“You can’t just leave them there?” Zeke asked.
She looked at him again. He actually seemed interested and maybe a bit concerned.
Well…he asked…
“There are a number of things that threaten them. They have natural predators, of course, like sharks and giant sea lions and fur seals. Occasionally they are caught up accidentally by fishermen too. Because they are air-breathers and have to come up for air while swimming, oil spills and pollution are a huge threat. But the two biggest dangers to them right now are climate change and invasive species introduced to the islands.
“Climate change is causing more El Niño events which affects their food apply. When their food supply diminishes, they will skip nesting and won’t hatch new penguins. When it’s really severe, some of the adults starve.
“Additionally, cats have been introduced to the islands and they will attack and kill the penguins. The other invasive species is mosquitoes that carry avian flu. An outbreak could wipe out what’s left of the penguins on the islands.”
Jill paused to take a breath, but found Zeke was still listening intently. He was watching her with a mix of fascination and surprise. Possibly she was telling him facts that he found surprising. But it was also possible he was surprised that anyone could just talk non-stop about penguins like this.
Well, if he wanted to hang out with her, he was going to have to be okay with that.
“The Galápagos Islands are the only place that these penguins exist indigenously. So fighting those threats on the islands is important, but they’re huge and it takes a long time to change any of that. Climate change alone is an almost overwhelming threat. So out of desperation, conservation groups have relocated some penguins to various zoos and animal parks.
“But this private group of investors decided to get together and start a new program. Having private ownership of groups of penguins cuts through lots of regulatory red tape. There is licensing and specific permissions given—these aren’t black market acquisitions—and we’re sharing ideas and data and working together to make the penguins successful in the program, but these people have definitely been given special privileges to own penguins that not just everyone could get.
“Basically, the penguins become pets of individuals who have the money and knowledge to support them. Decisions can be made faster and changes implemented. Trials can be conducted. The birds get more individualized attention from the veterinarians that are caring for them. There are some advantages, certainly.”
She finally stopped talking and crossed her arms, pressing her lips together.
Zeke was either going to think this was intriguing or he was going to think she was incredibly weird.
Weird would get him to leave her alone though. That would be good. She wouldn’t be distracted that way.
But she wanted him to find her—the penguins, she meant the penguins—interesting.
The more people who found the penguins and their plight interesting, the more help they would potentially get.
Griffin looked at Zeke. “You know how you love how passionate Fiona and Tori and Charlie and everyone is about animals?”
Zeke nodded.
“Jill is the same, except that all of her passion is focused on penguins. So all the worry and enthusiasm and willingness to fight get directed at one particular animal—one that’s endangered—and Jill gets…a little worked up.”
Jill frowned at Griffin. “Worked up? About now being solely responsible for keeping eight endangered animals alive that I have been in love with my entire life? With the only real guidance being ‘do whatever you think is best’? Everyone else in the program is looking to me to guide them. But the program is new and—”
Suddenly Zeke reached out, took her upper arm, and pulled her close.
Then he wrapped his big arms around her and gave her a bear hug.
For just a moment she was stunned. She wasn’t a big hugger. She hugged people she was close to, but she lived far away from most of those people so hugging wasn’t a daily occurrence. And she wasn’t close to Zeke.
But he seemed perfectly at ease wrapping her up and squeezing her.
She felt a huge breath of oxygen rush into her lungs. Then it rushed out. She felt her muscles relax. And she felt her arms go up and around Zeke.
Her eyes closed and she just let him hold her.
Damn, that felt good. So she just leaned into it. A big hot guy who smelled good and felt even better, was pressing her up against his body. Who was she to fight it?
It seemed that he enjoyed it just as much because he held her until Griffin cleared his throat and asked, “And, again, do I need to be here?”
10
Zeke’s arms loosened and Jill looked up at him. “What was that for?”
“I don’t know how to give you advice about penguins. But you seemed to need a hug. And that I can do.”
She wasn’t much of a hugger… until now. If Zeke Landry would hug her whenever she started to get a little worked up about the penguins, not only would she get to press up against his big, hot, hard body a lot but it did actually seem to be helpful. Her heart rate had definitely slowed and the swirling tension in her stomach had loosened a bit.
She nodded. Even as she stepped back from him. “I might take you up on that.”
“You know where to find me.”
Jill turned to give Griffin a smile. “Thanks for greeting me this morning. But everything seems to be on track and mostly ready to go. The guys are showing up with the penguins on Thursday.”
“Let’s go make sure everything is ready,” Zeke said.
“I’m going to head out and check on that horse then,” Griffin said. “But if you need anything, you know how to get a hold of me and Charlie.”
“Um, Griffin,” Jill said. She wasn’t sure this was the exact time to bring it up, but she wasn’t sure when would be a good time. Probably the sooner the better. “Is there any issue with Charlie and the penguins?”
“What do you mean?” Griffin asked.
It had been clear last night that Charlie clearly had the gruff, semi–anti-social man wrapped around her finger.
“I just need to be sure that, Charlie, and everyone, understands what we’re trying to do here with the penguins. I didn’t bring them here to be an exhibition. They are here as part of a breeding program and to keep them safe. I don’t want anyone thinking that they are just another attraction at the animal park. If I want to limit the number of people interacting with them, is she going to be okay with that?”
Even in the emails she had exchanged with Charlie it’d been clear that Charlie’s mission and passion was growing the previous petting zoo into a larger animal attraction.
Griffin’s frown deepened. “We haven’t talked about it specifically. I don’t know that she understands exactly what you’re doing with the penguins, but she will when you explain it.”
“So there is a chance that everyone is going to be confused and disappointed?” Jill asked, though it was more a statement than a question. “They all think they were adding penguins as another animal exhibit for the tourists.”
“I suppose they do,” Griffin said. “But I promise you that everyone will be on board with whatever you think is best.”