“One bird down, one to go. Can I call you back?” I didn’t have the bandwidth to handle Lacey right now.
“Don’t bother. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Fifteen if Bodie will turn on the lights and siren.”
“That’s not necess—” The line went dead.
I kept a loose grip on Thelma’s flipper as I marched her back to the warehouse. I caught a glimpse of Chyna out of the corner of my eye. What the woman lacked in stature, she made up for in attitude. She’d produced a bullhorn and barked directions at the crowd. I managed to catch the tail end of it. Sounded like they were taking a ten-minute break to reset the tent and wouldcall everyone in when it was ready. At least the Munyons hadn’t pulled out . . . yet. There was still a chance to save Lacey’s reputation.
I herded Thelma into the warehouse, where the rest of the penguins playfully dove into the water and stood around chattering.
“Hey, Zina. Come see this.” Morty called me from the other side of the makeshift wall.
I rounded the corner to find Louise snuggled up on a blanket with Aurora, the pit bull that Dolly had named. “How did this happen?”
“Found her over here when I brought the others in.”
“She nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought we were going to have to put out an APB on a missing penguin.” I moved closer to where the two animals cuddled. “I can’t believe it.”
As if to make a point that yes, pit bulls and penguins could be the best of friends, Aurora’s tongue whipped out of her mouth and swept over Louise’s cheek. The penguin shivered, sending a wave of chills down to the tips of her flippers.
“Well I’ll be. I think I’ve seen it all now.” Morty put a hand to his heart like he was about to say the pledge.
“Seen what?” Alex’s voice cut through the tender moment.
“We found them. Everything’s going to be fine now.” I reached for Alex, but he brushed past me to check on the bird.
“I told that guy not to use the flash.”
“Yes, you did. He made a mistake. It’s fine now. We’ll get the penguins settled, get everyone back into the tent, and get this wedding done. You with me?” I held out my hand.
“We need to talk.” Alex glanced up at me. There was something going on with him, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
“Well that was fun.” Chyna’s shrill voice could have peeled wallpaper from the walls. “Can we get this show on the road? I’ve reset the wedding tent. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, we sure are. Alex is just getting the penguins calmed down and we’ll be right over.”
“Zina, come with me. The bride’s mother needs a cosmo before we start up again and she says you’re the only one who knows how to make it.” Chyna held out a hand.
I wanted to find out what Alex meant. I couldn’t walk away while there was something left unsaid. But he waved me off.
“Go. Let’s get through this. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” I smiled, hoping I’d infused it with enough encouragement to get him through the ceremony until we’d have a chance to chat. Then I turned to Chyna. “Let’s go.”
Two hours, three kegs, and four cases of champagne later, the fireworks exploded right on cue. I breathed out a sigh of relief that had been forty-eight hours in the making. The party was over. I hadn’t seen Alex since he’d sent the penguins down the aisle and couldn’t wait to find him so we could celebrate with a toast of our own.
“Congratulations on a job well done.” Chyna stepped beside me as the bride and groom ducked into the waiting hearse turned popemobile–style limo. With all of the sparkles and twinkle lights, it looked like they’d just stepped into their own custom snow globe.
“Thanks.” I’d consider “a job well done” as high praise coming from someone like Chyna.
“You ever consider going into event planning?” Chyna asked.
“No. Definitely not.” After the last several weeks the only thing I wanted to do was get back to working with the dogs. There’d been a reason I’d chosen to work with animals over humans. Having to fill in for Lacey and be the “go to” gal hadreminded me how much I disliked having to put on a front and play nice with everyone.
“Well if you change your mind, look me up.” Chyna handed me a hot-pink card with a number printed on it. “That’s my cell.”
I took it, with absolutely no intention of ever using it. But the thought was nice. And maybe if push came to shove and I found myself without a way to earn a living, maybe then I’d give Chyna a call and . . . On second thought, no, not even then.
“I’m going to go check in at the house and make sure they’ve got all the food packed up for the family.” I offered my hand. “Thanks for everything and have a safe trip back to LA tomorrow.”
