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"Perfect." She brushes her wavy brown hair back over her shoulder. "I'll take two. And I won't pressure you to spend your break with me, even though Lazy said you're free to do so if you want."
"Unfortunately, I have things I need to do here now that the crowd has died down." I don't have things to do.
"I get it," she says as I pull two muffins for her and put them in little paper bags. "I'll just assume you have the hots for my brother and are worried if you talk to me, you'll give yourself away."
I wince. "Not a risk."
"Great. Then you have no reason not to talk to me. Especially when I have ideas about this sanctuary farm you're wanting to start."
I stare.
She laughs. "Grant might have mentioned it."
I hate the feeling that rolls over me, a dark certainty that this business plan is going to fail and far too many people will be around to watch it happen.
Maybe this is a mistake.
I got caught up in wanting to rescue Mari and Skidmark, got caught up in Honey's excitement and never really thought this whole thing through.
And it's so clear I'm going to fail that Grant sent his sister to rescue me.
"I appreciate the offer, but that's just something my sister and I were brainstorming. We don't have any definite plans."
"I'd like to brainstorm with you. The sanctuary farm is an amazing idea. I'm running the local animal shelter, and I'm hoping we can help each other." She leans in and waggles her eyebrows. "I also have a business degree with a focus on nonprofits if you want to pick my brain."
Her expression is open and sincere. Goldy has a business degree, but she hates the idea of the sanctuary farm. It can't hurt to get a different take. If nothing else, Hailey's advice might prevent us from making a massive mistake.
"Okay." I hand back her debit card. "I'll take a break with you as long as there is no talk about your brother."
She hands me one of the two muffins she just bought. "Deal."
I check on Skidmark, who's still fast asleep in the corner and follow Hailey Holiday out of the bookstore and across the street to a picnic table on the edge of a small park.
I sit across from her and pull my muffin from the bag, my stomach rumbling.
I forgot to eat breakfast. Again.
Somehow, I resist shoving the muffin right in my mouth and meet Hailey's gaze, her own muffin set to the side.
A smile blooms slowly across Hailey's face, bright with excitement. "I had a plan for how I'd tell you about the animal shelter and wait for you to come to me with questions, but I've never been cool."
"I can relate." I'm confused about where she's going with this.
She nods as though I've just confirmed something for her. "I want to help."
"Help? By giving advice?"
"Sure, if that's all you want. But I can do more. A sanctuary farm would be an amazing addition to our community and I'd love to have somewhere to send animals I can't take at the shelter. I want to volunteer my time to help get the farm going."
I stare at her. On the one hand, I want to turn her down because I need to make this business a success on my own to prove to Goldy she's wrong about me. On the other hand, I'd be an idiot not to admit I know nothing about running a nonprofit and need all the help I can get. "It's not even a business. It's an idea that might be entirely impossible. I can't promise you a salary and I can't pay you if the business doesn't make any money."
She purses her lips and shakes her head. "Did you miss the part where I said volunteer?" She pulls a binder out of her bag and sets it on the table between us. "This is everything I could think to put together to help you navigate setting up a nonprofit business and getting it approved. It can be a lengthy and frustrating process, but I can help every step of the way."
I open the binder and flip through the pages as I take a bite out of my muffin.
She's got spreadsheets and charts, as well as a five-year plan for the business and all the information and forms for setting up a nonprofit. The numbers are amazing. "This looks more like some sort of resort than a sanctuary farm."
She nods. "You and your sister have so much to offer, and that house is enormous. If your other sisters move on after a year, you'll have more house than you need. Why not have guests? Feed them your delicious pastries, sell them Honey's pottery, and let them experience life on a farm for a couple of days. Let them snuggle cows. Give them lessons in baking and making pottery. There are several successful sanctuary farms doing the same." She shrugs. "If I'm wrong, you'll still have a sanctuary farm and you can run it the way the traditional farms are run."
