Page 46 of Tiger Queen

“You know he puts on a strong face,” I replied. “He’s struggling with this as much as we are. He’s just accepted what needs to be done.”

Jake glanced at me, then scoffed. “He sent you, didn’t he?”

“No.”

“Well, you must have just talked to him. Because it’s his words coming out of your mouth right now. He always knew how to get you to come clean up his mess.”

“That’s not fair.”

Jake stopped and turned to me. “What’s not fair is what we’re doing to dad’s zoo.”

“What do you suggest?” I felt David’s argument coming out of my mouth, but it felt like the truth so I didn’t stop it. “Dad bankrupted this place. We don’t have any other options. If you have a magical solution up your sleeve, I’m sure David would love to hear it.”

His jaw tightened. It made the veins in his neck bulge slightly. “Anything but this. That’s my solution.” He resumed walking.

I followed and said, “David’s right you know. You love sitting on the sideline and complaining without actually contributing.”

It was a harsh thing to say. It was the truth. I regretted it instantly.

But Jake kept walking and said, “You two are cozying up to Rachel.”

The comment caught me off guard. “She’s… It’s no big deal. She’s nice.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet she’s nice.”

“You should give her a chance,” I said. “You’d like her.”

“Hah!”

“I’m serious. She’s a lot like Lara. But better.”

“Better how?” he asked skeptically.

“She’s smarter,” I replied. “More driven. She has a better sense of humor.”

He grinned sideways at me. “She’s hotter, too.”

I found myself smiling with him. “Yeah. She’s hot alright.”

“She’s got the best lips I’ve ever seen,” he went on. “And the way her ass looks in those khaki shorts…”

For a moment it was like we were kids again. Back before everything had happened between us and we could walk through the zoo, chatting about the hot girl we had seen that day.

We reached the shed and I asked, “So are you going to give her a chance?”

“Hell no.”

I gave a start. “Why not?”

He hung the welding torch on the wall. “Because this is all temporary. David’s shitty plan is to dismantle the zoo. What happens in a few months when that’s over? Yeah, that’s right. David goes back to his shitty gyms in Richmond, you go back to work in Raleigh, and Rachel goes wherever the hell she wants. Any relationship with her has a time limit.”

He stared at me in the shed, silent. Finally he sighed. “Sorry to burst your bubble, baby brother. But you have a habit of falling head-over-heels for women like her. Forget about it. Let’s go get some dinner. What’d you make me?”

“King ranch casserole.”

“Hell yeah. You didn’t skimp on the tortillas and peppers on account of David’s stupid diet, did you?”

We laughed and joked about dinner on the way home, but my excitement about Rachel had been replaced with a sinking sense of dread.

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