Kiss an Angel(48)

Yes!

Immediately she felt relief seeping into her body.

“Hey!” Digger came running toward her, moving as fast as his arthritic knees would carry him. “You stop that, missy! You stop that right now, you hear?”

The tiger flashed his teeth at him. She whirled around and sent the spray of cold water directly at the old man, soaking the front of his grubby work shirt. “Stay away!”

He reared backward. “What’re you doin’? You’re gonna kill that cat! Cats don’t like to get wet.”

She turned the water back on the tiger and felt the cool relief moving deeper into her bones, just as if she were spraying her own body. “This one does.”

“Stop it, I said! You cain’t do that.”

“Sinjun likes it. Look at him, Digger.”

Sure enough, instead of retreating from the water, the tiger was reveling in it, turning his body into the cold spray. As she continued to douse him, she wanted to tell Digger that this wouldn’t have been necessary if he’d done a better job caring for the animals, but she knew he was overworked, and she held her tongue.

“Give me that!”

Neeco had come up behind her, and he reached out to swipe the hose from her hand. She’d had more than enough of Neeco Martin, and she refused to let it go.

Water flew. She gasped as she took the full force of the spray in her face, but she didn’t relax her grip on the hose.

He wrenched her wrist. “Stop it, Daisy! Hand it over.”

Sinjun’s maddened roar vibrated through the heavy afternoon air, drowning out the bustle of everyday noises. The cage shook as he threw his huge body at the bars, almost as if he were trying to get at Neeco to protect her. Startled, the trainer dropped her wrist and turned toward the chilling noises.

Sinjun flattened his ears against his head and hissed at him. Daisy jerked the hose free.

“Damn crazy tiger,” Neeco muttered. “Someone should have put him down years ago.”

Daisy sent the spray of water back into the cage. Speaking more from bluster than conviction, she said, “He doesn’t like it when you mess with me.”

“Look at that, Neeco,” Digger said. “That sonovabitch likes the water.”

“What’s going on here?”

All of them turned as Alex approached. Daisy wiped her eyes with one dirty shirt sleeve while she kept the spray of water directed toward the tiger.

“Daisy decided to give Sinjun a shower,” Neeco said.

“Daisy decided?” Alex gazed at her with those inscrutable Russian eyes.

“Sinjun was hot,” she explained wearily. “He wanted me to cool him off.”

“Did he tell you that?”

She was too drained to respond. Besides, how could she explain that Sinjun had told her? She didn’t understand herself this mystical communication she seemed to have with the tiger.

She directed the stream of water to the muck that had collected in the bottom of the cage. “These cages are filthy. They need to be cleaned more frequently.”

Digger took immediate umbrage. “I cain’t do everything. If you think the cages is so bad, maybe you should clean ’em yourself.”

“All right. I will.”

What was she saying? Only minutes ago, she had decided she was leaving, and now she was volunteering for more work. How could she take on another job when she hadn’t been able to finish any of those she’d already been given?

Alex frowned. “You’re doing enough. You can barely keep your eyes open as it is, and I’m not having you take on more.”

She was getting a little tired of her husband dictating her every move. “I said I’d do it, and I will. Now unless you and Neeco want to get as wet as Digger, you’d better leave me alone.”

Surprise flickered in Alex’s eyes. Neeco pushed forward. “She’s not getting all her work done for me. How’s she going to handle the menagerie, too?”

“She’s not,” Alex said firmly.

‘’I am.”

“Daisy—”

“You have no say over what I do in my spare time.”

“You don’t have any spare time,” he reminded her.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to work faster.”

He looked down at her for a long moment. Something passed between them that she didn’t entirely understand. A spark of recognition? A glimmer of respect? “Do you really want to do this?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into?”

She met his gaze without flinching. “I don’t have a clue.”

An emotion that almost seemed like tenderness flickered over his face and then disappeared in a brusque nod. “All right, I’ll try you out for the next few days. You can work here for a couple of hours first thing in the morning, and then go work for Neeco.”

Digger began to sputter. “But I need more help than that! I cain’t do everything.”

“Neither can Daisy,” Alex said quietly.

Surprised, she stared at him.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Anything else?”

She belatedly remembered that she was afraid of animals, but now wasn’t the time to remind him of it, and she shook her head.