Smitten (6 page)

A lazy male lion basked in the summer warmth while a trio of his female companions patrolled nearby. One flopped beside their wild-maned mate, and another slumped in the shaded grass. The third keen-eyed lioness stared Astrid down, only to back away and retreat when Ēostre braved the sun again and stepped up beside her granddaughter.

“Intimidating the locals?” Maximilian teased from her other side.

“I didn’t do anything but walk over for a look,” Ēostre protested.

“Perhaps your frown terrified her.”

“I am not frowning.”

Andrew, the agent shadowing them for the day, chuckled quietly from a respectable distance away, proving wolves had extraordinary hearing.

“Grandma doesn’t like the heat,” Astrid offered to the conversation. She turned her small face up to Maximilian and beamed. “Uncle Max, does that make you like my mom and dad?”

“And like you,” he replied. “Although your grandmother is one with the storms, you and I have fire in our souls. I would say you seem to have inherited more of your grandfather’s spirit.”

While they talked, Ēostre discreetly gestured to the open air. She turned her face to the blindingly bright sky and closed her eyes. Seconds later, fluffy and thick cloud cover rolled in from the east.

Max turned to raise a quizzical brow at her. “Ēostre.”

“It was necessary!” she protested.

As a young couple walked by, the woman fanned herself and uttered, “Thank God. It’s like we’re finally getting a break from this crap.”

Ēostre glanced at her friend.

“There’s no need to be smug about it,” he mumbled.

“Would you like me to take a picture of you with your wife and daughter, sir?” A cheerful, smiling employee with a camera around her neck beamed at them. “The lions are in the perfect spot for it today.”

Ēostre searched the area for another couple, and failing to locate any other family near them, she stared at the employee. “Excuse me?”

“Why yes, we would,” Maximilian said after the initial awkward pause. He slipped his arm around Ēostre’s waist and tugged her in close, and before she could protest, Astrid bounced over in front of them. The little girl hammed it up for the camera, but her playful antics failed to distract Ēostre from how natural it felt with Max’s arm circling her waist. His warmth enveloped her at once with the scent of cedar and woodsy cognac. She discreetly turned her head, breathed in his cologne, and half-melted against him. He made it easy.

“Smile!”

Ēostre attempted to put on a dignified smile, but a single glance at Astrid ruined it. The young girl had twisted to throw her arms around both adults. The resulting photograph was wildly inappropriate and absolutely adorable.

I’m smiling like a loon,
Ēostre thought as the woman revealed the digital preview.

“Here’s your number, sir. If you take this to the ticket kiosk at the end of your visit, you can purchase your photographs.”

“Appreciated,” Max replied. He pocketed the scrap of paper as the woman walked away.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked under her breath.

He shrugged. “Did you want to tell her you’re Astrid’s grandmother?”

Ēostre considered it. “No, but—”

“Allowing her to assume otherwise causes no harm and saves us the effort of making explanations. Your identification may say forty-eight, but your face says thirty, my friend.” He took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers. “I took my cue from Astrid when she failed to correct her.”

“Uncle Max is right. Mom told me to never call you grandmother in public if a human can hear us. Besides, who cares what they think?” The girl beamed at them, revealing plenty of her mother’s personality. “C’mon, the gorillas and zebras are this way!” Astrid bounced on her toes, pigtails swaying.

They wandered down the winding pathways while Astrid bolted from exhibit to exhibit along the way. She pointed out every creature, big and small, her enthusiasm contagious.

“Look, zebras. Are they just like horses, Uncle Max? Can people ride them?”

“Far from it. They’re meaner and grumpier, of course, you would be too if you were taken from your home and shoved into a much smaller place to live.”

“The lions don’t seem to mind.”

“They do. I assure you, these creatures, much like the male lion we saw, would appreciate a grander and more spacious territory to roam.”

Astrid’s nose scrunched up. “I wish I could give them a bigger place to live. They want to run.”

They continued past the zebra enclosure at a sedate pace, pausing to pick up frozen lemonades from a snack stand.

“You know, I make annual donations to this zoo,” Maximilian murmured as they traveled a path through the section dedicated to African wildlife.

“Oh?” Ēostre’s eyes cut toward him. Max walked beside her with his hands clasped behind his back, a mischievous smile on his bearded face.

“I’m quite friendly with the director. Friendly enough to acquire certain privileges for a special someone,” he ventured. “Astrid, how would you like to meet the animals up close without glass between you?”

“Absolutely not,” Ēostre said.

“Let her live a little. She has dragon’s blood in her veins. She’s meant to explore and undertake great adventures, is she not?”

“Please, Grandma, please!”

“All right. Fine. Far be it that I should be the one to be prudent and use my common sense. This stays between the three of us without a word to your mother and father.”

Grinning, the dragon shifter stepped aside and removed his cell phone to make a call. Moments after its completion, a big door marked with “Staff Only” in bold white text opened.

He hadn’t been joking about his connections.

“Come.” Maximilian nodded toward the door, and without further word, he slipped Ēostre’s hand into his right, took Astrid’s in his left, then guided the girls toward the zookeeper waiting at the door.

The park employee was a bright-eyed woman in her mid-thirties. She wore khakis paired with a green polo shirt, the park’s logo stitched over the breast. The name tag with her smiling photo introduced her as Maggie.

“Hi!” she greeted them with enthusiasm. “My boss called and said there’s a group of animal lovers who would love to meet our friends back here. Would that be you?” she asked Astrid specifically.

“Yes, yes!”

“Great. I’m Maggie. And who are you?”

“I’m Astrid, and this is my Uncle Max and Aunt Ēostre!” Astrid always did a fantastic job of acting her apparent, physical age, but this time her enthusiasm wasn’t a show.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maggie. Thanks for this,” Max said.

“Yes, thank you,” Ēostre agreed.

“No problem. Come on. If you follow me, we’ll get to do some really fun stuff.”

“Do you have any babies I can look at?”

“Here, let me show you the jaguar cub. He’s docile enough for you to pet if you promise to be gentle with him.”

“Oh, I will, I promise,” Astrid vowed. She trailed after the veterinary technician with a big grin on her face and a bounce in her step.

Ēostre and Max trailed behind and witnessed a fun-filled hour of joy for Astrid. Around three, they peeled her away to allow the vet tech to return to her duties.

“I want to be a zookeeper when I finally grow up. Uncle Max, can I?”

Ēostre opened her mouth to speak, but Max beat her to the punch.

“My sweet, you may be whatever you wish to be when you grow up. That’s the magic of being an adult, and no one else may decide for you.” Then his warm, amber eyes drifted to Ēostre. “But it never hurts to listen to the advice of loved ones and family.”

“Well, I’ve decided I want to work at the zoo,” she insisted with conviction.

As far as Ēostre knew, Saul had already planned on pulling Astrid into the family business. She grinned. Her son was in for a rude awakening, his little girl already developing her own mind and personality apart from his own.

Astrid led the way around the park, revisiting her favorite exhibits, until Ēostre was sure her feet would never recover from the exertion. She received a reprieve when her granddaughter took a seat on a bench to eat a grilled turkey leg while watching the animals roam.

“Astrid has shown immense interest in the zebras,” Maximilian commented.

“She loves animals of all kinds. For a while, Saul feared she would become the world’s first dragon vegetarian.”

“She wouldn’t be the first, actually. Watatsumi’s daughter survived on kelp until adolescence.” He chuckled. “Couldn’t bear to harm her ocean friends.”

“We’re beyond that worry with Astrid, thankfully.”

Astrid devoured a meal impressive enough to challenge most grown men. Without taking a break, she sprinted away to the nearby playground equipment. “Thank you for joining us today, by the way. You’ve really—” Ēostre glanced to the right and encountered an empty seat.

The flame dragon had disappeared, beside her one moment, gone the next while Ēostre was watching the little girl play. No doubt gone to do more mischief with his money.
How much did he pay for Astrid to enjoy a private petting session among the wild animals?
Ēostre wondered.

She texted him and received the standard response: I’m handling business. BBS.

When he returned fifteen minutes later with a cocky grin on his face, Ēostre’s dread intensified.

“What did you
do
, Maximilian?”

“I made the first investment in Astrid’s future career. That’s all.”

“What did you do?” she repeated.

“I bought her some zebras.”

“You bought a herd of zebras?” she shrieked. Several passing tourists glanced over, prompting her to lower her voice. “Max, what were you thinking?”

“I wouldn’t call three a herd.”

“Three zebras? Three zebras, Max? Did you not think to consult me or even ask the child’s parents if it’s acceptable? Sweet Ancestors, you’re the future leader of this country. You can’t walk about throwing money at everyone to have your way.”

“If it truly makes a difference, the animals were to be transported to another zoo out of state in exchange for some komodo dragons, but the deal fell through. It caused an immense amount of grief; there’s been cutbacks in this department, and one of the animals requires more care than what they can reasonably afford. So I offered to sponsor the animals for them.”

Ēostre sighed in relief. “So they won’t be going to Drakenstone Manor. Why didn’t you say so?”

“Oh, no, they will.” Max held up his hands in the face of her withering look, and quickly continued. “However, their main caretaker shall be visiting the manor five days a week to give Astrid lessons in their care.”

“Saul and Chloe will
love
that. How soon should we expect their arrival?”

“Ah. Today. They appear to be very eager to be rid of them for some reason.”

“What?! Doesn’t that provoke even a little suspicion, Maximilian? Who prepares three zebras for transportation to unknown territory without so much as an investigation into the home? How do they know the grounds will be prepared for their arrival?”

“I phoned Leiv and told him about the surprise. He assures me Mahasti shall have everything ready.” Then he grinned even wider. “Besides, I
am
the governor of the state and Saul Drakenstone the billionaire is quite well-known for his studio’s phenomenal treatment of animals in their movies. As if we would besmirch our reputations.” He scoffed.

“That is not the point.”

While Ēostre considered the murder of the future U.S. President, Astrid wrapped her arms around his waist and squealed, hugging him. “Thank you, Uncle Max, thank you!” She’d overheard it all, making it impossible to force Max to undo his troublemaking.

The drive home was filled with exuberant chatter about her new friends. Astrid had picked out a book in the gift shop on their way out and regaled them with facts and trivia from the backseat.

“That is fascinating,” Max said from the passenger seat. “Yes, sweetheart, tell us more. Your grandmother appears particularly interested in the mating habits of wild African boars.”

Ēostre wanted to strangle him.

“Astrid, why don’t you go get cleaned up and ready for dinner,” Ēostre suggested as they parked in the driveway. “Say goodbye to your uncle.”

“Aww. Can’t he stay for dinner?”

“Sorry, my dear. I have a teleconference meeting in less than an hour that I can’t put off.”

The girl sulked, but she hugged him one last time before sprinting away to scrub up for dinner. Once she was gone, Ēostre opened a portal to Maximilian’s home office. The shimmering gateway hung suspended between them, revealing his comfortably appointed accommodations on the other side, as if looking through a window.

“You’re such an ass,” she said to him.

“You wound me, Ēostre.” He lifted a hand to his heart. “Now go enjoy your educational evening and don’t forget our wager. Look at the happiness my gift has brought Astrid.”