Sealed With A Kiss: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, page 14
“Man, we’ve got a lot of shit to do today. If you don’t want us here, we’ve got other places to be.”
“Just give me a fucking minute,” Donovan muttered, frustrated. Jesus, they were just going to keep cutting and hope they didn’t hit the live animal underneath?
He got on the ground and crept under the crumpled metal frame as far as he could go. He felt Naomi crouch just behind him.
The seal was about three feet away. It started wiggling when it saw him.
“Shhhh, baby, you’re okay now,” he told it.
The seal didn’t believe him, of course.
“How is he?” Naomi asked.
“Fuck,” Donovan swore. Then he took a breath. “Okay. He’s breathing and moving, but he’s clearly weak. He’s probably been fighting to get loose for hours. He’s terrified and one flipper is obviously bleeding. It’s also possible there are internal injuries or injuries on the other side or underneath that I can’t see.”
Donovan turned onto his back and slid out partway.
“There’s really no choice,” he told her grimly. “We just have to get as much of the debris off him as quickly as possible so I can get him out.”
Naomi nodded. “We’re here now,” she said, reassuringly. “We’ll get him out.”
He nodded, then looked up at the men with the tools. “Okay, keep going.”
“You gonna move?” the one with a huge metal cutter asked him.
Donovan shook his head. “You’re getting down close to him. I’m going to stay under here and brace this piece so it won’t fall on him.” He put his hand on a metal bar. “And I’ll try to block any falling debris from hitting him.
“The falling debris is gonna hit you then,” one of the guys pointed out.
“I’ll be all right.”
“Donovan,” Naomi said.
She had that look on her face. The one that said she was worried about him and also that he was being a dumb ass.
“I don’t have a choice, Nae,” he said. “I need to be under here or they might hit him.”
“They might hit you.”
“But I can tell them if they get too close to me. I can signal or yell out.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Naomi muttered. “Don’t do anything for a minute,” she told everyone. Then she got to her feet and stomped back toward the front of the house.
Donovan assumed that she had some kind of plan and he knew from experience that it would be a good one. So he just laid his head down and studied the seal. “You’re in good hands now. I know it may not seem that way right at the moment, but I promise we’re the best for you. We’re getting you out of here and taking you over to Louisiana.”
“Here, at least get this over the top of you and as much over the seal as you can.” Naomi knelt beside him with a thick blanket a moment later. “Then you need to come up with some hand signals in case they can’t hear you over the noise of the tools.”
“This is going to be hotter than hell,” Donovan said. But it was a good idea. It would keep the debris from falling on him and nicking and scratching him.
“Well, hopefully they’ll go fast. I’ll buy you a cold beer after,” she said dryly. “Cover yourself up with the blanket, Donovan. And put this on.” She handed him a hard hat.
He laughed. “Seriously?”
“Well, your abs and ass are some of my favorite parts and I’d like to keep them protected, but it’s probably best that you have your head covered when there’s falling metal pieces and power tools whizzing around near your skull.”
He grinned at her and put the hat on.
“How’s that?”
“You look hot. And a little dumb.”
“So pretty normal,” he joked.
She simply sighed and nodded.
“How about this? You lie where you can see me and the workers. Then if they can’t hear me, you can give them signals when they get too close,” Donovan told her.
She looked from him to the workers and back. Then she surveyed the immediate area. She nodded. “Okay, fine.” She looked up at the men. “You need to watch me. This will mean stop.” She held up her palm in a typical stop signal. “This will mean slow down and take it easy.” She wiggled her hand back and forth.
The guys nodded and Naomi settled onto her belly on the dirt a couple feet from Donovan and out from under the pool.
She was mostly out of the range of any flying debris, but he did feel compelled to say, “Look out that nothing hits you.”
She nodded. “But if I get hurt doing this, you’re going to be the one to kiss it all better.”
He felt a stab of heat along with the becoming-more-common swirl of God-I-like-her. “Oh, trust me, nobody else is going to be kissing you better.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “See, we have to stop this.”
He nodded. “We do. You need to knock it off.”
She nodded. “I know.”
He pulled the blanket up over his head. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”
Naomi looked up at the workers and gave them a thumbs up.
Fifteen minutes later they had cut through the rest of the debris and Donovan had freed the seal.
“There you go, buddy,” he cooed softly. He wrapped a clean towel around the seal, stood with it, turned, and handed it over to Naomi.
Her eyes went wide as he slid the animal into her arms. “Really?”
“Just carry it over to the truck. I’m right behind you.”
She knew that he was trying to hide the gash on his upper arm from her. She suspected he was going to clean that up quickly before joining her at the truck. But she was so awestruck by the baby seal in her arms that she couldn’t even tell him she knew about his injury.
A few minutes later, they nestled the seal in a towel-lined plastic tub. Donovan gave it some water and it drank greedily. He cleaned the bloody flipper and bandaged it and then inspected it for any other injuries. There were just a few general scrapes, thankfully, though he was still concerned about bruises and internal injuries.
“Okay, we need to hit the road and get back to Autre. We don’t have any food for him and we need Griffin to take a look.”
Naomi, still slightly stunned from everything that had happened, simply nodded. “Whatever you say.”
She took in the sight of him again, rumpled and dirty, but now scowling. She was used to him looking excited and happy. Especially when a rescue had gone as well as this one had. But he was clearly upset about the animal’s condition and worried about getting it somewhere he could actually provide care.
Impulsively, she reached out, grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in, kissing him quickly.
His hands went to her hips instantly and he pulled her up against him, kissing her back. It was almost as if he had been anticipating it. It seemed that kissing had become their new emotional outlet. And there were plenty of emotions swirling around at the moment.
The kiss went on longer than she’d intended, but she finally let him go. They had things they needed to do and they couldn’t get distracted. But she smiled up at him as he looked at her questioningly.
“What was that for?”
“I just really fucking like you.”
He gave her a quick smile. “I’m really fucking glad.”
They stepped apart and went opposite ways around the truck to their respective doors. They were climbing up when Fiona came stomping over, clearly angry.
“We have to get these animals out of here. They’re in terrible condition. I hate that it’s two hours but there’s not really a better option than just taking them straight to Autre.”
Donovan nodded. “I agree a thousand percent. I’ll call ahead and everything will be ready when we get there. Between Griffin, Jill, and Tori they’ll be ready for us.”
Fiona nodded. “I’m right behind you.”
They pulled out onto the highway and Naomi dialed Griffin’s number. The call connected over the truck’s speakers.
“Donovan, how’s it going?” Griffin answered.
“We’re heading home. We have some rescue animals we’re bringing back to Autre.”
“Cats and dogs?”
“A zebra, a harbor seal pup, and a tiger.”
There was a long pause on Griffin’s end of the phone. “A tiger?”
“Yep. He’s a mixed breed, I think. About two years old. I think he’s been in captivity all his life.”
“No shit.”
Donovan chuckled. “No shit. Asshole rich guy running an under-the-radar animal park on the outskirts. Got hit hard by the hurricane and now the animals need to be re-homed. But these are in pretty bad shape. He’s on his way to the police station and Fiona, Naomi, and I are headed back to Autre.”
“We’ll be ready for you when you get here.”
Naomi was watching Donovan and she caught the small smile on his face. “Thanks. Not at all what I expected when I came down here, but feels good to be able to do something.”
“Since I got to Louisiana, I’ve kind of stopped expecting things to go the way I expect them to,” Griffin said.
“Good advice, big brother.”
They disconnected and Naomi sat for a few moments before she said, “Griffin’s really proud of you, you know.”
Donovan glanced over at her. “I’d like to think so.”
“It’s really obvious, Donovan.”
“I’m really proud of him too.”
She thought for a moment if she should say what was on the tip of her tongue and finally she decided there was no harm. “Your parents would’ve been proud of both of you.”
He didn’t respond right away, but finally he nodded. “I think you’re probably right.”
“I don’t know how it would be possible for them not to be. Any parent would want to know that their child grew up to be so big hearted and brave and willing to put themselves out there to make things better for other lives.”
He was quiet for a moment.
“I think Griffin and I have both always focused on the animals because they’re easier than people.”
Naomi was surprised at his insight. “Animals are definitely easier than people. That makes sense. Especially after what you guys went through. You dealt with a tragedy that most kids never have to face at the ages you were. And it’s made a complicated relationship between the two of you.”
“Yeah, I hadn’t thought about it for a long time, but it seems clear that we both needed an outlet, a way to care about something in a way to make a difference, but it seemed easier and more straightforward to pour it all into animals.”
“But doing that together gave you a bond.”
He nodded.”
“It matters a lot. The animals need you. What you and Griffin both do is special.”
He looked away from the road and met her eyes for just a moment before focusing in front of the truck again. “Thanks for caring if I had a hard hat on today.”
She studied him. He couldn’t even show up as a volunteer at a mass disaster with hundreds of other volunteers and rescue personnel without being recognized and put on camera. But no one had thought to cover him up with a blanket or hand him a hard hat when he’d been right underneath a power saw.
Maybe he didn’t have a death wish. Maybe he just didn’t have anyone looking out for him. And maybe he didn’t know he deserved that.
Before she could respond, her phone rang again. It was Jill. Which was for the best. Because she really might have blurted out that not only did he deserve to have someone looking out for him, but it should definitely be her, because she was madly in love with him.
8
The drive back to Autre was spent coordinating with everyone about the condition of the animals, the supplies and equipment needed, and how they were going to keep a tiger and a zebra in the animal park together.
Donovan was grateful for something to concentrate on other than how Naomi LeClaire seemed able to see straight into his head. And his heart.
Whether it was a hard hat or hearing that his work mattered or a hot, sweet kiss, she always came up with exactly what he needed in every moment.
He didn’t even know what he needed in a lot of moments.
Griffin was the only other person who had cared what Donovan needed in a very long time and Donovan had worked hard to make sure Griffin thought he didn’t need anything.
With Naomi, it was incredible. And addictive.
And she wanted to just be friends. Non-kissing friends.
Something else to focus on was definitely welcome.
Once they pulled into Autre it was all hands on deck and the zebra was quickly settled in the barn with the donkeys, camels, and horses.
Tori checked him out right away. He was underweight, his hooves were in terrible shape, and he was definitely traumatized by the storm, but she reported he’d be fine with proper nutrition and TLC.
The tiger was put into a pen at the rehabilitation facility. He, too, was malnourished and Griffin decided to wait a few days to get him fed and rehydrated before doing a more thorough physical exam under sedation. But the big cat seemed mostly unconcerned with his new surroundings and being with humans, which told them that he had been more of a pet than even an exhibit animal. A fact that was confirmed when they realized he’d been declawed.
“That motherfucker,” was Griffin’s opinion about the human or humans who had done that.
Donovan agreed whole-heartedly.
Donovan helped Griffin clean and tend the wound and examine the seal for additional injuries. There were a few scrapes and abrasions, but in general the pup seemed in good physical shape, other than also being slightly underweight.
“That bastard didn’t know anything about taking care of these animals,” Griffin said with obvious disgust.
“That or he just didn’t give a shit,” Donovan said.
“Then why do it?” Griffin asked. “Why go to the trouble of getting exotic animals and building pens and pools if you don’t really bother to do it correctly or really care?”
“Because they can,” Donovan said. His anger matched his brother’s. “There aren’t enough laws and regulations around it.”
Griffin nodded unnecessarily. They were on the same page here. Some brothers bonded over sports, some over family issues, some over business. Griffin and Donovan bonded over wanting to save the world. The animal world anyway. They’d ranted and raved together about this topic and many other animal welfare issues over the years.
“Wow, he’s beautiful,” Charlie said as she joined Griffin and Donovan outside the tiger pen.
“He is,” Griffin said. “Other than the fact that he’s severely underweight, his coat is dull, and his footpads are cracked from living on a hard packed dirt surface, and they fucking declawed him.”
Charlie looked up at him. Donovan could see she was worried about Griffin.
Griffin got very protective of all animals, but he had a special affinity for tigers. In fact he’d been fired over the way humans handled tigers at the National Zoo in DC, which had led him to the tiny town that he now called home.
“You can’t drive to Alabama to confront this guy,” Charlie told him.
“He’s lucky he’s in police custody,” Griffin said, watching the tiger.
Charlie moved in close to him and ran her hand up and down his back soothingly. Griffin wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked her close to his side. Donovan watched his brother draw in a deep breath and let it out, clearly relaxing under Charlie’s touch.
Damn, Donovan loved them together.
Charlie was bright and bubbly and optimistic and had a way of always pushing Griffin a little further than he wanted to go when it came to the animal park. Hell, she even pushed him when it came to displays of affection and being involved with family events.
But his brother was…blossoming. That wasn’t a very manly term for it, but it was accurate. Griffin had lightened up and opened up since being in Autre, and Donovan knew that it was directly because of Charlie’s influence.
“What are we going to do with him?” Charlie asked. “Do you think you’ll want to rehabilitate him and give him to a zoo? I guess it’s not like we can just release him into the wild once he’s strong and healthy again.”
“Yeah. Even if tigers were indigenous to Louisiana,” Griffin said dryly, giving her a little smile, “this guy’s never lived in the wild. He was raised in captivity. I doubt he’d even do very well in a zoo. I think he’s been hand fed.”
“That’s incredible,” Charlie said, shaking her head. “To think some guy just had him in his backyard.”
“There are more tigers in captivity in the U.S. than are living in the wild in the entire world,” Griffin said.
Charlie looked up at him quickly. “What? Really?”
He nodded. “There are estimated to be a little over three thousand wild tigers in the world, but about five thousand in captivity just in the U.S.”
“What?” Charlie was clearly shocked.
And hell, that was a shocking statistic.
Donovan shook his head. “And we all know the number in captivity is even higher than that. That estimate is dependent upon decent people reporting and we know a lot of these people aren’t decent.”
Charlie swallowed and looked at the tiger again with sad eyes.
“There was a really famous case right here in Louisiana,” Griffin said. “A tiger was kept in a cage at a truck stop for nearly seventeen years. Animal rights activists fought to free him for years, but the owner didn’t care. Called them terrorists, cozied up to lawmakers to get his way. The animal died in captivity.”
Charlie looked like she was going to cry. “Wow. I’m so glad you found this one.”
“I don’t know if this guy in Alabama has owned this cat since he was a baby or if he’s been passed around, but either way he’s a lot better off with us.” Donovan looked at Griffin. “I’m not just saying this because I love big cats. I think he should stay here.”
Griffin looked at him over the top of Charlie’s head. “He’s going to take a lot more care than the alpacas.”
