“What I’d like is for you to put him in the cage I brought. I’ll take him home.”
Paradise stepped to Blake’s side. “He was in bad shape. He wasn’t being fed properly, and he’s diabetic. He has some other problems as well, including malnourishment. We got an order from the state allowing us to remove him from your custody. He’s ours now.”
“You have no right to do that.” Greene started to move past them.
Blake stepped to his right to bar the deputy’s progress. “Keeping him in good health won’t be cheap. He needs diabetes medicine and more fresh fruits and vegetables. He’s a primate and shouldn’t be penned in a crate. We’ll take good care of him and you can visit whenever you like.”
Greene’s green eyes narrowed, and he hesitated before stalking back toward his truck. “You haven’t heard the last of this,” he shot over his shoulder before he got into his pickup and drove off.
“I think I’d better let Rod know so he’s prepared to deal with Creed,” Paradise said.
“I think I’ll put up a security camera in the lemur habitat too. Greene is unpredictable.”
She took Blake’s hand. “Forget about him for now. Let’s take a walk down by the pond and listen to the frogs and katydids. I don’t want to think about anything right now but being with you. It feels like we haven’t had any time together in weeks. Tomorrow we can decide our next steps, but not right now.”
The pond was a nice, long hike, well away from other people. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all week.”
Chapter 11
Spring rains had filled the pond to its brim. Paradise stood at the water’s edge with her hand in Blake’s and took in the idyllic view of moonlight on water and the little footbridge on the right side of the pond. She inhaled the sweet scent of flowers mingling with the loamy aroma of the pond and exhaled the last of her tension. The light glimmered on a tangle of white honeysuckle blossoms along the left side of the pond and bounced off the smooth surface of the water. She let the symphony of crickets chirping and frogs croaking wash away the anxiety that had steadily crept in over the past few days.
Blake put his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side before he pressed his lips against her temple. “Better?”
She watched a fish splash in the middle of the pond. “Much. Sometimes it takes nature to put everything into perspective. God created all this and keeps the world ticking along. We humans complicate things so much. I’m glad we live here and not in a big city where it’s so easy to lose touch with what really matters.”
“You have a way with words,” he murmured against her hair.
She turned toward him and lifted her face up for a kiss. His lips came down on hers, and the passion in his kiss sparked her own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back in a promise to him and herself that she’d never let go of this love they’d found. No matter how long it took for things to get sorted out, this was where she belonged.
His breathing was ragged when he lifted his head. He wrapped a long strand of her light brown hair around his finger. “You ever wonder why things work out the way they do? I never dreamed when you left all those years ago that you’d be back in my arms again. That we’d have such a single purpose in working together for a future.”
“God knew. I think it takes some years to get perspective on the bad things that crash into our lives and send us barreling off in a different direction. Without the experiences we’ve had, we wouldn’t be here.”
His phone sounded with a text message. “I don’t think I’ll get that.”
“You should. It’s late, and it might be important.”
He grimaced and dug out his phone. “It’s Mom. There’s a leak in her bathroom sink, and she can’t turn the shutoff valve.”
Paradise gave him a small push. “You run ahead, and I’ll be right behind you. Your long legs will get you there quicker without me slowing you down.”
“I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
She gave him another push. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
He gave her a quick kiss before jogging off. She watched him disappear into the trees lining the pond, and the sound of his steps faded into the sudden chorus of frogs. Their little interlude was over, but it was okay. It had given her the peace she needed.
She started to follow him to the house and spotted somethingglittering on the little footbridge. It almost looked like gems sparkling. What on earth? Skirting the edge of the water, she walked through the bullrushes toward the bridge and stepped onto the first board. It shuddered under her weight, and she paused. Blake had cautioned her about walking on it because it was for charm only until he shored up the joists, but she wanted to see what still sparkled in the center of the bridge. The moon retreated behind the clouds, and she would need to get closer to determine what it was.
She gripped the handrail and decided it felt solid enough, so she sidled along the floorboards, which felt soft underfoot. Just four feet and she’d retrieve the item. She inched along until she was a foot away and leaned down to pick it up as the moon emerged in full force. She stared down at a collar embedded with stones. The musky big cat odor hit her then. This collar had been on the leopard watching her from the trees a few days ago.
She picked it up and looped it around her wrist, then started to retreat to the shore when a board cracked beneath her.
She grabbed for the railing, but the floorboards under her split open, and nails pulled loose from the handrail.
Still holding the board and the collar, she hurtled into the murky water in the middle of the pond.
The water went over her head until she found her footing on the slimy bottom of the pond. She bobbed up with the water reaching her chest. She swiped the water smelling of algae and moss out of her eyes.
