Love Bats Last (The Heart of the Game) Read Online Free Page B

hospital.
    “You know her?” Gage asked.
    “Not really. Ran into her up in Sonoma last week. We weren’t introduced.”
    “That’s Jackie,” Gage said, tilting his head toward the departing woman. “She’s the boss. And that’s her at her most suave. She might be wanting in bedside manners, but she’s the best marine mammal vet in the world. She’s why I’m here.” He handed Alex the IV bag he’d lifted from its hook. “Watch to see that this drains properly.”
    He walked to the truck and lifted the smaller crate from it and headed toward the hospital.
    Standing in the misting drizzle, holding an IV bag hooked up to a very sad-looking sea lion, Alex calculated how ridiculous he must appear. His shoes were coated in mud, and he was soaked through. A loud snort sounded behind him, and he turned just in time for the sea lion to sneeze snot all over his overcoat. The smell had a stink like no other. Even so, as he snagged a towel off the fencing with his free hand and began to wipe down his coat, an odd elation flooded him, like hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. It made no sense.
    But he smiled anyway.
    Then he hung the towel back on the fencing and watched the last of the IV fluid drain from the bag. When Gage didn’t return, he hooked the empty bag to the fence and started across the parking lot. Whether he was headed for his car or to the lighted hospital, he wasn’t sure. Then he remembered he’d let Scotty take his car. Not a very clever move. He’d have to call a cab. The promise of a hefty tip was the only hope he had to entice a driver out into the headlands on a night like this.
    Before he reached the dimly lit building, the door swung open and Gage and Jackie stormed toward him. Well, she was storming. Gage was shuffling along beside her, his long strides easily keeping up with her shorter ones. She marched right up to Alex.
    “We’ve got a stranded whale—the fisherman who reported it said it’s about nine feet. Has to be either a newborn or a juvenile minke. The rescue crew has to deal with the animals they brought in,” she said, nodding toward the hospital. She took a breath and tilted her head toward Gage. “Genius here says you offered to help.”
    She flicked her eyes over Alex. He felt he was being sized up for auction. He’d been sized up many times—by scouts, by owners, by managers deciding how much they would pay for his services—but he’d never felt the awkwardness that ran through him as she looked him up and down.
    “He doesn’t have any training ,” Gage muttered, as if he was trying to let Alex off the hook.
    “He has muscles,” she said. “Right now, that will do.”
    “Be happy to help,” Alex said.
    He thought he saw the hint of a smile flicker behind her scrutiny. She had a strong, beautiful face that would’ve been lovelier without the frown. She turned away and fished in her pocket, pulling out a fistful of keys. She gave him a last, long scan and shrugged.
    “Get in the back.” She nodded toward the truck. “And try not to fall out. I’m fresh out of Band-Aids tonight.”
    Gage shot him a look that said, You don’t have to do this .
    It would take a team of bulls to hold him back.
    Gage motioned for Alex to jump over the tailgate.
    “She smashed it in last week; it won’t open,” he said apologetically.
    “If you hadn’t distracted me with all your budget woes and lists of things you desperately needed, I would’ve seen the bloody hydrant.” She turned to Alex. “I’m a fine driver.”
    If her driving matched her boating skills, he was in for it.
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    The truck lurched down the pitted road. The rain had let up, but the wind was still whipping. Through gaps in the clouds, shafts of moonlight lit the headlands hills with an eerie glow. Alex grabbed a rope attached to a large winch bolted to the truck bed and held tight. The truck reeked; it smelled remarkably like, well, like what he’d imagine stale seal