Full Moon (19 page)

“If he was high on drugs, how the heck was
he able to find us in the dark woods?” I asked.

“I dunno. How’d Jesse find us, especially
when he was shot and bleeding all over the place?” she
retorted.

“Yeah, you’re right. That was weird.”

“I think there’s something Jesse’s not
telling us,” Julie said.

“Why were you invited to that party?” I
asked.

“I met Jed in town, and he was inviting all
the pretty girls. He said I could bring anyone I wanted to bring.
But there is something else I’ve been wondering.”

“What?”

“If Jesse’s such a great guy, why would he
hang out with guys like them in the first place?”

“I don’t know. And why won’t he go to the
hospital like a normal person?” I asked, trying to put two and two
together. “Anyone else would insist on going to the ER.”

“He’s either scared to death of needles or
he’s hiding something,” Julie said, then ripped the bandage off her
neck. “Speaking of hospitals, how does my battle wound look?”

“Not bad at all. There are just a couple
deeper spots where the glass must have nailed you.”

“I can’t believe my taste in men,” Julie
said. “Out of everyone in the party, I pick the one that oughtta be
locked up.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.”

“At least one of us lucked out.” She smiled.
“You got Jesse’s number, right?”

I smiled and held up my phone proudly. “Yep.
Mission accomplished.”

The door creaked open, and Julie’s mom
walked in. “Julie, where’s your truck?” she asked.

“I parked it in the garage after Taylor and
I washed it.”

“Honey, it’s gonna get dirty again around
here, no matter what you do. No sense in trying to keep it
spotless,” she said, smiling.

“I know, but I want it to look nice for as
long as possible.”

“You girls are up awfully early,” she
said.

“We pulled an all-nighter,” I said.

“Sounds like fun. I remember having girls’
nights like that. Did you paint your nails and—”

Julie grinned and nudged her mom playfully.
“Mom, I’m not twelve.”

She laughed. “Right. Pardon me for
forgetting that my little girl isn’t so little anymore. Anyway, I’m
making breakfast. How do pancakes sound?”

“That’s nice of you, Mom, but we’re kinda
beat. If you don’t mind, we’d kinda like to sleep for a few
hours.”

“Sure, but don’t sleep all day. I’ve got
some plans for us. I figured we can go to—”

“Mom,” Julie said, “we’re tired, and you
worked all night. Can we talk about the plans later?”

She smiled again. “You’re right. We could
all use a little shut-eye. Sweet dreams, you two.”

* * *

A while later, after a nice, long nap, I
peeked out the window, only to see Julie’s truck sitting in the
driveway, good as new. Even the back window had been
replaced.
That was so nice of Jesse,
I thought.

A few minutes later, a horn beeped,
indicating that my mom was there to pick me up.

“Thanks, Julie,” I said. “I gotta go, but
it’s been…interesting,” I said, smiling knowingly at her as I
grabbed my overnight bag and rushed out the door.

“Right,” she said. “It was a howling good
time. We’ll have to give it another shot sometime.”

We both laughed at her punny-ness as I
walked out the door.

Chapter 8

A few days passed, and I hadn’t heard from
or about Jesse. I was so worried about him that I couldn’t eat or
sleep. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, the anxiety
overwhelmed me. I tried calling him a few times, only to get no
answer.

When my phone finally rang with a call from
his number, I was ecstatic. “I’m recovering nicely,” he assured me.
“Don’t worry.”

I thanked him countless times for fixing
Julie’s truck, silently thanked God that he was okay, then hung up
the phone.

After that, we talked sporadically but
texted each other every day. I thought it was best to let him
recover at his own speed. I would have paid him a visit, but his
mother didn’t want anyone stopping by until he was fully
recuperated. “Doctor’s orders,” he joked, though it was technically
true.

* * *

Before I knew it, a month had passed by.

Jesse had a job at the zoo, and when he told
me they were hiring, I filled out an application, interviewed well,
and managed to land a part-time position. If nothing else, I had
all my dad’s lectures and all that Discovery Channel and Animal
Planet documentary knowledge to go on when it came to dealing with
animals—not to mention I’d survived a mountain lion attack and a
run-in with a huge pack of human-harassing wolves.

My first day of work at the zoo was also
Jesse’s first day to return after his injuries. He’d told everyone
that he had a “family emergency” to deal with, and nobody was the
wiser.

I smoothed out my brown, short-sleeved,
button-down shirt. It was part of my uniform and had the logo name
of the zoo and my name embroidered on it, and it looked kind of
cute for safari wear.

As I stood there trying to get a grip on my
new job responsibilities, Jesse walked into the room with an
adorable baby raccoon in his arms and a bottle of milk specially
made for the little creature. His shoulder-length hair was tied
back, and while I tried not to stare, I couldn’t help it; he was so
absolutely gorgeous that I was sure I’d never want to take a sick
day off of work. His uniform was the same as mine, but it looked so
much sexier on him. The material stretched across his broad chest
and across his muscles, not too tight but just perfect, revealing a
tribal tattoo around his bicep. I hadn’t seen it at the party under
his jacket, but I wanted to know what it meant, if anything. I
decided it best to leave that conversation for somewhere outside
the workplace.

“This is Herman,” Jesse said.

The little raccoon was furry and had a
bushy, ringed tail, as well as the blackest band of fur around his
eyes, just like a mask.

“He’s so cute!” I squealed.

“Yeah. We’re trying to rehabilitate the
little guy. The zoo receives hundreds of orphaned and injured wild
animals every year. We do our best to fix them all up and release
them back out into the wild as soon as we can so they don’t become
too dependent on humans or lose their natural survival instincts.
If you kneel down on the floor, you can feed him,” he invited.

“I don’t know, Jesse. I mean, I’ve never fed
a raccoon before. I’ve only fed Max.”

“It’s easy. I’ll start, and then you can
jump in.” He set the baby on the floor and held the bottle at a
downward angle.

The little raccoon stood on his legs and
gripped the bottle with its little paws, perhaps the most adorable
thing I’d ever seen—well, besides Jesse’s eyes and Max when he was
a puppy.

“Okay. Ready to take over?” he asked.

I gazed up at him and smiled. “Sure.”

He knelt behind me and touched my shoulder
as I fed the critter. “You’re doing good.”

The raccoon lapped away at the bottle with
its little pink tongue, but it was difficult for me to concentrate
on feeding Herman with Jesse’s hot breath raining down on the back
of my neck. Still, I tried to tune out the gorgeous creature behind
me and pay more attention to the cute one in front of me.

“Tilt it a little higher,” he said, touching
my hand.

His hand lingered on mine, and I felt a jolt
of electricity. I’d never felt such chemistry with anyone else
before. No words could describe it. My heart was racing like a
rabbit’s as his hand rested on top of mine.

Finally, he slowly lifted that scorching
hand away. “You’re a real pro,” he said, “and Herman likes
you.”

I smiled. “So…what else can you tell me
about the zoo?”

“Hmm. Well, we have 190 animals representing
80 species here, and there are all kinds of exhibits, special
events, and educational programs. If ya want, I’ll give you the
grand tour later.” 

After we fed the raccoon, Jesse took me to a
different room, where five ducklings were frolicking in a shallow,
heated pool, playing with a stuffed mama.

“What happened to their real mom?” I
whispered, as if the fuzzy yellow things could understand me and
might be offended.

“She was hit by a truck. Her four babies
were lost and confused, following around humans because they didn’t
know what else to do.” He paused to look down at the chirping
quintuplets, then continued, “We’re gonna get them big and strong,
then release them back into the wild.”

“Gee, Jesse, it’s amazing what you are all
doing here.”

Jesse picked a little fluffy chick up. It
was so touching to see that big, strong, muscular man holding a
defenseless little bird, and it melted my heart all over again.
“Shh. Don’t be afraid,” he told the baby. “I’m not gonna hurt
you.”

As he gently and sweetly patted the little
animal’s head, I saw a softer side to him, a side that showed that
he genuinely cared for the animals. I grinned from ear to ear as I
watched him place the little one down with its paddling brothers
and sisters.

As promised, Jesse did give me a grand tour.
He seemed to know everything about the place, and I enjoyed our
walk around the place.

At the aviary, an outdoor enclosure filled
with birds, he pointed. “One turkey vulture and two bald eagles
live here.”

“Ew! Sorry, but the turkey vulture isn’t as
pretty as her bald eagle friends,” I said.

His gaze shot up to the repulsive-looking
bird. “Maybe not in everyone’s eyes, but I named her Beauty
Queen.”

I laughed at the irony as I gazed up at
the large, dark brown bird with a red, bald head and neck like a
turkey’s
. “I’m sure she
appreciates you flirting with her,” I joked.

“She came to the zoo as a juvenile with a
broken wing,” Jesse said. “There were complications, and the vets
here weren’t able to save her wing, so we can’t release her. She’ll
be a permanent resident, and I’ve grown quite fond of her. You know
what they say.”

“What?”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” he
said with a smile. “She’s a sweet bird.”

“I’m gonna love working here,” I said.

“Yeah, I never get tired of it. I love my
job. It sure beats flipping burgers.”

“I can tell you’re passionate about it.”

He smiled sheepishly, obviously
uncomfortable taking compliments, even though he deserved a million
of them.

“These birds are so big,” I said, gazing up
at his feathered friends.

“Beauty Queen has a wingspan of about five
feet—at least the wing that’s still good.”

“She’s a vulture, right? I bet she’s got bad
breath after eating all that dead meat.”

“Maybe, but she can’t help what she was born
to eat. It’s just the way nature works. No one can help the card
we’re dealt. Just like us, these birds and all the animals in this
zoo and in those woods out there have to live and make do with what
their bodies want as a food source. Maybe she despises eating
carcasses, but she’s stuck with it. It’s eat or die.”

“Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t be so quick to
judge,” I said. “She probably thinks we’re gross for eating
pizza.”

He laughed. “I’m not that much older than
you, but I’ve learned it’s best not to judge anyone until you’ve
walked in their shoes—or flown in their feathers, as the case may
be.”

“I absolutely believe that. So anyway…what’s
next?”

“How about some lions and tigers and bears?”
he joked. “And…wolves?”

“Sorry, but I’ll pass on the wolves,” I
said, clutching my heart.

“Bad memories, eh?”

I let out a breath. “Yeah.”

“I’m so sorry about all of that.”

I bit my lip. “You know what? Let’s not
drudge up old memories. I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

“I agree. Let’s let bygones be bygones and
just…start over.”

“I think we deserve a clean slate.”

All of the sudden, the door opened, and in
walked a short redhead with her hair tied back in a ponytail. “Hey,
Jesse,” she said, “there’s a guided tour waiting for you.”

He looked at me, then back at her. “Taylor,
this is Jeanie, my best friend in Big Bear Lake. We’ve been through
a lot, and I don’t know what I’d do without her. She’ll show you
the ropes while I’m gone. See ya later,” he said and walked out the
door.

I grinned. “See ya.” As soon as he stepped
out of the door, I turned my attention to Jeanie. She had natural
red hair and beautiful blue eyes, though not nearly as beautiful as
his, for it would have been impossible for anyone to replicate
those gems. I sighed when I realized his best friend in the world
also had the perfect figure, with not an ounce of fat on her.

“So…how’s your first day treating you,
Taylor?” she asked, making it obvious that someone had already told
her my name.

“Great.”

Getting straight to the point, she blurted,
“I saw the way your eyes sparkled at Jesse before he left.”

I arched a brow but said nothing.

She continued, “It’s best to stay away from
him.”

I couldn’t believe she was marking her
territory already. “And why’s that?”

“He’s a player, that’s why. Jesse has dated
half the girls in this town.”

“Isn’t that what dating is all about, trying
to find the right person? I mean, I’ve dated lots of guys,
and—”

She shrugged. “Fine, honey. It’s your heart
that’ll get broken, not mine.”

I wasn’t sure what to stay. I wanted to tell
her to butt out because it was my chance to take, but instead, I
just kept my mouth shut.

She shot me a serious look. “Look, Jesse’s a
great friend to have, but if you step out of the friend zone, it
will go all to hell. Trust me. I know firsthand.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, assuming
she was just jealous.