Turn of the Pipes (A Redpoint One Romance) (10 page)

Finally she gave up, and Pookie went back to
his happy thrumming. Great, what was she supposed to do now? Go the
rest of the evening with a Mandian flying squirrel cuddled up on
her head?

An odd muffled noise had her turning to
Ignacio, only to find him trying to smother laughter, and failing
miserably. "Remind me to never let you name any of my
newts."

"Oh, you're a real help." Then she started
laughing, as well. It was too ridiculous not to. "If you'd told me
we were coming here, I could have warned you."

"Let me guess, another rescue?" He
asked.

"Of a sort. He was getting transported back to
his home world to be released and caught a virus. I'm one of the
volunteers who nursed him through. But, with the illness, he
couldn't go back home. He might carry it to the native population."
She reached up to give him another scratch. "So, his permanent home
is here in the refuge."

"Were you the one who gave the
name?"

"No, one of the other volunteers!" She said
quickly. Then grinned. "I wanted to name him 'Sunny.'"

"Not much more imaginative than Pookie." He
warded off her threat to throw a roll at him. "Okay, enough
laughing. How do we get him out?"

Rachel reached over to pick up her glass.
"We'll wait a few minutes. Sometimes he gets bored and will leave
on his own. It's feeding time anyway."

Only, Pookie was quite happy where he'd
landed. It made it hard to hold a conversation with Pookie
thrumming away along with the occasional chirping
commentary.

Ignacio didn't refill her glass when she
finally finished it. He took it and put it in the basket. "I'm
sorry, but I can't talk about newt reintroduction issues while the
guy is staring at me with those satisfied eyes making those noises.
I keep getting the feeling I should close a bedroom
door."

Rachel laughed. "It's nothing like that.
Pookie thinks I'm one of his moms coming to visit."

"Either way, Pookie needs to go play with his
kind and eat. How do we get him out of your hair without shaving
you." Ignacio said, clipping closed the flap of the basket. "I
should be giving you those looks, not him."

She almost collapsed into laughter again.
Ignacio blushed so deep she could see it in the dim light around
them. Poor guy. He'd been around only animals a little too
long.

"We'll go find Reggy."

"Ah, the gamekeeper." Ignacio packed up the
basket and reached down to help her up.

Rachel felt as though she should be careful at
how she walked in case the books on top of her head fell. Only,
this wasn't a posture exercise. Pookie wasn't going to go anywhere
until good and ready, and a good head-shake wasn't about to loosen
his grasp.

Ignacio flapped the blanket and folded it with
practiced ease. With the blanket over an arm and the basket in
hand, he motioned her to lead the way.

"I'm getting the feeling you picnic often,"
Rachel said, taking the path following the lake edge.

"When I get the chance. I prefer being out
here with the animals and scenery instead of cooped up in confining
spaces."

Rachel couldn't help asking, "By
yourself?"

"Usually. Sometimes with a few friends." He
took her arm as they started moving up an incline.
"Fishing?"

"Not really interested. I would prefer to
watch the flitch's fish."

When he started laughing she realized he'd
meant something else. Goodness, she was as bad as him. She really
needed to get away from the pipes of Redpoint One a bit more
often.

They found Reggie near the feeding huts for
some of the more shy animals. He took one look at her hair and
joined in the laughter. "Found you again, did he?"

"On a special night. Can you help get him
out?" Rachel asked.

"Tonight another charity dinner?" Reggie
rubbed the short gray beard. "I don't recall one happening
tonight."

"No, a private picnic."

"A picnic date? Ah, now that makes more sense.
Tonight is a good night for it. Come with me. Let's see if we can
lure him out." Reggie led the way to another hut filled with bins
clearly marked as feed for various animals.

"What happened the last time?" Ignacio asked
as he settled at a metal table next to Rachel.

"Charity dinner invaded by snuggly little
flying squirrels. What's to tell?" Rachel said, the thrumming near
her ear as strong as ever.

"Nice to see you again, Ignacio. Have new
inhabitants for the lake soon?" Reggie asked as he rifled through
several tubs on a shelf.

"No, not right now. All are slated to head
back to their home worlds," Ignacio said.

Reggie glanced over at him, frowning. "Can you
take out the basket? I don't want Pookie to get confused over
smells. People food should remain people food."

Ignacio started. "Right. I should have thought
about that. Be right back."

He gave her a squeeze on the arm and then
slipped back out the door. Rachel watched him go, sighing as she
propped her head up in her hands. "It's always
something."

"Pookie was just saying hello." Reggie pulled
a canister off a shelf and started making his way back to the
table.

"I'm not mad at Pookie. Pookie and I get along
great."

"Problems with the date?" He set the canister
on the table and grabbed a scoop and small bowl.

Rachel averted her eyes, knowing what the
canister held. She'd had a great dinner. She didn't want to spoil
it by looking at Pookie's dinner. "The date is going
fine."

"Uh huh. Right. And Pookie is a solar monkey."
Reggie took the bowl and waved it in the air next to Rachel's
ear.

A thin furry arm reached out, the flap of skin
it used for gliding waving in the air. Reggie pulled the bowl just
out of his reach, but Pookie wasn't ready to let go to go after it
yet.

"What's to tell? It's the first date. My first
dates are usually disasters," Rachel said. "Not that this one is.
So far so good, other than talking only about business."

Reggie shook the bowl again, eliciting another
attempted arm-grab. "You were hoping for something more personal?
Such as details about his wife?"

"Wife?" Rachel repeated. She hadn't read
anything about him being married in any of his research. Oh no, was
she now 'the other woman?'

"Dead wife." Reggy said.

"Dead wife?" Oh no. Did one of the newts off
her?

***

Ignacio left the building and found a bench to set the basket
and blanket down on. He should go right back in, but he found
himself reluctant to do so.

The humorous image of Rachel in her beautiful
golden dress with an adoring flying squirrel peeking out from the
curls of hair on the top of her head was irresistible. Both so
soft, in more than dress or fur. And much too familiar.

He'd found a woman who possessed a magic touch
with animals. Someone who loved animals on their own, without
faking it in an attempt to continue dating. Someone who appeared
honest and real in everything she did. Who honestly liked him and
what he did without hesitation.

He'd had that once, and lost it. With it came
the memories he'd tried so hard to suppress. Tried and obviously
failed.

With it, the charm of the evening disappeared.
A heaviness settled on his heart. He wasn't ready for any of this,
and it wasn't fair to Rachel.

"He's out," Rachel called out.

His cue to go back inside. To continue a date
his heart no longer wanted.

He forced himself to return, finding Rachel
still sitting at the bench with her hair down around her shoulders,
and a thrumming squirrel held in her arms and happily munching
large beetles from a cup on the counter in front of it.

The image flashed to that of someone else a
bit shorter with red hair, holding a rescued bird. He blinked
rapidly, the image so real. The image shifted back to that of
Rachel.

He couldn't say anything, although he knew he
should. The image was seared into his mind, making him incapable of
thinking or feeling anything other than deep pain.

"Operation Squirrel Escape accomplished," she
said with a grin.

"Hand him to me. I'll make sure he gets a good
feed before releasing him by his favorite tree." Reggy reached out
for him. "Off you go. Get a head start on a walk or something
before he decides to come looking for you for another
snuggle."

Ignacio thanked him while Rachel passed him
over. Even while eating, Pookie didn't want to let go.

Pookie. What a name for a male
squirrel.

"He's right. We should make a run for it.
Would you like a walk?" Rachel asked, joining him near the
door.

Right, a walk. A walk would be a good
past-time to follow a picnic. The paved walkways through the refuge
were well-lit and perfect for such an activity. His mind knew all
of it. His heart was another matter.

"Sorry about your hair," he said, finally
getting out a few words.

"No harm done. Despite the timing of his
hello, it was nice to see Pookie again," Rachel said. She pulled
her hair back and used one of the clips that had once kept the
loose bun in place to instead move her hair away from her
face.

They returned to the bench with the basket and
blanket. Ignacio picked them up, wondering what he should do now.
Had it been enough time for the date to safely end? Should he walk
a token amount around one of the smaller environmental
enclosures?

"Reggie told me a little of the consulting you
do for the refuge. You seem to be everywhere. I admire the
dedication," Rachel said.

"I'm needed." He pushed the blanked higher on
his arm as they headed back the way they'd come.

"Along with the newts. I'm amazed you have
time to sleep."

"I get by."

All the while images of another woman flashed
through his mind. What was wrong with him? Tied to the past, tied
to changing the future for animals unfortunate enough to be in the
way of human progress. For once it all felt so confining, but he
had no idea how to get out from the tangle.

"What direction?" Rachel asked in the
silence.

Happiness and humor no longer glowed from her
face. No touch of laughter touched her voice. Instead, she was
worried.

And, it was all his fault.

The short way, then. Then, time to end the
date. It had gone on long enough.

CHAPTER EIGHT

RACHEL TRIED TO remember exactly when the date
ended. All she knew was that a short time after fishing Pookie out
of her hair, they were back at the door of Ignacio's warehouse. How
did it happen so fast?

"Thank you for a lovely evening," Ignacio said
with a distracted smile.

His hair was no longer smoothly combed back
from the forehead. Instead, it stuck out in all directions from the
multiple times he'd recently run a hand through it. Distracted,
mono-syllable answers. No laughter.

All because of Pookie? Sure, he wasn't a newt,
but Pookie possessed his own charm.

Ignacio opened the door, and turned towards
her.

Her heart jumped. He was going to say
goodnight, go through the door, and she would never see him again.
She's had too many first dates end this way and knew the signs, but
she didn't want it to end on this note. This one meant more, she
could just feel it down to her toes.

Somewhere, it had gone wrong with the Pookie
fiasco. Or directly after? She must figure out how to get it back
on track before it was too late. But, how could she figure it all
out in only a few seconds, much less fix it? She still hadn't
figured out if she'd done to cause it.

"Hey, pal. Why back so early? I told you I
would watch the newts. By the way, Irvine just started hissing up a
storm. Does that mean something special?" A man around Ignacio's
age asked, poking his head out the door. He spotted her and gulped.
"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Please continue."