Page 45 of Talk Birdie to Me

Geena smiled in spite of herself. As much trouble as he was, she was growing fond of Gary and his swearing.

“Yup, that’s him.”

“Wait a second,” James said, shaking his head. “How did you end up with that feathered beast?”

Her phone dinged on the table beside her. A glance at the text had her smiling once again.

“Ok, that is a very different expression from what I walked in on.” James wagged his brow at her. “And likely a different cause of sleep deprivation.”

“Stop it,” she said. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Then what’s it like? Tell me everything. I’m getting married, remember? I’m going to have to live vicariously through your dating adventures.”

“There are no adventures currently.”

“You have a criminal’s cussing parrot. That is the very definition of adventure.”

He wasn’t wrong.

“It’s the zookeeper who needed help with the bird. Taylor knows him from school. They ambushed me with the thing after someone tried to break in and take it. He’s just checking up on us.”

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head and widened his eyes in horror. “Roll that back and explain to me why you have a bird someone tried to steal.”

She sent a quick reply, letting Cody know that she and Gary were great now that she figured out how to quiet him down at night.

“It’s fine,” she said. “Cody insists there’s no way whoever tried to take him the first time would know he’s with me.”

Except her brain flashed back to that conversation with Ricky when he heard the bird in the background.

But there was no reason Ricky would know she had his client’s bird. And they didn’t even know why someone tried to steal Gary. It was probably just someone grabbing the first animal they found. Nothing to do with Gary himself at all.

“Geena.” His stern voice was loaded with concern. “What are you doing? Is this a good idea?”

“Probably not,” she admitted, knowing darn well she’d bitten off more than she could reasonably chew with this parrot’s care. “But it’s fine. We’re fine.”

“Why would someone want to steal that hell beast?”

“Beats me,” she said. “Cody thought maybe the guy wanted his bird back, but he’s in jail, right?”

“Yeah. But could someone have been trying to get it back for Tony?”

Geena shrugged. She closed her container and put it back in her lunch bag. “It’s not like anyone will know he’s with me, and the guy can’t do anything with the bird while he’s in jail, anyway. Besides, it’s just temporary until Taylor can find someone else to take him. Someone who knows what the heck they’re doing with a parrot. Someone who isn’t me.”

James frowned. “Well, I hope she finds someone for it soon.”

Geena let out a sigh. She might have been doing better with Gary, but this was nowhere near something she could maintain in the long run.

And she wasn’t sure how much longer she could deny how she felt about Cody if he kept coming around to check on Gary.

“You and me both.”

12

The door in front of Cody opened slowly after a click and slide of locks. Geena stood in the entryway, leaning against the open door. He’d texted when she was leaving work that he wanted to drop off more stuff for Gary and not to eat. He was bringing food for her, too.

She wore perfectly tailored khaki slacks and a long-sleeved navy blouse that looked incredibly soft for something so dressy.

Soft enough to run his hands over that shirt.

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