Page 7 of Dreams and Reptiles

“Oh, yeah. He’s mine. An Aldabra tortoise. He’s supposed to be hanging out with Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, and Gregory Peck, who, it so happens, is a female.”

His smile fell. “There are more?”

“Uh, yeah.” I rubbed at the stubble on my head. “I believe I told you I was a collector?”

“Mm-hmm, I believe you did.”

“Yeah. I have a collection⁠—”

“Of dinosaurs?”

I laughed. “Of reptiles. I have a sanctuary, actually. I’ve rescued some, and some I received as part of estates.”

“So, I guess I thought you’d have like a car collection or motorcycles or, I don’t know, something else big, but not… dinosaurs.”

“Not quite that old. These guys are from the Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean.”

“And they’re here legally?”

This was not going the way I’d hoped. “Yeah. I told you that Derek helped me do research? That was it.”

Francis peered beyond me with a skeptical expression. “Are we talking, like, alligators? Those giant pythons?”

I concentrated on being serious. “Crocodilian species, snapping turtles, and venomous snakes are illegal in California and therefore will not be guests of my sanctuary.”

He nodded and tapped his lip thoughtfully, but he didn’t say anything, so I filled in the silence.

“When my grandmother passed, she left me this place. I wasn’t sure what all I could have here in California—different states have different laws—but, yeah, Derek helped me do the research. Everything I have is legal here and non-lethal. I swear.”

He nodded at me with a look in his eye like he didn’t quite buy what I was selling, and his eyes went wide.

“Oh. Oh, so you live⁠—”

“That’s my place,” I said, gesturing over my shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“I bought this place.”

It was my turn for the wide eyes. “This place? Wow. A winery?”

“Oh, well, it was. I’m not, no, I’m not going to have a winery. I don’t even like wine. I’m turning it into a retreat. You know, art, writing, dance… Weddings and special events, that kind of thing.”

His face lit up as he described the place to me, and it took me back to holding him in my arms in the park under a gorgeous moon.

“That’s so cool. That’s a lot, though. Do you have someone…?” Things happened so fast at Pride I hadn’t even asked if there was a partner somewhere.

He shrugged. “It’s just me, for now. I’m going to hire an assistant, and, like, staff for events as needed. It’s a work in progress.”

“Cool.” I was in so much shock seeing him that it took me a second for his words to settle in. “Wow, so, this is your place now.”

Grandma had told me stories about how several different owners had tried to turn this place into a successful business, but mostly they’d had big, loud parties with rude guests and lots of cars. I’d actually been enjoying the solitude out here. How was it going to be with a bunch of events going on? How would it affect my crew?

“Derek brought me out here the day after Pride, and I fell in love. He tried to talk me out of it, said it was too much for me, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

I whistled through my teeth. “Cost you a pretty penny, too.” Which meant he was most likely loaded. I’d looked at the listing out of curiosity and knew the former owners had been asking more than six million dollars. My grandparents’ place, in comparison, was estimated at a million-six. I had less land and a way smaller house. Francis’s property had a three-story, modern-looking mansion, a separate guest wing with a massive pool yard, a stone cottage closer to the road, not to mention the large metal outbuildings where they’d made and stored the wine, and then there were vineyards. What the hell was he going to do with it all?

“Sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind if you want to live your dream.”

His words sparked my interest. “What’s your dream, Francis?”