Kiss an Angel(41)

Now she’d give up, she thought. She’d managed to shovel out that truck, but getting any closer to these elephants was beyond her abilities. She had reached the absolute limit of what she could do.

In the distance she saw Alex watching her, waiting like a vulture to pounce on her useless carcass and then throw her away.

She shuddered and took one hesitant step toward the baby elephants. “Uh—let’s go, fellas.” She tentatively pointed the bull hook toward the picket line.

Bam, or maybe it was Pebbles, raised his head and sneered at her.

She took an uneasy step closer. “Please don’t give me any trouble. It’s been a terrible day.”

Tater lifted his trunk from the trough and turned his head toward her. The next thing she knew, she received a spray of water right in her face.

“Oh!” With a gasp, she sprang back.

Tater lumbered away, heading not for the picket line but for the trailers.

“Come back!” she cried, wiping the water from her eyes.

“Don’t do that! Please!”

Neeco rushed over holding a long metal rod with a U-shaped prong at one end. He shoved it at Tater, choosing a point behind his ear. The elephant gave a loud, painful squeal, recoiled, and immediately turned toward the picket line. The others quickly followed.

Daisy stared at the animals, then at Neeco. “What did you do to him?”

He transferred the pole from his right hand to his left and brushed his long, dishwater blond hair back from his face. “This is a hot shot. It’s a cattle prod. I don’t use it unless I have to, but they know they’re going to get zapped if they don’t behave.”

She stared at the hot shot in revulsion. “You shock them? Isn’t that a little brutal?”

“You can’t get sentimental about the animals. I love them, but I’m not stupid about them. They have to know who’s in charge or people can get hurt.”

“I’m not going to be good at this, Neeco. I’ve told everyone that I’m afraid of animals, but no one seems to be listening.”

“You’ll get over it. You just need to spend some time with them. They don’t like sudden noises or people sneaking up on them, so come at them from the front.” He pulled the bull hook from her hand and gave her the hot shot. “If they see you carrying this, they’ll give you some respect. The babies are easy to control; a couple of quick zaps, and you’ve got their attention. When you’re using the bull hook, get them behind the ears. They’ve got big nerve centers there.”

She felt as if she had been forced to take hold of something obscene. She glanced over at the baby elephants and saw Tater gazing back at her. He seemed to be taking in the hot shot, and although it was probably her imagination, she thought he looked disappointed.

As Neeco walked away, she approached the babies, giving a series of coughs so she wouldn’t take them by surprise. They lifted their heads and shuffled uneasily as they saw what she carried. Bam opened his mouth and emitted a loud, unhappy bellow.

They must be accustomed to being brought in line with shocks, and she found herself disliking Neeco Martin. The hot shot sickened her instead of increasing her confidence. No matter how frightened she was of the animals, she would never be able to hurt them, and she discarded the hot shot behind a load of hay.

She looked longingly toward Alex’s house trailer. Only three days ago, she had thought it ugly, but now it seemed the most welcoming spot in the world. She reminded herself that she had survived mucking out that truck. Certainly she could survive this.

Once again she approached them, this time without the cattle prod. For a moment they watched her. Apparently satisfied that she was no longer a threat, they returned to their happy grubbing in the dirt.

All of them but Tater. Was it her imagination or was he smiling? And did the smile have a faintly diabolical cast to it?

“Nice elephants. N-nice babies,” she crooned. “And nice Daisy. Very, very nice Daisy.”

Pebbles and Bam Bam lifted their heads to look at each other, and she could have sworn they rolled their eyes in disgust. Tater, in the meantime, lifted a clump of hay and dropped it on his back. The other babies continued to watch her, but Tater no longer seemed to be bothered by her presence, making him the most approachable of the quartet.

He dusted his back with another clump of hay. She sidled closer by a few steps until barely ten feet separated them. He began snuffling in the dirt.

“Nice Tater. Tater’s a nice baby elephant.” She crept forward another few inches, speaking to him as if he were a human baby. “Pretty boy. Good manners.” Her voice had begun to shake. “Tater has such fine manners.” She was almost near enough to pat his trunk, and her skin was clammy with perspiration. “Tater likes Daisy. Daisy’s Tater’ s friend.” She slowly extended her hand, moving it forward inch by inch, telling herself that elephants didn’t eat humans, that everything—

Swat!

The baby elephant’s trunk caught her across the chest and sent her flying to the ground. She landed so hard that she saw stars. Pain ricocheted through her left side. Her vision cleared just in time for her to observe a small, contented elephant lift his trunk and emit a youthful, and unmistakably victorious, trumpet.

She sat there, too dispirited to get to her feet. Lavender sandals studded with small silver stars appeared in her vision. She raised her head and saw Bathsheba Quest staring down at her through a pair of dark glasses. Sheba wore a stretchy white top and low-slung white shorts cinched at the waist with a lavender belt. Perched on her hip was a dark-haired toddler, a child Daisy remembered having seen with one of the Tolea brothers and his wife. Sheba stared down at her, then slipped her sunglasses to the top of her head, pulling back her hair far enough to reveal enormous star-shaped purple rhinestone earrings.