CHAPTER 1
ALEX
“Why me?”I crossed my arms over my chest as I eyed the older man behind the desk. I hadn’t known what to think when I’d been summoned from the cozy lounge to trek across the ice and snow of the South Pole for a meeting with my boss. A lead on a job back on the mainland was the last thing I’d expected.
“I suggested you because of your experience. You worked with penguins at that marine theme park, and your file is full of glowing recommendations from the scientists here.” The chair creaked as my boss leaned back. “You mentioned you aren’t interested in staying over the winter, so I thought you might be in need of gainful employment. Didn’t you say you’re from Texas?”
I nodded. I’d been working at the remote research station on the coast of Antarctica for the past six months, but with the summer season drawing to a close, I planned on hopping one of the remaining February flights and getting the hell out of here. One summer at the South Pole had been enough for a homegrown Texas boy who hadn’t even owned a winter coat before setting foot on the frozen continent. My only hesitation had been not knowing where to go next.
“We’ve enjoyed having you as part of the team. If you want to take a season off and help my colleague out, we’ll hold a spot for you, and you can come back next spring.” My boss leaned forward and scribbled something on a piece of paper. “Here’s the number. Give him a call if you’re interested, but I’d do it fast. He wants to get this lined up as soon as possible, and if you want to get out of here before they stop running flights, you’ll need to make a decision soon.”
I took the slip of paper, recognizing the Houston area code. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
“Think fast. I’d make the call today.” He checked his watch. “You’ve got about a half hour left of satellite time before you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
I shook my boss’s hand as I got up to leave. I’d lucked into this gig last year when I met a fellow rock climber in Australia. The guy had taken some time off to travel before heading back to his post at a station in Antarctica. His team was short a research assistant for their study on penguin breeding, and I was always up for another adventure, so I’d signed on for a six-month stint. I’d never spent that much time in one place, and as the shortened days turned into long periods of darkness, I told myself I’d get out the first chance I got.
This job offer might be my lucky break. But could I really go back to the one place on earth I never wanted to see again? My sister Charlene had been begging me to come home for months. Gramps was having trouble settling into the new assisted living facility she’d found for him, and with four girls at home and a husband who was deployed, she’d reached her wit’s end trying to hold it all together.
I wished my parents were still around to help out. But the duty had skipped an entire generation when my dad passed, and my mom didn’t feel any sense of obligation to the family she’d never wanted to be part of. What the hell. I didn’t have anythingto lose. May as well make the call and see what might be in it for me.
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled the phone away from my ear and gave it a quick glance. The man on the other end was making such a ridiculous offer that for a moment I figured I might be getting pranked.
“I assure you, Mr. Sanders, this is a legitimate proposal. Our needs require someone with a specialized skill set, and my client is willing to pay generously for the assistance.”
“Penguins.” I rolled the word around on my tongue. “In Texas. For a wedding.” Yeah, still sounded just as ridiculous as the first time the attorney on the other end of the phone said it out loud.
“My client realizes the unique nature of his request, but we’re talking about his only daughter. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she gets the wedding of her dreams.”
I wondered what it would be like to afford to have my every wish granted. Even something so absolutely asinine as a winter wonderland wedding in southeast Texas. With penguins.
“And all I have to do is take care of the penguins for a couple months?” I confirmed.
“You’ll be solely in charge of their welfare and training. Mr. Munyon is donating a generous amount to the Houston Marine Life Aquarium. Their current permanent penguin habitat is in need of repair. While the penguins are off display, we’ll have a subset of the herd?—”
“It’s a waddle,” I interrupted.
“A waddle?”
“A waddle or a colony. Unless they’re out on the water. Then a group of penguins is called a raft.”
“How interesting. As I was saying, we’ll have most of the waddle stay on-site at the aquarium. But we’ll separate a few andput them in your care. By the time the wedding is over, they’ll all be reunited in the new penguin habitat.”
“I see.” But I didn’t see at all. “And where will the penguins I’ll be in charge of be living during this time?”
“That’s a loose end we need to tie up. Are you interested in the position? Mr. Munyon would like to move on it right away.”
“If I take this on, I need to be near Swynton. That’s where my family lives.”
“That’s fine. Mr. Munyon’s stipulations require an address within a one-hundred-mile radius of Houston. If you find somewhere acceptable near your hometown where they can have the wedding and house the penguins, it would be a win-win. Can you let me know your answer within the next day or two?”
I drummed my fingers against the arm of my chair. “Let me think about it. Send over the details and I’ll take a look.”
“Fantastic. I’ll have my assistant e-mail over the particulars. Mr. Munyon is a generous man. If you do a good job, he might be able to offer you something permanent.”
“I’ll be in touch.” I disconnected the call and spun my chair around to look out the window. A blanket of white covered the flat terrain. I’d been working in the cold long enough. If all went well, I could give Charlene a hand with Gramps, cash in on the too-good-to-be-true offer I’d just received, then move onto something more lucrative. With a little bit of time left while the satellite was still hooked up for outgoing calls, I punched in my sister’s number.
She answered after the first ring. “You’d better not be calling unless you’re telling me what time to pick you up from the airport.”
