Which was another reason why the sale of Bob’s estate had been so necessary. Katie had her own bills to pay and had been worried about Janie’s college expenses. And for a brief but blessed period, before Luke Rittenhouse’s phone call, Katie hadn’t worried.
Her father’s death had provided a stability the man himself had never offered.
“This place is really too big for me,” Ruth went on. “My husband liked to entertain. He purchased Terrance for that reason. He thought Terrance would be a great showpiece. He was surprised when I fell in love with the beast.”
“A lion’s a pretty expensive showpiece,” Katie commented.
“Grant didn’t care.”
Judging by the size of their house, Katie believed her.
“Is it all right with your husband that I’m staying in your guesthouse? I mean, you don’t really know me.”
“Jasper knows you. That’s good enough for me. Plus, you’ll be helping with Aquila. As for my husband, he’s been dead for seven years, and I don’t miss him a bit. Turned out he got me for the same reason he got Terrance. He thought I was a good showpiece.”
“How long were you married?”
“Thirty-two years.”
“That’s a long time to keep a showpiece.”
“He didn’t dare get rid of me. After just ten years of marriage, I knew where his bodies were buried.”
Looking at the expanse of desert that made up Ruth’s front yard, Katie figured the bodies could all be buried right here and no one would ever find them.
“Until we find out why you’ve been fainting, I don’t want you in the guesthouse. You can have one of the guest rooms upstairs and to the right. Take a shower, get something to eat and enjoy a nap.”
She led Katie to a room bigger than Katie’s apartment back in Dallas. She disappeared for a moment, returning with a clean, albeit too big, T-shirt and robe.
“I’ll be heading back to Bridget’s. I have a tour to guide this afternoon,” Ruth said. “I’m leaving my cell number here by the phone. If you need anything, just call. Now take a shower and get some sleep. You’ll feel better in no time.”
Then she patted Katie on the shoulder and was gone, leaving Katie feeling very much alone.
“Luke Rittenhouse,” Katie whispered, “I hope you’re already considering plan B, because if I’m plan A, it’s already failed.”
* * *
THE DAY HAD started atypically with a crisis of the human kind instead of the animal kind. Even so, as Luke finally made it through his morning routine, he took satisfaction in noting that the keepers and other employees were doing their jobs, the gift shop and concessions had their doors open, the front gate was manned and had a line and the animals were being cared for.
At two, Luke stood in line—always a good sign—and purchased a hot dog from one of the venders and made his way to Aquila’s enclosure.
“You need to eat better,” Ruth admonished Luke as he finished the last bite. He wasn’t surprised to see her there, sitting on the bench just watching. She loved all the animals, except possibly the snakes, but the cats were her favorites.
“You get Katie settled in?”
“Dropped her off, showed her the guest room, came back here. I was only gone about ten minutes.”
“You could have taken some time off and helped her out a bit.” For some reason, he had to know Katie was taken care of. She was so feminine, so sensitive.
“I’m pretty sure she just needs sleep and maybe someone to watch out for her.”
Luke hoped sleep would do the trick. As for needing someone to look out for her, he was a little worried about how many times he’d wanted to do just that.
If she’d simply stayed in his office and slept on the couch, he’d know she was all right. Ruth’s was a mile away and Katie was there alone.
“Look. Aquila’s just lying there.” Ruth interrupted his thoughts. She adjusted her glasses, the same light blue shade as the BAA shirt she wore, and squinted as if hoping the view would change. “I liked it better this morning when he was disgruntled, pacing back and forth.”
“I’ll take either way as long as we can get some weight on him.”
“What do we try next?” Ruth wasn’t one to give up, but the fact that she even asked the question told Luke that she was out of ideas.
“I’m working on it.”
“I believed Jasper,” Ruth muttered. “He said she was a natural with animals, even better than her father.”
High praise since Katie hadn’t yet been a teen the last time Jasper had worked with her.
Ruth’s radio sounded before Luke could respond. Meredith’s voice crackled over the line. “Ruth, you’ve got a group of Red Hat Ladies waiting for you at the store.”
“Ah, right on time. See you later.” Ruth loped off, ready to meet her friends and show them her babies, Terrance and the animal park.
Luke watched her head back toward the front, weaving between the afternoon visitors, stopping occasionally to answer a question or give a direction.
If she were forty years younger, she’d be the perfect woman for him.
The thought gave him pause—what woman would be perfect for him?
It certainly wasn’t Katie Vincent. He’d truly expected her to have a change of heart the minute she saw Aquila. He expected her to work miracles, the way Ruth did.
Deep down, he’d been hoping she’d be able to do more for them based on all Jasper had shared. Maybe he’d been hoping that Katie Vincent was someone like her dad, and would be able to miraculously solve all of Bridget’s problems.
He could use a miracle.
But he’d been wrong to even let his thoughts go in that direction. And, come to think of it, Jasper had been very careful about what he shared—and even more careful about what he hadn’t shared—when it came to Katie.
But, in his heart, Luke wanted this miracle, this woman. The one who felt such responsibility. The one who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. The one who made him want to scoop her up and convince her all was well with the universe.
But with an animal dying and a park on the brink of disaster, she wasn’t the one he needed. He needed someone who loved and worked with animals, as he did.
Someone who understood about a labor of love.
He’d learned a long time ago, two years to be exact, that most women didn’t understand how much of himself he had to devote to Bridget’s. They wanted the “labor of love” to be them, not an animal park— Especially not an animal park that required a 24/7 work schedule.
He’d wanted a miracle for his sister Bridget but that hadn’t happened, either. He started to close his eyes when he heard—
“I’m back, and I’m not going to faint.”
Standing next to Aquila’s wall, she looked better than she had this morning. Not so pale. The jeans were still tight, and the green button-down shirt was even more wrinkled. But this time Katie Vincent had a determined fire in her eyes.
He