скачать книгу бесплатно
“This is my daughter, Chloe. We’re on our way to the lake.” When he felt a weight on his foot, Will glanced down to see Bub perched on his sneaker. The dog sighed as he leaned against Will’s leg and glanced up at him, tongue dangling out of his mouth.
Should he object? Unseat the dog? He glanced up to see both Sarah and Chloe watching him.
Moving Bub could wait.
Chloe stepped forward to shake Sarah’s hand.
Like an adult. A serious, fully grown woman.
Except she was wearing pink shorts and black sneakers that squeaked with each step.
For a brief second, Sarah’s lips flattened, but she pasted on a smile. “It’s a beautiful day out there. I won’t take much of your time.”
“Twenty minutes.” Chloe motioned over her shoulder. “He promised. The guy works all the time. It’s Saturday.” The exasperated expression on her face was a carbon copy of his ex-wife’s.
He’d heard similar complaints from Olivia regularly.
Sarah clasped her hands in front of her and nodded seriously. “Sure, but does his work always include cute cats?”
“No, that’s new.” Chloe pursed her lips. “Where are they?”
“Ah, someone who likes to cut to the chase. I wonder where you get that?” When Sarah’s eyes met his, he could see she was teasing him.
They weren’t friends. Maybe they weren’t enemies, either.
Sarah pointed at the hallway. “Follow me?”
“Show me your cats.” Chloe marched around the corner, pulling Sarah and Will along in her wake.
Giant miscalculation, Barnes. A kid, surrounded by cats and dogs ready for adoption. What are you going to say when she finds the one that has to come home with you?
He’d say no. When Chloe was in Austin, he would be working. All the time. No animal would be happy or healthy with a setup like that.
He was a person and didn’t really enjoy it.
But it was too late for sound judgment now.
“Realizing you didn’t think everything through?” Sarah wrinkled her nose, the teasing glint in her eyes returning. “Kids love pets.”
Will nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get on with the tour.”
Sarah saluted. “Bathroom. Cramped conference room.” They paused in front of a door with a large glass window. Inside he could see concrete floors, cinder-block pens with chain-link gates. Everything was fresh and clean. “Prepare yourself. There will be barking.”
She was right. Inside the room, conversation was impossible. He walked down the line and read the cards. “Good with kids. Needs special care. House-trained.”
Sarah motioned them to follow and then stopped in front of a large window. The room on the other side held a few smaller cages, an interesting jungle gym and cats of different colors and sizes. “Cats don’t cause much fuss,” she said. Where the dogs rushed their gates to speak to him, the cats sat back and eyed him coolly.
Chloe immediately stepped close to the glass, her breath fogging the window.
Sarah shot him a sympathetic glance. “You can go inside if you like.”
“No” burned on the tip of his tongue, but Chloe’s pleading eyes made it impossible to say. He waved a hand at the door. Chloe slipped inside so fast that she missed him say, “Don’t get too attached. We aren’t taking one home.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched Chloe carefully approach a fat orange cat. They stared at each other for a long minute before Chloe reached out slowly to run a finger over the cat’s head. A dog would have probably knocked her to the ground and licked her from head to toe at this point.
“I think I must be a cat person.” He appreciated the quiet and reserve. “Although Bub is nice, too.”
Sarah blinked at him for a minute. “I did not expect you to say that. Better take a look at your pants before you commit.”
He glanced down to see the white hairs dotting his pants. “How does a brown dog leave white hairs?”
“Unsolved mystery,” Sarah said.
“Time to clean the litter boxes,” a small, older woman sang as she came down the hall.
No one should be that happy about cat litter.
Sarah’s lips were twitching as she said, “Shelly, can you keep an eye on Chloe?”
“You got it, Sarah.” Shelly slipped inside.
“Shelly’s one of the volunteers keeping the doors open.” Sarah led him into another room. “Food, treats, toys, everything we might need for the cats or dogs stays in this room and we keep a careful inventory.” Sarah pointed at a long line of bowls. “Shelly’s getting ready to feed the cats next.”
“All by herself?” The cat-to-person ratio seemed high.
“Usually I help.” Sarah led him back to the hallway. “The vets who volunteer sometimes use these exam rooms. We take the animals to the clinics for anything out of the ordinary, but the van isn’t running. Needs a new battery.” She shoved open a heavy door. “And this is our exercise yard.”
Will stepped out behind her to see that this part of the shelter was also immaculate. Beyond the fences was another grassy area but it was overgrown. “What do you use that for?”
Sarah studied the fence. “Well, if we could repair the fences, we’d use it as another exercise yard. The shelter has room to grow, so we could increase our capacity, but not without more volunteers and some improvements.”
And that was the critical point. They both knew it.
“Come back to the director’s office. It’s cramped, but if you have a minute, I’d appreciate your opinion on the information I worked on last night. If I’m on the right track, I’ll keep going.” Sarah rubbed her forehead. “You will let me meet with Rebecca, won’t you? If I have to, I’ll wait for her at the grocery store and spring out from the frozen foods. I need this.”
His steely reserve was faltering. This was not a big surprise.
“Show me what you’ve got.” Maybe he was going to cave, but he wouldn’t make it easy for her.
Sarah’s fist pump of victory was premature, at least as far as she knew, but he enjoyed the way she lit up. Today she was young and honest and completely trustworthy. It was too bad they hadn’t met today for the first time.
She moved back through the building at twice the speed of the tour. Will stopped in front of the cat room to check on his daughter. Chloe had worked her way across half the room. She and Shelly were discussing a black cat perched high in the corner.
When he got Chloe’s attention, he pointed in the direction of the office, and she nodded quickly to dismiss him.
Is the lake enough to get her out of here without a cat?
He might have to throw in the new tablet, too.
“Come on. My twenty minutes are up.” When Sarah hit the door to the office and it refused to budge, she muttered under her breath. “Stupid warped door. Cooperate with me this once.”
A loud squeak brought Bub running, and all three of them walked into the office.
Sarah motioned at the couch. “Move Bub out of your way. He’s staying in here with me until we reopen to surrenders. Have a seat.” He watched her shimmy between two tall stacks of files and pick up a notebook from a pile of papers on the desk.
Sarah wedged herself in next to him to keep from disturbing Bub. He’d rolled up into a tiny ball and was watching the action through drowsy eyes.
At this close range, Will could see that Sarah was tired, worried and still so pretty it was hard to think of her as Sarah Hillman, high school terror.
Like a drowning man grasping for a rope, Will studied the papers in her hands. “What have you got to show me?”
“Well, now that you’ve had the tour, you know the list of things the shelter needs is extensive. The most critical items are written down in order.” She pointed at a handwritten list. “Sorry. No computer. I think the last manager took the laptop with her.”
Deciphering the words took some work. “Utilities. Staff. Repairs.” He couldn’t argue with her rankings. “Do you have numbers? I’m sure you know plenty of guys who can help you do the math.”
“Help me do the math? Nice zinger, Will.” Sarah snatched the notepad away.
It had been an easy shot. Since he’d been her designated math nerd in high school, on call for homework answers and class notes as needed, he knew how she operated. So why did taking the easy shot feel so mean?
Sarah pointed at the messy desk. “I will definitely get the numbers. I’ve started sorting everything to come up with a yearly estimate for all the utilities. I’ll add in a manager’s salary and coordinate the volunteers myself. The rest of the staffing can come at some later point. As far as the rest, we need to clean up the lobby and make repairs on the van we use to transport animals to adoption events and the vet.”
Will worked the paper out of her fist and flipped through her outline. What she’d come up with was pretty impressive. She had a long way to go but her plan was solid. Just as surprising was that she’d done every bit of the work by herself. She was anxiously watching his face, and he wondered why she hadn’t enlisted reinforcements.
“I could have something ready to go next week, if you’ll promise me a chance to meet with Rebecca. Otherwise, I’ll be wasting a lot of time outside your office, me and my howling dog.”
“Fill in the blanks and I’ll make sure you sit down with Rebecca, Stephanie and Jen. That’s all I can do.” Even though the logical voice in his head was telling him he should have stood his ground, Will couldn’t. Whatever her faults were, she had a good cause. This fit the criteria he’d been given: the shelter made Holly Heights a better place. Rebecca would make her own decisions.
Sarah’s head dropped back and she closed her eyes, some of the tension melting away as he watched.
“This isn’t a done deal, though. My sister, in particular, has a long memory and—”
Sarah threw her arms around Will’s neck quickly enough to cause a thoroughly relaxed Bub to grumble his discomfort. “Thank you, Will Barnes. Without this shot, I don’t know what I’d do.”
She rested her head on his shoulder without letting go of him. And the sad truth was she didn’t feel like a villain pressed against him. She felt so right. Cotton and denim and messy hair might be her alter ego but it worked. His hands landed gently on her back and he slid them up and down, enjoying her weight against him until she sniffed in his ear.
“Are you crying?” Will urged her back, worried at how reluctant he was to unwrap her arms from his neck.
“Little bit.” Sarah laughed and wiped the tears from her eyes before she met his stare. He had no idea what to say to that anyway, so he waited.
“I’m so relieved.” She wrapped her arm around a concerned Bub and kissed his head. “No worries, Bub.”
“You don’t have any money yet.” Tears. If only she’d known how well they’d work against him, she could have started there.
“I know, but this was the part I was really afraid of.” Sarah shook her head. “Asking for help.”
“Try being...” He wasn’t sure what the right word was.
“Nice? I wasn’t sure you thought I had it in me.” She blinked and sniffed again over a shaky smile.
“Honest. Let’s go with that. Don’t play games and I’ll see what I can do to help.”
Whatever she had to say in response was lost as the lights went out. A faint yowl sounded from the cat room. Will could hear footsteps pounding toward the office.
“Boss! We’ve got an injury.” Shelly and Chloe rounded the corner into the small room, Chloe’s arm held out in front of them. “Jelly took exception to the sudden darkness.”
Sarah hurried over to the desk and pulled out a first-aid kit. “Oh, no. I hope you and Jelly are both okay, Chloe.”
Be cool. It’s a scratch. She’s had worse.
“Let me see.” Will took Chloe’s arm and pulled her closer to the window before opening the blinds. Long red scratches ran down her forearm. Bumps, bruises, even a sprained ankle—she’d gotten them all on the soccer field, at one time or another. But Chloe loved soccer. She hadn’t even wanted to come with him today. “Looks like Jelly hates the dark almost as much as you do.”
He never should have dragged her here.
Chloe didn’t laugh, so Will studied her face. She wasn’t crying, but her cheeks were pale.
“You don’t leave kids unattended with the animals, do you?” He yanked the disinfectant out of Sarah’s hand and applied it carefully.
“No, I don’t.” Sarah offered him a tube of antibiotic.
“I was with her.” Shelly stood in the doorway, her hands tangled together. “I’m sorry.”
Will gritted his teeth. Snapping wouldn’t accomplish anything. And it was a scratch, nothing major. Even if Chloe hadn’t said a word yet.
No need to worry about saying no to adopting a cat this time. Jelly had handled that all by herself.
“Animals can be unpredictable,” Sarah murmured.
Chloe nodded when Sarah patted her shoulder. Then she took the large adhesive bandage from Will and covered the deepest area of the scratches herself. “I’ll wait for you outside, Dad. Time’s up, I think.”
Will stood and watched her go.
Shelly covered her face with both hands. “Sarah, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t even using the outlet that flips the breaker this time.”
Sarah crossed the crowded office and squeezed Shelly’s shoulder. “No, I know. The electric company finally caught up with us. And the thing with Jelly was an accident. Go ahead and feed all the animals. I’ll get everything straightened out.”
“I can drop the payment off on the way home.” Shelly peeked at Will and said, “I’m really sorry. Please let Chloe know she was such a big help.”
Proud of himself for not overreacting to the injury, Will tipped his chin. He would pass the words along. Someday. Probably not today. Not until he was sure they were safely out of cat-adoption territory.
Sarah waved Shelly on. “I’ll take the cash I have on hand and put some sugar with it, see if I can buy more time. But thank you for offering.” Her smile was bright, and even though it didn’t match the worry and defeat in her eyes, Shelly bought it. She gave Sarah a thumbs-up and left.
“We better get you out of here. Ten minutes on the lake on a day like today will fix Chloe’s world. Whenever my daddy took me out on the lake, I had a hard time holding on to my teenage angst.” Sarah moved to the doorway and motioned regally as if escorting him out of the cramped office.
“Hoping a quick exit will keep me from getting mad about the cat and taking back my offer to help?” Sarah blinked slowly. What made him think that was more for effect than actual surprise?
“It was an accident. Chloe and Jelly were probably both startled when the lights went out. And both of them are fine.” Sarah smoothed her ponytail over her shoulder. “You see that.”
She didn’t follow up by saying, Any reasonable person would. But he could hear the words all the same.
