The man’s mouth turned down into a frown. “Don’t you think you’re a little late for that?”
My chest tightened. “What do you mean?”
“We sent them over this morning. I was told the habitat was ready and the director needed them over there as soon as possible.”
“But I haven’t even met them yet.” My heart thumped. “You’re telling me a half dozen penguins left here this morning and are on their way to Ido?”
“A half dozen?” The guy’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve got twelve of my birds on their way to you. I’d like to know what you’re doing here and who’s going to be there to meet them.”
Twelve birds? I took a moment to let that information rattle through my head. “What time did they leave?”
The guy checked his diving watch. “I packed them up right before the show started. Maybe a half hour ago, tops.”
“I’ll handle this.” I reached for the girls’ hands. “Come on, we’ve got to go.”
“You mess with my birds, and you’ll be hearing from our lawyer.” The trainer’s voice bounced off the concrete, following me down the stairs as I tugged my nieces toward the bathroom where I hoped to find Gramps and the others.
I wanted to yell back that the guy could get in line. By the time the wedding was over, there would probably be a long list of people who wanted to sue me. As I shuffled the girls to the truck, I tried to call Zina. She’d be at the warehouse. She could stall the driver and give me enough time to get back and figure out what was going on. There had to be a mistake.
Zina
I had almost finished setting up for the adoption event. Alex said he’d be there to help, but I hadn’t seen him yet. I should have known better than to get my hopes up that he might come through for me.
At least my volunteers had shown up, along with a small crowd of people thanks to Lacey making some last-minute calls. It would be bittersweet to see the pups go. I always felt a little bit of a loss when one of them went off with their new owners. But it was for the best. All of the dogs deserved new homes—somewhere where they could get the unconditional love they deserved.
Maybe someday I’d finally get to see for myself what that felt like. I shook off the mood that had settled over me, and made the rounds, checking on the dogs and volunteers to make sure everything was in order. The last time we’d tried to hold a big event like this, a group had shown up to protest having pit bulls around town. Things had settled down since then but thanks to the brick that had gone through my front window, I was prepared for just about anything.
“Hey, Zina, I’ve got a guy interested in Buster.” One of the regular volunteers approached.
“Really?” My stomach turned over at the thought of Buster leaving. But it was for his own good. I tried to act nonchalant as I walked toward Buster’s kennel. The “guy” was Jasper Taylor. We’d gone to high school together, but I hadn’t seen much of him since I’d moved back.
“Hey, Zina.” He gave me a smile as he leaned toward Buster’s crate. “Long time no see.”
“Jasper, what are you doing out here today?” As far as I knew he still lived outside town. His family ran a huge commercial pecan orchard or something like that.
“My aunt Suzy said you were having a big event, so I figured I’d come check it out. I just had to say good-bye to Justice. Lost him to liver cancer last fall.”
“I’m sorry. Have you met Buster yet?”
“Just through his kennel.”
“Let me give you a proper introduction.” I stopped when I got to Buster’s kennel. “He’s one of my favorites.”
“Seems like a good guy.”
“He is.” My favorite dog wasn’t going to go home with just anyone. “He needs someone who will make sure he gets his exercise. He’s a big couch potato.”
“That’s what I love about this breed. They’re huge snugglers.”
I opened the door to the kennel and clipped a leash on Buster’s collar. “Let’s take him out where he’s not distracted by the others.”
We walked past a few people who were checking out other dogs. Buster followed, his tail wagging. We reached the door, and I pushed it open. Sunlight streamed in and I shielded my eyes. Something big and dark sat in the middle of the drive, blocking the cars behind it.
“What in the world?” I muttered to myself.
“What’s going on?” Jasper asked.
“I have no idea. Here, you want to take Buster around the lawn and get to know each other?” I passed him the leash, intent on finding out who had driven a semi into the middle of my dog adoption event.
