The Texan's Twins

It had taken her almost two years to get him out of her mind. She stopped missing him four years ago, but it seemed as if parts of her heart had already forgotten she didn’t love him anymore.

She sighed. “Some of us are working over here if you don’t mind. The big guy is already scared, and I want to make him as comfortable as possible.” Bringing the rifle back to her shoulder, she cast the big cat in her sight. As soon as she pulled the trigger, the jaguar snapped at the spot she hit on his rump. It didn’t take him long to go down.

“We need to move fast.”

Reid didn’t hesitate a minute. He attacked each of the steps like a pro. Dr. Ortiz was working right alongside him as he finished securing a cloth over the animal’s eyes to keep the cat calm when he woke. With James and a couple other men, they lifted the cat onto a long board and carried him out.

The entire time, Reid talked in a quiet voice to the animal while they moved him. The same voice that calmed her when she was upset or stressed.

First thing in the morning, she would start calling her contacts and get the application to the National Wildlife Federation turned in ASAP. She needed to get Reid out of her life, the sooner, the better.

With the animals secured, Reid disappeared inside the truck as she went to touch base with the lead officer.

Unfortunately, he was waiting for her with three more crates. The day was not quite over. She would be leaving with more than the two in the trailer. “The animals are secured. The basement is all yours. What do you have there?”

“Goats. Six kids. We crated them so you could load them quickly.” He smiled as if they were a gift.

James came up behind her and touched her arm. “I’ll help you with these. I know time is sensitive.” He picked up the one closest to him, and the two goats inside started bleating.

Reid joined them. “Is everything okay?” He kept his gaze on her, ignoring the FBI agent.

“Seems as if we have a few more additions to our family. Baby goats.” She looked from the FBI agent Reid was avoiding to the crated goats. “Reid, place them in the bed of the truck. There are bungees in the back seat.”

With a quick nod, he went to work.

A short time later she drove over the hills, back to her struggling sanctuary, with six baby goats, a black bear cub, an old jaguar and one secret husband in tow.

How had this become her life?

God, I’m working on turning this worry over to You, but right now I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. Lord, please show me what to do!

“Did you say something?” Reid kept looking over his shoulder, to the cargo they were hauling.

She didn’t think she said anything out loud. Great. Now she was mumbling to herself. “Just having a conversation with God. The babies are safe. No one will get out.”

“What about the jaguar? The tranquilizer will wear off soon.” He looked back again, his brow furrowed.

“Reid, this isn’t my first rodeo. I know what I’m doing. We might have to sedate the big guy again before we can unload him. I’ve gotten good at working with wild animals, and I know how unpredictable they can be. I promise I’ve got this under control.”

“The bear looks too young to be away from her mother. Will you have to hand-raise her?”

“Yes, but we’ll keep hands off as much as possible. She’ll be assigned a number. Once she’s old enough, we’ll either release her into the wild or the bear section on the ranch. You were great, by the way. Some people have a hard time working with the big animals, even when they’re out.”

“I learned to work fast while staying calm. It’s the best way to survive when you have a two-thousand-pound bull that needs medical attention. I’ve never been this close to a big cat. He’s stunning.”

“He’s a beauty.” This didn’t seem real. She was sitting with the man she married six years ago, talking as if he hadn’t walked out on her and their daughters. She glanced at him. He was checking the trailer again. “Why did you move close to my hometown? Did you know I was living here?”

“You were always close to your family, and I couldn’t imagine you being away from your twin sister for too long. When we talked about the future, it involved Clear Water and your family. So even if you hadn’t moved back home, I knew you would be around. I meant it when I said I hadn’t planned on blindsiding you like this.” He turned to face her. His gray-green eyes scanned her face before coming back to meet her gaze.

With a sharp breath, she turned her focus on the rural highway. Just because Reid’s eyes still did things to her insides didn’t mean it was wise to trust him. That was more evidence that she needed to be wary and keep her distance.

“But why even come back to the Hill Country? Why not New Orleans or Houston? Don’t you have family in both of those places?” It would have been so much better if he stayed away. She had gotten good at the out-of-sight-out-of-mind game she played with herself.

“None that I want to claim. There’s nothing in Houston or New Orleans for me other than trouble. While in prison, I met Ray Martinez. His church had a prison ministry and organized Bible studies. He changed my life. Well, God used him to change me.”

Her jaw started to hurt, making her take a deep breath to relax. The resentment burning in her gut would turn toxic if she allowed it to fester. “I tried to get you to church the whole time we were dating. You were always too busy.” Sarcasm might not be the best option, but it made her feel better. “So, you found God in prison, and now you want to right all your wrongs?”

“It’s not that easy.”

He was fortunate she didn’t throw things at him. Hand over hand, she turned off the highway onto the farm-to-market road that led to the sanctuary. Silence lingered, and she let it hang between them. She needed to focus on the hurt and abused animals and her daughters. She had to figure out what would be best for them.

Pulling up to the large gate, she rolled down her window. The Texas heat hit her. It felt good in contrast with the coldness of the cab. Leaning out the window, she punched in the code for the gate. The gate paused halfway. She hit the box, and it started moving again. She needed someone to look at the motor. Maybe her baby sister would do it for free.

Dr. Ortiz followed along with Reid’s parole officer. Her long-lost husband had a parole officer. There was no reason for him to know about the twins, and her innocent girls didn’t have to find out their father was a convict.

Once parked, they all got out and sedated the cat again. As a team, they moved fast to get the cat in an exam room so Sandy could check him. There was an old break in his hind leg that they wouldn’t be able to correct. Bruises and small cuts covered his body. While the vet and Danica tended to the big guy, Reid stayed at the jaguar’s head the whole time, keeping him calm and watching for signs of stress.

Removing the gold caps from the deadly fangs, Sandy shook her head. “I just don’t understand people. Taking a beautiful animal and turning him into a freak show for their warped entertainment.”

Lowering the table, they slid him into an enormous wooden crate. As Danica closed the door, the cat lashed out and caught the edge of Reid’s hand with its teeth.

Once Danica secured the latch, she grabbed his hand. Without asking, she pulled him to the sink. “I don’t think it needs stitches.” She glanced at Dr. Ortiz. “What do you think?”

Reid tensed under her touch as they crowded around his minuscule injury. She glanced up and found him staring off at the crated cat. “Are you okay?”

He jerked his chin. “I’ve had much worse.”

Sandy went to the cabinets and came back with ointments and bandages. “It’s not deep. I think you’ll just need to keep it clean and bandaged for a few days.”

“After checking the cub, we’ll need to fill out an incident report.” Danica kept her head down.

Both women worked on his hand. At one point, he tried to pull back. His free hand rubbed his forehead. “It was my fault. You don’t need to write him up. He was scared, and we all have the instinct to protect ourselves.”

He didn’t flinch once while they worked on the cut. “The cat’s not going to get in trouble.” She carefully added the small metal clip to hold the wrap in place. “But I do have to write up the incident. Not following the rules is what gets us in trouble. Hiding the truth doesn’t help anyone.” Her voice grew a little stronger than it needed to be.

Sandy gave Reid a hard look. “We can’t put the refuge at risk because of a simple documentation you don’t want to take the time to fill out.”

Reid rolled his neck and looked down, a frown on his face. This wasn’t Sandy’s fight, so Danica wasn’t sure what happened to the vet’s usual friendly manner. Possibly she was having a tough day. Danica could relate to that. Instead of wasting time trying to figure out other people’s problems, she went to the baby bear.

The small black bear looked healthy, except for being a little underweight and hungry. Sandy filled out the health form. “He’ll need to be hand-fed for now.”

The little bear seemed to have bonded with Reid, wanting to cling to him. Danica went into the kitchen area to fix her a bottle. Sandy followed her.

“I need to go. I’ll take the new guy with me and drop him off wherever he belongs. Or I could take him to Bobby.”

“He’s fine. It’s been a while since we had a baby of this type, so I need Reid to help prep the enclosure.”

“I don’t think that’s wise. I’d stay, but I need to finish my rounds. He’s not staying here, is he?” Disgust dripped from each word.