Page 7 of Perfect Imperfections

CHAPTER 3

Sullivan Green was a mess. From the moment his daughter’s teacher called and told him there’d been an accident involving Charlotte on their field trip to the zoo, he hadn’t been able to breathe, think, do anything except drive with a furious purpose to get to the one person in his life that meant more than anyone else.

His daughter.

He’d rushed out of his office, grateful that his practice employed multiple doctors and nurse practitioners. Emergencies happened to people in all walks of life, even doctors. There’d be people to cover his patients for the day.

His foot pressed hard on the accelerator. The zoo was only fifteen minutes away from his office. Sunlight wasn’t a big town, but it resided on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, and drew in the city's overflow, so sometimes traffic could be a bitch. Thankfully, this Friday afternoon did not seem to be one of those times. Hoping he wouldn’t run into any speed traps along the way, he drove with hurried caution. He needed to get to his daughter, but he needed to get there in one piece.

“Mrs. James said she was okay,” he spoke the words out loud to remind himself his daughter, his heart, his entire fucking world, was fine. “Charlotte is fine.”

He repeated the mantra in his head as he pulled into the zoo parking lot. Not bothering with searching for a parking spot in the crowded lot, he pulled right up to the front-loading area. Throwing the car into park, he jumped out, turning at the shout of a large white man in a security uniform standing there with a perturbed look on his face.

“Sir, you can’t park your—”

“Charlotte Green! I’m her father. I was told she fell into an animal enclosure.” And how in the fucking hell had that happened? Someone better have some damn answers for him. After he had his baby girl safely in his arms.

The guard’s expression morphed into one of guilt and fear. That’s right buddy, you better be worried. Until he saw his daughter, Sullivan didn’t give a shit about rules and parking.

“Mr. Green, sir. I’ve been instructed to take you to your daughter right away.”

He nodded to the guard, fear and anger stoking the fire of urgency within.

“The EMTs are with her now, but I believe she’s fine.”

He’d be the judge of that. Then he’d decide what the hell he was going to do about this whole mess. If the zoo had faulty safety standards putting people—namely his kid—in danger, he’d pull all the power he had to see it rectified.

The guard motioned to a small golf cart emblazoned with Sunlight Zoo Security on its hood. He hopped into the passenger side while the man in uniform slid behind the wheel. The guard started the dinky cart. Sullivan jerked as they took off, surprisingly faster than he was assuming the vehicle could handle. Sullivan’s leg bounced up and down, twitching nervously as his heart pounded a furious beat, blood heating his entire body as it pumped viciously through his veins. Never had he felt fear like this.

As a doctor, he’d seen the worst of the worst. Car crashes with mangled limbs, construction accidents with missing appendages, violent crimes that made him question his faith in humanity. He practiced Internal Medicine now, but he’d done his rotation in the ER during residency. He knew how to stay calm in an emergency when you were fighting with death, the stubborn bastard. A cool head was needed to make split-second decisions. You couldn’t think with emotions when saving someone’s life.

But this wasn’t just someone. This was his daughter. The person who came screaming into the world after fifteen hours of labor and stole his heart away forever. A tiny bundle of joy who spit up on him after every meal for the first six months of her life. The girl with his green eyes. This was Charlotte.

How could he stay detached from her?

He couldn’t.

The golf cart slowed as they approached the penguin enclosure. Before the guard even turned off the vehicle, Sullivan jumped out, sprinting toward a sight that made his heart race with fear and joy all at once. There across the metal railing and clear blue pool of water was his angel, his life, his Charlotte. She was sitting in the lap of a woman with dark brown hair plastered about her head. They both appeared to be soaking wet, but thankfully unharmed. Two EMTs crouched by their side.

“Charlotte!” he yelled, chest aching with the need to hop over the rail and swim to her. Not a good idea, dumbass. Get ahold of yourself. Find your calm. You don’t want to scare her any more than she already is.

He knew that, but it was damn hard to control his emotions when all he wanted to do was hold his baby in his arms and promise to protect her from every bad thing in the world for the rest of her life. Couldn’t be done, he knew, but try telling a stressed parent that.

Her little blonde head turned, that beautiful, life-giving smile lighting up her sweet, round face. “Daddy!”

At that one uttered word in her precious voice, his heart rate slowed to a normal rhythm. She grinned up at the woman holding her, cheerfully saying, “That’s my daddy.”

The woman smiled at Charlotte. “I bet he’s happy to see you.”

She had no idea. He was so relieved he could soar across all the putrid smelling water just to get to his daughter.

“Mr. Green?”

Turning his head, he saw a tall, Black woman wearing a charcoal pantsuit and a badge hanging from a lanyard around her neck proclaiming her to be Tammy Hughes, director of Sunlight Zoo.

“Yes, I’m Dr. Green.”

“I’m Tammy Hughes, director of the Sunlight Zoo.” He’d ascertained that already but didn’t interrupt. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions and I’d be happy to answer them all, but why don’t I take you to see your daughter first?”

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