Treat Me (One Night with Sole Regret #8)(39)

"Excuse me?" Jacob asked.

"Hello, Margie," Amanda said, offering the woman a brief hug. "This is my niece, Julie, and my . . ." She glanced Jacob. "Uh . . . Julie's father, Jacob."

"Nice to meet you both," Margie said, nodding at them in turn.

"Margie's one of the head zookeepers here," Amanda said.

"Do you get to play with the animals?" Julie asked.

"Sometimes," Margie said. "Most of the time I take care of them."

"And clean up their poop?"

It was an honest question, but it gave the adults a chuckle.

"Unless Amanda's here. Then I make her do it," Margie said with an ornery grin.

Julie gave Amanda a look of pity.

"Do you think Jojo would like a young guest today?" Amanda asked.

"I'm sure she'd love one," Margie said with a smile at Julie.

They followed the zookeeper through a tall gate marked Employees Only and down a narrow path and then stopped behind one of the monkey cages. Margie took out a set of keys and fit one into a lock. The small dark brown monkey in the cage scurried up a faux tree to a platform and sat watching them with her thumb in her mouth.

Jacob's heart thudded when he realized they were about to stick his daughter in a cage with a wild animal.

"Amanda," Jacob said, taking Julie's hand and keeping her at his side. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Amanda smiled at him. "Would I ever put Julie in danger?"

He didn't think she would, but then he'd heard stories of apes going crazy and ripping off people's faces, so while Amanda wouldn't intentionally harm Julie, he wasn't so sure the monkey had gotten the memo.

"Jojo has been with us for about a year. I assure you she's very gentle," Margie said. "Especially with children."

"I'm sure you feel that way about all wild animals," Jacob said.

"Jojo's not really wild," Amanda said. "She was a service monkey for a disabled woman and when her owner passed away, they brought her here to live out the rest of her life. She loves people. Her owner had several grandchildren she adored. She gets lonely without a lot of human contact. But if you're afraid-"



       
         
       
        

"I'm not scared, Daddy," Julie said, her eyes locked with the monkey's. "Can I please hug Jojo?"

She turned her gaze to Jacob's, and his resolve crumbled. He didn't know why he had such a hard time telling his daughter no.

"You're sure it's safe?" he asked Amanda.

She nodded. "I'll go in with her. Jojo knows me."

"Jojo loves visitors," Margie said. "She's a little more leery of men. If you weren't here, she'd already be reaching through the cage for Amanda."

"Should I leave?" Jacob said, not wanting to upset the creature. Especially since these animal-lover types seemed determined to lock his daughter in a cage with it.

"You can stay out here and observe," Margie said. "It's not that Jojo is upset by men. She's just a little shy around them."

Jacob squatted down and captured Julie's shoulders between his palms. "You mind your aunt and do whatever she tells you to do."

Julie backed away and lifted a hand to Amanda, eager to start her adventure.

"Promise you'll mind her, Julie," Jacob said firmly, "or you won't be allowed to see the monkey."

"I promise I'll do whatever Aunt Mander says," Julie said, her gaze locked on Jacob's. "Even clean the poop."

Jacob chuckled and gave Julie's slight form a hearty squeeze. Even though he trusted Amanda to keep her safe, he still found it difficult to let Julie go.

Margie opened the cage, and Amanda stepped inside, ducking her head through the small door. "Wait there for a minute, Julie," Amanda said to the eager child.

Julie wrapped her fingers around the cage door, but did as she was told and didn't enter the enclosure.

"Come, Jojo," Amanda said to the monkey.

"What kind of a monkey is that?" Jacob asked Margie as the small dark brown animal climbed down from her perch and settled at Amanda's feet. Jojo curled her long tail around her body. She looked up at Amanda and then glanced at Julie before finding the tip of her tail uncommonly interesting. The monkey began to pick at her fur with tiny black fingers.

"She's a capuchin. They're very intelligent." Margie patted his back. "And friendly."

Amanda sat on a cement step inside the cage and Jojo climbed into her lap, immediately settling into Amanda's arms and snuggling into her chest for a hug. Amanda stroked her thick fur and murmured to her in soothing tones. "Do you want to meet Julie?" Amanda asked the monkey.