I tell him all about what happened in the last forty-eight hours, and then I have to tell it again when I find Jilly, but I don't care. I’m so excited about all of it that I’d probably tell anyone who asked. Finally, after everyone is settled and debriefed, we’re in the air and on our way home. The flight is delightfully uneventful, and once we feed the cubs, they sleep for the whole trip. Which is what I do too, wrapped up between Thomas and Jaxon, who beat everyone else to claim the extra spaces in my bed.
“Goddamn it,” Oli mumbles when he tries to sneak in. “I’m getting us a custom-made bed for the new house, one that will fit all of us.” When I raise my head to look at him, he’s already tapping away at his phone.
“Deal,” I tell him, “as long as there’s a room that it will fit in.”
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” Jaxon sleepily says from next to me, and I wriggle as a wave of excitement runs through me. When Oliver leaves, I can’t stop moving, my brain running through everything we’re going to do tomorrow. We have to see what enclosures need to be updated and whether they’re going to provide the kind of enrichment the animals need. We need to look at hiring assistants, cleaners, maintenance staff, keepers... Gosh, I hope there are some records inside the house of what animals he used to keep. I really want to know what was in the big pool. I asked Nana, but she couldn't remember ever seeing it since it was the count’s private collection, and he didn't really show it off very often.
The proper authorities have to be called in California; if we’re doing this for real, I want to make sure others know that we’ll take animals that are seized and in need of rehoming. My body is twitchy as I have a silent meltdown, feeling like all of these developments are great, but they’re also a lot to handle all at once. I haven’t even been able to get my foot in the door with an internship. Where can I start with half the things these animals really need? The Summers say they’ll all help, but will that be enough? I can’t help but think we’ll need all the help we can get.
We’ll have to start advertising for job openings, though maybe we could get some high school students who are interested in vet studies to come clean cages and do weekend internships or something. I wonder if any of the students I went to school with would be interested. I’m trying to think about whether any of them had an interest in exotic animals when a conversation I had when I first arrived in California pops into my brain.
On that very first shopping trip with Alex, he talked about how he volunteered at an animal shelter in between modeling gigs. Maybe I can still do that, just do it from the zoo. Maybe once or twice a month, we could have the shelter bring by animals that need to be sterilized.
“Harlow, be still,” Tom grumbles as he throws an arm over me in an attempt to stop me from moving. “How can you still be awake?” He’s wrapped around my back, so his breath tickles my ear, moving my hair when he talks.
Jaxon’s back is to me, the little spoon to my middle spoon to Thomas’ big spoon, but I’m suddenly full of energy. Before I can convince them to make me the filling in a Summers sandwich, I hear the rumble of snores coming from both of them. Jaxon had been up half the night making to-do lists, scouring the internet for contractors, finding out more information on the MacGinty Sanctuary staff, and Googling top vets in the field of exotic animals. Why he did all that last night is anyone's guess, but I can only hope that he’s as excited and restless about this whole thing as I am.
Carefully crawling out of the bed, I leave the two of them to sleep. Before I make any decisions about anything, I want to see the house. I’m sure all the decor and furniture will be dated, so some Pinterest research might not be a bad idea.
Wandering out into the lounge, I find Kai talking to Jacinta and Jace.
“Where’s everyone else?” I ask as I sit down next to Kai and snuggle into his side.
“Holden and Oli claimed one of the bedrooms down the back, and Declan is working in one of the offices,” Kai says as he places his arm around me and gives me a kiss on the head.
“What are you doing? Why aren't you napping?” Jacinta asks, looking relaxed and comfortable in her seat next to Jace. I don’t know if they realize they’re touching or if they subconsciously gravitated toward one another. I can’t wait to see how the dynamic between the four of them unfolds. Alex is as dramatic and flamboyant as she is, and I can see the potential for them to clash, but I bet it’ll be hot when they do. Shane is his silent and steady self, and Jace has that country-boy-next-door thing going on to balance out the other two perfectly. I just have to be patient because I have no doubt they’ll wear her down eventually.
“Oh, I can’t sleep. I’m so excited about seeing our house tomorrow.” I bite my lip as something occurs to me. “Are you okay with what they did? I didn't even think to ask. That’s so fucking rude of me. I’m so sorry,” I ramble. I was so fucking thoughtless by not thinking about Jacinta. It’s half her home after all. With the progress we’ve made to get us here, I don’t want to hurt our relationship.
She waves her hand at me. “Don’t even think about it. I’m so fucking thrilled that my brother wanted to do this for you and that you’re all taking a leap of faith. Plus, I love the house I live in. I’ve said all along that when I have a family, I’m going to kick my brothers out so we can live in our wing. We’re going to have the papers drawn up and put it in your name. That way there’s no questioning who it belongs to, and you won’t have to worry about it being taken away from you.”
Tears prickle in my eyes until I have to wipe them away so that they don’t fall. I just can’t even with these people. I mean, Chuck and Melinda were always wonderful, but I grew up being the outsider from the wrong side of the tracks, and to experience all that I am now after such a rocky start, I just don’t know whether to pinch myself to make sure I’m not actually asleep and dreaming or if it was me that got shot. Maybe I’m trapped in a wonderful coma created by my own subconscious.
She must be able to see what’s going through my mind because she holds her hands out. “Show me your Pinterest page! We need to start adding things that you like. Something that doesn't scream illicit 90s drug den. I wonder what it looks like inside. I’m just as excited as you to check it out tomorrow.”
We spend the rest of the flight oohing and ahhing over interior decorating and paint samples. When we touch down in California, there’s another truck waiting to receive Nyx and take her to Dad’s. The other surprise as I step out onto the tarmac comes in the form of Alex and Shane, both wearing big grins as they greet Jace with smoking hot kisses. Phew! Jacinta and I receive kisses on the cheek, and if they linger a little longer over hers, then I’m not upset.
“Hey, this is a nice surprise,” I say to them when they finish greeting Holden, Oliver, and Jaxon. I’m not sure where the others are, but I bet Declan is with the tigers.
“Yeah, Jace called us to come pick him up. Lucky dog, going to Prague with you. I wish I had gone with him when he brought over those dresses,” Alex says, pouting prettily.
“Well, you’ve been overseas before, Jace and Harlow hadn’t. Stop being such a baby,” Shane gently scolds before turning back to us. “Did you have a great time?” I feel a blush heat my cheeks as I think about my date with Thomas in Prague, which was definitely a highlight.
“It was a blast,” Jace answers before I can. “The thought of going into work and dealing with Lindy and Rowena makes me want to climb back on that plane and jet off into the horizon.”
Jacinta groans and bumps him with her hip. “God, me too. Why did you have to mention it?”
I don’t miss the pleased look that softens Jaxon’s face at the interaction between the two of them. With him making plans for the next steps forward in our relationship, it makes sense that it’s even more important to him that his sister have her own happiness too.
“Sorry to interrupt.” Kai appears from somewhere, deceptively sneaky for a guy who’s usually hard to miss. “But the chopper is ready. Shall we get moving? All the luggage is loaded, and I want to get us home so that Harlow has time to get Nyx situated comfortably.”
“Nyx? Who’s Nyx?” With the way Alex is looking around, Jace seems way too pleased. I’m guessing he’s left some details out of any updates he’s given his boyfriends.
“I didn’t tell them. I knew they were coming to get me, and I wanted them to be surprised.”
Just as he says that, the crate gets unloaded from the plane, the forklift placing it on a truck not far from us. I hurry over to check on her even though I know she was fine when we landed.
“Shut the front door,” Alex gasps as I climb up to see her. Her big yellow eyes blink sleepily at me, and a big yawn has her showing us all her big teeth. “Harlow, that’s a jaguar.”
