“Toast. We need a toast,” she said while lifting her glass.
“Yes, we do.” Darlene was much more enthusiastic than she’d been about the sanctuary the first time I’d mentioned the idea to her. Granted, she knew more about what my parents hadn’t done as far as maintenance work than I did. Still, I’d been disappointed when she’d insisted I’d lost my mind.
There were days when the loneliness and despair threatened to keep me locked inside the house when I’d thought the same thing. Then a piece of art like the one in front of me was an electric boost to my system.
Tonight, I’d needed it desperately.
A single tear finally fell as I snagged my wine, waiting as Cassie thought of something dramatic or poetic to say.
“To Ellie May’s Sanctuary. Maybe the sign will bring good luck, dozens of grants, and…” Cassie’s wink meant she was up to something naughty. “And several hot alpha contractors to finish the work you need.”
Since I’d yet to tell either girl anything about my overnight guest, I had to bite my lower lip to prevent making a face. “I’ll drink to that.” The engraved wooden sign was perfect for the entrance, a perfect mirror image of the design I’d drawn on a cocktail napkin one night when the three of us had been together. “Who created this fabulous piece?”
Cassie winked. “My brother. He tinkers around with woodworking when he’s not working at the fire station. You know, a big he-man kind of job.”
I knew exactly what the woman was doing, and I chose to ignore it.
“You’ll need to thank him for me.”
“So,” she said, managing to elongate the two little letters into a slow, southern drawl. “I could invite you both to dinner and you can thank him yourself.”
“Ah, no. But thank you,” I told the girls before taking one last sip. “I need to get back to the house. I have a long day ahead.” My mind was still a blur from the night before and I needed sleep. Someone had kept me up almost all night long.
Applying for the grants had also been on my mind. Plus, I needed to get back and check on the fawn. While she’d been a lot better, I needed to try to feed her, which hadn’t been going too well. She needed her mother.
Darlene huffed. “Party pooper.”
“Some of us need to work.”
“Very funny.”
Laughing, I placed the almost empty wineglass on the table, admiring the sign one more time. If only I had one of those big, strapping alpha contractors to hang the sign. And no, I was not going to ask Cassie for help from her brother. She’d have me married off in an hour, calling me her sister-in-law immediately afterward.
“Should I drop by tomorrow?” Cassie asked. While she was a teacher at the local school, she was also an animal lover who’d worked with rescue organizations her entire life. Her help and advice had been invaluable.
“Thankfully, it should be a quiet day so I can get some paperwork done.” Or so I hoped. There always seemed to be one emergency after another. But I wouldn’t trade my life for all the gold in the world.
“Oh, I emailed you another grant application.” Cassie laughed, seeing my face. “Just one more.”
“To add to the twenty-two I still needed to finish.” Grant applications weren’t about filling out a preset number of pages, but about pouring your heart out as to what you and your organization were going to do differently from all the others.
I honestly couldn’t believe the two of them had gone to so much trouble to have a gift made for me. They had no idea how touched I was or how much I’d needed a boost to my psyche.
Between the work Viper had done on the fence and the clinic and the gorgeous sign, I almost felt as if my dream wasn’t tarnished.
Or a nightmare I’d never wake from.
There was still a lot of work to be done, but I was up to the task.
After the sign was loaded up, our goodbyes said, I heard some firecrackers going off in the distance. Great. I loathed this time of year. The horses would be skittish and Ellie May always hid under the bed. The celebration was a big deal in Missoula, much more so than in Chicago.
On a warm night, there was no reason for a chill to trickle down both arms. None.
But goosebumps popped along my arms just as I climbed in.
As if someone was watching me.
There went my crazy, way too active imagination again. About a dozen lights surrounded Cassie’s beautiful property and with the number of dogs she owned, intruders should be warned.
