Page 45 of Instant Karma

“How do you know it’s her?”

“We tag all our animals, so we can keep track of them even after they’re returned to the ocean,” says Rosa. “And… she was always one of Quint’s favorites. I’d recognize her even without the tag.”

Quint frowns at her, then turns his irritation on me. “You should probably leave,” he says. “We have things to do here, and I’m sure you don’t actually intend to volunteer.”

I straighten. “You don’t know that.”

“Please. You? Working with sea animals?”

“Quint—” says Rosa warningly, but he cuts her off.

“It’s a terrible idea, Mom. Trust me. Morgan and I can handle the feeding and washing just fine, especially now that I’m on break.”

“Morgan isn’t coming in today,” Rosa says. “She had an accident this morning and had to go to the hospital.”

“Hospital?” says Quint.

“I guess she broke her leg and will be out for a few weeks, at least.”

“Broke her leg? How?”

Rosa shrugs. “She said she was doing some painting and fell off a ladder.”

My heart skips.

Hold on.Morgan.

Oh, criminy.

“Okay, okay.” Quint waves his hands at his mom. “I’ll handle it. You go take care of the pools. I’ll start in on the food.”

“And…?” Rosa tilts her head toward me.

Quint’s voice darkens. “We’ll see.”

His mom must know this is all she’s going to get from him right now. And she also must sense the animosity between us. She flashes Quint a grateful smile and heads back out the door. I spot Shauna still outside, standing over one of the pools and jotting notes on a clipboard.

“Well,” says Quint, the second his mom out of earshot. “I have a lot to do. See you around, Prudence.” He turns to head down the long corridor.

“Hold on!” I say, following him. “I am redoing that project whether you like it or not, and I’m not leaving here until I have enough science-based information that I can go back and outline the best plan for ecotourism the state of California has ever seen.”

He spins back so fast I nearly crash into him for the second time that day. His thick eyebrows are drawn tight, making his features look almost severe. I’m startled to realize he’s angry. Not irritated. Not mildly annoyed. This is actual anger.

Quint Erickson doesn’t get angry.

I take a step back, though I’m not proud about it.

“Do you ever listen to anything anyone else says?”

I blink at him.

“In case you weren’t paying attention, we took in a new rescue today, which means Mom and the vet already have enough to deal with, and we’re suddenly short-staffed, which leaves me to clean two dozen pools and feed almost a hundred animals, and you and I both know that you didn’t come here today so you could slop around buckets of fish guts.”

I grimace.

“On top of that, Mr. Chavez made it very clear that he would only accept revisions if they’re a team effort, and there is no power in the universe that could get me to spend another minute working withyou.”

I gape at him, speechless. His breathing is ragged, his cheeks red. It’s a side of Quint I’ve never seen before, and it takes me a second to realize… he’s not just mad, though clearly I’ve done something to upset him. No. He’sstressed.

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