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He nodded fervently. “I think that’s probably a good idea.”
They only had to wait five minutes before the alligator specialists arrived. They hopped out of their truck and made their way over to Jayme and Tripp. They all shook hands and formulated a plan on how to wrangle the gator. Tripp was on pole duty. He was supposed to snag the gator around the neck and drag it from the pool, so that the gator guys could jump on its back and tape him up.
Tripp went to the back of their truck and grabbed the animal control pole. It was six-foot long, with a wire loop at the end; so that they could pull it tight around an animal’s neck so they could control it. His hands shook as his nerves got the better of him. He walked by Jayme, who was fucking smirking. He could probably tell Tripp was nervous.
“What the fuck are you going to be doing while the rest of us are catching a gator?” he snapped at Jayme.
“Staying safe.” Jayme deadpanned.
Oh, he thought he was fucking funny. He narrowed his eyes at the other man.
“Hands on training, Littrell. The only way you’re gonna learn,” Jayme added.
He scowled and started for the gator guys to await instruction.
“Whatever you do. Don’t drop the pole,” Jayme called after him.
He flipped Jayme off over his shoulder, which made Jayme snicker. Fuck him and his stupid handsome face. He stopped a few feet away from the pool’s edge, where the gator was resting peacefully on the steps. He flicked his gaze over to the guy, Brian, who had the duct tape.
“Can’t we just shoo him away?” he asked, hating that his voice wavered slightly from his nerves.
Brian shook his head. “Naw, he’d probably just come right back.”
He took a deep breath and blew it out. He could do this.
“Ready when you are,” Brian said. “Nice and easy now.”
~~~
Jayme
Jayme watched closely as Tripp slowly lowered the loop end of the pole toward the gator’s head. He would jump in if he had to, but Tripp had to learn how to do this stuff. Jayme could hear a low hiss coming from the gator. It knew something was up, and it wasn’t happy. Tripp carefully slid the loop around the gator’s neck, and slowly cinched it tight. That’s when all hell broke loose. The gator hissed loudly and started rolling. Tripp cursed and struggled to keep his grip on the pole. Water splashed and sloshed out of the pool as the gator fought to free itself.
Tripp dragged the animal from the pool with it still fighting and rolling. Brian and his partner waited, letting it wear itself out a bit before they jumped into the action. The gator took a particularly powerful roll, tugging hard on the pole. Tripp lost his footing, rolled over the gator as he tried to hang onto the pole, and landed on his stomach with his face right next to the gator’s head. Jayme’s heart stopped, but his body jumped into motion.
He raced over, grabbed Tripp by the back of his vest, and hauled him to his feet just as the gator snapped those powerful jaws where Tripp’s face had just been. Jayme took the pole from Tripp and shoved him back. Tripp stumbled away, his eyes wide and his breath coming in short pants.
Brian and his coworker took that as their cue to subdue the fucking thing. They hopped on its back, and Brian grasped its jaws closed while Jayme taped them up. They taped up the legs, then the three of them carried the animal to the back of Brian’s truck. They were going to take it to a gator farm where it could live with other gators.
After they drove off, He turned to find Tripp still rooted in the spot he left him. He walked over and patted Tripp’s chest. “Hey, Rookie. You okay?” He could tell by the look on Tripp’s face that he was thoroughly shook.
Tripp swallowed a few times before giving him a jerky nod. Jayme gave him a dubious look before clapping him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s get outta here.”
Jayme put the pole in the bed of the truck, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Tripp quietly got in next to him and buckled his seat belt.
“Why didn’t you let go of the pole?” he asked.
Tripp whipped his head around to glare at him. “You told me not to!”
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “Yeah, but if you lose your footing and are lying next to a goddamn gator’s face, let go of the fucking pole.”
Tripp gaped at him, his mouth working, but nothing came out. Finally, he snapped it shut and nodded.
“Seriously, are you okay?” Jayme asked.
Tripp nodded. “Almost shit my pants, but I’m good.”
“Yeah, you were this close to not having a face anymore.” Jayme scoffed, holding up his pointer and thumb with a millimeter of space between them.
