by Laurel Kerr
Katie swallowed the jam. “I’m just looking for short-term work, since I don’t know how long I’ll stick around. This is my chance to start fresh and find a new job—somewhere more impressive and exciting than a mulch factory.”
“And, honey, you will,” June said, “but you need something to tide you over in the meantime.”
Katie frowned. June had a point, but Katie really didn’t want to concede it.
“You’re giving me a cut of your jam sale proceeds.”
June smiled. “Katie, as much as I do appreciate your faith in me, I’ve only got the local supermarket stocking my jellies. I’ll be selling at local farmers’ markets and festivals this summer, but it’s going to be a while before we turn any profit. You know that.”
Katie stabbed her spoon into the bowl. “But that means I have to make nice with Bowie Wilson.”
June shrugged. “Would it be any worse than dealing with your old boss?”
Katie swirled the raspberry liquid with her spoon as she thought about June’s question. She’d worked for almost a decade in Minnesota and had never once received a promotion. Her supervisor—a closet chauvinist—had either dismissed her ideas or taken credit for them.
“Debatable,” Katie finally managed. “Both men are terrible, but in different ways.”
June grabbed Katie’s hands. “Katie, honey, this is your chance. Think of all the ideas you could come up with. People love animals. You love animals! I have no doubt that you can come up with a marketing campaign that’ll go viral. This time, you’ll get recognition, and you can build your portfolio like you’re always jabbering about.”
Katie sighed. When June put it that way, it did sound like the perfect opportunity. The only drawback: her former high-school bully.
“But that means I’ll have to work closely with Bowie,” Katie said. “You know he didn’t even recognize me?”
June patted her hand before returning to the stove. “You said it was dark last night when you met again, didn’t you?”
Katie nodded glumly. “And I look like I have a pound less hair than I did in high school. But the thing is, I don’t really want him to recognize me.”
June laughed. “I thought you were angry that he didn’t know who you were.”
“I am, but also glad in a way. I always had this fantasy that I’d come back to Sagebrush Flats as this wildly successful woman and make both Bowie and Sawyer, his old girlfriend, sick with pure jealousy. Instead, I’m jobless, practically broke, and living in my parents’ home.”
June turned to reach into the refrigerator. She pulled out a custard bowl and set it in front of Katie. “Eat some of this. It will chase away your sorrows.”
“What is it?”
“Lime curd with graham cracker layers—my riff on lemon curd and key lime pie. I’m planning to offer it at the tea shop next week. If it sells well, I’ll add it to the jam collection, so I’ll be needing a name for that as well.”
June’s creamy concoction was the perfect blend of sweet and sour. Katie closed her eyes as the silky dessert slid down her throat. When she opened them, June had a no-nonsense expression on her face.
“Now that you’re in a better frame of mind, let’s discuss what you just said. First, you were not fired from your job. You quit with your head held high to help your mom after your dad was shot. That doesn’t make you a loser. It makes you a good daughter.”
“Sacrifices like that wouldn’t impress people like Bowie and Sawyer.”
“Well, it impresses me,” June said. “Second, you have drummed up business in sleepy old Sagebrush Flats already, so you have some income. Third, you’re not living in your parents’ home.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “I’m living in a small house only fifty yards away from the main homestead.”
“But it is a charming little geodesic dome,” June said. “That has to count for something.”
“It looks like a mouse house,” Katie corrected. “And my grandparents ordered it prefab from a catalog in the sixties when they were newlyweds—not a real selling point.”
“It’s a classic.”
“For a sci-fi movie setting maybe.”
June nudged the lime curd in Katie’s direction. “Eat more of this.”
“I don’t know if it’s still going to work to distract me, but it is delicious.” Katie shoveled another large bite into her mouth.
“I think you may be missing a golden opportunity.”
“I know. I know,” Katie grumbled. “Cute animals. Awesome artwork for the portfolio.”
“I don’t just mean for your career. I’m talking about revenge.”
Katie scrunched her brow—a habit her mother had always tried to break her of. “I don’t see how helping Bowie would count as payback. It’s the exact opposite.”
June delivered one of her most mischievous grins. “Honey, you have got to start thinking more deviously. Didn’t you say he used to pull pranks on you?”
Katie nodded. She’d never gone into the painful details with June, but she had mentioned that she’d been bullied in high school.
“Did any of his practical jokes involve animals?”
Katie couldn’t stop her automatic wince. “He tricked me into kissing a pig.”
June laughed in delight. “Why, that’s just perfect!”
Katie did not share in her mirth. “I’m glad that at least you’re amused. It was probably the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
June’s mouth quirked into a devious grin. “Think about it, Katie. Bowie Wilson has stopped by the tea shop once or twice. He is quite the attractive package. Make a video of him smooching a pig, and you’ll have a hit on your hands. Women will love it!”
Katie froze, a spoonful of lime curd halfway to her mouth. “June, that’s absolutely brilliant.”
“I know,” June said proudly.
Then reality punctured Katie’s excitement. “But how would I convince him to do it?”
“Come up with a brilliant marketing plan, and sweeten the pot by volunteering to help raise those adorable cougar cubs you were telling me about.”
It just might work, but Katie had to think practically. Fantasizing about Bowie Wilson was what had gotten her into trouble in the first place—even if the daydreams were of an entirely different nature. “What about my dad? He’s still recovering.”
“He is on the mend,” June pointed out. “Your mother even went line dancing two nights ago. You can be away from the house at night to babysit cougar cubs.”
Katie huffed out a breath. “It might just work.”
“Of course it will work. I came up with the plan.”
Katie allowed a satisfied smile to curve her lips. June was right. She needed to think about this strategically. This might be a fun summer after all.
* * *
“Your website definitely needs an overhaul. Nobody uses scrolling banner headlines anymore or flashing GIFs. And the fonts are an old-fashioned mess,” Red said. “It looks like it was done in the early 2000s.”
“It probably was,” Bowie replied as he watched Red from across his desk. The evening rays filtering through the glass-block window caught her auburn curls, making them shimmer. Her chocolate-brown eyes were slightly large for her face, but he liked that about her. And they suited her—those wide eyes full of energy and intelligence.
Sometimes, when she cocked her head in a certain direction, a glint of memory winked at Bowie. However, he couldn’t quite hold it in focus long enough to remember her. He’d vaguely recognized her mom from town but couldn’t recall her last name either. Bowie had never been very sociable.
He debated about asking Red for her name, but that might set her off again. She sounded like she knew what she was doing when it came to marketing, and he didn’t want her storming from his office. He figured she’d have to tell him her name eventually,
even if just for the check.
“Here are some mock-ups I threw together this morning.” She handed him a couple of printouts. Leafing through them, he raised an eyebrow. They were good. Very good. Better than anything he could have created.
“I’d also like to do a new logo for the zoo, but I need to see the animals first. That way, I can personalize it and highlight the species you have here. Right now, your brand has a real seventies vibe.”
“That would be because Lou and his late wife, Gretchen, founded the zoo then.” Lou had grown up in Sagebrush Flats. After leaving the state to get doctorates in zoology and veterinary medicine, he had worked for several major zoos before he and Gretchen had returned to his boyhood home to start their own animal park. When it opened, the place had generated a healthy stream of visitors and had a great reputation as a sanctuary for animals that could not survive in the wild. Through the years, attendance had dwindled as kids preferred watching animals on YouTube to visiting them in person. The stream of volunteers had turned into a trickle, forcing Lou to cut back on the number of rescues.
“The logo isn’t the only thing you should change to bring the zoo into this decade,” Red said. “You don’t have any animal cams. You’ll want one for the cougar cubs, but you need more than that. Since every zoo has them now, you should have a hook, something for people to anticipate. The kits’ eyes aren’t open yet, so I think we can use that to get people to watch.”
Bowie straightened in his chair. “That might work, although we’d have to get a webcam right away, since their eyes could open any moment now. We could also have a countdown clock for when the cubs can go on exhibit. That will be in about nine weeks, so it gives us plenty of time to build momentum.”
Red nodded enthusiastically. “That’s a perfect idea! I also thought we could do a video profile of each animal—maybe even post one weekly. Then we could archive them on the site.”
“I like how your mind works, Red.” His nickname for her slipped out of his mouth. He realized his mistake as soon as he saw her features harden.
“Don’t call me that.” As she spoke, her brown eyes flashed with anger and something else. Hurt, maybe? Something nudged at Bowie’s memory. An image of a wounded brown gaze started to form in his mind. It had just begun to crystallize when Red folded her hands neatly on her lap and said, “Now, we need to talk money.”
“I can’t afford much,” Bowie admitted, “especially with all the work you’re proposing. Our numbers aren’t good.”
“I’m willing to work for a small up-front fee. If the marketing campaign brings in more foot traffic, then you’ll need to pay the rest when the zoo can afford it. Of course, I want credit on all the work I do, since I’m in the middle of a job search and need to keep my portfolio up to date.”
“That sounds fair.” More than fair, actually.
“And I’ll even volunteer to help with the cubs at no cost.”
Bowie forcibly schooled his face not to show his reaction to her words. He couldn’t believe her generosity. Other than his good fortune with Lou and Gretchen, things like this didn’t happen to him. If anything, people in his past had shown more interest in tearing him down than in lending a helping hand. He didn’t quite understand why Red was being so accommodating, especially since he still got the sense that she didn’t much like him.
“There’s just one thing I want you to do,” Red said. “In fact, it’ll even be part of the marketing campaign.”
At the challenging glint in Red’s eyes, a trickle of unease started to spread through Bowie. He felt trapped in those brown depths, but he couldn’t retreat. The zoo couldn’t afford it. Hell, he couldn’t afford it. He needed help desperately with the cougar cubs, and the place wasn’t exactly crawling with volunteers. Two of his high school helpers had come down with mono, and the intern that he’d lined up for this summer had gotten a better offer at the last minute. Whatever Red wanted couldn’t be that bad. Could it?
“Sounds reasonable,” Bowie said cautiously.
“Good.” Red smiled. Wickedly. “I want you to kiss a pig.”
* * *
The words hung in the air as recognition finally slammed into Bowie with the force of a stampeding rhino hopped up on amphetamines. Crap. Crap. Crap.
Red wasn’t a stranger after all. She was Katie Underwood, the girl Bowie had mercilessly teased and tricked into kissing a pig.
The years had changed Katie—for the better. Her bushy red hair had darkened and been tamed into a cascade of silky auburn curls. Instead of hiding her surprisingly tight body beneath baggy clothes, Katie now wore curve-hugging jeans and a little T-shirt that clung to all the right places. Unlike in high school, there were no thick glasses or static-cling hair to detract from her cherubic features and brown eyes.
Clearly, Bowie had not only been a jerk in high school, but an utter moron. Considering the things that he had done to Katie, he was lucky she hadn’t kicked him straight in the balls. But, he had to admit, the shock of seeing her felt pretty darn similar to a knee to the groin.
“Katie Underw—” he heard himself say before cutting himself off. Shit. He’d almost slipped and called her Katie Underwear. “Underwood.”
Katie stiffened, and he knew she’d realized the reason for his hesitation. Crap. This wasn’t going well. He should have arranged for Lou to meet with her instead, especially since he’d sensed Red’s hostility. But he’d wanted this time with her. Something about this woman fascinated him, and he’d…well…he’d hoped maybe he could charm her into agreeing to a casual date. Obviously, that wouldn’t happen now. Bowie was fairly certain that if he attempted to even wink at Katie, she would castrate him.
Not that he blamed her.
As his brain madly scrambled for a way to salvage the situation, he said the first thing that popped into his mind. “Would a red river hog do?”
Katie blinked. Clearly, she hadn’t expected that particular response. “Excuse me?”
“You told me to kiss a pig. I don’t have one handy, but we’ve got two resident red river hogs. I don’t think Daisy, our sow, will mind. Boris, the boar, might, but I’ll let him know it’s for the good of the zoo.”
“Are you mocking me?” Katie drew an irate breath. When she did so, her chest jutted in Bowie’s direction. He tried very hard not to notice that.
“No, ma’am,” he told her. “If you agree to volunteer with caring for the cougars, I will kiss Daisy.”
Katie’s anger faded into speculation, and it took all of Bowie’s talent at bullshitting through life not to drop his grin and shift uncomfortably. He’d engineered quite a few tricks against her, and he’d just exposed his willingness to perform stunts in return for her services as a volunteer.
“You’ll kiss the hog in public?” Katie asked.
Bowie nodded solemnly. It wasn’t as if they would draw a crowd. Hell, if it did, he’d kiss Daisy every day.
“And post a video of it on the internet?”
He paused, trying to decide if that could negatively impact the zoo. Katie’s mouth immediately drew into a smug line. “Well then, I’m not sure if our deal will work.” She started to rise from her chair.
“Wait!”
Katie pivoted. She crossed her arms and watched him expectantly.
“Give me a minute to think. It might look odd for a zoo director to start posting videos of himself kissing animals.”
Katie shrugged nonchalantly. “Not if it’s for a fund-raiser. If you agree to the video, June Winters will sponsor it for $250. We’ll just need to give her tea shop and new jam business a plug at the end. She and I are hoping the video will go viral.”
Bowie didn’t know how to feel about June Winters’s involvement or about a viral video of him making face time with a sow, but he didn’t have much choice. If the video was watched by tons of people, it could help the zoo. “So, if I kiss Daisy and post
it on the internet, you’ll volunteer?”
“I’ll volunteer for a week.”
He bit back a sigh. “Then what?”
A devilish smile played at Katie’s lips. “Oh, I think I can come up with another ‘fund-raiser.’”
Bowie just bet that she could. It was going to be a long summer.
“Deal.”
Katie’s wicked grin grew broader, and he wondered what he’d just committed himself to. Bowie recalled the quote he always told his daughter when the kids at school picked on her: “Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” In Bowie’s case, he’d just become indebted to the one geek he’d been downright cruel to. It didn’t matter that he regretted how he’d treated her. Hell, he hadn’t particularly liked picking on her in high school—not that Katie would ever believe him. How exactly could he explain his motivation when he didn’t fully understand it himself?
Gee, I was so desperate to impress my hot, rich, popular girlfriend that I made your life hell for over two years. Sorry, but I had a crappy home situation, and I wanted to fit in so badly, I didn’t care who I humiliated in the process.
Yeah, those excuses sounded great. He’d had no right to treat her or anyone like that, no matter his sorry-assed reasons.
“Deal,” Katie echoed.
“When can you start?” Bowie asked. He might sound desperate, but at this point, what did it matter? Katie clearly knew who wielded the power in this relationship. He couldn’t keep caring for the cougar cubs and running the rest of the animal park without more help. And they didn’t have the funds right now to hire more staff, no matter how much the zoo needed several more pairs of hands.
Katie gave him a dry look. “How soon can you kiss the pig?”
“I can do it right now, but if you want a bigger audience, Saturday is the day,” he told her. If he was going to kiss Daisy, he might as well try to wrangle more interest in the zoo.
“Then I guess I’ll start Sunday.”
That was six days away, and he didn’t want to wait that long. “How about a compromise? I’ll post the upcoming event on the website today. That way, I can’t back out, and you’ll get more people to witness me kissing Daisy.”