CHAPTER ONE

      “HE’S GOING TO die unless you do something!”

      The “he” in this case was not human, but that didn’t make the situation any easier.

      Leaning against the wall in a crowded college hallway, Katie Vincent frowned and wished she’d ignored her cell phone’s ring. But she hadn’t and now could only ask, “How did you get this number?”

      “The lawyer.”

      Never trust a lawyer, especially not a semiretired one who’d kept her dad as a client because of old times’ sake.

      “The panther you sold me,” Luke Rittenhouse practically growled, “isn’t responding to anything I’ve tried. Based on Aquila’s weight loss, he probably won’t last another week unless you do something.”

      The man sounded annoyed, worried and bossy all at the same time.

      Katie closed her eyes. This wasn’t the first time she’d been asked to make a difference in Aquila’s life. But now Katie was no longer an adolescent girl who thought herself indestructible as well as indispensable.

      “Mr. Rittenhouse, I’m at work. It’s the beginning of the semester, and I don’t have any vacation coming. Plus, I have responsibilities with my younger sister. You’re asking the impossible. I don’t work with animals anymore. I can’t help you.”

      “You don’t have a choice. I’ve gone over all the paperwork, and according to what you signed, you have to improve his condition or you’re in breach of contract.”

      Breach of contract? Unfortunately he might be right. She’d wanted to settle her father’s estate as quickly as possible, so when Luke Rittenhouse had asked her to guarantee her father’s performance animals’ health and abilities, she’d agreed. She’d not hesitated to put it in writing. Bob Vincent, her father, animal trainer extraordinaire with almost three decades of experience, took great care of his animals—better care of his animals than he’d taken of his children.

      But improve Aquila’s condition? Katie closed her eyes again and tried to remember exactly where Luke Rittenhouse lived. She was pretty sure it wasn’t Texas.

      “Are you still there?”

      “I’m still here, but, Mr. Rittenhouse, I can’t do anything for Aquila. I stopped helping my father more than a decade ago. I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t even keep a pet and—”

      “I’m not letting Aquila die. Not if I can help it.”

      Katie seriously doubted that Aquila was dying. He was only twelve years old. Panthers, in captivity, usually lived into their early twenties.

      “I need you to come to Scorpion Ridge.”

      Katie almost dropped the phone. “Are you nuts?” she said, getting the attention of the few students scurrying late to class. “Scorpion Ridge? What kind of place is that?”

      “It’s in Arizona.”

      “I’m not coming to Arizona. I—”

      The man had no trouble finishing her sentences. “—signed a paper guaranteeing all of your father’s animals were in good health.”

      “My father’s animals were in excellent condition,” Katie exclaimed. “Not only did my father’s vet, as well as yours, examine each and every animal before the sale, but we hired an independent consultant to attest to their health. No way can you claim—”

      “Lady, I’m telling you, nothing we’ve tried has worked. Aquila is dying.”

      Katie paused as the memories washed over her. She’d been eleven when Aquila and his brother were born on her father’s property. She’d cried for a straight week after their mother, an always standoffish black panther, rejected her two cubs. So Katie went to work alongside her father, bottle-feeding, seeing both Tyre and Aquila open their eyes for the first time, rubbing their heads, watching the silky gray babies turn black, soothing the cubs after the vet took blood samples, cleaning up after them. Anything her father asked, Katie had done because she loved those cubs, especially Aquila.

      Later, her father had said she’d done “too” good a job with Aquila. The cat wasn’t supposed to be a pet; he was supposed to be a performer. But in the end, the truth couldn’t be changed. Aquila loved her, liked her father, but wouldn’t perform for Jasper—her father’s right-hand man.

      Tyre, Aquila’s brother, was a typical panther and much like his mother, disdained captivity and prepped to attack. He didn’t care for anybody. When her father started training him, Tyre performed but only because his reward was food.

      “Are you still there?” Luke demanded.

      “I’m still here. What’s wrong with Aquila?”

      “If a cat can be heartsick, I think this cat is. He won’t eat, he barely moves and he won’t perform. We’ve tried just about everything. We’ve fed him live game. We’ve put enough toys in his area to make him feel he’s gone to stalk-pounce-chase heaven. But so far he just lies there. I can’t watch him die.” His voice softened, giving Katie hope. This man wouldn’t give up on Aquila. He’d find a way to help him.

      A way that didn’t involve her.

      “Mr. Rittenhouse. I can’t come to Scorpion Ridge. Plus, I have a sister to take care of.”

      “Isn’t your sister in college?”

      So, Mr. Rittenhouse had done some homework.

      “Yes,” Katie said, “but in some ways she needs me now more than ever.”

      There was a long pause. Finally, he said, “Look, I have sisters, too. But I also have a responsibility to these animals, plus my employer and employees. Right now my number one priority is keeping Aquila alive. And, apparently, I need your help.”

      Katie didn’t say anything.

      His voice grew firmer. “Aquila was the inspiration for my purchasing your father’s menagerie, and I’m sure you’re aware I paid top dollar.”

      Yes, Katie knew to the penny what the man had paid for each animal and for some extras. He’d made a wise investment. George, the brown bear, had appeared in more than one movie. The camel, Kobie, could untie a knot in a rope. Ollie, the orangutan, waved and blew kisses.

      Aquila, however, had been the reigning prince of Bob Vincent’s menagerie. He could jump through a ring of fire, dive into a swimming pool and he actually danced to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

      Katie hadn’t always agreed with her father’s ideas of what his animals should do, but Aquila’s affinity for dancing was entirely Katie’s doing. Most of Bob’s animals had been good dancers, at least to Katie’s music.

      Well, maybe not the snakes.

      Luke went on. “If he can’t perform, then I made a bad deal. One I cannot afford to keep. There’s a six-month reversal clause for breach of contract, so I’m going to have my lawyer contact your lawyer...”

      Katie opened her mouth but no sound came out, and she sank to the cold, hard, tiled floor. The reversal clause would be for the whole kingdom, not just Aquila. She didn’t have any place to put four large animals. Her father’s house and land had been sold, allowing her to pay his bills and bury him. The money from the animals had allowed her to pay off her debts, get Janie into college and move into