Flipping Love You by Erin Nicholas

17

Addison and Dana left, and Tori got up as Ella started fussing. “This support group stuff will be fun,” she said.

“I think so too. Thanks for introducing me to them.”

Tori squeezed her shoulder. “Of course.”

Jill focused on Ella. The baby was squirming and fussing against Tori’s neck, but Jill had a sudden sense of contentment herself.

“And maybe, if you’re willing, I could get some babysitting practice in with Ella sometime.”

Tori’s face lit up. “That would be amazing. We have tons of babysitters, of course, but our kids are going to be so close in age and are going to grow up together. I’d love for you to be close to Ella.”

Jill felt her throat tighten and she had to swallow hard before she said, “Yeah. That’s true.”

Oh, God. Their kids were to be close in age and were going to grow up together. Ella was going to be her child’s closest cousin. Reality slammed into Jill as Tori gave her a bright smile and then headed for Josh.

“Hey.”

Jill took a deep breath and turned to look at Naomi, the only person remaining at the table with her. Naomi was so quiet and unassuming. She just sat back and watched the people around her, taking everything in, not needing to interject or ask a million questions.

“Hey.”

“Want to take a walk?”

Jill so wanted to take a walk. How did Naomi know that?

“I would love that.”

Naomi scooted her chair back and stood.

Jill glanced over at Zeke. “I’m going to take a walk with Naomi,” she called.

Somehow she knew he’d be pleased that she’d enjoyed her talk with Dana and Addison and Tori and he’d be really happy she was spending time with Naomi.

He looked surprised, but said, “Okay, but don’t you be havin’ any plantano frito without me.”

Naomi laughed. “Fried plantains,” she explained to Jill. “A Haitian dish my grandmother makes. Zeke loves them.” She looked at Zeke. “If we get any, we’ll bring you some.” She dropped her voice so only Jill could hear her. “We’re not going to my grandma’s.”

“Fair enough.” Zeke gave Jill a long look and she knew he was asking if she was okay.

She gave a little nod.

He gave her a satisfied smile in return.

And all of that was the strangest wordless exchange she’d ever had with another human being.

And it made her chest feel warm.

Jill followed Naomi out of Ellie’s. They took a right at the front path, which would lead them away from the swamp boat tour company offices and the petting zoo.

They walked for several yards without speaking.

It was nice to find someone here who knew how to just enjoy a quiet moment.

That lasted for about twenty more steps.

“I know you’re worried about—”

“I know you’re friends with Zeke —”

They spoke over one another.

They stopped walking and turned to look at one another with mutual smiles.

“I am friends with Zeke,” Naomi said. “He’s a great guy.”

“He is. I didn’t want to give you the impression back there that I’m unhappy about being with him or about the baby. I’m not. I’m…actually really happy to be with Zeke. And I’m adjusting to the baby news.”

“I’m glad to hear that. But I didn’t want to take this walk to talk about Zeke or the baby,” Naomi said.

“Oh.” Jill frowned. “Then what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well.” Naomi shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Sticking my nose in where it doesn’t belong.”

“Now I’m really curious.” She hadn’t been around Naomi LeClaire much, but Jill got the impression the other woman was thoughtful and considerate. If she had something to say, Jill wanted to hear it.

Naomi took a breath. “I wanted to tell you a story about a polar bear.”

Jill faced her more fully. That wasn’t even close to what she’d been expecting the other woman to say. “A polar bear?” Jill repeated.

“Yes.” Naomi tucked her hands into her pockets. “There was this polar bear, Hugo, on my show. He and his trainer, Greg, worked together for about two years. Then Greg’s wife, Tracy, got cancer. Greg, obviously, was very stressed and sad. And as Tracy’s illness progressed and Greg’s depression got worse and worse, we noticed that Hugo got depressed too. It was like he was feeding off of Greg’s emotions. When Tracy had a good day and Greg was in a better mood, Hugo would have a good day. When Greg was especially sad, Hugo would have a terrible day.”

Naomi paused. Jill didn’t say a word.

“When Tracy passed away and Greg was in mourning, Hugo wouldn’t do anything for us for almost two weeks. And even after that it took a really long time for him to get back to normal. It was crazy and I don’t know if I would’ve believed that if I hadn’t seen it myself, but it seemed that Hugo was feeling what Greg was feeling.” Naomi met Jill’s gaze directly as she spoke. “That was the most remarkable instance, but I saw animals and humans bond in really amazing ways over the years.”

Jill knew she was staring, and she sincerely was trying to focus on what she knew Naomi was really trying to tell her. But she was distracted.

“Jill?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you hear me?”

“Every word,” Jill said with a nod. “Like…the words ‘your show’.”

Naomi sighed, but smiled. “I figured you’d notice that.”

“What did you mean by that?”

Naomi studied her for a moment. Then nodded. “The TV show I was on.”

“You were on a TV show?”

“From the ages of eight to fourteen. It was called Zoey At the Zoo.”

Jill gasped so hard she thought she’d probably sucked in a mosquito or two. “Oh my God. You were Zoey.”

“Yes.”

“You’re Naomi Williams?”

Naomi lifted a shoulder. “A stage name.”

Now that Jill thought about it, she vaguely recalled knowing that Naomi Williams had been originally from Louisiana. “I’ve seen some of the show. I’m…” She cleared her throat. “…a little older than you. But the show was huge. I definitely knew of it.”

“Yeah. It was huge,” Naomi agreed.

“I just…I’m stunned.”

“It’s the best kept secret in Autre,” Naomi said. “I was born here. My family is from here. For generations, really. When I got cast on the show, Mom and I moved to California, but everyone else stayed here. When the show ended, I was fourteen. I retired and we came back here. But Autre keeps the secret. If anyone ever comes through and asks if I live here now, they lie.”

“Wow, that’s kind of amazing.”

Naomi smiled. “It’s very amazing. I live a very quiet life now, completely out of the spotlight. I have no interest in anyone knowing who I am and no interest in returning to that life at all.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Jill said, realizing what Naomi had revealed to her.

“I’m not worried,” Naomi said. “I’ve been listening to Zeke talk about you for weeks. I know you’re one of us.”

That hit Jill right in the chest and she had to work to pull in her next breath.

She knew the Landrys had accepted her into their circle. She knew she was automatically included because of Zeke. And the baby. But she hadn’t really let it in.

That was…pretty awesome.

“But just because I’m not interested in a public life, I still have a lot of love for wild animals and all the people who work with them,” Naomi went on, spreading her arms wide. “And the fact that they’re building this animal park right in my backyard, is kind of crazy and ironic. I feel like I should be a part of it. Somehow.” She let her arms drop. “Charlie and Jordan are two of my best friends and they keep insisting that I don’t need to do anything I’m uncomfortable with, but there are so many talented, wonderful people here and if I can help at all, I really want to.” She gave Jill a small, sincere smile. “I’m sorry you’re struggling with the penguins. It made me think of Hugo so, after listening to you talk about your mom and everything, I finally decided to share.”

“You think maybe there’s something like that going on with the penguins?”

“Zeke told us about A.J. About how he was the only one taking care of the penguins and how he was sick most of the time. How you didn’t meet them until he passed. And how they’ve only been with you since then and that you’ve been…”

“Uptight. Worried. Stressed. Anxious.”

Naomi gave a soft laugh. “Yeah.”

Jill thought about that. She believed what Naomi had told her about the bear. Animals could be very sensitive, and she’d also seen some amazing bonds between humans and animals as well as some instances of across-species bonding that were surprising and hard to explain. “You think the penguins are grieving A.J.? And picking up on my tension?”

“You’re the expert,” Naomi said. “I just thought I’d mention it.” She paused. “Actually, I wasn’t going to mention it. But then you were talking about your mom and the baby and I realized that maybe you could use another perspective.”

“Why do you think this has to do with my mom?”

“Zeke talks about how one of the things you have in common is that you both like things simple and don’t mind other people helping out and doing things for you. You said your mom actually kept you from learning how to take care of yourself with even the basic stuff like cooking and laundry.”

Jill nodded.

“But I’m guessing you don’t consider things simple with the penguins. I’ll bet you know what each of those penguins weighs down to the ounce and I’ll bet you monitor their vitamin intake daily, and I’m sure that you’ve noted details about every single one of their behaviors down to which part of the enclosure they each prefer.”

Jill shifted her weight from one foot to the other. That was all scarily accurate.

Naomi noticed. “I was around animals and their caretakers every day for six years. I know a TV show and an endangered penguin project are different in a lot of ways, but I also know how people who love the animals they’re caring for act.”

“It’s all stuff I’ve always done for the penguins at the zoo. But now, these are mine. I’m the only one taking care of them. And they were entrusted to me by a friend as his dying wish. And…yeah, I’ve definitely been uptight about it.”

“Because you’re a perfectionist like your mom.”

Jill straightened in surprise. “No. I’m definitely not. It took me twenty minutes to find my phone this morning. And it was in my pocket the entire time. I got downstairs and was about to walk out the door but I couldn’t remember if I’d taken my vitamin this morning.” She grimaced. “So I took two. And that is obviously not something I should do often. Though I should probably look up what extra prenatal vitamins will do to me.”

“Why were you so distracted?” Naomi asked.

Jill opened her mouth to reply, realized what her answer was, realized Naomi already knew what her answer was, and snapped her mouth shut.

“You were thinking about the penguins,” Naomi filled in.

Jill sighed.

“You’re not a perfectionist in everything the way you think your mom was, but you are about the thing that matters the most to you. And after talking to Addison and Dana, I hope you see that there’s a very real possibility that your mom wasn’t perfect in every way behind the scenes. I’m sure Stella and Cooper and Grace and Chloe and the others think Addison and Dana are though.”

Jill let that sink in. And tried to think of who her mom might have hung out with and talked about mom stuff with. She couldn’t come up with anyone. And that suddenly made Jill sad. She didn’t even have a child yet and she was already looking forward to time with other moms.

“Can I say something else?” Naomi asked.

“Please. This has all been really helpful.”

Naomi looked relieved. “Thank God you think so. Okay, look, I don’t know your mom. It sounds like she really did try to do it all on her own. But I’m wondering if, even though you want to be perfect for the penguins, you might consider forming a little support group for penguin caretakers. Like the group you’ll have with the moms.”

“Wow, that would be nice,” Jill said. “I’m usually the one that people come to when they have questions and, until now, I’ve always had answers. But I’d love to have a group I could talk to.” She shrugged. “But all the other programs are going well.”

“I was thinking it might be helpful to talk to someone who was dealing with the exact issue you are,” Naomi said. “As in these penguins. Here.”

“But no one else is dealing with these penguins.”

“Maybe they should.” Naomi reached out and squeezed Jill’s arm. “I’m saying that, you don’t mind when people cook for you and help with your laundry and you’re open to help with the baby. Why not let someone help you with the penguins? Don’t take it all on yourself. Get a penguin buddy. And, even if he…or she,” she added quickly, “… can’t actually make the penguins procreate, at least you’ll have someone to talk to about it.”

Jill let that sink in. It would be nice to bounce some ideas off of someone. Or maybe just complain to.

“And maybe you’ll relax a little and the penguins will pick up on that too and that will help,” Naomi went on.

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Really? You’ll consider letting someone help?” Naomi seemed surprised.

“Sure. Can we have wine? Like Addison and Dana do with their group?”

“Well, you can’t. At least for a few more months.”

“Dammit.” Jill’s hand went to her stomach. “That’s right.” She really wasn’t used to being pregnant. She hadn’t had a bit of morning sickness and she felt pretty normal overall. “Seriously. I definitely need people taking care of me. I almost forgot I was pregnant.”

“You’re fine. No one’s going to let you drink any alcohol, Jill.”

“Thank God.” She really did appreciate knowing she had people looking out for her. “Did you work with penguins on Zoey At the Zoo?” Jill asked.

“No. That was one thing we didn’t have,” Naomi said.

“That’s fine. If you can just come out and spend some time in the enclosure with them so they get used to you, then we can—”

“Oh, not me,” Naomi broke in, holding her hand up. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I was talking about Donovan.”

Jill was surprised. “Donovan said he wanted to work with the penguins?”

“Not in so many words. But…I’m sure he does. They’re animals, after all. I can’t imagine that he would say no.”

She had a point. “I can’t believe I could be working with Donovan Foster,” Jill said, shaking her head. “No offense,” she said quickly. “Zoey At the Zoo was a much bigger show than his, but his was more my speed.”

“No offense taken. I’ve seen every episode of his show,” Naomi said. She held her hand up again. “But do not confirm that for him.”

“So is this plan about the penguins a way for you to get him to stick around a little longer without confirming for him that you want him to?”

Naomi waved that away. “Donovan Foster is not what I’m looking for.”

“Uh huh.”

“But,” Naomi said, giving Jill an I’m-done-with-that-subject look. “I think he’s looking for something. Something that’s more…meaningful. Something with more purpose. He and Griffin have a complicated relationship and they’re starting to get closer. And Donovan’s moved around so much, that he’s never really put down roots. I just…” She shrugged. “I don’t know what he wants for sure, but if it’s roots and relationships, then Autre is a pretty amazing place to be. I think maybe giving it a little more time wouldn’t hurt him.”

That was for sure. Roots and relationships were unavoidable here, it seemed.

“Do you think Donovan would play Mine’s Bigger Than Yours with me?” Jill asked.

Naomi actually gave a soft snort. “I’m sure of it.”

Jill laughed. “I mean regarding things we’ve screwed up with animals we’ve taken care of.”

Naomi nodded. “Yeah. That too.”

Jill smiled as they turned and headed back for Ellie’s.

Strangely, she was actually looking forward to comparing things she’d screwed up with someone else.

* * *

“Those two penguins are never going to have chicks, Jill. You have to accept it.”

Jill looked at Donovan. “You’re right. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”

It had been a week since Naomi had convinced Jill to ask Donovan to help out with the penguins.

As if by magic, the day after Donovan stopped by the enclosure and spent time with the birds, one pair of penguins had actually built a nest. Jill had cried real tears of joy.

Five days later, they’d realized the penguins that were taking turns sitting on the eggs in the nest were both females. The eggs were infertile and weren’t going to hatch.

Donovan turned to face her, leaning against the rocks. “Yep. We have lesbian penguins.”

Yep.

Which didn’t bother her. Except that it was going to make it very difficult to have babies.

Jill looked at the two penguins who were standing next to the pond, tapping each other’s beaks affectionately.

Same sex couples were actually common among penguins and she wasn’t sure why that hadn’t occurred to her before as one of the reasons for a lack of baby penguins.

“So, we need to figure something out here,” she told Donovan. “Those two ladies pairing up means that two of our males are left without options.”

“You need to get more penguins,” Fiona said from beside Donovan.

She was in town checking on the camels, donkeys, and horses she’d brought last week. Because of her connections in the world with people who cared for exotic animals, Jill had asked if she’d stop over at the penguin enclosure. Asking for help and input was already getting easier.

It hadn’t yielded any results yet. But the asking was easier.

Yes, more penguins was an option.

“Or we send the males to another program where they have more females.” Jill glanced at her eight. She didn’t want to do that, but it was hardly fair to keep them here if there was only one interested adult female for three males. Penguins mated for life. Once Greta chose a mate, the other two would be out of luck.

“Come on. At least think about adding more penguins,” Donovan urged. “Penguins live in much bigger groups than this in the wild. Maybe they just don’t have enough friends. Besides, you have four more penguin names to use.”

She looked at him quickly. “You know what their names are from?”

“Come on. Of course I’ve read Mr. Popper’s Penguins.”

Jill grinned. She really liked Donovan Foster.

“You know, the small group could be a part of their general depression and why the straight pair hasn’t mated yet,” Fiona said. “He’s right that having a larger rookery could make a difference.”

“Naomi thinks they might be depressed too,” Jill mused, watching the two juvenile penguins dive into the pond. They wouldn’t be mature enough to mate for another year.

“Does she?” Donovan straightened slightly. “What else did Naomi say?”

That she’d been a world-famous actress at one time. But Jill didn’t know who knew that secret and she wasn’t about to betray her new friend’s confidence. “That my stress might be rubbing off on the penguins and that I need a friend to help me brainstorm and to complain to when things don’t go well,” she said honestly.

He grinned. “Well, you’ve got one and a half.”

“Am I the half?” Fiona asked.

“Yep.”

“Because I’m short?”

“Because you’re not here all the time,” Donovan said, looping an arm around her shoulder.

Fiona only came up to his chest.

“And because you’re short,” he added.

She stuck her tongue out at him, but said, “I’ll admit, if these birds need some positivity and enthusiasm, he’s the guy.”

That was for sure. If anyone could be the balance to Jill’s anxiety, it would be Donovan.

“I think having you spend more time with them would be great, if you’re willing. And I’m up for any ideas you have.”

“You mean besides getting more penguins or shipping the two males off to someone else?”

“Both of those things are on the table,” she admitted. “I have to at least consider sending those two somewhere they’ll be better off.”

“Fine. But could we start with two more females first? Just two more. That’s not a huge commitment but we could see if we can make things better before we give up.”

“How about we get the one straight pair we have to have some chicks?” Jill said. “Let’s do that and then talk about what’s next.”

“Okay,” Donovan agreed. “Fair enough.” He looked at the penguins. “We could read to them. Or show them movies or something.”

“Movies?” Jill asked. “Seriously?”

“Like porn? To get their libidos going?” Fiona asked.

Donovan laughed. “I was thinking films with ocean sounds like they’d hear in nature. Or hell, even cartoons. More for enrichment and stimulation. But hey, I’m open-minded.”

Jill shook her head. This was what her career had come down to. Planning raunchy movie nights to try to get a bunch of penguins laid.

“Sure, let’s just project porn up on the side of the penguin enclosure here in sweet little Autre, Louisiana,” Fiona said. “That definitely won’t bother anyone.”

Donovan chuckled. “Sweet little Autre, Louisiana? You haven’t been here long enough. Or hanging out with enough of the locals.” Then he leaned in. “Or are you thinking about a specific local who that would bother a lot?”

“Definitely. That man is an uptight, prudish rule-follower.” Fiona fanned her face. “And oh do I want to rile him up.”

“Who?” Jill asked, looking back and forth from Donovan to Fiona.

Donovan chuckled. “Knox.”

“The city manager?”

“Yep.”

She looked at Fiona. “Wow. You seem like total opposites.”

“We are. Total.”

“You think Charlie would want to sell tickets to our porno movie night?” Donovan asked. “We could have the kids’ movie night down with the baby goats and adult movie night up here with the penguins.” He grinned.

“I just hope Charlie will call it Porn with the Penguins,” Fiona said. “And not Penguin Porn, because that sounds like a whole different thing.”

They all laughed.

Donovan started toward the parking area. “Okay, serious idea that we can implement right now.”

“I’m listening,” Jill told him, falling into step beside him with Fiona on her other side.

“Penguin Parade,” Donovan said.

“A penguin parade?” Jill repeated. “What do you mean?”

“We take them on a walk around the animal park. Let them see something new. Interact with some other animals. Stimulate them.”

Jill was already shaking her head though. “I don’t know. Part of the program is to keep their environment controlled.”

“Well, babe…,” Donovan said.

And yes, she made a note of the fact that Donovan Foster had called her “babe”.

“This controlled environment thing isn’t workin’.”

Jill blew out a breath. He was right. Obviously.

“And you think taking them on a walk will help?”

“Shake things up. It’s an enrichment activity that lots of other places have used.”

“What if that makes things worse?” But she frowned even as she said it.

“Can you have fewer chicks than zero?”

Jill ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah, okay.”

“I mean, you have kept them pretty solitary and quiet and undisturbed,” Fiona said, nodding as she considered Donovan’s suggestion. “And it sounds like A.J. did the same. Maybe they’re bored. Maybe they need a little excitement.”

Jill looked back at her eight feathered charges. She had to admit that her first instinct was to say no to taking the penguins out of their safe haven and potentially rattling them. But at this point she was willing to try anything.

“Okay, I’m game. What do you think this looks like?”

“I’d say two or three of us walking with them right down this path, keeping them together and out of trouble,” Donovan said. “We’ll walk them down to see Slothcrates and Larry, Curly, and Mo. And the red pandas. They can look but won’t get up real close.”

“Yeah, we’ll shut the rest of the petting zoo down to visitors during that time,” Fiona said. “It’ll only be an hour or so. We’ll do it during the week, mid-afternoon, while the kids are still in school since we get busier after that.”

“Okay, let’s give it a try. Again, it’s not like they could get less interested in being parents,” Jill said.

And she was going to quit thinking about how ironic it was that, while she had been trying to get three penguins pregnant, she’d managed to get herself knocked up instead.

“Speak of the big, hot, I-want-to-do-all-kinds-of-naughty-things-to-him devil,” Fiona said, as they passed Slothcrates’s enclosure.

Jill glanced at Fiona. “What?”

“Knox is here.” Fiona lifted a hand and waved.

Jill looked toward the parking area. Sure enough, Knox was leaning against the side of Fiona’s huge, grape-purple truck.

“I’m still surprised by you being into him,” Jill said. “You seem so different.”

“We are. But two matches side by side are just two matches. Gasoline poured on more gasoline…nothing happens. But you put a match to gasoline? That’s how you get heat.”

Jill’s eyes widened. “A lot more than just ‘heat’.”

Fiona grinned. “Right?” She picked up her pace down the walkway.

Jill followed. She wanted to see this suddenly.

“Hey, Fritz,” Fiona said to Knox as she drew close.

“Nope,” he told her, pushing away from her truck and stretching to his full height.

He was a very big guy. He was an inch taller than Zeke and definitely wider through the shoulders.

“His first initial is ‘F’ but he won’t tell anyone what it stands for,” Fiona told Jill. She tucked her hands in her back pockets and peered up at Knox. “But I’m going to get it out of him someday.”

Knox rolled his eyes. “I’m here about the donkeys.”

Fiona smiled. “You met them?”

“Yes. All five of them,” Knox said.

“Aren’t they sweet?”

“Not the word I was looking for. I also noticed both camels.”

“And the two horses, I presume.”

“Why are you annoyed about those?” Jill asked. “Donkeys and camels and horses should get along fine with the alpacas and—”

“I’m not annoyed,” Knox said.

Fiona looked surprised. “Oh. Damn.”

He almost smiled. “Donkeys, camels, and horses don’t even need any special licensing in Louisiana.”

“We’ve done all the paperwork for everything else,” Fiona said. “Every animal I’ve brought to Autre is obtained legally and fully licensed. And they’re doing great here. They’re happy and well cared for and—”

“Causing an increase in traffic which is causing more congestion and tearing up the roads not to mention the increased number of people who are generating more litter and, even when they do manage to get stuff in the trashcans, they’re filling them up a lot faster,” Knox said.

“We’ve put up signage and enlisted the help of the church youth group to do garbage clean-up once a week and all the waste from the animal park is recycled or composted.”

“We?” Knox asked her, instead of commenting on her solutions.

Fiona frowned. Then nodded. “Yeah. We.”

“Your park is in Florida.”

“My other park is in Florida.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “I see.”

Fiona lifted her chin. “Good.”

Jill looked back and forth between them. Wow. She wasn’t so sure they needed a match or gasoline. There were sparks all over. Even while they were talking about traffic and composting.

“If you’re not annoyed by the new animals and you’re not here about paperwork, why are you here?” Fiona asked.

“Tell me about the new animals.”

“What about them?”

“Why are they here?”

“Why not?”

“Fi,” Knox said.

Fiona’s eyes widened at the use of the short form of her name. “What?” Her voice was softer.

“Tell me about the animals and why you brought them here.”

“Fine. We…rescued them.”

“You and Colin?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s Colin?” Jill asked.

“Her boyfriend.”

“My friend.”

They spoke at the same time. And Jill noted that their description of Colin was different. In an important way.

“And business partner,” Fiona added.

Knox didn’t say anything to that. But he was watching Fiona intently.

“Anyway, yes, Colin and I rescued them. We got a call about a farm where the animals were being neglected and abused. The cops went in, but they took us along to actually take care of the animals.”

“You do that a lot,” Knox said. It wasn’t a question.

But Fiona narrowed her eyes. “You looked into me.”

“Of course, I did. Long before there were camels here.”

She pulled in a breath, but finally said, “Yeah. We do it a lot.”

“You don’t run an animal park. You run an animal sanctuary.”

“It’s both. We have a few cool animals that people come to see and learn about. Like our giraffes. Those ticket sales help us support the ones that need a sanctuary instead.”

“And you brought these animals here instead of keeping them yourself?”

“We can’t keep them all. Unfortunately, there is always a need to recruit new places that will take in rescued animals. And we actually rescued these here in Louisiana.” Fiona put her hands on her hips. “Some of the people I work with in Florida let some people in Louisiana know that I had a connection to a place that could be a new sanctuary.”

“Fortunate that they’d already built a barn and big pen for the zebra Zeke wants so much.”

Fiona smiled. “It was really serendipitous that he’d already built the pen and barn, wasn’t it?”

Knox studied her. Finally he asked, “Do the Landrys know you’re turning their animal park into a sanctuary?”

She smiled. “Yeah. I mean, I did also bring them flamingos and they’re just for fun. But”—her voice softened—“these people were on the path already. I just nudged them a little.”

“Why them?”

“They’ve got the space and the resources. And the hearts.”

Knox nodded. “I agree.”

“You just think it’s good because the sanctuary animals won’t be on display so they won’t cause increased traffic and trash.”

He didn’t deny it. Instead, he pulled the driver’s side of her truck open. “Can we….talk?”

Jill and Fiona both arched brows.

“Talk?” Fiona repeated.

“Yeah. I’d like to talk.”

“About?”

“About the animals you’ve rescued.”

“The donkeys and camels?”

He gestured toward her truck. “All of ’em.”

“All of them? All the animals we’ve rescued? It’s been a lot.”

“Good thing you like to talk.”

“I like to do a lot of things. Especially with big, hot, growly men.”

“Is eating ice cream one of those things?”

She paused, clearly surprised. Then grinned. “It is.”

“Then get in the truck.”

Fiona looked at Jill. “I guess I’m going out for ice cream.”

Yeah, Jill wasn’t so sure that was what she was going out for.

She watched Knox help Fiona up behind the wheel, then round the huge purple vehicle and climb up on the passenger side.

As they drove off, she thought back to eating ice cream with Zeke.

And she suddenly wanted more.

And she wanted more of whatever was going on between Knox and Fiona too.

* * *

Jill knocked on Zeke’s door two hours later.

“You really have to stop knocking, cher,” he told her when he answered.

“I have something to ask you,” Jill told him.

Zeke had something to ask her too. Actually, a number of somethings. Did she want to spend the night with him, how was she feeling, was she allergic to anything besides strawberries, was the strawberry allergy genetic and would their baby have it, did she like the name Magnolia, had she really liked the crawfish or had she just been faking it for Ellie’s sake, and about a million other things.

Instead, he tucked his hands into his back pockets and just waited.

“I’m going back to Kansas. I’m leaving tomorrow. I want to tell my friends and family about the baby.”

He looked at her with surprise. “That’s great.”

It really was. If she was going to tell the people in her life about the baby, then she must’ve fully come to terms with moving forward. Maybe she was going to ask him to go with her. He mentally went over his projects for the next few days and decided that he could definitely rearrange and go along.

“So I wanted to ask if you would take care of the penguins for me.”

Okay, he definitely had not been expecting that.

“Really? Are you sure? Why not Griffin or Tori or Donovan?”

“I will definitely let them all know and maybe have them check in, but the penguins really just need someone to show up and feed them and talk to them and hang out. Donovan will definitely be spending time up there. But they all have other stuff going on. Not that you don’t,” she said quickly. “I know you do. And this is kind of a lot. You don’t have to spend all day there, like I do.”

“It’s not too much to ask. This is what we do. We help each other out.”

“It would mean a lot to me. I guess…” She took a deep breath. “I know that everyone else understands that the penguins are important and I know they would take good care of them, but there’s something about you that’s different. I feel like you…”

He stepped forward. “I’ll take better care of them because I’ll be doing it for you. Not just because I like you and respect you and admire what you’re doing and want to support you like they all would, but because I’m in love with you.”

Her eyes went wide and she sucked in a little breath.

He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “Are you really shocked?”

She wet her lips, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s why you asked me. Maybe you hadn’t put it in those words in your head, but you understand that I feel differently about you than they all do. We’re not just neighbors and we’re not just friends with benefits, and we’re not just two people who accidentally got pregnant together. I will take better care of these penguins than anyone else but you. Because for me it’s about more than the penguins. It’s about you.”

She was pressing her lips together now. But she finally said, “Yeah, I guess that’s it.”

“I’m glad you realize that.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.”

“Because that means your penguins are in good hands?”

“That…” She smiled up at him. “And because it makes how I feel about you make more sense. I love you too, Zeke.”

He was amazed by the surge of pleasure and desire that went through him hearing her say that.

He knew that Donovan and Fiona were helping her with the penguins more than he could. He knew that his grandmother had given her advice that had somehow calmed her down about the pregnancy in a way that he couldn’t. He knew that Dana and Addison had invited her into their mom group. Even his brother had given her jelly she could eat when he’d given her jelly that would’ve caused an allergic reaction.

But none of that mattered. It was okay for those other people to help her with things he couldn’t. Because no one would love her the way he did, and it was because of him that she had those people in her life.

He knew that Jill had spent the last few years in Omaha living a fairly solitary life. He knew she’d done it by choice. But he loved that she was now not only living but appreciating a life where she had people who would help her out and who she could depend on.

She could have her penguins, her amazing career saving the planet, along with people who would have her back, who would be there when she needed them, and a guy who would love her, exactly the way she needed to be loved.

“You know, I’m going to let you make this call, but if you ever want to be like the penguins and mate for life, I’m right next door.”

She smiled up at him. “I’ve been thinking about that. I think that could be a really great idea.”

“Yeah?”

“I like your shower better than mine. And I mean, you do have a refrigerator and washer and dryer.”

He laughed. “That’s true.”

“But I was thinking we could keep my house too, and you could finish it, and we could use it for when people come to visit. I mean, I have friends and family who would love to come to Autre and do the swamp boat tours and see the animal park.

“And it seems like there’s an awful lot of people here who come from somewhere else originally, and just happened to land in Autre for a little bit and then fell in love. Tori and Paige both have family back in Iowa, Juliet’s family is in Virginia, Bailey is from Minnesota. It wouldn’t be so bad to keep the house as a family house.”

Zeke’s heart squeezed hard. “A family house.”

“All those people will come down here to visit and after about ten minutes with the Landrys will be considered family, right?”

“Absolutely right.”

Jill smiled. “So I’m going to head to Kansas and tell everybody the news and then invite them down to meet everyone.”

“You know, you’re making me really glad I knocked you up.”

She smiled, her heart swelling. “You were already glad about that. I saw how emotional you got watching all those kids at Ellie’s and I see you when you watch Josh with Ella.”

He nodded. “I was thinking about our kid growing up with Tori and Josh’s. And I know my other cousins are going to start having kids. I know Jordan and Fletcher are already trying.”

Jill’s eyes widened. “Jordan and Fletcher want to have a baby?”

“Yep. Jordan’s always wanted to be a mom. They’ll probably have six.”

“Oh my gosh, do they want ours? I mean, that keeps the baby in the family, and—”

“That’s not funny,” Zeke said. “It’s not a casserole dish that you just pass around to family members.”

Jill laughed and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist, and giving him a hug. “I don’t know about that. Your grandma and I had a long talk and it sounds like the kids in the family did get passed around to different relatives all the time. A weekend here, an overnight there. Don’t think that I’m not going to take everybody up on wanting to borrow ours whenever they want.”

Zeke wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her. “Okay, fair enough. At least that way the kid will have a chance to eat something other than peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese.”