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When I climbed from Gage’s lap and pulled him to his feet, I couldn’t help but notice Sawyer was gone.
Not that I expected him to stick around all day, especially since he was avoiding everyone. The timing of his disappearance didn’t escape me though.
Friends and colleagues from around town continued to drop in, to say hi, bring us treats, and—at my insistence—do some self-promo.
We were well into mid-afternoon when the owner of Granny’s Yarn joined us. She only had one grandchild, but we all called her Granny because she’d looked after most of us in one way or another all our lives.
She was here to do a tarot reading for me, and then for the first ten people after that who donated ten dollars or more. She had me shuffle the cards three times, cut the deck, and draw a single card off the top of the stack.
I handed her the Seven of Cups. “What’s in store for my future?”
A mischievous smile tugged up her mouth. “You’ve been daydreaming about what comes next. About what you want, and your perfect world,” she said. “But you’re uncertain of what will really happen. You want to make the right choice, and you want all the pieces and all the knowledge to do so.”
Damn. Way to call me out, cards. I kept my mouth shut.
“You need to realize that sometimes instinct can guide us better than any logic, and the future is only limited by what we can dream,” Granny said.
Adam whistled. “Deep.”
I was stunned silent and pondering the words as she read for the people who had just donated. Was that about Sawyer? The store? Gage?
Or was it just the whimsy of chance?
When Granny was done, we moved on to the next challenge, and the next. By the time we hit the twelve-hour mark on the livestream, we were the kind of tired that was the same as being drunk. Adam and Maddox signed off, and the room erupted in a huge cheer when they told us how much we’d raised.
It was more than enough for me to keep my store. I could pay what I owed, I could get myself out of the loan that held a lien on the property, and I could breathe again.
I couldn’t believe it.
We all focused on cleaning up, and Maddox pulled me aside. “Transferring these kinds of funds takes a few days, but I’ll start the paperwork tomorrow morning,” he said.
Tomorrow? “You just finished the livestream. You won’t have the money for, what? A few weeks? We have that much time.”
“I have the money now,” Maddox said. “We’re not leaving this to chance or shitty bankers who might change their mind.”
“You can’t.” I was already asking so much of them.
He nodded. “I can. I promise I’ve got this covered. Besides, Alys would never forgive me if I let bad things happen to you.”
I could keep arguing, but I wanted this to be all right. I needed it to work out. “Okay. Thank you.”
Knox and Rohde showed up a short while later with food and beer for everyone. We ate, we drank, and we lingered in the rush of an amazing day.
Rhode told me they had Terrance in custody.
That was fast, and I was grateful.
When yawns became contagious, we all decided it was time to break it up and head home.
Things were going to be all right. I hadn’t felt this kind of relief in months. Longer.
When it was only Gage and me left, he pulled me into him, and rested his chin on my head. “You’ve been wearing a goofy grin most of the night,” he said. “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” As in, there was nothing outstanding. Nothing to worry about.
Maybe things were going to be all right.
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