Sealed With A Kiss: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, page 20
Rachel also seemed oblivious to the fact that Brent was pissing Donovan off. She nodded quickly. “That would be great. We’ll chat a little bit on our way out there about what we’re looking for from the footage. Maybe we could get the bears outside and do a little restaging of the rescue.”
“Restaging?” Naomi asked. Okay, now she might have to get involved.
Up until now she understood what Brent and Rachel were going for. She didn’t love the idea of pulling the videos down from the website either. She understood why that irritated Donovan. All of those videos had helped make the park’s website popular which had made people want to visit the park when they were in Louisiana. It had been great for the park’s business, which had been great with the Landrys, which in turn made both Naomi and Donovan very happy.
The animals that were staying in the park, now including the tiger, seal, and zebra were technically the Landrys’. Not Donovan’s.
They were going to have to discuss all of this with Sawyer, Maddie, Owen, Josh, and Bennett. Though Naomi was certain she could pitch it to the partners as ultimately a very good thing for Boys of the Bayou and for Autre in general.
She also knew that Brent and Rachel were figuring this out as they went along as well. They were all going to have to work together for this.
But the idea of taking the rescued animals back out into a situation where they could potentially be traumatized again, or even lost if they ran off into the woods, seemed unnecessarily risky.
“It would be so great to get the bear rescue on film. Unless you recorded it,” Brent said to her.
“Well, we—”
“We were rescuing them in the middle of a fucking hurricane,” Donovan said. “No, she didn’t get it on video. She shouldn’t have even been out there herself.”
Brent shrugged. “Okay, then maybe we can set it up again.”
“You’re going to plan another hurricane? Find another bear? Set up—”
“That won’t work,” Naomi broke in, again squeezing Donovan’s arm. “We can’t take the cubs back out into the woods. They’ll run off and they’re not ready to be out there on their own yet.”
“Okay.” Brent looked crestfallen. “That would’ve been an amazing rescue to film. Be sure you call us any time something comes up from now on. If there’s no way for us to get there, be sure you get it,” he told Naomi.
Donovan actually leaned toward him and Naomi had to squeeze his arm harder. “Great,” she told him.
“Not if it’s dangerous,” Donovan said. “If it’s something where she’s putting herself into a bad situation, she’s not going to be filming.”
Brent shook his head. “We need exciting footage for this, Donovan.”
“I thought this was about an adventurer who’s settling down.”
“Sure, but nobody’s going to tune in to watch a guy feeding horses. Lots of people can see that right outside their own houses.”
“And that’s kind of the point,” Donovan said. “We’re trying to teach people about the things that are happening in their own backyards. Things like animal neglect and injured and orphaned wildlife. Most people don’t run into koalas and dolphins every day. But lots of people run across raccoons and horses and donkeys that need help.”
“Look,” Brent said, his tone turning placating. “I get where you’re coming from and I respect it. But we’re trying to pitch a show. You know how this works. Once we get the show picked up and on air, we can go a little softer.”
“You think saving donkeys and raccoons is softer?”
Brent narrowed his eyes, studying Donovan. “Don’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve made your name doing the big, wild, exciting rescues with big, wild, exciting animals.”
Naomi could feel the tension vibrating through Donovan. His arm was tensed under her hold and she couldn’t look away from the mix of emotions on his face.
She felt like she should intervene here. Somehow play peacemaker, say something composed and calming. But she wasn’t sure what that was. She agreed with both men. She completely understood where Donovan was coming from, of course. She did believe in all of these animal rescues.
But she understood Brent’s side as well. They had to give people something to keep them coming back and to entertain them and excite them.
And honestly, she couldn’t believe that Donovan Foster was insisting that the rescues of domestic horses and donkeys and a family of raccoons was as big as when he’d rescued an elephant from poachers in Kenya or even the rescue of a penguin from an alligator.
But…that wasn’t true. Even as she thought it, she realized that the man standing next to her right now was a different guy than the Donovan Foster who had come to Autre almost a year ago.
He’d changed. Right in front of her eyes. And she hadn’t really noticed. He’d become…softer. She didn’t doubt that he’d always cared about all of the animals, but over the year he’d been here, and without the big camera delivering him a huge audience all the time, he’d become more content with the smaller things.
Maybe it had helped him focus more on the actual work he was doing. Or the people he was doing it with. Or the animals he was doing it for. She wasn’t sure, but he’d definitely been happy while he’d been in Autre and there hadn’t been an audience of millions watching him.
And now he was offended by the idea that someone would think rescuing donkeys wasn’t important.
“How about this,” she finally said. “This is all new to all of us. We just decided to do this. Brent and Rachel, why don’t you guys take the rest of the day and talk through your plans. Donovan and I will do the same. We’ll also run all of this past everyone else. This really is all about Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild. I know they’ll be supportive and they certainly trust Donovan, but they need to know what’s going on. Let’s just take the rest of the day and get our plans in order.”
Donovan relaxed slightly under her hand and she did what she had been fighting the urge to do for some time—she slid her hand down his arm to his hand and linked their fingers together. She felt him look down at her and then the little squeeze he gave her hand.
Brent nodded and looked at Rachel. “Okay, that’s probably a good idea. We’ll all regroup and meet up again tomorrow.” He turned to Donovan. “I think we can make something really great here.”
Donovan gave him a simple nod.
Brent and Rachel headed for their vehicle.
When they’d driven off, Donovan turned to Naomi.
“This might be a horrible idea.”
She nodded. “Yeah, it might be. But I think we need to try.”
“Do you?”
His question was sincere and she knew her opinion really mattered to him.
So she gave the question of couple of seconds of thought. But that was all she needed. This could be good for all of them.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay then.” That was his simple answer. He was just going to trust her that this was all going to be fine.
And that meant that she was going to do whatever she could to make it fine.
Somehow.
For the next four days, nothing exciting happened with any animal rescues.
Brent and Rachel had come to the rehab facility and Donovan had done a great job talking them through the status of the seal, tiger, and zebra as well as the rehabilitation that was in front of them and the prognosis for all three. He also made sure to point out the fact that they would all likely be staying with Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild permanently.
He also introduced them to the bear cubs and they got some great footage of the bears playing and Donovan handling them all for examinations and feedings.
On the fifth day, as Brent and Rachel reluctantly watched Donovan interact with the donkeys over at the sanctuary barn, a call did come in for a rescue. Finally.
“We’ve got a trapped heron,” Donovan said, striding across the field toward the fence line where Naomi, Rachel, and Brent were watching him work with one of the more skittish of the donkeys. “We need to get out on the bayou.”
Brent and Rachel looked like little kids who had just been told they were going to the candy store.
“A heron?” Rachel said.
“Awesome,” Brent said.
Donovan shot him a look as he came through the gate.
Brent held up his hands. “Not that it’s trapped. But this should be some great footage. Getting out on one of the boats will be awesome.”
Donovan let it go. He knew that he was being hard on the guy. He couldn’t completely explain it. Brent had been rubbing him the wrong way since they’d met but he needed to lighten up.
The guy was offering him a TV show, for God’s sake. Okay, not really. The TV show was a very big maybe. Brent was offering to record a bunch of footage, put it together, and pitch it to people who might, possibly, maybe decide to make it into a TV show. Still, Donovan should be flattered, at least, and excited. He’d been looking for something bigger, and this seemed perfect. This should be exactly what he was looking for. But it seemed that everything Brent and Rachel wanted to talk about and focus on annoyed him.
Which made no sense. He understood why they were looking for exciting footage. He really did. But it annoyed the fuck out of him that they thought the donkeys were boring. They were some of the sweetest animals and their recovery had been awesome to see.
He’d gone soft.
And the only thing that surprised him about that was that he didn’t mind.
Donovan glanced over at the woman sitting next to him.
He hadn’t really touched her in days. Not the way he wanted to. The way he needed to. And he was hungry for her.
They’d flirted for the camera. He’d caught her when she’d slipped on the edge of the penguin pool yesterday. But he’d known that was coming because they’d scripted it. They’d almost kissed when they’d put the baby seal in the big plastic pool and he’d happily made a lap around the edge. But again, that had been scripted.
He didn’t want his interactions with her scripted. He wanted every smile, touch, and word to be real. He definitely wanted to back her up against the door in his office and kiss the hell out of her. And more. So much more. Without a single other person around.
Donovan gripped the steering wheel tightly and worked on keeping his mouth shut. She was doing all of this for him. And if this show actually got picked up by someone, he could stay in Autre. So he needed to adjust his damned attitude.
They pulled up to the docks a minute later.
Driving an airboat had been new when he’d first come to Louisiana, but now it felt as natural as driving his truck. Within minutes they were out on the water and he pulled his phone out to check the coordinates he’d been given.
He saw the bird immediately as they rounded the bend. It was hanging from a low branch of the tree. Its beak had caught a fishing hook and it had somehow become entangled so that the line was wrapped around its beak several times. Its neck was fully extended, its feet at least a couple inches above the surface of the water. A fisherman had noticed it, but it was hard to tell how long it had been hanging there.
He was worried first about the bird’s general condition and how long it had been without food and water, but with its long neck extended the way it was, he was concerned about injury as well. No doubt the bird had flapped and wiggled at first to try to get free, however it now hung motionless.
He killed the engine and they floated closer.
Without the huge fan rotating at the back of the boat, he pulled his headphones off and jumped from the tall captain’s seat.
Naomi came to her feet, tossing her headphones onto her seat. “Oh my God, the poor thing.”
As she moved toward the front of the boat, Brent and Rachel seemed to realize that they could remove their ear coverings as well.
“What the hell happened?” Brent asked.
“Fishing line,” Donovan said grabbing binoculars to get a closer look. “Lots of fishermen will put lines out and leave them, coming back to check them later. It’s always a little bit of a mystery how some of these animals get entangled, but it happens a lot.”
The bird barely moved as they drifted closer.
“Fuck,” Donovan said. He looked at Naomi. “Can you handle the boat?”
She nodded.
He couldn’t help his little smile. This woman had been on the bayou all her life. Well, except for the few years she’d spent in Hollywood. He still had trouble wrapping his head around that and had to remind himself it was real. He had, in fact, taken time to look up some old clips of not just her show, but interviews she’d done, as well as photos and various commercial items from Zoey At the Zoo.
She’d been cute as hell, and he knew that if he’d watched the show as a kid, he would’ve completely had a crush on her.
They drifted closer to the stand of trees where the bird was tangled. Airboats didn’t have brakes so they nosed into the reeds and grass near the tree and then Naomi got up on the side of the boat and reached for a branch of a tree to steady the boat.
The bird startled, and fluttered its wings, but was clearly exhausted and didn’t put much effort into getting away.
Donovan did take just a second to appreciate the beauty of the sight before him. Naomi was wearing a dark green tank and khaki shorts with brown ankle boots. Her hair was wild around her shoulders, her muscles tensed as she braced the boat, and she looked every bit the outdoorsy goddess that she’d turned into.
He knew that she hadn’t been much for outdoorsy adventures before he’d showed up, and the fact that she was out here with him now like this, made his heart pound and yes, his cock swell.
Hey, he was a guy. And he wanted this woman more than he’d ever wanted another. But it went so much deeper than physical attraction. She was absolutely gorgeous, and she’d already been the best sex of his life, but she was strong, compassionate, brave, sharp, and witty. And she had a way of making him feel cared for and yet respected in a way he never had before. Her admiration and support made him feel humble and cocky at the same time.
He did, however, manage to focus on the task at hand after only a few seconds of lusting after her. He moved in closer to examine the bird.
“This is bizarre,” he told his companions. “It looks like the line wrapped around his beak once, but then maybe as he struggled, he somehow rotated, wrapping the line around and around and shortening it as it went?”
“Was he going for a fish that was caught on the line?” Brent asked.
“Probably. That’s what happens a lot. We rescue a lot of animals and birds from fishing lines.” Donovan knelt and grabbed a utility knife out of the toolbox, extending the blade. “Okay, buddy,” he said softly to the bird as he evaluated the situation. “I’ve got you.”
He was vaguely aware that Brent was recording but he didn’t worry much about giving the guy a good shot or getting in his way. He cut the line entirely to free the bird from the tree, then pulled the bird down and tucked it under his arm in his lap. He kept its wings folded and secured between his side and arm so the bird wouldn’t suddenly take off. The line was still wrapped around its beak, holding it shut and if he flew off, he wouldn’t be able to eat and he’d die.
“He’s so big,” Rachel said, her voice hushed.
Donovan took the knife and started working to cut the line around the bird’s beak. Doing it one-handed was difficult, however.
“Here, let me help.” Naomi was suddenly kneeling in front of him.
Now they had the bird on the boat with them, she didn’t need to hold them in place. She’d let go of the tree and they were drifting down the bayou.
He nodded, grateful for the second pair of hands. She took the knife as he continued to hold the bird.
“Just cut under the edge a little bit to get it loose and we can peel it off,” he coached. “We want to use the blade as little as possible in case it would slip.”
She nodded her understanding, her gaze intense on her task.
She eased the sharp blade under the edge of the line, working it back and forth gently.
Donovan was stunned to realize the bird wasn’t struggling at all. He didn’t know if it was just incredibly weak, but he sensed that the bird understood that they were helping. He eased his hold slightly, and sure enough the bird sat quietly.
Naomi finally got enough of the line cut through that Donovan could start untwisting the pieces. It took a few minutes but eventually they got the layers of fishing line unwrapped.
He gently eased his hold and waited to see how the bird moved. It sat for just a minute, not moving at all, and Donovan wondered if it was more injured than he’d first expected. They could certainly take it back to the rehab center and keep it overnight.
But just as he was about to suggest that, the bird suddenly hopped away from him and up onto the edge of the boat. He and Naomi both sat back, watching. The heron rotated his head back and forth, reassuring Donovan that its neck and head were uninjured. Then it spread its massive wings and flapped them up and down.
Donovan grinned and glanced at Naomi, who looked amazed. She returned his smile, but immediately returned her focus to the bird. It sat there for another few seconds, and Donovan was heartened to think that it wasn’t in a huge hurry to get away from them.
Then all at once, it spread its wings and took off, soaring across the surface of the water.
Donovan felt a surge of satisfaction and awe as he always did when a wild animal was re-released, healthy and happy. Every time he was able to do this, his decision to go into this line of work was validated again.
Naomi blew out a breath and turned to him. She was still on her knees, sitting back on her heels on the floor of the boat.
“Wow, that was beautiful,” she said, her voice soft.
“Yeah, beautiful is a very good word for it.” But he didn’t just mean the bird.
It hit him that over the past few months, everything about being in Autre and the new contentment that he felt here, even with the less exotic animals, had to do with sharing it with these people, particularly Naomi.
