AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know, Mama. I know.”
Chapter Six
What Nora said is a shelter isn’t a shelter. At least, it’s not like the ones I worked at, and it’s nothing like the other shelters I’ve visited.
When I drove through the steel gates and pulled into a parking spot outside, my mouth almost hit the steering wheel.
“Nora, this is insane.” I drag my eyes over the length of the building. When I look over my shoulder, her eyes are gleaming with pride, and she smacks her red-painted lips together.
“Uh, huh,” she hums, swaying on her feet. It’s a childish movement and yet she does it with so much grace. There’s a toddler running riot in her soul—I’ve always been sure of it. “Welcome to Guiding Light Women’s Shelter.”
I swallow hard because although this place is beyond anything I imagined, it’s more than a step up from what I’m used to.
It looks like one of those huge houses from a design show.
You’ve outdone yourself, Alex.
There’s a large tunnel-like corridor with floor-to-ceiling windows connecting one side of the building to the other. The gardens are landscaped to perfection, with a paved pathway leading to large double doors. It’s bright and welcoming, and I’m going to get lost. I know it.
Noticing my unease, Nora squeezes my arm as my eyes roam around the quiet gardens. It’s beautiful here. Trees hide the shelter, granting the privacy some of these women so desperately crave. It’s secluded, sprawling out over green grass, and it’s strange, but if peace had a smell, this would be it.
“Calm down, Claire. You were made for this. You’ll be fine once you’re settled.”
“I don’t know what I was expecting. It’s different.”
Why is my voice so high-pitched?
“That’s the point.”
I’ve just never seen anything like this.
I turn to face Nora, and she’s still smiling like a child, but her eyes turn softer. I must radiate panic.
“Why did you choose here?” I ask.
The more questions I ask, the more answers I’ll have, and once I have all those, I can make sense of this and try to wrap my head around how one person can manage this place. My fingers twitch, and I anxiously wrap my hair around itself in a bun, but I don’t have anything to tie it up with so it falls around my shoulders again.
I’m sure it wasn’t this hot when I left my house this morning. It’s stuffy and a bead of sweat slips down my back, causing me to shiver.
Ignoring my obvious unease, Nora answers, “I didn’t. The donor purchased the site. He approached me about building a shelter with the foundation, and he already knew Alex, so he contacted him.”
Damien was right about everything.
And it makes sense. The Hope Foundation has an excellent reputation. Nora knows what she’s doing, and if he wants to learn, he chose the best.
“Who’s the donor?”
She tilts her head, her lips turning down like I should know better than to ask.
“Don’t worry. You’ll meet him”
Waves of nerves wash over me. “I will? When?”
She blows out a long breath, turning to face me fully. Nora is petite, but I always feel like she towers over me.
“Tomorrow. I’ll introduce you at dinner. He has a family and usually doesn’t work on the weekends, so please don’t be late.”
Oh, sweet Jesus.
