“Who are you?” Dr. Charlie Anderson didn’t lower the tranquilizer gun, though it was clear the man in front of her wasn’t a poacher. His backpack was for camping, but he’d need more equipment to get the puma out of the park. Dead or alive.
That did not mean he meant her no harm. The tranq gun wasn’t a shotgun, but from this range it would do more damage than the knife strapped to her hip.
“Dr. Dev McCaw. I’m a veterinarian trained in wildlife care.”
Dev McCaw. Vet was one of the many titles the man wore. Vet, coder, app developer, genius, multimillionaire. He’d refused every overture Charlie had put out over the last two years to visit Anderson Rescue.
Dev might have turned down her invitations, but he wouldn’t hurt her. The man was not quiet about his passion for wildlife preservation.
Lowering the gun, Charlie moved closer. She wasn’t sure what Dev McCaw was doing in Arizona, but maybe she could convince him to lend his name and prestige to her cause. Finally.
As she closed in, Charlie was shocked by how handsome he was in person. She’d seen him on the cover of tech magazines. He’d looked like all the men her mother had cozied up to. Fancy suits, expensive shoes, well-coifed hair. Not Charlie’s type.
But in rugged jeans, hiking boots and caring for a wounded big cat, he was downright mouthwatering.
“Hey. I know you. Charlotte Anderson, the model.” A phrase that killed the bud of attraction. Good.
“Eight years of school, a three-year internship in exotic veterinary medicine and yet ‘Charlotte Anderson, the model’ is what so many say to me first.” Charlie hadn’t been in front of a professional camera in years.
Not since the accident.
“Sorry.” Dev ran a hand across his forehead. “I just remember that photo of you and your mother.”
That photo.
The one that had made her modeling career, or would have, if not for the accident. The one that confirmed the world saw her as her mother’s rival. Whether Charlie did was irrelevant. People made assumptions, and she lived with them.
“Right.” Their focus needed to be on the puma. “My team and I have been tracking this girl for three years. She’s healthy. Gave birth to cubs two years ago—both on their own now. She’s been here around twelve hours. When my team didn’t see her move, I came out to get a look.”
“Your team at the rescue that caters to billionaires?” Dev crossed his arms, looking like he’d fight her for the cat. Assumption number two in less than five minutes. That was almost a record.
“I just want to take care of the cats. Why is it so hard for people to connect that poachers supply the rich and powerful?” She was trying to educate, trying to stop the demand. Yet, the assumptions on her purpose…
“My team is on the way. I radioed as soon as I heard the cries. You can stay and help or continue doing what you were doing out here.” She lined up the sight in the gun and shot the dart at the cat. It let out a cry that broke her heart, but it was necessary.
Dev looked at her, then at the cat. “I’m sorry. There was no excuse for my rudeness. You’re here to help the cat and so am I. Can we start over?” He took a deep breath. “I’m Dev McCaw, veterinarian. It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Anderson.”
She looked at his outstretched hand, then offered hers. “Nice to meet you, Dr. McCaw. Call me Charlie.”
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