“Don’t tell me she already got to you.” Laura rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah,” Brooke said.

  “Oh, for the love of God. Who pissed in her cereal?” Laura asked.

  “You did, apparently,” BJ said.

  “We’ve never said more than a couple of words to each other before Jillian’s accident. Suddenly, I’m some enemy to be crushed.”

  “There isn’t a person out there who believes this is anything other than jealousy,” he said.

  “I know I haven’t made all of the best decisions in life, but what the hell?” Laura scratched her fingers into her hair.

  “I don’t think this has anything to do with you. Not personally anyway,” Brooke said.

  They wandered back behind the office and meandered along the high-walled corridor that led to a small alcove near the lagoon. They sat on a bench and looked out across the water. Laura enjoyed seeing their world from this side. Even on the busiest days at the park there was always somewhere behind the scenes that you could catch a few quiet minutes. It was one of the many things she would miss if she had to make the hard choice. “She wants me gone. She even told me as much, if you can believe it,” Laura said.

  “Who cares what she wants? You’ve busted your ass to prove yourself here. Probably more than any of us,” Brooke said, leaning over across BJ and patting her on the arm.

  “Because I had help, and it’s not fair to you.”

  “We all have our shit, Laura. And whether anyone knows it or not, you aren’t the only person Jillian has gone out of her way to help in some way or another,” BJ said.

  The idea that Jillian’s heart was so big that she would help anyone or anything in need was bittersweet. It was that very thing, her heart, that led them here. “Well then, the real difference is that I’m the one she’s sleeping with.”

  “Yeah, that one’s all you. For sure,” BJ said, and they laughed.

  “Not anymore.” Laura told him what had happened when he left her with Jillian as well as she could without breaking down.

  “I’m so sorry, Laura,” Brooke said.

  “Me too. But you can’t blame her for being afraid. Eighteen years is a long time. I know how much she cares about you, but you’re so new in her life compared to everything else,” BJ added.

  “I suppose, but it just feels like she gave up so easily. I never even had a chance. She pushed me away.” The stinging in her eyes began, and she blinked hard to make it stop. “How…how am I…”

  BJ wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Are you hungry? I’m hungry. Wanna go get some breakfast?”

  Laura nodded her head. “Can I change my shoes first?”

  “No, you can throw them in the dumpster, and we’ll go buy you new ones,” Brooke said.

  “Yeah, they’re already putting me off my eggs,” BJ said, holding his nose.

  “I’d put them under the driver’s seat in Diana’s car if I knew what she drove.” Laura laughed.

  Brooke raised her hand. “I do.”

  * * *

  It was well before dawn when Jillian found herself searching for solace after being banned even from her quiet haven on the edge of the park’s lagoon. She got in her truck, rolled the windows down, and drove. She headed west toward the Gulf of Mexico until she found herself alone on a white sand beach. She lay in the soft, cool sand for hours listening to the water crash onto the shore. She stayed there until the sun began to rise and the ocean breeze started to warm.

  Instinctively, Jillian found herself back at the institute sitting in her truck without the desire to move or a need to go. She sat behind the wheel and picked at a loose string on the fabric cover. The air was still through the lot, and without the wind she could hear the park begin to awaken. Even the wild seabirds helped to announce the day as they flocked in for their free meals. Jillian felt an unfamiliar sense of worthlessness as her world continued without her.

  As she stepped out of the truck to escape to the quiet of her home, she heard it. It was a lighthearted giggle that floated to her like a wisp of sweet lavender. Jillian hopped back into the truck and slumped in the seat so she wouldn’t be seen, but she still caught a glimpse of Laura.

  Laura sauntered out into the parking lot with Brooke and BJ on either side of her. Laura had her head resting awkwardly on his shoulders as he did what he could to support her. With her window rolled up she couldn’t hear what it was they were saying, but when Laura lifted her head and shot a glance toward Jillian’s truck, she imagined what it was. She was ninety percent certain that they couldn’t see her sitting behind the tinted glass, but she would have sworn that Laura had looked her right in the eyes.

  For a moment, as Laura looked at her, the weight of the world had lifted. When she turned away, the tidal wave of reality came rushing back. Had that been what Laura had felt when Jillian had sent her away? She had never meant to hurt her; that wasn’t why she had pulled back when she reached out for comfort. She had wanted to protect her. She didn’t want Laura to lose all the progress she’d made over the last few weeks, and to think that she had nearly thrown it all away for Jillian was too much for her to handle.

  Once they had loaded into Laura’s car and drove away, Jillian was free to move, and yet she didn’t. Her mind wandered back to the night they’d sat in this very spot and kissed for the first time. It was a kiss so sweet, so passionate, that neither of them had been strong enough to resist. Jillian wondered where they would be now if they’d not fallen victim to their desires. Given the chance to do it again would she still surrender to the hunger they had for each other? Could she have turned her away that night when she arrived on her doorstep literally wet and wanton?

  The truth was Jillian wouldn’t have changed a thing, even now. She had never been so consumed with attraction; time and consequence had not diminished the fervor. But why was she so afraid? Why had she given up so easily on someone who just wanted to love her? Laura wanted nothing in return except the promise of her own heart. As much as it seemed like she was losing everything, Jillian could find another job, another home in another city. She’d never find someone who would love her as purely as Laura did. How was she supposed to know if the chance was worth taking?

  It seemed that now was an appropriate time for her own words about fear to come back to haunt her. Jillian was dripping with sweat when she finally got out of the truck. The temperature had already begun to rise on what was going to be a beautiful Florida day. Although despite the potential the day held, Jillian felt less than hopeful.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Laura wanted nothing more than to call in sick and stay in bed like she had the day before. As much as she struggled to participate in life, she couldn’t spend any more time alone in her mind. Of course, BJ wasn’t going to just let her squirrel away in her room to wallow; it was as thoughtful as it was annoying. Laura would show up, but there was no guarantee that she would put in much effort beyond what she needed for walking.

  She was mad at herself. Laura was no stranger to failure or setbacks, but there was something different about a broken heart. It had no logic or reason; it couldn’t be smothered or ignored. Laura was mad that in spite of everything she had overcome it was Jillian’s change of heart that seemed impossible to accept. She had felt a love so pure that she couldn’t imagine a life without it. Laura was mad that it had become what she wanted over everything else she’d worked for.

  “I wish I was mad at her. Or something. It would make it easier if I hated her,” she said to BJ as they left for another midnight shift. Unfortunately, with Diana in charge this would probably be just one of many more to come.

  “I suppose. However, you don’t.”

  “I don’t. I hardly even blame her, let alone hate her.” Laura couldn’t help but steal a glance down the dark path toward Jillian’s house when they passed. She’d done the same that morning when they passed by her truck in the parking lot. Laura supposed she couldn’t be lucky enough to see her more than once in the same day. BJ clocked in and pulled down the charts, handing half of them to Laura. They went through the day’s reports and logs looking for anything they needed to keep an eye out for.

  “Do you have Pepper’s chart?” BJ asked, putting the others back on the shelf.

  “I do, why? She flipped to the page and handed him the clipboard.

  “I overheard Kelsea tell Diana about some possible hyporexia. I guess she’s not eating her full meals.”

  “Pepper? That’s not like her. What did Diana say?” Laura couldn’t help but think that she didn’t give a rat’s ass about who ate what considering her wasteful display that morning.

  “Nothing, really. Just told her to put it in the chart, so I was curious.”

  Laura looked over his shoulder and read through the numbers with him. “Looks like she didn’t really interact much today either. Oh, and yeah look, she’s under by two pounds for today and one yesterday.”

  “That’s gotta put her pretty low on fluids. Why wouldn’t Diana have followed up on this?” Laura asked.

  “Maybe she did and just didn’t write it down?”

  He put the charts back with the rest and they went into the park. There was no question where they were headed first, though neither of them said it. Laura was worried that something could be wrong with Pepper. In the three months they had been there, the pod matriarch had never been one to turn her head from food. When she and Jillian had worked with her a few mornings earlier, nothing had seemed out of order, although Laura was there for just a few minutes before they were called away.

  “Did you happen to see any results for the lab work Jillian ordered the other day?”

  “No, but they don’t put those on their day charts. Jillian, or rather Diana, would have those,” he said.

  That’s what she was afraid of. If those tests had come back with something abnormal Jillian would have been all over it. Laura had a sinking feeling that Diana wasn’t quite as attentive in her new role. Before they even reached the lagoon, they could hear it. It was a distinctive sound that Laura had heard Pepper make. The chuffing sound wasn’t just an occasional clearing cough, it was more of a frequent blow with an audible whistle. It was a sound Laura could only compare to a human’s wheeze.

  When they reached the water, the sound had stopped. Laura and BJ scanned their flashlights across the surface of the water. In the dark of night, it was difficult to pick out one particular dolphin from the bunch. Several minutes went by without a sound or sight of her.

  Laura had BJ climb up onto the observation platform while she scaled up onto the boulders opposite him. Her heart was thumping in her chest as her anxiety increased with every second Pepper didn’t surface. While they were counting the other members, a loud exhale huffed in the shallows. Something was very wrong. Laura shouted for BJ and they both ran toward the beach.

  “She’s separated herself into the shallows.”

  “You don’t think she’s trying to beach herself, do you?”

  The rest of the pod was anxious and distressed as they circled around making laps between Pepper and the deep water. While they made a scene with loud vocalizations, Pepper swam lethargically, surfacing no more than once every six minutes or so.

  “She’s having trouble coming up for air. Where’d she go?” Laura called out to him when she didn’t come up for another breath.

  “I don’t know. Wait,” he said as he ran up to the rocks and shined his light down.

  Laura’s heart was racing. “Where is she, BJ?”

  “I’m looking.” The seconds continued to tick by, and she begged Pepper to surface. “There,” he shouted.

  Illuminated by the flashlight was a dark gray mass beneath the surface. Laura ran into the cold water as far as she could and dove in. The shock of the frigid water zipped through her body. She could just see the rays of light from BJ’s flashlight through the water. Her eyes burned from the salt, so Laura closed them and kicked her legs, propelling herself blindly toward Pepper. She hoped.

  Laura opened her eyes, and thankfully, she’d made it to her. She put her hands beneath Pepper’s head and pushed her upward to the surface.

  When they both broke through Laura gasped and called out to BJ. “Go get help. Call Dr. Sharpe and Diana.” Laura’s teeth chattered from the shock of the cold.

  BJ set off at a run and disappeared. Laura hooked her arm around Pepper and guided her toward the shore where the water was waist deep. She looked into Pepper’s beautiful eyes and spoke softly to her as she shivered. Laura stroked her smooth skin as she held her head above the surface. Laura hadn’t given her a single command, and yet she made no move to swim away. Laura tried to blink away the stinging in her eyes instead of wiping at them because she refused to take her hands away from Pepper.

  “Look at Luna. She’s worried about you, pretty girl. It’ll be okay.” Pepper took a breath through her blowhole, and Laura rested her ear against her side listening for anything that didn’t sound right. Not that there was anything right about holding up a dolphin too weak to swim.

  “If Jillian were here, she’d know what to do, wouldn’t she? Though if she were here this wouldn’t be happening would it?” Laura continued to talk to Pepper about whatever came to mind. She hummed a few songs and tried not to focus on how long it had been since BJ left.

  * * *

  Even if Jillian hadn’t already been awake, the banging on her front door could have roused the dead. There wasn’t a soul alive who would pound like that if it wasn’t an emergency. Her startled heart was hammering out of her chest when she opened the door. BJ stood on her porch white-faced and gasping for air. The sight of him in such a state made her stomach twist on itself. Please God, don’t let it be Laura.

  “It’s Pepper,” he said, his words breathy and forced. “And Laura. She’s in the water.” Her fears went from bad to worse. Jillian had a thousand questions but wasted no time on the details as they ran through the darkness and into the park.

  “Where is she?” Jillian asked, frustrated by his pace when she could get anywhere in the park twice as fast blindfolded.

  “The shallows.”

  She sprinted ahead of him; if she lost him, she didn’t care. She needed to find Laura now. Why was she in the water? Why had he left her there? The worst images flashed into Jillian’s head as she ran. Jillian pushed them from her mind as she raced toward the unknown. She stumbled in the soft sand when she reached the beach. Just off shore she could see a faint light floating in the water, and she called out Laura’s name, her voice cracking with desperation.

  “Jillian?”

  A wave of relief rushed through her when Laura returned her call, but she didn’t slow down. Jillian ran out into the water fighting to reach her. Her relief turned to fear again when she saw Pepper, lifeless in Laura’s arms.

  “What’s wrong? Did you call Dr. Sharpe? How long has she been like this?” Jillian fired questions at Laura.

  BJ waded into the water beside them. “Dr. Sharpe’s on her way.”

  Jillian cupped her hands beneath Pepper’s head and kissed her rostrum. She looked into each half-lidded eye and spoke to her. “What’s going on, baby girl?” Pepper chuffed a wheezy cough.

  “That’s bad, isn’t it?” Laura asked.

  “It’s not good,” Jillian said. “BJ, can you get the triage case from the—”

  He was already on it before she finished asking. Laura scooped water up over Pepper’s skin where she’d been holding her up out of the water.

  BJ returned with the box and several trainers, vet technicians, and Dr. Sharpe who rushed in with him. They all went right to work in a silent orchestration. Dr. Sharpe threw a hundred questions at Jillian that for the first time she couldn’t answer. She’d been away less than forty-eight hours, and she couldn’t have been more removed than if she’d never spent a day with these animals.

  All she could do was hold Pepper and comfort her while they attempted to diagnose her. “We need to prep the medi-tank and move her,” Jillian said to no one in particular.

  “Agreed.” Dr. Sharpe removed the ear tips and hung the stethoscope around her neck. “We need a complete blood panel, ultrasound, and histopathology. When was the last lung screen performed?”

  Now that, Jillian could answer. “Two days ago.”

  “Results?”

  And just like that, her knowledge was inadequate. “I don’t know.” Despite the cool water, Jillian’s temperature was flaring. She should have fought harder when they handed down her sentence of suspension. She didn’t, and now her dear Pepper was suffering. “BJ, Kelsea, prep the tank. Alex, pull the sling and hit the floods. We need more light in here.” Everyone hesitated for a moment at Jillian’s commands. “Now,” she yelled, and they scattered like minnows.

  They guided Pepper into the sling and lifted her up and out of the water. The team worked swiftly despite the five-hundred-pound weight they carried on their shoulders. The floor of the tank was raised to the surface when they stepped onto the platform. Once she was safely set onto the perforated deck, water began to bubble up through the holes as it sank back down and refilled with water. Having regained a spark of energy, Pepper kicked herself to the surface for a breath. However, it was clear she hadn’t the strength to continue to support herself.

  Jillian and Laura wasted no time scooping their arms beneath her from either side and walking with her. They only stopped when Dr. Sharpe was ready to continue with her exam. The infrared thermometer registered a low-grade fever while a listen to her lungs hinted at possible fluid. Jillian’s stomach dropped when Dr. Sharpe called for the ultrasound machine to check for the possibility of pneumonia. While it was a common illness in all dolphins, wild or captive, without treatment it was almost always fatal.

  While they prepped for the ultrasound, Dr. Sharpe asked if anyone had the results from the diagnostics and no one answered.