At seventeen, Jenny would easily have passed for twenty-one. Even so, she was probably a good ten years his junior. Jenny wasn't particularly attractive, but she did have a mature figure.
Alex pushed away from the table and stood.
"Well, it was nice to meet all of you, but I'll have to leave now. I promised to work a half day today."
He walked around the table purposefully and leaned down, kissing Carmen on the lips. "I'll see you at lunch, sweetheart."
There was nothing unusual about him kissing her goodbye or calling her sweetheart, but he had never done so in front of guests. It struck her that he did so now to make a statement to Rob.
Carmen smiled up at him. "I'll see you then."
Rob shifted his attention to the twins "Nat and Matt. Those are good names for twins.
Actually, she had never thought of that. Their names were Natalie and Matthew, which didn't sound much alike. She wouldn't have named them sound-alike names and she didn't dress them alike. They were individuals.
"My middle name is Natalie and Alex's middle name is Matthew." Carmen stated.
Rob nodded. "I didn't mean to offend. I'll be sure to remember that."
After Alex left, Carmen took the men to Alex's office upstairs.
"I really don't have a lot to say," she began as she sat down at the desk. "I do want to tell you a few things for your safety and enjoyment, though."
When they were all seated and attentive, she began with the orientation she had been memorizing for the last two weeks."
"Welcome to our American Wildlife Safari," she said with a smile, handing each of the men a flyer. "I have given you a little information on the wildlife you might see during your stay here. I want to remind you that wildlife is just that. It can be dangerous - even deadly. It isn't safe to be out there alone or on foot. The gates have locks on them so that they won't be accidentally left open."
It also prevented unauthorized entry, but the other sounded better. Extra keys were kept near the gate so that they were accessible from either side, but they didn't need to know that right now. She folded her arms on the desk.
"You will be offered Elk and Bison meat while you're here. We buy that and stock it in the freezer. We don't eat the wildlife raised here. They are all either breeding stock or are recovering from injury and intended to be reintroduced into the wild. We try to keep the terrain as natural as possible, though we do seed for specific animals. I'll take you on tours into the areas where we most often see the animals, but they are not kept in cages, so I can't guarantee you will see any specific animal on every tour. With a few exceptions, all the animals are in one big enclosure, living together as they would in the wild. In addition to the animals we have purchased, there is native wildlife. We don't always know what will be out there. I can tell you that we have seen a black bear and a mountain lion on this land, so don't wander far from the house at night."