Abby leads me to a baffled-looking woman somewhere between thirty and forty. She’s wearing
plain black leggings and a T-shirt featuring the rescue’s logo. Her dark hair is pulled into a messy
bun, and as I get closer, I see fur covering every bit of her clothes.
I like her already
“Maya, this is Cadence. She runs the rescue.”
Cadence takes another look at the men on the otherwise of the small room, then focuses on me.
“Ah, hello. I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting this many people. Are you sure-“
She’s interrupted by a thump. We both look over and see Micah falling backward. On the way
down, he bangs into the back of Maverick’s legs, making him buckle. Maverick falls straight down on
Micah, who lets out an oomph.
Cadence frowns, “Are they drunk?”
“Yes,” I admit, wincing. I can’t imagine this is the kind of image that the Brash Group wants to
project to the world, but the jerks insisted on coming. With our luck they’re going to end up on the
front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.
Her brow clears, and she nods casually. “Oh,” she turns back to me and extends her hand, “It’s
great to meet you. I can’t tell you how much this donation means to us. Things have been so tight
lately. I…” her voice gets thick. She clears her throat and widens her glassy eyes. I do the same thing.
I’m working. I can let the tears go later. “Anyway, I really appreciate it. This donation will help me
keep things running for a while.”
I take her hand, holding it more than shaking. She’s completely unfazed by the drunk men laying on
her floor, and she chokes up because our donation will help her rescue more dogs.
This woman has her priorities straight.
“You are so welcome,” I murmur. Zach wanders over and stands beside me for a minute, then
wanders away. I stare at his retreating back as he exits.Is he leaving?This whole thing has gotten
away from me, and if I’ve learned anything about these men, it’s that trying to predict how they’ll
react makes me twitch. “I really respect what you’re doing here. I…I understand how important
finding the right human for each dog is.” I force a smile and drop her hand. She gives me a gentle nod
and a smile.
“You’ve had dogs?”
“One,” I say stiffly.
