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Before she could push the button on her mace, the man shoved her hard.

Gisele fell and landed on her back, the air knocked from her lungs.

CHAPTER 2

By the timeGisele caught her breath and rolled to her feet, the man was gone.

She staggered several steps and then ran into her shop. Once through the door, she slapped the light switch on the wall and stood for a moment, staring at the mess.

Candles and jars of lotions and tinctures littered the floor. The display shelf that had housed them had been toppled and lay in a splintered heap.

“Johnny?” Gisele held her breath.

Cheeky bastard.

Gisele released the breath she’d held in a rush of relief. She picked her way through the broken glass and slippery lotions to the giant cage lying on its side and the bright blue Macaw pacing back and forth inside.

You break it, you buy it, asshole,the bird repeated.

“Oh, Johnny.” Gisele knelt beside the heavy cage, alarmed at the feathers splayed across the floor. “Are you all right?”

Get me a beer, woman, he demanded.

Gisele chuckled and shook her head. “No beer for you, big guy.” She stood and tried to lift the cage off the ground, only managing to scoot it several inches.

Johnny flapped excitedly.

“I’m going to need some help.” Gisele pulled her cell phone from her purse and called 911, her gaze on the back door she’d left open when she’d hurried in to rescue her parrot. She grabbed the broom she’d left leaning against the wall earlier and held it poised to strike if the man returned.

The dispatcher answered on the first ring. “Gisele? Is that you?”

Gisele recognized Minnie Hayes’s voice immediately. Her south Louisiana drawl was warm and comforting after her nightmare encounter with an intruder.

“Minnie, someone just broke into my shop,” she blurted.

“Oh, honey, is he still inside?” Minnie asked. “Are you somewhere safe?”

“I’m in the shop now. He’s gone, but I need to report the break-in.” Gisele stared down at the heavy cage and the macaw pacing inside. “And could you send someone over to help me? Someone strong?”

“A unit’s already on its way,” Minnie said. “Are you okay? Do I need to send an ambulance?”

“I’m fine, but the burglar knocked over Johnny’s cage, and it’s too heavy for me to lift.”

“Poor Johnny,” Minnie exclaimed. “Is he okay?”

Cheeky bastard, Johnny said.

Gisele’s lips twisted. “As far as I can tell, he seems all right. I think he scared the burglar.”

“Good for him,” Minnie said. “Finally, his dislike of men came in handy.”

“Right?” Gisele stared at the disgruntled bird, feeling sorry for the guy. His last owner had been a man who’d owned an antique store. Johnny had been orphaned when the man had a massive heart attack and died one morning before he’d unlocked the store for business. No one knew he’d died until three days later when a dealer came to deliver furniture the man had purchased.

Poor Johnny hadn’t eaten since his owner had fed him the morning he’d died. Sheriff’s deputies called the local veterinarian, Dr. Saulnier, to collect the bird to rehome him.

No one had wanted Johnny. His foul language and propensity to bite men had the veterinarian contemplating euthanasia for the feathered fowl.

Thankfully, Gisele had come to the vet’s office to deliver a tincture she’d concocted for Linda, the receptionist, to help her have the confidence she needed to ask for a raise.

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