Jackie looked up from the harbor seal pool to see Jan, the crew supervisor, collapse under a charging, angry sea lion. Jan wasn’t even five feet tall, and the sea lion easily outweighed her.
Before Jackie could get to her feet, Alex leapt over the fence of the adjacent pen, grabbed the IV bag that Jan had abandoned and threw it. It smacked the sea lion squarely along the back of the neck. The startled animal turned, giving Alex enough time to throw a towel over its head. He hauled back on the towel and Jan wriggled safely away. She grabbed her herding board and braced, but Alex signaled her to leave the pen.
Jackie, brushing her hands off on her slickers, rushed to them.
“That was stupid of me,” Jan said as she backed out of the pen. Her hands were trembling, and one of her gloves was ripped where the sea lion had gotten a piece of it.
“You didn’t see it coming,” Alex said as he whipped the towel off the sea lion and then slipped through the gate. “It could’ve happened to anybody.”
When Jan just shook her head, he took the herding board from her and leaned it against the gate. “Hey, that’s why they call them wild animals. It’s their nature.”
“Look at it this way,” Jackie said in a soothing tone that didn’t match the spike of adrenaline still surging in her, “you just got rescued by the Galahad of the headlands.”
“Do not be expecting me to do that,” Gage said as he jogged up to them. He took Jan’s arm in his hand, but he shook his head at Alex. “You’re making us normal guys look bad again.”
“Let’s see your hand,” Jackie said.
“It’s okay,” Jan said. “She just nipped me.”
“You don’t want to risk seal finger,” Jackie said firmly. “It can lead to gangrene, remember? Let’s have a look.”
She peeled off her glove. The animal’s teeth hadn’t broken the skin.
“Whew,” Gage said with a mocking smile. “Thought I’d have to find another Tuesday crew supervisor who could make cookies.”
Jan gave him a playful kick. “I’ll go wash up.” She turned to Alex. “Thank you. I never saw anyone move that fast.”
“My pleasure,” Alex said as she walked away.
“You haven’t seen me on the ice.” Gage made a sweeping hockey move with the broom he held.
“Speaking of moves,” Jackie said, ignoring Gage’s display, “can you two give me a hand with the harbor seal in pen six?”
“Felt the earth stop just then, did you, Alex? The good Dr. Brandon is requesting help.”
Jackie shot him a glare.
Alex walked beside her to pen six.
“Sorry about missing your game.”
Her cheeks flamed as he looked at her. After her ridiculous message the day before, she’d run several lines over in her mind, but there wasn’t any better way to say it.
Alex shrugged and smiled. “There’ll be plenty more.”
“I always wanted to see a grand slam,” Gage said. “Almost as impressive as a hat trick.”
“Never saw a hat trick,” Alex said.
“Yeah,” Gage said with a grin, “you usually have to stay for a whole game to see that.” He crooked his thumb at Jackie. “She’s walked out on three of my games, so don’t feel slighted.”
“You see why I keep him around,” Jackie said in her finest ironic tone. “He’s our key diplomat.”
“Your only diplomat,” Gage said with a smug smile.
In pen six Jackie rolled a towel around the little harbor seal, pinning its flippers to its sides. Gage and Alex held it while she slipped a dental wedge into its mouth. “It’s too weak to anesthetize,” she explained, “but we have to get this hook out. Hand me those pliers, Gage. I’ll cut the barb off.”
With one swift stroke she clipped the barb and then removed the fishing hook. It was three inches long.
“Get that stitched up straight away.” She looked up for a split second. “Please.”
Gage laughed and nudged Alex. “Don’t you love the way Brits give orders?”
“Don’t you love the way Canadians have trouble taking them?” she muttered.
“That little one will be ready for release soon,” she said to Alex as she walked out of the pen. “If you do come down for the release, you’ll get to see your handiwork happily swim off into the ocean.”
“I’d like that,” Alex said.
And he looked like he meant it. She’d planned to grill him about the river, about his vineyard, but decided to wait until she had Bradley’s report. It was always better to have facts lined up before asking questions. If Alex was like most rich landholders, he probably wouldn’t know much about the details anyway.
Bradley pulled into the parking lot near the pen. He waved at her, then jumped out of his truck and leaned against it. With a brimmed hat shading him from the sun and a pair of aviator sunglasses, he looked like he’d just walked off the set of an adventure film. It really was too bad they had no chemistry. But she wasn’t ready for that anyway.
“You’re welcome,” Gage called to her from the pen as she walked away.
She turned. “Yes. Thank you. Thank you both. I meant to say that.”
“Fine English manners aren’t what they used to be,” she heard Gage joke to Alex as she walked away.