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IT WAS MONDAY MORNING, time to go to work. As I ate pancakes with my parents, my dad shot a knowing grin in my direction.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve never seen anyone so happy to go to work,” he said.
“I love working with the animals.”
“I’m sure the animals aren’t the only perks,” he said with a chuckle.
“Dad!”
“Don’t embarrass the poor girl,” my mom admonished.
My dad set his newspaper down, folded it up, and looked at me.
“She has to have met somebody pretty special, because I haven’t seen her eyes sparkle like this since...” he began.
“Sean,” I finished for him since he didn’t have the nerve to say it.
“I’m glad you’re over him. He wasn’t right for you, or nearly good enough.”
“Sean’s a jerk. I’m so over him.” I guzzled down my orange juice as fast as I could. I didn’t want to talk to my dad about Jesse or my love life, at least not yet.
“I’ve gotta go,” I said.
“You never used to keep secrets from me.”
“Dad, it’s no big deal,” I replied. “It’s just someone who—”
He smirked. “Is he cute?”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I’m gonna be late,” I said, kissing his cheek. I gave my mom a huge hug and kiss and hurried for the door. “See you guys later.”
“Have a great day at work,” Dad said with that same knowing grin.
I smiled back at him. “I will.”
“Only one thing could put a look like that on a girl’s face,” I heard my father say as I walked out and shut the door behind me.
Like most seventeen-year-olds, I found my dad so embarrassing. I was almost grown, perfectly capable of handling my relationship without giving him a blow-by-blow description. Shaking my head, I started my car and screeched out of the driveway. I drove a candy metallic blue Ford Focus and loved it. I rolled down the windows and the music blasted.
* * *
JESSE RUSHED OVER TO greet me when I clocked in at the zoo. “Hey, you!”
“Hi,” I answered, smiling up at him.
He smiled back. “I’ve been dying to see you.”
Before I could respond, Ms. Aikers walked straight toward me. Her hair was pinned up, and she was barely wearing any makeup, if any at all. She always looked nice but in a much more natural way than my New York bosses, who were always elaborately made up with their hair perfect, wearing only the latest fashions. The people in Big Bear Lake dressed nice but nothing over the top like the people in the Big Apple.
The truth was, my parents had never liked living in NYC. My mom had gotten mugged and beat up and was scared of the big city. They’d only moved there when their books had taken off, because of the demands of their publishers. They’d never really been happy among all those skyscrapers. Big Bear Lake was different. My parents were more relaxed, happier, and loving it, and I felt the same. Of course it was more relaxing and scenic, but there was also a hot guy with cerulean blue eyes that I just couldn’t stop staring at. Because of Jesse, I wanted to stay there forever.
“Taylor, I’d like you to work with Jesse today to move the ducklings to a larger enclosure,” Ms. Aikers instructed.
I nodded. “Sure. I’ll get right on it.”
She wrote something on her clipboard, then handed Jesse a summary of what we had to do.
At first, we worked together on the items on the list, but then we decided we could get things faster if we did our own thing for a while.
“Where should I set this?” I asked, dragging the kiddie pool used by the ducks inside.
“In the corner,” Jesse said, “but let me help you.”
I shot him a flirty smile. “I can handle it. I’m not some dainty daffodil. Besides, it doesn’t weigh much.”
“Wow. I’m impressed. I love a girl who can handle her own.”
“You have no idea what I can handle,” I answered with a teasing grin.
Jesse picked up the water hose and adjusted it to fill the pool.
“These little guys and gals are gonna love their new swimming hole.”
“It’s so much bigger. They’ll all have plenty of room now.”
“I know. I love watching the babies grow up, getting bigger and stronger every day.”
“There’s no better feeling than helping them out.”
“Let’s go get ‘em,” Jesse said. “I can’t wait to see how they like their new home.”
We quickly scurried to the other room and each grabbed a fuzzy duckling. Jesse’s went right into the water, but mine squeezed out of my hands and took off across the floor. Jesse and I laughed as we chased the squawking bird around the room.
We finally corned the cute little devil. Jesse scooped up the stubborn little one and I reached for his hands to take the duckling, but suddenly lost my balance. I slipped in a puddle of water on the ground. Jesse’s automatic reaction was to try to catch me while still holding on to the duckling. As he tried, his body twisted awkwardly and he tumbled backward. Thank goodness he and the baby duck were both okay. He had let go of the little guy before falling. The duckling was waddling around near Jesse’s feet. He looked at the two of us like we were the silliest things he’d ever seen, and chastised us with a loud irritated quack. A sight so adorable we both burst out laughing.
Heat rushed to my face as I looked over at Jesse as he stood up.
“Sorry,” I said.
He pushed a long, curly piece of hair out of my eyes. “Don’t be. You can knock me off my feet anytime.”
When our eyes locked, my smile was automatic.
“You have the most beautiful smile,” he said.
“Thank you.”
He locked his fingers in mine and brushed his thumb over my skin, sending shivers down my spine.
Suddenly, I felt tiny webbed feet walking over my shoe. I gently picked the naughty duckling up and set him in the water. He happily glided through the water, loving the new pool. We brought in the others who all looked just as happy when Jesse placed them in their new home.
“Are you ready to feed them?”
“Minnows?” I guessed.
“Try crickets,” he said as he picked up a foam cup with hundreds of chirping insects inside. “We need to make sure the ducklings can eat when they’re released. Let’s throw a few in and see if they’ll catch them like they’ll have to in training.”
I picked up a wiggly cricket and smiled. “Here it goes!” I tossed the bug into the water.
Jesse began tossing them to the ducklings as well and the babies quickly started diving after the insects, swallowing them up. It was a good sign that they were learning how to feed themselves, even without their mother around to teach them. It was refreshing to know that in some small way, we were preparing them to survive and live a happy life outside on the lake. This was only a temporary home, a place to get strong before they could be returned to where they really belonged.
* * *
WHEN I GOT HOME FROM work, I found a note letting me know that my parents had gone out to dinner and a movie and would be home late. My mom had left me some chicken and mashed potatoes in the microwave, so all I had to do was heat my dinner up. After a whole day with Jesse, butterflies still fluttered around my stomach, which totally killed my appetite.
I watched television until about eight p.m. After flipping through the unopened mail, I jumped into the shower. As the soothing, hot water danced across my skin, many thoughts ran through my head, most of which were about Jesse.
About twenty minutes later, I dried off and slipped into a fluffy pink robe and slippers. When my stomach began to growl, I decided to heat up my dinner while I got dressed for bed. I walked downstairs to the kitchen and threw my food in the microwave.
I jumped when Max started barking. “Max! Be quiet,” I scolded. “You scared me to death, boy!”
As I walked over to sit at the kitchen table, I saw why Max was barking: Through the sliding glass doors, I could see a figure moving outside in the darkness. My heart lurched. I only saw it for a split second, but I could have sworn it was someone dressed in black from head to toe, including a black ski mask. I was so panicked, I thought I might have a heart attack.
Max ran to the window snarling, growling and barking.
I frantically reached for the land line phone, only to discover that it was dead as a doornail, just as I feared I was about to be. My gaze shot to my purse. “My cell!” I exclaimed. I reached my purse in two strides, but chills flooded through me when I realized my cell phone wasn’t in it. It suddenly dawned on me that someone had been messing with the phones. I swallowed hard as I spun in a slow circle, my nerves on complete edge. My stomach dropped when I came to the realization that someone was outside, so I couldn’t even run. My biggest worry was that someone was inside as well, because I knew for a fact that I’d left my cell in my purse.
My fingers hurriedly rummaged through the kitchen drawer for a knife. When I found one that I thought sure would do the trick, I clutched it tightly, then glanced out the window again. The moon sliced through the darkness, and shadows shifted in the blackness beyond.
I didn’t see anyone, but when the television shut off and complete silence filled the air, I had never felt so utterly alone. “Max!” I said. “Come here.” As the dog sat by my feet, I sucked in a trembling breath.
Next, the power went out, and everything went black. I forced myself to walk to the drawer where I knew I could find a flashlight. My trembling fingers wrapped around the cold metal, and I switched it on. The beam wavered in my shaking hands.
A growl echoed from the living room, one I knew didn’t belong to Max.
What the heck was that?
The knife in my hands shook. I’d never been so frozen with fear before, not even during the mountain lion attack or when we’d been surrounded by wolves. I was scared to go outside, but I was more terrified of whatever was in the living room. I tried to reason what could be growling. Maybe a stray dog got inside somehow. Maybe my parents adopted another dog and didn’t tell me.
Max kept growling and barking, then suddenly shot off into the living room.
“Max!” I cried, but the only answer was silence.