Kiss an Angel(104)

“Stop it, Sheba,” Alex snapped. “Where’s the gorilla?”

“I sold her.”

“You sold her?” he said.

“You know Quest Brothers is up for sale. None of the potential buyers want to fuss with the menagerie, so I’ve decided to sell it off.”

“Don’t you think you should have told me about it?”

“It slipped my mind.” She got up from the desk and carried a packet of papers to the file cabinet.

Daisy stepped forward as she slid open one of the drawers. “Who did you sell her to? Where is she?”

“I don’t know why you’re so upset. Aren’t you the one who likes to tell everybody how inhumane our menagerie is?”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted Glenna shipped away to just anyone. I want to know where she’s gone.”

“To a new home.” She slid the file drawer closed.

“Where?”

“I really don’t feel like being cross-examined.”

Alex settled his hand over Daisy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go on back to the menagerie and let me take care of this?”

“Because I want to know where she is. And, Alex, there are things I have to tell the new owner about her habits. Glenna hates loud noises, and she’s afraid of people in big hats.” Her throat began to tighten as she thought about never seeing the gentle gorilla again. She wanted Glenna to have a new home, but she’d also wanted to say good-bye. She remembered the way the gorilla liked to groom her and wondered if any of her new keepers would let her do that. To her dismay, her eyes fill with tears. “She loves plums. I have to tell them about the plums.”

Alex cupped her arm. “Give me a list of everything, and I’ll make sure the new owner gets it. Go on, now. I need to talk to Sheba.”

She wanted to protest, but she realized Alex would have a better chance of getting Sheba to cooperate if they were alone. She made her way to the door, pausing only long enough to look back at the circus owner.

“Don’t do anything like this again, do you hear me? The next time you sell an animal, I want to know about it in advance. I also want a chance to talk to the new owner.”

Sheba lifted her eyebrows. “I can’t believe you have the nerve to give me orders.”

“I’ve got the nerve all right. You just make sure you’re paying attention.” She turned away and left them alone.

For a moment, neither Sheba nor Alex spoke. He doubted that Daisy’s speech had intimidated Sheba, but he was still proud of his wife for standing up to her. He gazed over at the woman who had once been his lover and felt only disgust.

“What’s happening to you? You’ve always been tough, but you weren’t cruel.”

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You hate the menagerie nearly as much as she does.”

“Don’t play dumb. You wanted to hurt Daisy and picked this way to do it. You’re using her to get to me, and I won’t have it.”

“Don’t flatter yourself into believing you’re that important to me.”

“I know you, Sheba. I understand how you think. Everything was fine as long as people believed that Daisy was a thief, but now that everyone knows the truth, you can’t stand it.”

“I do what I want, Alex. I always have, and I always will.”

“Where’s that gorilla.”

“None of your damned business.” With a glare, she swept from the trailer.

He refused to go after her, and he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of asking the question again. Instead, he got on the phone.

It took him a day to locate the private dealer that Sheba had sold the gorilla to. The dealer charged him twice what he’d paid Sheba for the animal, but Alex didn’t quibble.

He spent the next few days finding an acceptable home for Glenna, and by Wednesday of the following week, he was able to tell Daisy that her gorilla was on her way to becoming the newest resident in the excellent primate facility at Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo, although he didn’t tell her his money had made it possible.

Daisy burst into tears and told him he was the most wonderful husband in the world.



Brady stood at the TWA gate at the Indianapolis airport with Heather at his side waiting to board the plane to Wichita. She hadn’t spoken a word to him since they’d left the lot that morning, and he didn’t like the guilt feelings gnawing away at him. Sheba had already called him every name in the book, and yesterday Daisy had backed him up against one of the concession wagons and read him the riot act. They made him feel like a heel. Neither of them knew what it was like to have a kid you loved so much that you’d do anything for her.

He glared down at his daughter. “You mind your Aunt Terry, you hear me? And I’ll call you every week. If you need money, you let me know, and I don’t want you dating yet.”

She stared straight ahead, her backpack clutched in her hands. She looked so pretty, fine-boned and delicate, that his heart ached. He wanted to protect this baby girl of his from everything bad, to keep her safe and make her happy. He’d give his life for her.

“I’ll send you plane tickets for Christmas vacation so you can come down to Florida with us,” he said gruffly. “Maybe you and me’ll go over to Disney World or something. I’ll bet you’d like that.”