Heart's Refuge

“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.