Page 3 of Wild Bred

Her hurried footsteps approach the house. We hear the front door creak open, followed by the sound of her calling out the monkey’s name.

“We’re in here!” I shout, and her footsteps follow the sound of my voice.

Shaw steps aside to let the woman in. She bursts into the bathroom, relief flooding her expression.

“Oh, thank goodness! Daisy, you little troublemaker,” she exclaims, scooping up the monkey in her arms. The monkey chirps, finally drops the crowbar from its grasp, and nuzzles against her, turning suddenly sweet.

Meanwhile, I can’t stop myself from staring at the woman who just burst into my house. Her warm brown eyes shine from behind a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, and strands of caramel brown hair escape the messy bun atop her head. Her apple cheeks are rosy with a natural flush, and her bare lips are lifted in a relieved smile. The dirt-smudged overalls she’s wearing hug tightly to her curves.

Who is this stunning creature?

“That your pet?” I ask, my head still swimming from the sight of her.

She frowns, her eyes flashing at me. Even with the admonishing look in her eyes, the fact that she’s looking at me makes me almost drop the towel I’m still holding.

“No,” she says curtly. “Monkeys should never be kept as pets. Capuchin monkeys or otherwise. Daisy is an ambassador for wildlife conservation.”

“Well, this little ambassador of yours sure wreaked havoc in my house.”

She glances around, looking amused. “What part of this mess are we talking about?”

Okay. So she has a point. But that doesn’t make me any less annoyed about the situation. “It messed with my tools. And if you hadn’t come when you did, who knows what else it would have destroyed.”

“She was just being curious.”

“Curious or not, I can’t have wild animals running through my house. So I’d appreciate it if it didn’t happen again.”

I expect her to say something fiery in response, but she just nods and says, “It won’t. I’m sorry it happened at all.” Then she sticks out a hand while keeping the monkey cradled against her chest. “I’m Mackenna, by the way. I run the wildlife sanctuary next door.”

“Reid,” I say, shaking her hand. The warmth of her hand ignites a spark against my skin. I reluctantly pull my hand away and nod my chin in the direction of my brother. “And that’s my brother, Shaw.”

“It’s nice to meet you both. My apologies again for the intrusion.” She glances down at the monkey in her arm. “All right, Daisy. Let’s get you back home.”

As soon as Mackenna leaves, Shaw smirks and shakes his head at me. “Looks like your luck’s turning around, Reid.”

“Shut up, dude.”

“Oh, come on. Don’t pretend like you weren’t attracted to her. I saw the way you were staring at her.”

“You’re delusional, Shaw.”

“Why are you denying it? This is great. I’m thrilled for you.”

“You really think I’m stupid enough to go after someone like her? She’s out of my league. She’s young, gorgeous…hell, she’s my neighbor. It’s a bad idea all around.”

“Stop being so pessimistic. Maybe she's into unkempt older guys who haven’t gotten laid in a decade.”

“Fuck you, man,” I say, chucking the towel at him.

Shaw laughs. “All right, all right. I’ll stop. We can get back to work.”

“It hasn’t been a decade,” I grumble. But he isn’t far off.

2

MACKENNA

“Are those what I think they are?” Justin asks, grinning as he rolls his chair over and reaches for the container of freshly baked cookies I just set down on the desk in our office.

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