He’d originally planned it for the day after Valentine’s Day and Rachel’s wedding, but Skye came down with the flu, and then Mercy caught it. Thank goodness Luna stayed healthy through it all, but he wished none of them had gotten sick.
The weather was perfect for his plans. Blue skies stretched as far as the eye could see with only a handful of fluffy white clouds scattered about. The temperature would hit the high fifties, more than ten degrees higher than the average.
Skye ran to greet him at the door and gave him a big hug. “Are we seeing zebras?”
He scooped her into his arms and smiled. “Zebras, and giraffes, and tigers, and bears.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Bears scare me.”
“These won’t. They’re safely behind a cage for us to see and admire but not touch.”
“Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced.
“I’ll be with you the whole time and won’t let anything happen.”
“Promise?”
He tapped her nose. “Promise.”
Appeased, she wiggled down and ran off.
Luna stood to the side with a sheepish smile. “While she was sick, I may have accidentally let her watch a movie where a bear attacked another animal. In my defense, the reviews didn’t say anything about that part.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine, and if it scares her that much, we’ll skip the bear habitat.”
“The zoo is all they talked about last night. I should have waited until this morning to tell them.” She rolled her eyes and smirked. “I almost volunteered to work an extra shift as an escape.”
“Oh no you don’t.” He shook a playful finger. “This is our day.”
“It was just a thought.” She grinned. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”
“The delay worked in our favor. It’s a beautiful day.”
“This was the first morning I could have my quiet time on the patio.” She touched the lapels of her sweater. “I had to bundle up, but it was nice to have the fresh air.”
Skye ran out of her room with Hope at her side. On a leash. “Hope’s coming.”
He covered his laugh with a hand over his face. “She has to stay here today, sweetie.”
“Why?” Skye cocked her head with confusion in her eyes. “Zoo’s for animals.”
Luna exchanged an amused glance with him. “Hope might see all the animals and think she has to stay there with them. We wouldn’t want to upset her, would we?”
Skye looked upward and thought about it for a long time. “No.”
“I’ll take her out before we leave.” Carl slipped the leash from Skye. “I brought her a treat but left it in the truck. When we come back in, I’ll give it to her, so she won’t be lonely while we’re gone.”
A smile tugged Skye’s mouth wide, and she clearly approved of the idea. She ran off again, this time calling her sister’s name.
Luna shook her head. “I don’t know how the leash got in their room. I’ll have to store it out of reach.”
“She’s a trip.” Carl gave Hope a hug. He’d never made it to the shelter. There had been a parvo outbreak that shut down adoptions. Today was the first day they’d reopened, but he’d already planned this outing. “Can you believe this is the same scrawny dog you found on the road?”
“Not at all. I took her for a checkup after work yesterday, and she weighed in at fifty-eight pounds.”
“All muscle, too.” He wrapped the leash around his wrist. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“You don’t have to take her out.”
