I dialed Spencer.
“Yo,” he answered on the third ring.“How’d the first week at the school go?The kids say you’re great.Better than the last douche.”
“Hey, man.Is there a place on the island where one might take an injured bird?”
“Huh?”
“We, uh … we stumbled across an osprey with a broken wing, and Mabel is asking where we can take it so someone can … heal it.”
Spencer made a scoffing sound.“Not on this island, bro.Sorry.”
“That’s what I thought.No vet?”
“Nope.But … there is Tommaso Barone’s place.I’m not sure if he’d take an injuredwildanimal though.From what I understand of the guy, he just accepts animals on their way to slaughter.Specifically, horses.He’s got a pig too, though.”
“Where abouts is this guy?”
“Not far from you.He’s dating Danica St.Claire.She’s one of the women who own the winery.”
One thing about Spencer, the guy was a talker.
“I’ll text you his address.Worse case, he turns you away.But he might be able to help.”
My phone vibrated with his message.“Got it.Thanks.”
“No worries, bud.Hey, come by one night for a drink and a bullshit.”
“Will do.”Then I hung up.
Mabel snatched the blanket from me and was already scooping the bird up.It struggled for a moment, but when she wrapped the fleece around the animal and cradled it to her chest, it stopped trying to get away.
“You have an address?”she asked.
“I do.”
“All right, what are we waiting for?Let’s go.”
“But … the pizza?”
The look my child gave me would have melted steel.Like, how dare I think of food at a time like this?A life was in jeopardy.
With a sigh, I turned off the hazard lights, checked my mirror and over my shoulder, then pulled back out onto the empty road.“Okay, look, the pizza place isn’t open forever.Can we just go grab the pizza andthentake the bird?”
Her side-eye was lethal.
Sometimes I needed to remind myself who was the adult, and who was the child in our relationship.We weren’t that far apart in age; however, I was the dad.I was the adult, and I didn’t need to ask my thirteen-year-old for permission—besides to enter her room.
“Nothing is more than like twenty minutes.We’re like five minutes to the pizza place.”
“If this bird dies …”
It probably would.
There wasn’t a vet or a wild animal rescue center on the island.How much could a guy who rescued horses do for a bird with a broken wing?
I raked my fingers through my hair while keeping one hand on the wheel.Things happen in threes right?First, it was the Kyla news, then Mabel freaking out about it, followed by the injured osprey.This was it.This had to be it.This had to be our limit for shit going sideways for us.We hadn’t even been on the island for a month, and already it felt like I was being tested beyond my capabilities.This island was supposed to be a fresh start, a safe haven and a place of peace.So far, besides today with Naomi, I hadn’t felt too much peace.
Was the island the problem?Or was Naomi the solution?
