Once Upon a Pet Show (A Redpoint One Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

It's good I'm here. I may not want to
be, but something is happening." The words stopped the conversation
between the three women and Arthur. Zane nodded, his expression
clearing as he looked down at the bot still by his side. The bot
looked right back up, waiting silently. "The station is
uneasy."
    "What does that mean?" Velda
demanded.
    "Fix the smell first," Daisy
pleaded.
    "Wait, maybe Zane can help us with the other
problem. Don't forget why we came down here," Eddie
said.
    But, Zane was already walking towards the back
of the maintenance platform, with Arthur keeping the women engaged
so they couldn't follow. Or, at least, he was trying.
    Damien took his escape. He would find out the
details later, when it was safer from the club's
meddling.
    ***
    Vallory tried to remind herself that finding
success with the very first meeting since arriving would be too
good to be true. So, why was she so disappointed at the end of
it?
    The rare-animal breeder and rescuer had been
quite open when looking at the list of requirements and telling her
his home area would not be suitable. Quick, simple, and he'd had a
few suggestions on other people to talk to. A lot of good came out
of the short meeting, she tried to remind herself.
    Yet, all Vallory's mind could focus on was
that she hadn't found a place for her daubpups yet. She had to go
back to their enclosure to tell them that she didn't have a new
home for them. Never mind that they wouldn't understand what she
had to tell them. The point was she still would.
    She so much wanted good news. She'd burned all
her resources getting the creatures to Redpoint One. What would
happen to them if she couldn't accomplish her goal?
    The very thought set her stomach to roiling
again. Something else she didn't need.
    She showed her pass at the gate. The guard
took one look and waved her in. The grounds of the Exotic Pet Show
were empty, with the artificial sky above dimming into twilight.
Tomorrow the areas between the buildings would fill with people.
Some looking for new pets, some curious, some to attend the
seminars, some buyers, some importers/exporters, and others who
just enjoyed pets. From the attendance figures from last year, the
place would be hard to walk through.
    Her buildings even more so. Which brought up
another worry to keep her up that night. Hoping the daubpups
wouldn't mind so many people around them all day long.
    The building with her enclosure turned out
more busy than she expected. Of course, new people and their
animals were still arriving, and would be even tomorrow morning
before the gates opened.
    Vallory ducked out the door and headed for
another door further down the building. From that point, she wove
around the standing groups of people to get to her own
enclosure.
    At first she thought the other breeders were
just visiting. The old-timers catching up the night before the
official start of the pet show.
    But, that didn't explain the tense expressions
and voices. Then she heard, "What good is security if this happens
right under their noses?"
    A familiar voice, too. Ms. Mishley shifted
from one foot to the next, glancing down to the far end of the
building while adding, "I don't recall this ever happening
before."
    "Shouldn't happen. Need to solve this if they
want all of us to come back," a bald man said. Vallory recognized
him as a breeder just down from her own enclosure. The name finally
came to Vallory. Noah Pyman, the one breeding the miniature dogs
with the silky coats of long golden hair.
    "Why? What happened," Vallory asked, glancing
down towards her own pets. This would be a good test for the
daubpups, to see how they did with so many other people around. She
should go down and count them, just to make sure they were all
accounted for.
    "Oh, where have you been?" Ms. Mishley asked.
"Didn't you hear?"
    "I had a meeting," Vallory said. "What
happened again?"
    "A pet-napping, that's what," Mr. Pyman said
with disgust. "Right in the middle of set-up before the