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