Katie's Rescue

She was right.

“How long have you been afraid of animals?” Luke asked.

Katie opened her eyes and stared down at her tennis shoes. She wasn’t quite ready to meet Luke’s gaze. She’d expected a fifty-something, gruff, hard-edged keeper. Instead, she got a thirty-something, rugged, almost Indiana-Jones perfect—a young Indiana-Jones keeper.

“I’m not afraid,” she said. “I’m just surprised by how big Aquila’s gotten.”

From behind her, she heard Jasper snort. Luke just looked at her; his mouth didn’t change from a straight line. “Liar,” he said.

“It’s been more than a decade since I’ve been around exotic animals,” Katie protested, finally looking Luke full in the face. “I didn’t know how I’d react when...”

“You mean you didn’t know you were afraid?” Luke supplied.

“I’m not sure I am afraid. Maybe more like unwilling to find out.”

“You aren’t afraid of anything, little girl,” Jasper said. “What’s really bothering you?”

Katie glanced away. It had seemed like such a good idea, to come in alone and assess Aquila without any gawking eyes.

When she’d arrived at Bridget’s AZ Animal Adventure, there’d been maybe five cars in the parking lot. A strange-looking man had sat cross-legged in front of the entrance. He’d smiled, asked her name, seemed to recognize it and then offered her a paintbrush. When she turned it down, he’d opened the gate and told her how to find Aquila.

Walking into Bridget’s, she’d had an almost ethereal sense of déjà vu.

All she could think, with each step, was how the smell of animals never changed, and how the morning sun seemed more pronounced when there was a vital job to do—like taking care of animals.

Katie had never felt more needed, more confident, than when she’d been taking care of Aquila and Tyre. Taking care of Janie wasn’t the same. Katie had been scared to death when, at eighteen, she’d become the guardian of her twelve-year-old sister.

To this day, she was terrified she’d mess up with Janie.

She’d never been scared with Aquila.

Until today.

She looked at Aquila and remembered his brother, Tyre, remembered what a big cat looked like with blood dripping from his mouth onto the ground.

“I’ll be all right,” she said forcefully. “Maybe it’s that I’ve been awake all night, driving. Maybe it’s the worry of being unemployed—”

“We’ll find a way to compensate you for your help.”

She felt her voice growing tight. “Maybe it’s the fear that I can’t do whatever it is you want me to do.”

“Just get Aquila to eat,” Luke said. “That’s all we want. He’s losing too much weight. If we don’t do something soon, we’ll lose him.”

Now that her eyes were open, Katie could see Aquila pacing back and forth in front of the fence. Every step was agitated. His skin sagged more than it should. His gait was slower than it should be. A decade out of the business and Katie could still spot what John Q. Public would miss.

Aquila wasn’t himself. He wasn’t holding his head quite as high as normal, his steps weren’t as stable. For a moment, she wanted to enter the cage, stroke the satiny fur. Hear Aquila purr.

But after a decade away, she couldn’t do that, even if she wanted. It would break every rule her father and Jasper had instilled in her.

And it might break Katie.

But that attitude wouldn’t get the job done—and it wouldn’t get her home any faster. Aquila might need her, but Janie needed her even more. She couldn’t help one without helping the other. No matter what it cost her. “Okay,” she said, “I’ll try.”

She felt a hand land on her shoulder and awkwardly squeeze.

Jasper’s fingers were brown and blunt. His nails as short as could be. She’d always believed him to be stronger than her father. Maybe because her dad always seemed to need help, but Jasper, with just a word or the touch of his hand, could get the animals to do anything. “Have you eaten? How’s Janie?”

Katie laughed. “You still have a way with words. I stopped about an hour ago and had a doughnut. Janie’s fine. She’s a freshman in college.”

“She okay by herself?”

“We’ll find out, won’t we?” Katie reached up and patted Jasper’s hand; he squeezed her fingers as he helped her to her feet. She managed not to fall as she repeated, “I’ll help, Mr. Rittenhouse.”

“You can call me Luke.” He didn’t look convinced she could really help, though. “How about I show you around Bridget’s first? Let you get a feel for the place.”

As she fell into step beside Luke and Jasper, Katie tried to tell herself she felt relieved because she was tired, not because she didn’t want to face Aquila yet. But she knew the truth—she was a screwup waiting to happen—and welcomed any reprieve that gave her time to regroup.

“We open in an hour,” Luke said. “Saturday’s our busiest day. We’re hoping to get at least five hundred visitors today. That’s more than double what we got before your dad’s animals.”

Katie’s headache wasn’t as pronounced now as she followed him down a path painted with cat paw prints. “My dad’s menagerie made that much of a difference?”

“Yes. Your father’s animals and their antics are definitely bringing people in.”

“Your website said you had a lion.”

Luke nodded. “Terrance the Terrible. He belongs to our veteran keeper, Ruth. He weighs three hundred pounds and is twenty-five years old.”

Katie whistled. “That’s old.”

“In lion years,” Luke agreed. “He deserves not only AARP but all that goes with it. He’s losing his eyesight. That’s what has Ruth worried. Next week he’s getting a tooth pulled. Though other than that, he’s perfectly healthy—”

Jasper cleared his throat, loudly.

“Okay,” Luke admitted. “Terrance also has the worst breath you can imagine. Ruth actually brushes his teeth twice a day, which he lets her do. She’s going to film him getting his teeth brushed—”

Jasper cleared his throat again.

“Oh, give it up,” Luke said lightly. “You know you like her.”

Jasper actually blushed.

“Is it really that exciting to film a tiger being sedated and then having its teeth cleaned?”

Luke laughed, “Oh, Terrance will be awake.”

“But—”

“He’s the calmest lion you’ll ever meet,” Luke said.

“He’s a wild animal,” Katie insisted. “It’s dangerous to—”

“Wait until you meet him.”

Katie considered protesting more, convincing him of the dangers, but forced herself to stop. She’d been invited here to help with Aquila, not give advice on how to guarantee employee safety.

“My uncle Albert lived and worked here before this was a here,” Luke continued. “Back in those days it was mostly a place to keep the few animals he had from his carnival days. Then he took in some rescued burros. My sister—”

“Bridget,” Katie noted. “I read about her on your website.”

He smiled. “My sister Bridget and I came down here every chance we got. Albert believed animals should just enjoy life. At first, he wouldn’t even let us touch the burros, but Bridget loved them so much that soon we were riding them. Especially Cheeky.”

“A camel,” Jasper supplied.

“The next few years were the happiest of Bridget’s life. On the weekends, her job was to take care of Cheeky. They were a perfect pair. See, Bridget liked quiet, and Cheeky is quiet. Plus, if something upset Bridget, Cheeky remained calm. The two of them would go out for a ride, and if Bridget got scared, Cheeky would turn around and head home.”

“Odd for a camel, I’ve never considered them friendly. Yet, the way you’re talking, it’s as if he knew?” Katie said.

“He knew.” Luke stopped in front of an exhibit and visibly relaxed.

Yes, the man was a keeper and, like Jasper and her father, more comfortable with animals than humans. He, obviously, was in his element, showing off his critters. What really surprised Katie was what Luke Rittenhouse hadn’t said. He hadn’t mentioned Bridget’s Down Syndrome. Either he was uncomfortable talking about it, or maybe it didn’t matter.

“We have two antelope jackrabbits,” Luke continued as they made their way back to the front of the enclosure, “but soon we’ll have more.”

Next to the jackrabbits stretched a huge, fenced grassy area. In the distance, Katie could see the burros. They were busy eating, although a few were kicking up their heels, nipping at each other.

A picture of a burro pulling kids in a cart had been on Luke’s webpage, clearly an attempt to attract kids—an attempt that was working.

The before-mentioned Cheeky and her father’s camel, Kobie, were next. Luke hadn’t mentioned Cheeky’s deformity, but Katie had read about it. Cheeky immediately came to the fence and shook her three-cheeked head at Jasper.

“She’s fallen in love with Jasper,” Luke said. “And he’s fallen in love with her.”

Already Jasper was slipping behind the fence to check on Cheeky, leaving Katie alone with Luke.

She studied Jasper carefully. Her dad had definitely known Jasper’s worth, but that didn’t mean he’d always appreciated it. He’d been displeased by how Aquila bonded with Katie, but that had only been one animal. He’d been more than displeased by how many animals preferred Jasper to him, which was why Aquila and Tyre hadn’t been in Jasper’s care in the first place. Unfortunately for Janie.

Unless Luke was a really good actor, Cheeky’s preference didn’t bother him a bit, and he knew how to appreciate Jasper.

“Antelope jackrabbits, burros, camels...” Katie said. “You really are staying true to the A-Z theme.”

“Not only A through Z, but AZ stands for Arizona, as well. We pay special attention to animals that are native.”

“Like a camel?”

Luke simply pointed to the information board in front of the exhibit. “A misguided military venture. I’ll tell you about it later when you’re up to it and we’re not in the sun.” He checked his watch. “And not crunched for time before the visitors arrive.”

Katie nodded. Her father was all about maximizing an animal’s performance. It seemed Luke was more into their history. “So, what D animal is next?”

“The desert tortoise.”

“And all this wasn’t enough to keep people coming?”

“People came, once. But then it might have been years before they came again. Think about it. A burro ride is fun, but not if the only thing you get to do is watch your kids take that ride. With today’s economy and mind-set, we have to provide both education and fun.”

She nodded.

“To properly care for the animals and to make a livable wage for my employees, I need gate receipts—which meant I needed bigger draws.”

Before Luke could say anything else about money or about the tortoises, his cell phone sounded. When he answered, Katie could make out the words drainage problem. Luke wasn’t fazed a bit. He barked out a few questions before ending the call.

“I’ve got to go see about something,” he said. “Are you feeling all right? I can—”

“I’m perfectly fine,” Katie assured him. She had the sense he’d stay with her if she only asked him to.

“You want to roam on your own, then, and meet me for lunch, say, so we can talk over what needs to be done?”

“I’ll do that.”

“You might want to talk to Ruth about a place to stay. Jasper’s been like a worried uncle and thinks you should stay with her. Ruth’s our senior keeper here, and she has a guesthouse on her property. I guarantee it will save you money. Plus, it’s only a mile away.” His phone sounded again. With a quick smile, he loped away.

The private tour was over.

Katie texted her little sister a quick note that she’d arrived safe. Then she checked her watch. She had maybe ten minutes before the front gate opened and the day’s visitors arrived. She’d rather try facing her fears again without a crowd watching.

Luke’s prediction came back to her: If we don’t do something soon, we’ll lose him. Aquila needed her.

It took Katie a few minutes to get her bearings in the park, but soon she was standing once again in front of Aquila’s enclosure.

That’s when she heard the scream. Her knees locked and before she could sit down, the world tilted.

* * *

SO FAR, KATIE VINCENT was a disappointment. At least in the potential-to-help department. In the beauty department, he wasn’t disappointed at all. The couch in his office had never looked so good. Tinker, his cat, didn’t agree, though. She gave Katie a look of disdain and settled down on one end, close to Luke.

“She didn’t faint because she’s scared,” Jasper said. “The girl has more grits than that. She must be hungry.”

“I hope that’s all it is,” Luke observed dryly. “She can’t weigh more than a hundred pounds.” And he should know. When they’d found her in a heap, Jasper had run to get one of Bridget’s carts, while Luke had picked Katie up from the walkway and gathered her close. She weighed less than Terrance the Terrible, more than the antelope jackrabbit and about what the full-grown javelina did.

She smelled better than all three.

But he didn’t need a woman who smelled good. He needed one willing to roll up her sleeves and get dirty. “She’s not going to be able to help with Aquila,” Luke said mournfully.

“You can’t give up yet,” Jasper said. “She just got here.”

“And she’s fainted twice!” Luke argued.

Meredith came in from the break room and set a glass of water on the table next to Katie.

“Hard to believe this is Bob Vincent’s daughter,” Fred the vet stated drolly. “Nothing got in that man’s way.”

“Katie’s very much his daughter,” Jasper protested. “She was always right there alongside her father, couldn’t have been more than four or five when she started, quite the little handler.”

“I’ve seen the videos,” Luke said.

“Her father was never one to miss a marketing opportunity,” Jasper said. “She was basically in charge of Aquila while Bob worked with Tyre. A visiting journalist snapped a photo of her with Aquila, and it made it into some big-time magazine. Bob got calls from all over.”

“Tyre was the aggressive one,” Luke remembered.

“Yes, Aquila’s litter mate. I told you about him. He’s the one who attacked Janie. Bob sold him years ago. Not sure exactly where he finally landed.”

Luke remembered the conversation about Tyre. There’d been a few articles written about the attack, as well, mostly of the wild-animals-and-small-children-do-not-mix slant. Not one article, though, said exactly how the little girl had been hurt or why both girls had been sent away—unless Bob Vincent had suddenly bought into that opinion that wild animals and small children do not mix.

Jasper hadn’t been exactly forthcoming about the attack, either.

“Maybe you ought to think about doing some videos,” Meredith suggested. “A before-and-after feature about Aquila. Get some advertising for Bridget’s.”

“Katie always took a good photo.” Jasper brushed the hair away from Katie’s forehead.

“Right now,” Luke said drolly, “the only picture a magazine would get would be of her fainting and me picking her up.”

“And of a very skinny panther,” Meredith added.

“Katie will come around,” Jasper insisted.

“She didn’t faint before, when you knew her?”

“Not once,” Jasper said.

“Could it be exhaustion?” Luke asked the vet.

Fred shrugged, “I think you should take her to the walk-in clinic. Get a real opinion.”

“It’s not exhaustion.”

All three men turned at the sound of Katie’s voice. Her eyes, a somber shade of green, were now open. She sat up with Jasper’s help. Tinker jumped off the couch, gave an indignant meow and walked over to settle on Luke’s desk.

“Then what is it?” Luke couldn’t keep the impatience from his voice. Bridget’s opened in ten minutes. He’d not done rounds or even checked to make sure his crew was in place. Instead, he’d been saving the woman who was supposed to be saving him.

“I heard someone scream.”

“You probably heard a peacock,” Luke said. “Do you know what a peacock sounds like?”

She shook her head.

“Are the memories that bad?” Jasper asked softly.

“What memories?” Luke interjected.

“The memories are that bad,” Katie whispered.

“Katie, the attack wasn’t your fault. Your daddy gave you way too much responsibility, and he should have been watching over you. Give it time. Your confidence will come back to you. Like riding a bike.”

Clearly Luke should have demanded that Jasper fill him in on exactly what had happened that long-ago day. Secrets didn’t belong in a wild animal park. They could get you killed. “I thought Janie barely had a scar?” Luke said. “You said they got her to the doctor in time. I realize that’s why your father sent you to live with an aunt, but your sister is fine, right?”

Katie and Jasper exchanged a look, one Luke couldn’t read. Finally, Katie nodded but didn’t look convinced.

“Not your fault, little girl,” Jasper repeated. “Tyre was always a bad-tempered cat.”

Fault?

“Jasper, what are you trying to say?” Luke was losing patience. It was quickly becoming clear that Jasper had left out a few vital pieces of the story, especially when he’d claimed Katie Vincent could deal with Aquila. “I didn’t buy a cat named Tyre. I bought one named Aquila. Why would anything be Katie’s fault?”

“What he’s trying to tell you,” Katie said, her voice getting clearer and red spots appearing on cheeks that had previously been white, “is that I’m not afraid of Aquila, or of what Aquila might do. I’m afraid of what I might do.”

“Lady, you’re going to need to be a little clearer because I’m not getting the picture here.”

Her eyes closed once more. For a moment, he thought he’d lost her again. Then, almost as if she were talking to herself, she said, “I’d just finished working with Tyre and something distracted me. I don’t even remember what. But I left the pen, just for a minute. Next thing I knew there was a snarling sound and screams. My little sister’s screams.”

“She’d wandered into the cage,” Jasper explained, as if Luke couldn’t figure it out.

“She thought I was there,” Katie said. “Janie always followed me around. Next thing I knew, there she was on the ground and Tyre was at her throat.”

“So why is that your fault?” Luke asked.

“I left the gate open.”

CHAPTER FOUR

TO LUKE’S CREDIT, he didn’t offer platitudes. He simply said, “Well, she’s fine now, right?”

Typical male.

Unfortunately, he then shot Jasper a questioning look that Katie interpreted as She left the gate open!

“Katie was only twelve,” Jasper defended.

“And I knew better!” Katie insisted.

“And had way more responsibility than you should have had.” Jasper said the words matter-of-factly, as if they should be believed and accepted. Judging by the nods of the listeners, after just six short months of being with the park, Jasper’s word already held a lot of weight. “And Bob wasn’t running a zoo. He didn’t answer to the American Zoological Association. He had laws to follow, but those weren’t nearly as stringent as the ones we have to follow here because we’re open to the public. There were no double gates on Tyre’s enclosure, or anything.”

Katie protested, “Janie was only six. I was supposed to watch over her.”

Luke took back the conversation by repeating, “Well, she’s fine now, right?”

Today, at least, Janie was probably more “fine” than Katie.

“She’s no doubt stocking the refrigerator and inviting friends over,” Katie agreed. “And already planning to trash our apartment while I’m here instead of watching her.”

Luke merely harrumphed. He obviously didn’t have a sister living with—

Katie immediately felt a moment’s guilt. He didn’t have a sister, because Bridget had died. No doubt he’d love to be worrying about a trashed house instead of a house that was too quiet.

Of course, no man this good-looking, this nice, had a house that was too quiet. He probably had the wife and two-point-five kids.

He wasn’t wearing a ring, though. Mind you, her dad hadn’t worn one, either. He said it deterred attention from the female demographic.

Katie glanced around the room, wishing she were back home, wishing she’d thought to stop and get a motel room, wishing she were anywhere but here in a small office, packed with Luke, Jasper, Fred the vet and a thirtysomething female she’d yet to officially meet.

And a small black-and-white cat sitting at attention on Luke Rittenhouse’s desk.

“I think I just need to rest,” Katie finally said.

Jasper patted her hand awkwardly and left the room.

“That couch isn’t very comfortable,” the other woman said.

“Hey,” Luke protested, “it’s plenty comfortable when you pull out the Hide-A-Bed.”

“Which we’re not doing today,” the woman scolded, an edge to her voice. “Don’t even think about it.”

Katie agreed. No way could she sleep here. Outside Luke’s office, she could hear the sounds of animals beginning their day. Birds provided background chatter, bison or maybe an antelope lowed and in the distance she could hear the hum of machinery testifying to the presence of humans.

It was like going back in time more than a decade and waking up twelve years old.

A time she didn’t want to go back to.

“She needs time to acclimate.” This came from the edgy-voiced woman in the room.

“You must be Meredith,” Katie said. “We spoke on the phone.”

“Yes, I’m one of the keepers.”

Jasper returned and handed Katie a glass of water. “I’ve talked to Ruth. She’s on her way in from the horse arena. She says to call her when you’re ready to go. She’ll take good care of you.”

“I just need to get into town, find a motel and get some sleep. Really, I don’t want to be a bother.”

“We’re all about saving money,” Jasper said. “Not a bother at all. You’re like family.”

“Family?” Things were happening too quickly and Katie felt as if she was losing ground she couldn’t regain. Worse, people she didn’t even know were offering help she hadn’t asked for.

Because when people offered to help, they expected something in return. Usually at a cost Katie couldn’t afford. She looked Jasper in the eye and said, “Family? You’ve got to be kidding?”

Jasper flinched, just barely, enough for Katie to see but not the others.

“No,” Meredith said, “we’re not kidding. You’re here to help Aquila. We’ll do anything we can to assist you. Ruth only lives a mile away.”

“It’s the best choice, Katie.” Jasper’s words were soft, humble.

Katie didn’t like being pushed into making a decision. She’d learned the hard way to make her own choices, and not to rely on anyone else—including those she considered family. And here Jasper was, trying to send her away.

Just as he’d done before.

She closed her eyes, remembering Jasper driving her and Janie to the bus terminal, carrying their suitcases to the cashier dock, leading them to a long line of strangers all looking as though wherever they were heading was worse than where they were at. In all fairness, he hadn’t known that Aunt Betsy was an alcoholic who would take the money Bob sent her each month and spend it on everything but the two girls.

Like her, he’d assumed the change would be temporary until Bob came to his senses.

But when the weeks turned into months and then a year...

He wasn’t one to cozy up to a cell phone or an email account, at least all those years ago. Of course, she’d not had one, either. And he’d not responded to any of the letters she’d written.

“You’ll like Ruth,” Jasper said.

“And if you don’t like me, you can bunk with Jasper. But I guarantee I smell better.” Ruth Moore walked into the office as if she owned it. Everyone visibly relaxed. The vet seemed to take her presence as some sort of permission to leave. As for Jasper, he looked at her with an expression on his face that he usually reserved for his favorite animals.

Katie used to receive that look. Not this trip.