Sure, they were trying to work together to become what they always should have been, but things like that took time.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m keeping tabs on your dog, and I’ll keep you updated if I hear anything.”
Romeo grunted out a “Thanks” and I hung up.
Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I turned to Gentry.
“What’s the next step?” I asked.
“Well, first off we’re going to document the oil spill like it should’ve been documented. Then we’re going to get the city out here fast to clean it up so we don’t have anyone else hurting themselves. Then we’re going to have to make a few calls, because if I was Birdee, I’d contact a lawyer and sue the pants off the sheriff’s department. If they’d been out here like they should have, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“No,” I agreed. “It wouldn’t have.”
It took another forty minutes to get the scene cleaned up, and I left just as the cleaning crew from the city arrived.
I headed home after checking on Brawny, even though something inside of me told me that I should go to the hospital instead.
Three
I have selective hearing. I’m sorry you weren’t selected today.
—Creed to his boss
Creed
I was home for an hour—still thinking about a certain curly brown-haired woman—when my phone rang.
Not recognizing the number, I answered it with a hesitant, “Hello?”
“Hey, Creed. It’s Cody.”
I sighed. “Cody, what’s up?”
“I wanted to see if you could go get Birdee from the hospital,” she said. “I called a few other people, but they couldn’t go. Her options are to walk home or get a ride, and I was hoping you’d give her a ride. I don’t want to worry about her getting home.”
I looked at the clock. “You think she won’t have a problem getting into the car with a stranger?”
“Birdee has no sense of self-preservation,” she said. “She’s a thrill seeker. She’ll probably have no issue getting into a vehicle with a practical stranger.”
“Why do you say that about her like it’s a bad thing?” I laughed. “She can’t be that bad.”
“She’s a snake milker.”
I blinked.
“Your sister does what?”
“She’s a snake milker,” Cody repeated.
I blinked hard, and I wasn’t sure if that was why I couldn’t hear Cody correctly.
“You’re serious?” I asked.
“Dead serious,” she promised. “Though, that’s not all she does. She’s a scientist in real life. But she does the snake milking and works at the medical facility that also makes anti-venom for people that get bitten by poisonous snakes.”
“Venomous,” I corrected automatically.
Cody scoffed. “She’s the smartest person that I know.”
