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“We’re starting today?”
“Like I said, no time like the present.” Mr. Bivens jotted down the address, then handed it to me. “You both need to be there at two.”
“So, that’s it?”
“Almost. You still have to cover the court fees and the fine.”
“Oh, yeah.” I cringed as I asked, “What’s the total on all that?”
“The court fees are three hundred, and of course, that doesn’t include the twelve-hundred-dollar fine.”
“So, it’ll be three thousand to cover us both?”
My stomach sank when he nodded. It was more than I’d expected, and I wasn’t sure I had enough in my savings to cover both Haleigh and me. Dad must have noticed my concern because he said, “I’ve got it.”
“What? No!” I argued. “You’ve already covered all of the retainer. I can’t let you—”
“I said I’ve got it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his checkbook. After filling it out, he offered it to Mr. Bivens and said, “Thank you for taking care of this for us, Mr. Bivens. I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Glad to do it.” He stood and walked us to the door. “I’m always here if any other problems arise.”
“Appreciate it, Mr. Bivens.”
After we said our goodbyes, Haleigh and I followed Dad out of Mr. Biven’s office. Once we got to the parking lot, I gave my father a big hug. “Thank you, Dad. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“I do.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card from his wallet, then offered it to me. I took it from his hand and groaned when I saw Dr. Elizabeth Holt, Christian Family Counseling, embossed on the top of the card. “You were serious about the whole shrink thing?”
“I was, and I am.”
“But—”
“No buts, Rae. This is what you agreed to, and I expect you to follow through.” He glanced down at the business card and added, “Your mom said she comes very highly recommended.”
“Okay, I’ll set up an appointment with her.”
“Three appointments.”
“Three?”
“At the very least.” His tone softened. “Who knows, you might actually get something out of it.”
“I doubt it, but I’ll go.” I peeked over at Haleigh and tried to hide my embarrassment. “We better get going. We need to change before heading over to the shelter.”
“You’re probably right.” She stepped over to my father and hugged him. “Thank you again, Mr. Thomas. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“Glad I was able to help.”
Dad hugged her back, then turned and walked over to his truck. Once he was gone, Haleigh and I got in my car and started home. I kept waiting for her to ask me about the whole counselor thing, but she didn’t.
Instead, she just sat there silently staring out the window. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet, especially after everything that had taken place, so I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” She let out a deep breath. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Me either. I tossed and turned all night.”
“We got really lucky with all this.”
“Yeah, we did. I’m just so sorry about all of it. If I could go back and change things, I would.”
“I wouldn’t.” Haleigh turned to me with a smile. “I know I’ve given you a hard time about it all, but I really did have fun that night. But then again, I always have fun when I’m with you.”
“I’m so going to remind you of that when we’re cleaning up dog poop and cat vomit.”
“Oh, wow, what a nice mental image! Thanks for that.” She giggled, then sighed and looked at me with a concerned expression. “I was a little surprised to hear about the whole counselor thing.”
“You and me both.” I shook my head and grumbled, “Dad was pretty pissed about the whole arrest thing, so I told him I’d go to calm him down. But honestly, I hoped he wouldn’t hold me to it.”
“I’m kind of glad he did.” She looked over to me with concern in her eyes. “I think it’ll be a good chance for you to talk about things with someone who’s impartial.”
“Yeah, maybe, or maybe it’ll just be a big waste of time.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“That we will.”
Haleigh and I ran into our apartment and changed, then drove to the animal shelter. When we pulled up, I was surprised to see the place in such rough shape. The roof was missing shingles, the bricks were crumbling, and the gravel parking lot was full of potholes. There were a couple of larger planters by the front door, but the flowers were all dead, and weeds had taken root.
We could both hear barking as we opened the wooden front door, and it smelled like a veterinarian’s office as we stepped inside. I immediately spotted an older woman with silver hair and round, rosy cheeks sitting at the front counter, and I walked over to her.
