Flipping Love You by Erin Nicholas

Epilogue

Four months later…

Zeke's phone vibrated in his pocket and he shifted the pouch in his arms to his left side to reach for it.

It was Jill. And it was a video call.

"Dammit."

That wasn’t, of course, how he generally felt about a call from his fiancée, but he didn’t want her to know that he was running around outside as a hurricane was approaching.

He looked around. Ellie's was the only place he could duck into to take the call. It was where he’d been headed in the first place so he started for the door. But once he answered the call inside, where nearly half the town was gathered, it was going to be hard to hide that something was up.

Of course, the sheets of torrential rain and nearly forty-mile-per-hour wind outside were pretty tough to ignore too.

He yanked the door open, slid the hood of his rain jacket off his head, and swiped the screen to connect the call.

He smiled at the love of his life. “Hey, cher. How was your meeting?”

Was he trying to distract her from the rivulets of water running down his face and the noise of the crowd behind him bringing supplies and people in from all over town?

He ran his hand over his face and cradled the pouch he held closer to his chest. Yes, he definitely was.

But he also absolutely wanted to know about how her meeting in Denver had gone. He was so grateful her doctor had cleared her to fly on the private plane to Colorado even though she was past the sixth month of her pregnancy. She was coasting through the pregnancy. She hadn’t had a bit of morning sickness or even a backache so far. Her doctor didn’t feel there was any reason to worry about the travel. And, as he’d told Jill at her checkup two days ago, they had fabulous OBs in Denver if she did need anything.

So, she was several states away as Hurricane Clare shifted course and edged up into Louisiana a bit rather than just blowing by to Alabama the way she’d been expected to. Which was the one bright spot in this whole thing. Having Jill and the baby far from this chaos was awesome in his opinion.

Jill’s face brightened. "Oh, it went so well. Not only are we going to add ten more penguins but one of the pairs has already had chicks twice. And Ken has established a very healthy trust that goes along with the birds. It's going to be amazing."

Ken was another of the private investors who’d joined the penguin protection program but had realized that he’d rather Jill take his portion over as well. He’d heard from William, the first to ask Jill to add his penguins to her collection, how well Jill’s expanded rookery was doing and he’d called two weeks ago.

"I'm not surprised,” Zeke said. “You're absolutely the person who should be taking care of all of the penguins."

Zeke’s heart swelled with love and pride. Jill was not only glowing because of her pregnancy, which had been one of the easiest Ellie said she'd ever seen. She was also absolutely over the moon with her growing waddle of penguins. Ever since they'd added the ten penguins from Phoenix, the original eight had perked up and been happier and healthier than ever.

There had actually been a very successful pairing between Greta and Ferdinand. Of course, Donovan insisted that Greta had been impressed by Ferdinand’s big adventure and bravery when faced with three alligators and that’s what had sealed the deal.

And sure enough, Columbus and Magellan had both found girlfriends. The first four penguin chicks born in Autre had hatched a month ago and there were three more on the way.

"Well, thank you,” Jill said. “And thank you for the shoes.”

He grinned. “You needed them then?”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. And you put them in the perfect place.”

He’d tucked her dress shoes into the leather bag she packed with all of her files, including information and stats on the penguins currently on-site in Autre, plus her plans for the future of her program and how it differed from the program A.J. had been a part of. He’d figured if she got to the meeting and had forgotten her shoes, that was the perfect place to put a back-up pair.

Then Jill peered closer at her screen. “Are you at Ellie's? Why are there so many people there? Are you all having a party?"

“Um, yeah. Kind of.”

“So hurricane parties are a thing in Autre, huh?”

They were. For sure. He’d been to several really fun ones.

And he was busted. “Uh…so you know.”

“That Hurricane Clare is estimated to hit about two hundred miles east of Autre and that you guys should be taking precautions and preparing? Yes. I do have a weather app and the internet,” she said. “Plus my pilot told me we won’t be taking off tonight because we won’t be able to land in Autre.”

“I thought you weren’t comin’ home until Thursday.” Which was two days from now.

“We got everything ironed out quickly and I thought I’d surprise you.” She lifted a forkful of something to her mouth and took a bite. She chewed, swallowed, then asked, "So is this going to be a thing? Chaos is going to erupt every time I leave town?”

She was taking this in stride. Zeke was amazed. And proud. She’d definitely learned to roll with things. An absolute necessity when living with the Landrys.

“In fairness, I think there’s plenty of chaos when you’re here in Autre too,” Zeke said with a grin. “I mean, things got pretty crazy two nights ago.”

“Well, sure,” Jill said, laughing. “But we’d just told everyone that we were having twins. We expected that to result in a lot of emotion.”

Twins. He still couldn’t believe it. He and Jill had, of course, known for weeks but they’d told the whole family the other night. And yeah, it had gotten crazy. Good crazy. Happy crazy. Loving crazy.

“So, not hurricane chaos, but yeah, there’s always going to be some crazy down here,” Zeke said. “I’m glad you’re learning to roll with it.”

Jill sat back and put her hand on her big belly. "And thankfully these babies are your kids. They are completely laid back. I sleep well, I can eat whatever I want and don’t get sick or heartburn or anything. We are all three absolutely fine." Jill lifted another forkful of food to her lips.

Zeke grinned. He’d worried at first that adding a pregnancy on to everything else Jill had going on would ratchet up her stress levels, but it really did seem that she’d become more relaxed as the pregnancy had progressed. "Where are you?" he asked.

Jill swallowed and wiped her mouth. "I'm still at Ken’s place. He and his wife offered me a room for the night when he heard about the storm. I mean, his house does have twelve bedrooms and nine baths, so it’s not like I’m putting anyone out.” She grinned. “I am now eating some of the most delicious five cheese and spinach ravioli I've ever tasted in my life with homemade French baguettes and a spinach, beet, and goat cheese salad that's to die for."

Zeke laughed out loud. Jill's appetite had increased dramatically and her palate had absolutely expanded beyond yogurt and peanut butter.

“Beets though? Yuck,” he said.

“They’re really not so bad. Plus they’re making me feel less guilty about the chocolate silk pie I’m going to have for dessert.”

They didn't know if they were having girls or boys or one of each yet, but he was putting his money on at least one boy. Jill was eating like a Landry boy at least, that was for sure.

"So you're fine," he said.

"I'm totally fine. But I am worried about all of you."

Zeke felt relief wash over him. They had weathered hurricanes and tropical storms numerous times. It was always a bit of a cause for concern, of course. They had to be prepared and none of them took the storms lightly. But they were out of the path of the most serious part of the storm and they had plenty of supplies and people to take care of whatever happened.

Now, though, they had a number of animals that they also had to protect and care for in the midst of the storm. But having Jill safe and sound miles and miles from the storm was making it easier for him to concentrate on the work that needed to be done.

"Been through this before, cher," he assured her.

"Before you had penguins, though."

"I know. I just came from there. They're all inside and that penguin house is made of concrete and steel. They’ve got fresh water and we have generators hooked up to the freezers so the fish will stay frozen even if the power goes out. I’ll be over to check on them again as soon as the worst blows over. As for people, we’re all gonna huddle together right here. Again, plenty of water and food and generators.”

"What about the other animals?" Jill asked.

"They’re all in shelters with food and water. Even if we can’t get shipments in for a few days, we’re fine on supplies. We went around and took down all the signage and posts and chairs and tables and anything else that might get blown around and cause damage, so the park is pretty bare. We secured all the windows and doors. And now we just have to wait it out."

Jill nodded, seemingly reassured. "What about the eggs?”

“Well.” That was the one thing that they’d really had to improvise on. He held the little pouch that he'd been carrying up to the screen. "I’ve got the eggs."

Jill stared. "You're carrying the penguin eggs around with you?"

"The penguins are kind of riled up. They were walking around the penguin house making a bunch of noise. They can probably sense the storm and they were very offended that we made them go inside and they don’t really want to be cooped up in there. I tried to reassemble one of the nests inside, but they didn’t even go look at it. I tried putting the eggs in a blanket, but they completely ignored that too. I asked Donovan what to do and he said we should put them in a pouch and keep them with one of us, so that they were safe and tended and stay warm." He shrugged. “He said I might have to be the surrogate now. Like when the kids have to carry around a bag of flour and pretend it’s a baby in health class? I might just have to keep them with me all the time.”

“And you’d be willing to do that?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“You don’t have to. We can take turns.”

“We’ll figure it out.” He didn’t mind, actually. But it would definitely make it difficult to put up drywall and to climb up on roofs for a while.

“Is that a…lunch bag?” Jill asked.

He nodded. “It’s one of those insulated lunch bags. I use it to take food with me to job sites. I lined it with an old t-shirt. It’s really soft and keeps them nestled in there so they don’t get jostled around.”

Jill slowly shook her head back and forth. "I really love you, Zeke."

He grinned. "I really love you too." He paused. “This might not work, right?”

She lifted a shoulder. “It might not. But,” she added, “it’s the best we can do. We’ll deal with whatever turns out.”

Zeke felt his heart swell again. She’d come a long way from the all-about-the-penguins perfectionist he’d first flipped over. She was getting a lot better at understanding that what they were doing was perfect simply because they were doing it out of love.

"Can I talk to Donovan?" Jill asked.

The last few months, Donovan had become her right-hand man taking care of the penguins. Zeke appreciated the hell out of the guy. He had a way of balancing Jill. Zeke was able to calm her down when she got worked up and worried, but Donovan had a way of helping her be more creative and think outside the box.

"He isn't here right this minute."

Jill frowned. "Shouldn't he be? It sounds like the storm is getting bad."

"He probably should be," Zeke admitted. "But he is out doing a rescue."

"He's what?"

But the question didn't come from Jill. Zeke pivoted. Then swore under his breath. Naomi had been walking behind him and overheard what he’d said about Donovan.

She came over. "Where's Donovan?"

"He's out doing a rescue. But he should be back soon. He's been gone for a while." Zeke grimaced. He probably shouldn't have said that last part.

"Where? What kind of rescue?" Naomi asked.

"Route twenty-four. Three bear cubs, I think."

"So he's out in the middle of a hurricane, trying to rescue baby bears?" Naomi asked.

"I think he got two of the three already. He’s trying to find the third now.”

Naomi lifted a brow.

Zeke relented and nodded. “Yeah. Basically. Except that this is not a hurricane, Naomi." He said that for her sake, and for Jill’s.

"Semantics. This is a really bad storm. With tons of wind and rain. And the guy’s from Kansas, Zeke. What does he know about hurricanes or tropical storms?"

"Hasn't he traveled the world? He's never been in a hurricane before?"

"Do you really think his TV producers would've put him out there in a hurricane? As far as I know he was always in these gorgeous places in perfect weather where everything always works out." Naomi scowled. "And who’s with him?" She looked around the room, as if doing an inventory of the people present.

"No…” Zeke realized too late that he should not say that Donovan had gone out alone.

Naomi planted her hands on her hips. "He's out there alone? In this storm? Trying to rescue baby bears?"

Zeke sighed. "Come on, Naomi, you know him. Of course he is."

She shook her head. "I can't believe you people let him do some of this stuff. Where's Griffin? How could he let his brother go out in this?"

"We all have our hands full here. Griffin is working on getting the other animals secure."

"Where's Michael?" Naomi asked of her brother, again looking around.

"Michael is the fire chief and a paramedic. He's doing what Zander's doing, as he should. They’re keeping people safe and secure," Zeke said. Zander, Michael, Knox, and other members of the community were going door-to-door, making sure residents were transported to safer places where they could shelter or at least had supplies for the night and were ready to hunker down.

"Naomi," Zeke said, gentle but firm. "You need to relax. Donovan is a professional. As soon as he grabs that third cub he'll be coming back up here."

"Except that he'll stay out there until he gets that cub. Because that bear’s life is more important to him than his own," Naomi said.

She started for the door. Zeke frowned.

"You know she's going after him, right?" Jill said from the phone.

Zeke looked down at her. "You're not going to tell me to stop her?"

"Actually, somebody should probably go after Donovan," Jill said. "If he's never been in a hurricane before he might not realize how fast this could get bad. And she's right, he's going to stay out there looking for the animal. Unless someone convinces him otherwise. Naomi is smart. She can handle this. And him.”

"Naomi's pretty light. I could easily grab her," Zeke mused.

"You have three penguin eggs that you need to not crack," Jill reminded him. "And I don't think you can stop Naomi. She seems determined to make sure Donovan is okay if no one else will."

"Yeah, what's that about?" Zeke asked.

"What that's about," Jill said with a soft smile, full of emotion, "is that we don't get to choose who we fall in love with.”

He gave her a heartfelt nod. “Thank God for that.”

* * *

“What in God’s name do you think you’re doing?”

Donovan wasn’t really surprised to hear Naomi LeClaire’s voice as he was dying. She was perfect angel material. Beautiful. Serene. Elegant. Calming and soothing.

And absolutely capable of making a man want to atone for all his past sins just to see her smile.

At the moment, however, she was definitely not smiling. In fact, she looked kind of pissed.

She stopped right next to him, staring down, her hands planted on her hips. “Get off the ground, Donovan,” she said.

Or rather she yelled. But that was because of the torrential downpour of rain battering the pavement—and them—and the howling wind. Probably.

“Have I drowned? Did something hit me in the head?” he asked.

“It better have, because if I drove out here to find you lying in the middle of the road in a hurricane on purpose, I’m going to hit you in the head,” she informed him.

He blew out a breath and sat up. “I’m doing it on purpose.” He held up a hand. “For a very good reason,” he added quickly.

“Yeah, bear cubs,” she said. “I heard. “You need to get your ass in the truck and get back to town.”

He had never heard Naomi yell. Or say ass. Or look mad.

This was…interesting.

He frowned up at her, having to squint because of the rain. This wasn’t a hurricane.

Yet.

“What are you doing out here? You should be back in town at Ellie’s with everyone else, where it’s safe.”

Crazy woman.

She gave him an oh-you-did-not-just-say-that look. “Get in the truck, Donovan.”

“There’s one more cub.”

“So you’re lying next to a dead bear trying to get the cub to come to you?”

That was exactly what he was doing. He noted, and loved, that Naomi was not squeamish about the bear carcass right behind him. “Yep.”

“You’re nuts, you know that?”

“I’ve heard that a time or two.” Or twelve. Or twenty.

Naomi crouched next to him. Her long black hair was in braids and the braids were gathered back and tied at the back of her head. The rain ran off her hair and her face, down her bare arms. The pale yellow tank top she wore was plastered to her body and her denim jeans were soaked, as were the black boots she wore. Yet she still managed to look completely polished and put together.

He’d never met a woman like her. He had no doubt that she really did think he was crazy. Yet here she was, in the middle of a not-quite-a-hurricane-but-definitely-not-just-a-rainstorm, trying to talk sense into him. And the strangest thing was, it was probably going to work.

Not too many people in his life had been successful in making him think twice about the things he did. But Naomi LeClaire had a way of making him take an extra second to ask is this a terrible idea? before he jumped into something. He’d only known her for ten months but he now had flares and duct tape in the glove box of his truck, bungee cords and a shovel in the back, and ibuprofen and hand sanitizer in the pockets of the utility vest he often wore when he was out working. And she hadn’t lectured him or told him to get any of it. The items had simply shown up in his truck and pockets at one point or another.

But he’d known they were from her.

And now she was yelling at him.

He should probably listen.

Of course, he hadn’t done that prior to coming out here in the storm and live-trapping two of the three black bear cubs. Nor had he done it before tromping around in the underbrush on either side of the road where he assumed the third cub was. Nor had he done it before deciding to lie down next to the bear’s dead mother’s body, hoping the bear would come back seeking safety or nourishment. But now that Naomi was here, he was definitely thinking that perhaps he shouldn’t be out here in the storm alone.

“Just a few more minutes. These cubs have been on their own a couple days. He’s gonna know to find shelter and food, but he’s young. He’s gonna come back to his mom. It’s bad enough that he’s out here alone. But with the storm, we may never find him again.”

“But—”

“Go look in the back of my truck,” he said.

She glanced at his truck, then back to him. Then blew out a breath and headed over to his big black Ford Raptor. The truck bed had a cover on it and she folded it back. Inside was a live trap with two black bear cubs that were about four months old.

She came back a couple minutes later. “Fine. Have you seen him at least?”

Donovan grinned. In addition to being gorgeous and a calming force and someone who took care of everyone around her—including him, for some reason—Naomi was also an animal lover.

She was damned near perfect as far as he could tell.

“Yeah, caught a glimpse. He ran off that way.” Donovan pointed to the west as he got to his feet.

“What happened to the mom?”

“Hit by a vehicle, it seems.”

“These poor babies.”

“I know.”

She met his gaze. “It’s really not safe out here for you either. At least you got two of the cubs. I know it’s heartbreaking to think about leaving him behind, but come on. Your safety is important too.”

Donovan couldn’t look away from her. A part of him recognized that of course she would say something like that. Most human beings would be pleading for another person to keep themselves safe in a storm like this. But honestly, Donovan wasn’t used to people worrying about his safety. Griffin, sure, but Donovan had worked his ass off to keep things from Griffin that would make his brother worry.

He hadn’t made tight friendships in college on purpose, and when he’d been shooting his original TV show and then more recently, his YouTube series, the risks he took and the dangerous situations he’d found himself in worked for ratings. It was incredibly rare for someone to tell him to be careful. This was nice.

And it didn’t hurt that she was incredibly beautiful. If you had to be fussed over, being fussed over by a gorgeous woman was definitely the way to go.

Still, there was an orphaned bear cub out here.

He looked around. “Fuck.”

He felt her hand on his shoulder. “I know. But you need to be safe too. And if something happens to you, who’s going to take care of the other two bears?”

Well, his brother, Griffin. Or Tori. Or Jill. Or one of several wildlife veterinarians at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

But instead of saying any of that, he nodded. “Okay.”

Because if something happened to him, then Naomi would have to get those two bear cubs back to town for care from another veterinarian. And suddenly he realized that she was out here risking herself in the storm because of him. If anything happened to her, he would hate himself.

“Hey, what are you doing out here by yourself?”

“I’m not by myself. I’m with you.”

“You didn’t have to come.”

“Someone did,” she said firmly. “And with everything going on in town, everybody else is crazy busy.”

She was definitely the type to just step up and do what needed done.

Damn. Suddenly, he needed to get her back to town. “Okay, let’s go.”

Once he got the cubs settled, maybe he could put Naomi in charge of watching over them and he could sneak out and come back down here.

“Donovan, there!” Naomi suddenly pointed off to the right.

He glanced over and, sure enough, saw a flash of black fur moving between the trees.

He took off without a word, jumping down the embankment and sliding about two feet before getting his boots under him. The bear cub was frightened, but also disoriented without his mom to lead him and definitely vulnerable to coyotes, bobcats, and other bears. It hadn’t gotten far from its mother’s body and Donovan knew it had been coming back to check in.

The poor little guy. Lost, lonely, and confused, and probably starving. As hard as he would work to rehabilitate the cub, at the moment, the animal’s condition would work in Donovan’s favor. The bear would be weak and that would make it much easier to sweep him up and get him into the truck with his brother and sister.

Donovan dodged around a tree and ducked under a branch just as the bear came around a bush. It stopped, sliding on the wet leaves, and dove under another bush, scampering up the hill. Swearing, Donovan slipped and then charged in that direction.

But he pulled up short as he came over the crest of the roadside ditch.

Naomi was holding the cub and talking to him softly, her shoulders hunched as if trying to keep the rain off of him.

Donovan felt a strange warmth in his chest. This woman was definitely an angel.

He strode toward them without a word and opened the back of the truck, helping her get the cub into the crate with his brother and sister. They huddled together at the back, giving him sad looks with their brown eyes. They were scared and weak, but they were safe now. He’d make sure of it.

He turned back to Naomi, not sure what to say but opening his mouth anyway.

She was already heading for her truck.

Right. Because they were in the middle of a major storm.

“You want to ride back with me?” he called over the wind and rain.

She paused with her hand on her door and shook her head. “I have to get the truck back.”

Yeah, that made sense. It was silly to leave it out here. But he had the urge to insist she stay with him.

It was his fault she was out here. He had no right to insist she do anything his way.

Dammit.

“Be safe,” he said.

He wasn’t sure the last time he’d told someone that. He took plenty of chances and didn’t need to be babysat. People calculated their own risks and rewards.

But suddenly, looking at Naomi, he felt protective. Coming out here after him was the first time he’d seen her do something that wasn’t completely safe and rational.

She was always composed and cool and seemingly unruffled. He’d seen her help her brother splint his finger with a popsicle stick and duct tape without even grimacing. She’d pulled both of those things out of her purse, by the way.

He’d seen her take a third cookie away from her nephew and replace it with a fork and simply point at a bowl of sweet potatoes. She hadn’t needed to say a word. Andre had sighed, but he hadn’t given even a peep of an argument.

He’d seen her get up from the table, disappear into Ellie’s kitchen and then reappear with a glass of milk, cross the room to a table of tourists, and hand the glass to a guy who’d bitten into a pepper way hotter than he was able to handle.

She just noticed things. Then fixed them. Made things better. Took care of things. And people.

Maybe she wasn’t an angel. She was more like a goddess.

Especially standing there in the rain, looking gorgeous and more competent than any single person he’d ever met, and like she didn’t need anyone or anything.

“Oh, if I get blown off the road and into the Gulf, I will absolutely appear to Gracie Trahan so she can give you a message from me,” Naomi called to him.

He laughed. And made a definite mental note. He’d learned that the sweet little blond girl he’d met a few days ago, who’d helped named the flamingos, saw ghosts. And he believed it.

He also believed this goddess would come back and give him a piece of her mind if he caused her untimely demise.

“Let’s definitely not have that happen,” he called back. “Grace doesn’t need to learn all those bad words at such a young age.”

Naomi shot him a grin and then climbed up into her truck. Donovan felt like he’d been punched in the gut. Damn, it was really too bad he was firmly in the friend zone with this woman.

They made their way back to Autre. He’d only been about five miles out of town, but those five miles in the wind and rain felt like fifty. When they finally pulled up next to the rehabilitation center that Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild had constructed, Donovan realized that he’d been tense during the entire drive in a way he hadn’t been going out to the bear rescue. And he knew it had everything to do with Naomi being in the other truck.

He quickly went around back to unload the bears and Naomi met him at the tailgate.

“You didn’t have to come over here with me.”

“You’ve got three bears and two hands. Figured you might need some help.” She took the other end of the crate.

When they got to the door, he yanked it open and she ducked inside as he struggled against the wind to shut the door behind them.

Finally it thudded shut, blocking out the storm.

The building was very basic, but Donovan loved it. It had everything he needed and it was the first time he’d felt like he really had a solid home base. He hadn’t been in one place with his wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work for this long…ever. He’d started traveling the country right out of college and had never stayed in one place more than a month or two. He’d been in Autre for nearly a year now.

The Landry boys had put the building up and it was incredibly sturdy, with a concrete floor, steel and wood walls, and a high ceiling. There were windows up high but most of the light came from electric lights positioned throughout the building.

There were pens and kennels of all sizes to house the various animals that he brought in for rehabilitation. Each one had a door that opened to an outside pen as well. Of course, tonight, all of those doors were not only closed but had been secured with additional plywood.

There were also some interior play and exercise rooms and he had an examination room and an office in the building as well.

He headed for the examination room first.

He was dripping all over the floor, as was Naomi. As soon as he set the crate of bears down, he tossed her a towel from one of the cupboards.

“I’ve got extra clothes here,” he said as he wiped his face and then ran the towel over his hair. “Never know when I’m going to get dirty or bloody or both.”

She smiled. “I’m sure that’s true.”

“Want a t-shirt? Maybe some shorts that have a drawstring would work? We do have a washer and dryer. We have to launder blankets and towels and rags all the time. We can throw our stuff in to dry.”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” she agreed.

He headed for the locker room they’d put in. Jason Young, country music’s biggest new star and a local boy, had made a huge donation to the park and the company had used some of it for this rehab facility. One of the things on Donovan’s wish list had been a shower. Again, working with injured and sick wildlife came with a lot of unexpected…dirt. And other things. Being able to wash off and change clothes was handy. He spent a lot of nights up here as well. It made him feel better to be close to the animals that needed more regular monitoring. So in addition to the shower, his office had a sofa, a coffeepot, and a microwave. He even had a rollaway bed he could pull out if he needed more than a nap on the couch. The place actually seemed homey. And it gave him a place to go when he felt weird about crashing at his brother’s place with Griffin and his girlfriend, Charlie. The two lovebirds deserved their own space. They didn’t need Donovan in their way all the time.

He grabbed a t-shirt and jeans for himself and a t-shirt and athletic shorts for Naomi. They were going to be huge on her, but at least it was better than her own soaked clothes.

He changed before going back out, then pointed her in the direction of the locker room.

Sure enough, when she came back out, she was swimming in his shirt.

And then she said, “The shorts didn’t really work. Even with the drawstring.”

Donovan’s eyes dropped to her long legs. Her long, bare legs. “Wha—” He cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”

He knew exactly what she meant.

“But the shirt’s really long, so I’m good just like this.”

Like this. Meaning without shorts. Or, obviously, her jeans. Or anything else.

He was not going to ask if she was wearing panties.

He was not.

“How can I help?” she asked, moving in next to him as he examined the second cub for any abrasions, cuts, or other injuries.

She smelled amazing. How could she smell amazing? They’d been outside in a rainstorm. She’d been holding a bear. A muddy baby bear.

“Uh. Um…”

She looked up at him.

Her brown eyes, a warm chestnut color, were so gorgeous. He wanted to cup her face and just stare at her. He wanted to run his hands over her cheeks and down her neck and over her shoulders. Then he wanted to bring her up against him. He wanted to cup her gorgeous ass and press her close.

His gaze dropped to her mouth. He definitely wanted to taste her lips. He’d seen them berry colored, a pinkish color, and crimson red. And yeah, he was now realizing how obsessed he was with her lips. He’d been cataloging her lipstick shades. Apparently. But today she wasn’t wearing any lipstick or gloss. And God, he wanted to kiss her.

“Donovan?”

Did she sound breathless? Surely not.

“Yeah,” he finally managed. “Yeah. We, um, need to get them fed.”

He moved around the table to the cabinets, pulling out the ingredients to mix up the food—similar to baby cereal—they’d try first. If that didn’t work, they might have to bottle feed the cubs.

Two of the cubs took the cereal right away. The third, the one Naomi had caught, was less inclined.

“We’ll have to give him a bottle.”

“Can I do it?” she asked eagerly.

Donovan laughed. “Sure. Let’s get them settled in the pen.”

Donovan prepped the bottle and they moved the cubs to one of the pens in the main portion of the building. Naomi propped up against the wall and Donovan gave her a blanket, the bear, and the bottle. The cub gratefully started nursing.

She looked up at him. “Well, this is good, right?”

It was very good, because the blanket was covering her legs and the flash of white panties he’d seen when she’d gotten down on the floor.

“Yep. For now. He needs the calories. But we don’t want him getting dependent on us.”

She nodded and looked down at the animal. “You think they’ve been on their own for two days?”

“Probably about that.”

“Poor babies.”

He watched them for a moment. She looked so beautiful like this. She should look bedraggled, shouldn’t she? Just having been out in a rainstorm? Her hair still wet? Wearing his clothes while hers dried? But no. She looked soft and happy, if slightly amazed to be holding a baby bear. And…she wasn’t wearing a bra. The shirt was big on her and fell off one shoulder, but now with the bear on her lap, it pulled more tightly against her breasts and her nipples were obviously hard and there was nothing between them and the soft cotton.

Donovan cleared his throat. “I’ll be back with more supplies.”

He took his time, but nothing was going to actually work to get the image of the sexiest and most amazing woman he knew, holding a baby bear, out of his mind. So he returned with more blankets and bedding as well as a few toys five minutes later.

They were babies. They’d need things to explore and to play with as they gained strength and learned to climb and forage on their own.

They scampered to the far corner as he rolled the first car tire into the enclosure. It would provide something for them to explore and climb on.

Naomi got to her feet and Donovan didn’t look away fast enough to avoid the flash of panties he got.

Or maybe he didn’t really try that hard.

Naomi joined him as he made a few trips from the supply room, adding two more car tires for climbing, a plastic barrel with the bottom cut off for the cubs to explore, and a large plastic igloo they could turn into a den. He’d add some logs and branches as well when he could get back outside.

“So, now we need a plan here,” Naomi told him, surveying the pen. “There’s a big storm brewing and you need a plan for not just the bears, but all the other animals that you’re housing here. And for yourself.”

“I’ve only got a beaver and a wolf. And they’re doing fine right now. Plenty of supplies. I checked in and they’re restless, I’m sure sensing the storm, but they’re safe.”

“Okay, good. So now that these guys are settled, you can come up to Ellie’s.”

“I’ll stay here till the storm blows over. So I’m on site for anything.”

Naomi sighed. “Of course.”

“I stay here a lot,” he told her. “Part of the job is to be on site for any needs.”

“I know.”

“The rollaway bed I have here is actually pretty comfortable.”

“Did you actually sleep on the ground and camp out as much as they made it seem on your show?” she asked.

“Maybe not quite as much as they made it seem,” he admitted. “But I’ve definitely slept in lots of tents and on cots and in rundown cabins and in my truck many, many times.”

“Fine,” she said, handing him the empty bottle.

“Fine? That I stay out here?”

“You probably should. Unlike the other animals, your animals are hurt. You probably should be here in case something crazy happens and you can’t get back to them or if they get spooked and hurt themselves or something.”

“How bad is the storm supposed to be?”

“You’re from the Midwest, right? I assume you’ve been through tornadoes?”

“Several.”

“So kind of like that. But bigger. And with lots more water.”

He sighed. Tornadoes could make a hell of a mess.

“The eye of the storm is supposedly going to hit quite a bit east of here. But we could have a lot of water. And these damn storms can shift. So nothing’s for sure until it’s sure.”

“Okay, then let’s get you back up to your family.”

He turned and stepped out of the pen, holding it open for her. She stepped out and he closed it behind her, turning the latch.

She shook her head. “My family is fine. There’s lots of them and they’re all together. Plus they’re with the Landrys up at Ellie’s. They don’t need me. And Michael is out doing his fire chief and paramedic thing. If anyone needs anything medical, he’s the one they’re gonna need, not me.”

“But you’ve got duct tape and super glue in your purse,” he teased.

She gave him a half smile. “And Cora’s got all of her potions and creams in the back room.”

True enough. He leaned in. Yep, she definitely smelled amazing. “Are you offering to stay out here with me?”

Why would she do that?

“Donovan, the storm is no joke. But you are the greatest risk to your health and safety.”

He gave a soft laugh. That wasn’t entirely inaccurate. He was an adrenaline junkie. Unapologetic. He lived life hard and fully. He might die young, but he wasn’t gonna die with any regrets.

“You’re afraid I’m going to go back out there in this storm?”

“God only knows what idea you might get in your head,” she said with a nod.

“Well, I do have food and water out here. And blankets and all of that. Phone. Internet. As long as they don’t go out. But I’ve only got the one rollaway and the sofa.”

Naomi lifted her chin. “You don’t think I can handle a rollaway?”

“Naomi LeClaire, I think you can handle just about anything.”

She seemed pleased by that response.

Suddenly, a loud boom sounded overhead and the lights flickered and went off.

“Well…dammit,” Donovan said.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, swiping his thumb over the screen and lighting the immediate area with a soft glow.

“Guess that rules out watching any Netflix while we wait it out.”

“Guess so,” Naomi agreed.

“So, maybe—”

Naomi suddenly stepped close, took a hold of his shirt in both hands, and pulled him in. “I’m really glad you didn’t die out there rescuing those bears,” she said softly against his lips.

Then she kissed him.

Thank you so much for reading Flipping Love You! I hope you loved Zeke and Jill’s story!

Donovan and Naomi are up next in Sealed With A Kiss!

You might also find it fun to know that Jillian first appears in Diamonds and Dirt Roads, book one in the Billionaires in Blue Jeans series! You can get to know her friends Evan and Cori and her hometown of Bliss, Kansas in the Billionaires in Blue Jeans series, available now!

And I’ve got an extra special treat for Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Super Fans!

Have you ever wished you could travel to Autre? Take a swamp boat tour with the Boys of the Bayou? Have a drink at Ellie's and eavesdrop on the Landry's? Visit the petting zoo and feed Sugar or Hermione?

Well... I can't quite make that happen in real life BUT…

I've come up with a way to do it fictionally!!

I'm going to write someone into Sealed With A Kiss, book four!!

Yep, one of YOU will actually appear in the book, with the Landrys, in your choice of location AND, you can choose if you're bringing your family, your BFF, your sister, your mom, your book club friends ... whoever!

The chance to win this along with the opportunity to help name more Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild characters (like Jill and Zeke's twins and more animals!) is rightHERE!

And ends at 11:59 p.m. on July 4th, 2021!

So click NOW to get entered!

* * *

Sealed With A Kiss

What’s a girl to do when her celebrity crush needs her to be his fake girlfriend?

Keep her damned feelings to herself, of course.

Child TV star turned adult wallflower Naomi LeClaire has vowed never to return to the spotlight.

But when she’s stuck in a storm with Donovan Foster, the hot, charming, wild-life rescuing internet sensation, and she finally gives in and kisses him...and a few articles of clothing end up on the floor...suddenly her simple, quiet life is tossed upside down.

Especially after the paparazzi catches a heat-of-the-moment kiss. Now everyone assumes she's his girlfriend and, when she realizes that’s the best way to keep Donovan out of trouble, Naomi agrees to play along. Even though it puts her center stage with her private life in very public view. Again.

They’re a whirlwind of opposites-attract chemistry the fans love, but they'll surely blow over faster than a Gulf Coast hurricane. As long as they can keep straight what's real and what's just a once-in-a-lifetime fantasy.

Find out more at

ErinNicholas.com

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