Page 11 of Talk Birdie to Me

“Something wrong?” Geena lowered the camera again and turned away from Gary on his improvised perch. “Do you need to get him down or something?”

“No, you’re fine. Sorry.” He held up his phone to wave it in the air, then placed it back on the table face down. “Just not the news I’d been waiting for.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Lauren said.

Cody shrugged again. “I’ll read it later.”

He’d had a good feeling about his interview with the Phoenix Zoo. He’d let himself get used to the idea of that being his next destination.

But the formality of that first line squashed those good vibes.

He’d look at the reason later. If there was one.

Gary stared at him with a tilted head and his own curious expression. Almost like he knew something was going on with Cody.

Beep beep boop beep

That was new.

He hadn’t heard Gary make those noises before, and it reminded him of phone dialing noises. Probably mimicking someone the owner called a lot on speaker phone, Cody figured.

“I think I’ve got enough for now.” Geena studied the screen on the back of the camera. “The lighting’s not great in here, but I think I can edit them to look good enough for social media posts. He really is gorgeous.”

The bird puffed up as if he understood he was being complimented.

“Yeah, he is.” Cody realized they were about to leave, and a strange wave of uneasiness washed over him. It had been great to see Taylor again, but the unexpected surprise of Geena had also been nice. Maybe too nice. He scratched at the back of his neck, and said, “If you need more or those don’t turn out as great as you thought, you’re more than welcome to come back for more.”

Come back for more.

That sounded like he wanted something else.

Did he?

“These should be good,” she said. “But thank you.”

Their eyes met, and Cody couldn’t pull his gaze from her bright hazel irises as she brushed back the bangs of her short, blonde hair.

“Bye, Gary,” Taylor said, smiling at the bird still on his perch. Then she turned to Cody and Lauren, who were both near the cage now. “We’ll let you know as soon as we find a foster for him.”

“Thanks,” Lauren said. “Fingers crossed someone steps up to help.”

Cody let out a specific whistle, Gary’s cue, and motioned a hand to the open door. Gary flew right in, and Cody wanted to puff up with pride, just like the bird had earlier.

“He really is amazing,” Geena said in a breathy tone.

Cody shut the cage door. When he turned around again, Geena’s gaze was fixed on Gary, and he felt a ping of jealousy.

Great.

He was jealous of a bird.

4

Geena rested her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes. She took a few cleansing breaths before returning her attention to the unoaked chardonnay in her hand. With a small swirl of the glass, she hovered her nose over the rim, taking in the aroma of tropical fruits.

Ricky preferred red wine. Which was fine with Geena. They didn’t have to like the same things.

But their taste in wine was just the canary in the coal mine of their relationship. Any time he bought a bottle for them, it was always a red, even though he knew red wine often gave her migraines.

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