Heart's Refuge. Cheryl Harper

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       CHAPTER TWO

      SARAH COULD SEE the no on his face. Beanpole Barnes—Will—had grown into an attractive man. His starched dress shirt, silk tie and perfectly pressed slacks made it easy to believe he could be trusted with a fortune.

      She couldn’t imagine what he thought of her own outfit. Only desperation could have convinced her to put on the best dress she had left, even if it was years out of fashion, to face someone who’d be happy to shoot her down while she held her hand out for money.

      Begging. The sour taste in her mouth made it difficult to maintain her pageant smile.

      But she had to do something or the animal shelter she’d funded for the past year would close, leaving innocent dogs and cats without a safe place.

      Sarah could relate. As of this week, she’d moved her own suitcase into the shelter office.

      The police had torn up her father’s house looking for evidence of embezzlement. Since she’d answered phones at Hillman Luxury Autos for years, and had seen no shady dealings, she knew they’d come up empty-handed.

      But sneaking her father in—or herself out—while under the police’s watchful eye would be difficult. Until the Austin detective making her life miserable tracked her to the shelter, she had some breathing room.

      And no one would care if the shelter was her home for a few days. After her father skipped town, the shelter’s manager had walked off the job. Donations had stopped. So had her paycheck and the payments her father made on her condo in the city.

      Before long, her father would come for her, explain the misunderstanding, and her life would go back to normal, even if the new normal was a country with sandy beaches and no extradition. Sarah wanted him to be innocent and did her best to believe it. The longer her trials lasted, the harder it was to hold on to that dream.

      The eviction notice had been a wake-up call. It had clarified how quickly her situation was deteriorating.

      “Thank you for your time.” Sarah sat in the leather chair across the desk from Will.

      She rubbed Bub’s silky ear for encouragement. But Will had frowned at the adorable stray, a dog she’d roped in at the last minute to seal the deal. If Will Barnes wasn’t an animal lover, her job had gotten much more difficult, but if he was hard-hearted enough to withstand Bub’s tricks, she was doomed.

      The shelter was broke and closed to new animals.

      Will checked his watch. “Five minutes. Go.”

      Okay, she could do this. “Paws for Love is a no-kill shelter that I started supporting a little over a year ago. Now that... Well, as head of the organization, I’ve committed to raising funds for the shelter’s improvement, but it’s not easy.”

      “Could be something to do with your beautiful personality,” Will muttered.

      The idea that this man, who’d been one of the gangliest math nerds to ever come out of Holly Heights, could hurt her, even if he was speaking the truth, was almost unbelievable. But this was what her life had come to: begging for help from people who’d much rather enjoy her misfortune.

      How could people hold her past actions against her when she was trying to do something good?

      “Since the funding has stopped, the shelter manager disappeared. I’m doing my best with the volunteers to keep the doors open, but Paws needs investment and soon.” She almost told him about the overdue bills but decided that might smack of poor management to numbers-man Will.

      Without fast cash, she wouldn’t be able to afford the basics—food and electricity. Even the local vets who’d been donating time and services would pull their support if she couldn’t keep the lights on. Juggling the bills had become her latest obsession.

      “How much?” Will asked as he stared over his shoulder at his computer. Apparently, even five minutes of undivided attention was asking too much.

      “A lot. Anything would help. I’ve got an event planned for next month, so if I could get enough to pay the bills for this month and next, I’ll have more options.” For reassurance, she scratched the spot right above Bub’s tail and listened to his tail thump the floor. His happy sigh bolstered her resolve.

      “What happened to the other donors?” Will leaned back in his chair, one elbow braced against the armrest. If he was distracted before, his focus now was intense.

      “They are...unhappy with my involvement. Some of my father’s business decisions aren’t popular.” There. She’d tiptoed around the truth.

      Will raised an eyebrow and waited. The silence between them stretched until Bub shifted to sniff under Will’s desk, breaking Will’s concentration and giving her a chance to breathe.

      “You know you’ll need something more concrete than ‘a lot’ to convince me to spend any of Rebecca’s valuable time. Budgets for this year and next, salaries, staffing, capital improvements needed, the percentage of the donation that could go to overhead versus the animals. You aren’t ready for fund-raising. Come back when you are.” He didn’t shy away but met her stare head-on.

      “And you’ll refuse to see me then, too.” Sarah shook her head. “I’m surprised, Will.”

      “I’m not. Of course you thought you could walk in here and everything would be forgotten because you wore your prettiest dress and red lipstick. That’s the Sarah I remember.” He braced both hands on the chair’s armrests, prepared to...defend himself? Battle? She wasn’t sure.

      “Another thing hasn’t changed. I always get my way.” She eased back. “Bub and I are going to stay right here until you agree to at least visit the shelter. I’ll jump through your hoops, but I want you to see what we’re doing when I get my proposal done. Come to the shelter or Bub is staying put.” She tapped her fingers on the arms of the chair. “And you do not want to know how long it’s been since СКАЧАТЬ