Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 36: The Masterpiece

"I just didn't want you crashing into me." Barry’s gaze felt far too intense, making him adopt an even colder tone.

Nancy froze. She took back every nice thing she had just thought about him!

Barry knit his brows. "What did you find on her just now?"

"Star isn't being affectionate toward Ginnie," Nancy said with absolute certainty.

"He smelled a specific scent on her and was moving close to confirm it." She turned to look at Barry. "You were a combat medic. You should be very familiar with what it means when a trained dog circles someone while wagging its tail, shouldn't you?"

Barry met her gaze and tilted his chin up slightly, signaling for her to continue.

As their eyes locked, Nancy felt an unexpected sense of rapport. She was certain Barry already knew something was off with Ginnie.

Nancy addressed the crowd. "When a trained dog circles a stranger like that, it's not being friendly—it's preventing a suspect from escaping!"

The room erupted.

"I smelled it just now. Ginnie has an endorphin analog on her hands." Nancy stared at Ginnie, her doe-like eyes bright enough to see through any lie. "Endorphins trigger feelings of pleasure and excitement in animals. It makes them obsessed."

"Endorphins, exorphins, whatever!" Chandler shouted, pointing a finger at Nancy. "What, is your nose as sharp as a dog's now?"

A flash of mischief crossed Nancy’s eyes. "If you don't believe me, let's test it. It won't just be the wolfhound. Any small animal that catches a whiff of Ginnie will want to get close to her."

Nancy suddenly sprinted toward the ballroom entrance. "Critters Villa is surrounded by a massive pine forest. There should be plenty of little residents nearby, right?"

She looked toward the trees and called out loudly, "Little squirrels! Bring your friends over!"

Chandler scoffed. "Who do you think you are, the Queen of the Forest? You think animals just obey your orders?"

Yet, the moment the words left his mouth, a small squirrel scurried down from a pine tree near the entrance. Then another, and another…

"We're here!"

A dozen squirrels marched into the grand ballroom like invited guests.

The lead squirrels didn't hesitate; they leaped straight onto Ginnie’s wheelchair!

"Whoa, this lady's hands smell good!"

"She smells better than all the snacks I've eaten before!"

The plump squirrels hopped all over Ginnie, their tiny paws leaving muddy prints on her pale gown. Their friends from the villa joined in, swarming her until she was practically covered in fur.

One or two squirrels are cute; a dozen wild ones are terrifying—especially since they could be carrying bacteria.

To make matters worse, the squirrels began licking Ginnie’s hands, treating them like a delicious snack. Even the composed Ginnie couldn't hold back any longer. She let out a piercing scream. "Get away! Get off me!"

But it wasn't just squirrels. Guests' pets, stray cats from the estate... seeing the commotion, every animal in the vicinity rushed in to join the party.

More and more animals flooded the hall, circling Ginnie and sniffing her relentlessly. Ginnie and Chandler couldn't swat them away fast enough.

Ginnie had become a one-woman petting zoo.

Eventually, the Goodman family bodyguards had to intervene, using various treats to lure the frantic animals out of the ballroom.

When Ginnie was finally "rescued," she was covered in animal hair, paw prints, and dried saliva. Her hands were damp and marked with tiny tooth indentations—the animals had clearly mistaken her fingers for appetizers.

Ginnie’s eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

A panicked Chandler screamed for a waiter to call a doctor. The pleasant scent on Ginnie was gone, replaced by the pungent stench of dried animal spit. The guests backed away, forming a wide circle of isolation around her. Even her lackey, Yolanda, took a few steps back.

Nancy’s stomach ached from holding in her laughter. She turned around, lowering her head to hide her grin.

She patted the arm of the person behind her and whispered, "Jacob, I told you not to worry. I had it handled."

The arm felt incredibly firm and muscular. Finding the texture rather nice, Nancy couldn't help but give it an extra squeeze.

"Did you see that? Ginnie almost opened a zoo right there!"

"I saw it. Was that your handiwork?"

Barry’s voice rumbled from directly above her.

Nancy’s smile froze. She realized with horror that she was clutching Barry’s arm.

Jacob was standing to her right, giving her a massive thumbs-up. "Brilliant move!"

Nancy wanted to vanish into the floorboards. She had wondered why the 'feel' was off—Jacob looked lean, but she hadn't expected his muscles to be that solid.

It turned out she’d grabbed the wrong man!

She recoiled as if she’d touched a live wire, her face turning a vivid shade of crimson.