Sheltered by the Millionaire

Her forehead furrowed. “That was kind of you.”

“Last time I checked, I’m not a monster.”

She smiled with a tinge of irony. “Just a mogul land baron and destroyer of wetlands.”

He raised a hand. “Guilty as charged. And I hear you have need of some of my dirty, land-baron dollars?”

He looked around, taking in a couple of harried volunteers rushing in with fresh litter boxes stacked in their arms. The dog sniffed his shoes as if checking out the quality of his next chew toy.

The stuffing went out of her fight and she sagged back against the wall. “Animal control across town is full, and we’re the only other option around here. People are living in emergency housing shelters that don’t allow pets. Other folks have left town altogether, just giving up on finding their animals.” He could hear the tension in her voice.

“That’s a damn shame, Megan. I’ve heard the call-outs for pet food, but I hadn’t realized how heavy the extra burden is for you and the rest of your staff.”

“Let’s step into my office before your kitty girl makes a break for the door. Evie’s in there now, but it’ll only take a second to settle her elsewhere so we can talk.” She rested a hand on the front desk. “Miss Abigail, do you mind if Evie sits with you for a few minutes?”

“Of course not. I love spending time with the little darlin’. You don’t let me babysit near enough. Send her my way.”

Megan looked at Whit, something sad flickering in her eyes. “Evie’s taking the day off from school. Come this way.”

He followed her, his eyes drawn to the gentle sway of her hips. Khaki had never looked so hot. “I’m sorry to add to your load here, but I meant it when I said I want to make a donation to help.”

She opened a metal baby gate and ushered the beagle into the room. It was a small room with a neat bookshelf and three recycling bins stacked in a corner. Two large framed watercolors dominated the walls—one of an orange cat and the other of a spotted dog, both clearly painted by a child. The bottom corner of each was signed in crayon. Evie.

The little minx peeked from under the desk, a miniature version of her mom right down to the freckles on her nose. “Hello, Mr. Whit.”

She crawled out with an iPad tucked under her arm, then stood, her red pigtails lopsided. Evie’s face was one hundred percent Megan, but the little girl had a quirky spirit all her own. Evie wore a knight’s costume with a princess tiara even though Halloween had already passed and Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching. Her mother smoothed a hand over her head affectionately, gently tightening the left pigtail to match the one on the right. “Miss Abigail wants you to sit with her for a few minutes, okay? I’ll be through soon.”

Evie waved shyly, green eyes sparkling, then sprinted out to the front desk, carrying her iPad and a foam sword.

Megan gestured for him to step inside the small office, then closed the gate again. “You mentioned writing a check, and I’m not bashful about accepting on behalf of the animals. I’ll get you a receipt so you can write it off on your taxes.”

“Where will you put this cat if you’re already full?” he asked as the beagle sniffed his shoes.

“I guess we’ll learn if she gets along with dogs since she’ll have to stay in my office for now.” She crouched down with the cat in her arms. The pup tipped his head to the side and the cat curled closer to Megan but kept her claws sheathed. Nodding, Megan stood and settled the cat onto her office chair.

“She likes dogs better than she likes me, that’s for sure.” He shook his head, laughing softly.

“I guess not every female in this town likes crawling into your arms.” She crinkled her freckled nose.

He would have thought she was jealous. She had been avoiding him since the tornado. He would have attributed it to her being busy with cleanup, but his instincts shouted it had something to do with that impulsive kiss. “I feel bad for adding to your load here. Could you use more volunteers to help with the extra load here? I’m sure some of my buddies at the Texas Cattleman’s Club would be glad to step up.”

“We can always use extra hands.”

“I’ll contact Gil Addison—the club president—and get the ball rolling. Maybe they’ll adopt when they’re here.”

“We can only hope.” Her hand fell to the cat’s head and she stroked lightly. The cat arched up into the stroke, purring loudly. “I’m working on arranging a transport for some of the unclaimed pets to a rescue in Oklahoma. A group in Colorado has reached out to help as well, but we’re still trying to find a way to get the animals there. And since the Colorado group is a new rescue, I need to look over their operation before entrusting our animals to their care. Except I don’t know how I’ll be able to take off that much time from work for the road trip, much less be away from Evie for that long. She’s still unsettled from the trauma of last month’s storm. But, well, you don’t need to hear all about my troubles.”

“My personal plane is at your disposal,” he said without hesitation.

“What? I didn’t realize you have a plane. I mean I know you’re well off, but....”

Her shoulders braced and he could almost see another wall appearing between them. He appreciated that she wasn’t impressed by his money, but also hated to see another barrier in place.

Still, the more he thought about flying the animals for her, the more the idea appealed to him. “Make the arrangements with the rescue and whatever else needs to be done as far as crating the animals. I assume you have procedures for that.”

“Yes, but....” Confusion creased her forehead. “I don’t know how to say thank-you. That’s going above and beyond.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. This is a win-win.” He got to help the animals, score points with Megan and spend more time with her to boot.

“But the cost—”

“A tax write-off, remember? Fly animals as far as you need them to go and your time away will be reduced considerably.” This idea just got better and better, not only for the animals, but also by giving him an “in” to see Megan, to figure out where to take this attraction. “This isn’t a one-time offer either. You’re packed with critters here. If there’s help out there, take it and my jet will fly them there.”

“I can’t turn you down. The animals need this kind of miracle if we’re going to find homes for them by the holidays.” She exhaled hard. “I need to get to work placing calls. There are rescues I hadn’t considered before because of the distance and our limited resources. Rescue work happens fast, slots fill up at a moment’s notice.”

“And this little gal?” He stroked the cat’s head and for once the calico didn’t dig her claws in. Perched on the back of the chair, she arched up into his hand and purred like a race car.

“Are you sure you don’t want to keep her?”

He pulled his hand away. “I can’t. I’m at work all the time, which wouldn’t be fair to her.”

“Of course.” Megan looked disappointed in him, even though he’d just offered her thousands of dollars’ worth of flight hours.

But then, hadn’t he said it? Offering his plane was easy. Taking care of another living being? Not so easy.

“I should let you get to work on lining up those rescues.” He pulled a business card from his wallet and plucked a pen from the cup on the edge of her desk. He jotted a number on the back of the card. “This is my private cell number and my secretary’s number. Don’t hesitate to call.”

When he passed her the card, their fingers brushed. He saw the flecks of awareness sparkle in her eyes again. He wasn’t mistaken. The mutual draw was real, but now wasn’t the time to press ahead for more.

“Thank you again.” She flipped the card between her fingers, still watching him with suspicion, their old conflicts clearly making her wary. “Would you like to name your kitty cat?”

“That’s not my kitten.”

“Right,” she answered, a smile playing with her plump lips that didn’t need makeup to entice, “and she still needs a name. We’ve had to name so many this past month, we’re out of ideas.”

He thought for a second then found himself saying, “Tallulah.”

“Tallulah?” Her surprise was a reward. He liked unsettling her. “Really, Whit? I didn’t expect such a...girly name choice.”

“That was the name of my mom’s cat.” She was briefly theirs, but when they’d moved, the cat ran away. Then his father had said no more pets. Period.

“It’s a lovely name.”

He nodded quickly then turned to leave.

“Whit,” she called, stopping him short, “about what happened after you helped me get to Evie that day....”

Was she finally acknowledging the impulsive, explosive kiss? The thought of having her sooner rather than later... “Yes?”