and he rubbed the small indentions in his wrists. “Sorry, Earl, but I had to do something to deescalate things.”
“It’s okay,” he mumbled. “I get a little worked up sometimes, and I’m protective of Kiki. She’s such a sweetheart and won’t eat for days if she gets upset.”
Kiki was turning the steering wheel back and forth with her hind feet while she daintily picked one grape at a time from the cluster to eat them.
Dani hit the unlock button on the fob, and Big Earl opened the door.
“Kiki, come to Daddy. Let’s go inside and get an orange.”
The orangutan held out her hand for Big Earl to take and climbed out of the car. The crowd cheered, and Kiki blew them a raspberry, and waddled inside, still gripping Earl’s hand.
“I’m going to get my stethoscope and check her out to make sure she didn’t get too overheated,” Dani said. “Unless you want to.”
Trip waved her on. “You’d know more about what to look for than I would.” Dani suspected Trip was more interested in chatting up Jamie than checking on an orangutan.
When Dani returned, Trip and Jamie were standing close, and the look in Trip’s eyes said their conversation wasn’t professional. Dani pretended not to notice, putting her kit bag and the other instruments back in the veterinary truck.
Trip walked toward the truck but called back over her shoulder to Jamie, “See you and Petunia at seven then. And bring a pouch of her food.”
“Making a move on the deputy, boss?” Dani couldn’t resist a little jibe.
“A big move. You should follow my lead before it’s too late.”
Dani thought about Grace and suddenly couldn’t wait to get back to her. “Won’t this truck go any faster? I’ve got things to do.”
Grace was sitting up in bed when Dani walked in with a food bag in one hand and her gym bag with a change of clothes in the other. She’d been too anxious to see Grace and hadn’t wasted time showering at the B and B. “Look who’s still in bed. Sleepyhead.”
“I’m hungry.”
Dani waved the bag of burgers and fries in her direction. “What will you give me for one of these?”
“My body and my firstborn child. You’re my shero, again.”
“You eat while I shower. Rabbit, pig, python, and orangutan do not go well with burgers.”
“Oh, tell me all about Trip’s exotic tour.”
“So, you were listening this morning. Later.” Dani shucked out of her clothes on the way to the bathroom.
“Hurry back.” Grace tore the bag open and pulled out a handful of fries.
Grace was fast asleep when Dani returned to the bedroom, her half-eaten burger on the nightstand. Dani crawled in beside her, hungry only for Grace’s skin next to hers. She snuggled in and wrapped herself around the body she’d begun to crave. As she drifted to sleep, she whispered, “I think I’m in love with you, Grace Booker, and it scares me to death.”
Chapter Fifteen
Grace woke the next morning to the taste of stale burgers and greasy fries. She reached for water on the nightstand, but a weight across her body stopped her. Dani. And she was still sound asleep, with one arm and one leg thrown over Grace. Their cocoon was cozy, intimate, and perfect. How they’d gotten in this position was still fuzzy, but she liked it and wasn’t in a hurry to move.
She and Dani had been up and down since they met, but her drugging had shifted their relationship in a new direction. But it could just be the chemical effects still in her system. She owed it to herself and Dani to find out when her head was clearer.
“I care about you, Grace. Really care.” How had she not seen it before? Dani needed to be needed, to feel she made a difference. She’d admitted as much when she talked about her grandmother and her collection of stray animals. Grace had needed her desperately at the club, and she’d come through. Dani had probably always craved the personal connections she’d missed as a child but didn’t know how to truly engage when the opportunity came along.
Beating on the front door brought Grace back to the present. Heavy pounding before breakfast usually equaled trouble in her line of work. The station could’ve been calling, but she had no idea if her cell was on or even where to locate it.
“Grace, you in there?” Trip’s voice was loud and urgent.
“Come on, Gracie, stop fooling around and open up.” Clay sounded scared.
“Grace, open the door or we’re coming in.” Mary Jane joined the chorus of concerned voices. “I left plarn weaving to check on you, so let us in.”
She didn’t understand the urgency, but something had upset her friends. “Dani?” She committed Dani’s sleeping form to memory—innocent expression, mouth partially open revealing the tiny gap between her front teeth, ebony hair flattened on the sides and standing up on top, the musculature of her chest and her strong arm across Grace’s body. She could look at her all day, but a stirring in her center said that would never be enough.
“Gracie, honey, this is your last warning,” Mary Jane said.
Grace placed light kisses on Dani’s forehead and on her lips. “Dani?”
“Uh-huh.” She snuggled closer and sought Grace’s mouth.
“We need to get up. The cavalry is here.”
“Send them away and kiss me again.”
“So not a good idea. Bad burger mouth.”
Dani pulled her closer. “Don’t care. Please.”
Everything else vanished except Dani’s soft plea and the gentle glide of their lips. Grace wanted to stay here all day exploring and talking, but this wasn’t the time. She gave Dani a light kiss and started to get up.
“Well, I’m pretty sure what’s going on right now, but are you okay, Gracie?” Mary Jane stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on the foot board, eyes searching the ceiling, flanked by Clay and Trip. None of them looked happy.
Grace pulled the blanket tighter around her and Dani. “What are y’all doing here? It’s early and I’m…we’re busy.”
“We’ve been calling your cell and no one in town has seen you since Wednesday,” Mary Jane said. “What else could we do but launch a full-on search?”
“What’s up, Grace?” Trip glared.
“Seriously, dude?” Clay shook her head at Dani and her expression darkened.
Dani jumped up and stood in front of everyone in her boxers and sports bra. “I don’t know what you think is happening, but I’m pretty sure you’re wrong.”
“And I’m pretty sure I’m smart enough to figure out what’s going on, and I don’t like it, not one little bit, sport.” Clay eyed Dani hard.
“Trip, Clay—”
“Hold on, Grace,” Clay said, stalking toward Dani like a hunter on safari. “Did you or did you not haul Grace out of the bar Wednesday night over your shoulder?”
“Well, I—”
“Just answer the question,” Clay said, moving closer. She and Trip backed Dani into a corner of the bedroom, blocking any escape route.
“Yes, but—” Dani raised her hands in surrender.
Trip shook her head, a look of disbelief on her face. “We spent the whole day together yesterday, and you didn’t say one word about…this.” She motioned toward Grace.
Mary Jane’s hand came to her chest. “I n
ever pictured you as that type, Dani.”
“Stop it!” Grace screamed from the bed, and everyone turned toward her. “I never figured y’all as the lynching type either. Get away from her.” No one moved, staring at her like she was a mad woman. “I mean it. Move. Now.” She tried to stand but slumped back on the bed, clutching her head and the edge of a blanket for cover. “Oh crap.”
Mary Jane ran to Grace’s side and handed her a robe. “Honey, you’re not okay. Let me take you to the doctor.”
“No, MJ. I’m all right.”
“Obviously you’re not,” Mary Jane said as Grace shrugged into the robe and grabbed the headboard for balance. “We’re trying to find out what happened to you Wednesday night. And then we come in and find the two of you like…”
Grace’s face flushed. “I’m fine, MJ. I took a couple of days off work, no big deal. I’m not really sure what happened the other night, but I know Dani is the only reason it wasn’t worse.”
“What?” Clay and Trip said at the same time.
“She basically rescued me from some pervert.”
Dani nodded as if validating Grace’s statement, pulled on her jeans, grabbed her shirt and boots, and started toward the door. “That’s my cue to leave.”
“No way, dude,” Clay said.
“Maybe we should let Dani tell her side,” Trip offered.
“We’re all staying until we get to the bottom of this.” Clay ushered Dani and Trip out of the room and said, “We’ll wait out here until you’re ready. Take care of her, MJ.”
On their way out of the room, Grace heard Trip mumble something to Clay about owing her ten dollars. She felt comforted that during the craziness some things hadn’t changed.
When the bedroom door closed, Mary Jane brushed Grace’s forehead. “Your color is bad. Your eyes are bloodshot. You basically look like death warmed over. Why don’t you take a quick shower and clear your head? I’ll put on some coffee.”