Page 100 of Talk Birdie to Me

“No,” he said. “I’ve got a video call scheduled with Gary’s previous owner. I get to tell him Gary is safe. For good.”

Cody was a little apprehensive about his call with Anthony. The cops had tracked down the hidden account James had been after, so Anthony had to be pretty pissed about that. But that wasn’t his or Geena’s fault. Cody was just delivering the news that Gary was back in good hands.

“Well, I won’t keep you from that.” Lauren aimed a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ve got stuff to do, too. If I don’t catch you again this afternoon, let me know how tomorrow goes.”

Cody was filled with trepidation and elation. Quite the cocktail for his stomach and brain to handle. But he decided to chalk it up to excitement rather than anxiety.

“Will do.”

27

Geena opened the door where Cody was waiting to enter. She stepped back out of the way, and as he walked in, he put a hand around her waist and gave her a quick, gentle kiss before heading towards Gary.

She stood frozen for a moment, basking in the warmth and ease of the gesture. Kissing Cody felt so natural, as if they’d known each other for months instead of just a few weeks. It was astonishing how quickly they’d gotten to this point, especially considering their first kiss was only a week ago.

But going through a life-threatening situation together could escalate things, she supposed.

“Hey, buddy,” he said to Gary, who bobbed up and down with excitement over his visitor’s appearance. “Got any new sayings for us?”

“Same old stuff,” Geena said. “Oh, I heard the cops found the account. And they didn’t need Gary’s beeps and boops to get it.”

She really didn’t care about Anthony Montesano or his money. And what happened with all of that was out of her hands.

“Speaking of all that,” Cody said. “I let Anthony know that Gary’s safe again.”

“Oh.”

Geena felt her whole world deflate around her.

The world she’d let herself imagine was slipping through her grasp.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…” Geena didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to voice her disappointment. “I guess he’ll be wanting Gary back when he gets out.”

“Not likely,” Cody said. “He’s in there for a few years. He just wants Gary safe and loved. Which we’ll make sure of.”

Hope surged in Geena, and she decided to spill it all. “The thing is…”

Cody eyed her with concern. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“The thing is…” she repeated, taking a big breath before completing the thought. “The thing is, I kind of want to adopt Gary.”

“Really?”

She’d become pretty good at reading Cody over the last few weeks, and especially the last few days, but she couldn’t read him on this.

“Yeah,” she said. “I already talked to Sierra and Liz about it, and since they don’t have anyone lined up yet, they said it wouldn’t be a problem. As long as it isn’t a problem with you? Or Anthony?”

A million emotions passed through Cody’s eyes, and he landed on the one she’d hoped to see.

Excitement.

“Yes, of course!” He shook his head and rolled back his excitement. “If you’re sure. You’re great with him, and he obviously is happy here with you, but I don’t want you to feel obligated or anything.”

“Nope,” she said. “Not feeling obligated. It’s something I’ve considered carefully and want to do.”

It had been so long since she’d let herself want something. She’d spent so much of her life doing the next right thing, getting or giving the right answers, making choices based on data alone.

---