Steadfast Soldier. Cheryl Wyatt

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      Reece hugged Chloe and Chance. “Thank you! I love Miss Maple already. I promise to take good care of her.”

      “Reece wants to be a vet when she grows up,” Ben, the tallest, cutest Asian-American man Chloe had ever seen, said as he brushed a fatherly hand along Reece’s hair, which haloed her face in ringlets.

      Chloe knelt. “You do? My cousin Mallory is training to be a vet. She’s almost finished.”

      “Maybe she can come work in Refuge,” Reece said as she hugged the kitten as it purred to the point that it vibrated.

      Chance walked alongside Chloe as they accompanied the Dillinger family to their car with their new pet. “Refuge currently only has one vet. He’s an older gentleman looking to retire. He’s scaling severely back on business.”

      Which meant another wrench in Chloe’s plans.

      Amelia eyed Chloe carefully, as did Chance, observing as her steps stuttered and face fell.

      “Thank you, Chloe, for caring about animals. I do hope you get to stay in Refuge.” Amelia hugged her. “You really brighten Chance’s days,” she whispered before pulling away.

      For some reason Amelia’s caring statement lodged in Chloe’s throat, blocking words momentarily. “Thanks. Good to meet you. Miss Maple’s in loving hands.”

      Chloe felt Chance’s eyes on her as the Dillingers piled in the car with an excited Reece and the contented kitten. Ben’s family waved as they pulled away.

      Chance drew near. “You okay, Chloe?”

      She sighed. “If I have no vet willing to come aboard, I have no foundation for an animal-assisted therapy program.” Chilled, she rubbed her arms. He followed her motions, then removed his denim jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She didn’t mind that he let his hands linger there a moment. “Thanks, Chance.”

      He wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a quick hug. Had it lasted longer, she may have been tempted to rest her head, and her problems, on his strong shoulders.

      Just once, to let herself lean on someone else.

      “Come. Tell me about it.” He seemed to read her mind as he nodded toward the porch swing. They climbed the steps and sat side by side.

      “If my cousin wasn’t already with our Chicago-based team, I’d try to snag her to come live in Refuge.” But Mallory was engaged to a guy who wanted her in Chicago and uninvolved in Chloe’s program.

      Time to think of something more pleasant than how her cousin, her best friend, was about to ruin her life by marrying a man who’d make her forego her dreams. Projects and programs that Chloe and Mallory had planned since childhood.

      Speaking of programs, Chloe studied Chance. Had he not been in the midst of difficulty, Chloe might’ve hit him up to be part of her southern Illinois team. Though he’d likely be willing, it would be too much to ask right now.

      Then his plans to pursue youth pastoring passed through Chloe’s mind again like a flesh-piercing arrow.

      She scooted another inch away from him.

      His long legs paused, the pressure pushing them in a relaxing back-and-forth swinging rhythm. He noticed.

      She eyed her watch. “I should get to bed. I have back-to-back meetings tomorrow and a twelve-inch stack of papers to fill out for permissions and taxes, funding and zoning. Not to mention research on the citizens of Refuge to see if I can cull people to be on my team.”

      “I might be able to help with that if you tell me what you need.”

      Right now what she needed was for his cologne to stop overpowering her resistance to him.

      She breathed deeply and wished breathing wasn’t so necessary for survival. “I like what you wear.”

      He dipped his head to eye his T-shirt, emblazoned with a military emblem.

      “I meant the woodsy cologne.”

      Her face heated about the time his shy grin appeared. “Thanks. You always smell good too.” He bumped her shoulder with his, then left his arm resting against hers.

      His nearness joined the cologne’s assault on her senses. She could so easily fall for this man.

      But falling in love right now was far too dangerous to her dreams. Chloe stood. “If you’re serious about helping, come on inside.”

      She led him in and they sat around her lighted kitchen table. Chloe lost track of time, lost herself in him and in the number of cups of coffee and time they spent bent over her table going through the phone book and her required steps for the Refuge clinic. She chattered and Chance listened and occasionally offered suggestions. Good ones.

      Had Chance not been beside her, calming and encouraging at the helm of every obstacle and challenge that surfaced in her search for solutions, she might have thrown up her hands. Her cell phone chimed. When she saw it was after eleven o’clock, alarm shot through her.

      “Chloe, this is Fiona’s mom. We’re at the hospital.”

      “But the baby’s not due for another five months!”

      “She’s in preterm labor. They’ve stopped it but said since the baby dropped, she’ll be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy.”

      “Do you need me to come there? Can I do anything to help?”

      “No, I think we have everything under control. Except that Fiona needs to rest, and she wouldn’t until we called you. I know it’s late, and I’m so sorry, but she wanted me to let you know she needs a medical leave of absence from the team.”

      Chloe’s heart dipped, both from fear for her friend and her baby and because this would set Chloe back even more. If she had to keep putting out fires on her Chicago team, she couldn’t focus on building Refuge’s.

      But truly, some things took precedence. People were more important than programs, period. Saving Fiona’s baby’s life was far more important. “Tell her not to worry at all. I’ll take care of it and cover her duties. Tell her also that I’m praying.”

      “Thanks, Chloe. We knew you’d understand.”

      Chloe hung up and just sat there, staring. Then she pressed her fingertips to her pulsing temples and released them with an overdue sigh.

      Chance sat beside her. “I take it something happened.”

      “Yeah. My best animal trainer on the Chicago rescue team is down for the count. Hospitalized with a problematic pregnancy. Please pray for the baby to go full-term?”

      “Sure. Anything else?”

      “Yes. Pray I can replace her quickly, and with someone very efficient. Otherwise, I will have to go back to Chicago.”

      A weaker woman would have given up and gone back to Chicago right then. But Chloe was no quitter.

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