Rescue Me (a quirky romance novel about secrets, forgiveness and falling in love) (31 page)

At the bottom, under layers and layers of crushed tissue, she finally found a box. It was a good size, maybe a jewelry box. She pulled it out.

The box was wrapped in the flashiest foil wrapping paper she'd ever seen. It looked like a party, reminding her of Mardi Gras. Tacky, really. She eagerly ripped the paper away, finding a white gift box--the kind you get from a top-notch store. "What did you do?"

"It's nothing. Really."

She didn't believe him. Holding her breath, she opened the box and slowly pealed away several more layers of tissue paper.

And found the ugliest colored thing she'd ever seen. She took a second look, seeing only fuscia silk flowers. "Oh, my," she muttered, pulling it from the box. "You really, shouldn't have."

"It's a purse. One of those fussy, frilly things. The sales lady said every woman wants one."

"She did, did she?" Hailey studied the purse with renewed interest. She had to find something to compliment. He looked so pleased with himself.

"Do you like it?"

"Pink silk flowers, beads and straw. What's not to like?" That was the best she could do. She settled it back into the box. But before she got it aptly covered with paper, he touched her hand.

"Why don't you use it now? You could put your wallet in there. Maybe a lipstick. It's not very big, but I figure you don't carry a lot anyway."

"Use it now?" She struggled for an excuse to leave it where it lay. That was the best place for it.

"Yes. Please? Won't you?"

He looked so pleading. Like a child asking for his favorite toy at Christmas--or a poodle after she'd rescued him from a rat-infested garage. Her resolve failed. She pulled the purse out, then retrieved her old one from under the table. With one eye on a thrilled Rainer, she pulled out her wallet and opened the new purse.

And then she saw the velvet box. Blue. Small.

Her heart hitched. Her breath caught in her throat. She looked at his face, tried to read what he was thinking. All she saw was childlike glee.

"Open it," he said.

"What did you do?"

"Just open it," he repeated.

Surely it wouldn't be a ring! A pair of earrings? Too small for a necklace or bracelet.

Knowing Rainer, it had to be a ring.

"You're killing me! Open it, for God's sake!"

She flipped the lid open with her thumb and saw the most gorgeous emerald ring. "What is this?" she asked, confused, excited, dizzy.

"Okay, I know you're probably thinking I'm a psycho for getting you this so soon, but let me explain." He stopped and waited for her to argue, but she waited patiently for his explanation, afraid to speak.

Was he trying to propose?

"This," he said, plucking the ring out of the box, which she held out in front of her like it was radioactive. "This is a friendship ring."

"Friendship ring? It's huge. And expensive. Friendship rings are made with semi-precious stones. Glass, even. Not emeralds the size of my fist."

Devastation spread over his features, making her feel like crap for the sarcasm. But he had to know he was pushing. Too much, too fast.

Heidi's words leapt to her mind then, and she faced the same choice she'd always faced when dealing with people. Pipe up or shut up. Give in to their demands and stew in regret and swelling anger, or speak the truth right now.

She'd come too far to fall into old habits. To hell with the consequences, she had to be honest. It was better for both of them. She handed him the box. "I can't accept this gift. I'm sorry."

He nodded as he took the box from her and carefully placed the ring back inside. The lid snapped shut, and he set it on the table. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I know there's an attraction here. I love you. I want more someday. I want marriage. Kids. A family. What are you looking for?"

"I want the same things."

The devastation, which hadn't lifted up to that point started to ease from his features, beginning with his eyes.

"So you're not averse to marriage."

"Not at all. I just need time. This is very sudden. You see that, don't you?"

"I thought you'd like the ring. I reminds me of your eyes."

She reached to him and took his hand in hers. "I do love it. And I love you." A huge weight lifted from her soul, and her heart took flight. She smiled at the joy on his face. "You are the most amazing man I've ever met. You give so much and ask for so little. I love that about you. After everything, that gift shouldn't surprise me, but it did. And to be honest, although I'd love to take it--and would wear it proudly--I think we need to take it slow."

"Slow? I can do that."

"Are you sure?"

He grinned. "How slow is slow?"

"I want to be with you. Like crazy. But I need to make sure I'm doing the right thing. Not relying on you, falling into your arms because I'm scared of facing uncertainty here. No job. No home."

"Are you still scared?" His eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Petrified."

"Of what? What are you afraid of?"

"What am I not afraid of?" she said through a nervous chuckle. "I'm afraid of making a mistake. Making you miserable. Making me miserable. I'm afraid I won't find the right situation here. I'm afraid of failing." Those last four words summed it up pretty good.

He squeezed her hand. "Me too."

"So, you understand, then?"

"I do. But I still want to give this a go. Do you?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic."

"Hell, yes! How's that?"

"Better." He scooted to the end of the booth and stood. "Monday, we'll get going finding you a job and a place to live. But, I'm determined to find you the most God-awful place I can. Just so you won't want to stay there."

"No way. That's cheating. Besides I don't believe in casual cohabitation. Call me old-fashioned. But that's the way I am."

"Old-fashioned. That's the last thing I'd call you. By the way, I don't believe in living together either," he said with a suggestive tip of the head.

And she relished the suggestion, and the picture of walking down the aisle to meet this man at the altar. Like never before, the idea of marriage held an attraction.

"Mark my words. Within six months, you'll be wearing that ring."

And those words didn't threaten her either.

In fact, six months sounded like a long time.

Hailey held the two-way radio to her mouth, the other hand on the steering wheel. The truck, enblazoned with the words, "Pet Partners" bumped down a rough road in an equally rough neighborhood in Detroit. The pitted concrete sent the truck swaying and rattling, and she punched the brakes, muttering a curse as she tried to find a house with a legible address.

"You'd think it was a crime to have clear house numbers," she said into the radio.

Laughter was the only response she received, but that didn't surprise her. Andrew laughed a lot recently. She had only one person to thank for that. Her sister.

"Found it," she called out, both relieved and anxious. "And the police are already there."

"Good! I'm only a few blocks away. See you in a minute."

She didn't wait for Andrew to arrive before getting out of the truck and gathering her equipment. Prepared for the worst, she hoped for the best. A crew of six, enough crates for thirty animals, plus a collection of cardboard carriers. Dog poles, gloves and protective clothes.

The report read a "collection" of exotic pets. She'd learned already, after only a few short months of cooperative work with a larger local rescue, a collection could mean anything from one tiny alligator to a pack of wolves. Since opening Pet Partners, she'd removed peacocks, quail, chickens, ducks and geese, wolves, raccoons, alligators, and one ocelot, a small endangered wild cat. The small shelter she'd set up was already teeming with all sorts of fauna.

Once again, she faced the unknown. And in the sweltering heat of Michigan's early summer. She wiped at the sweat collecting on her forehead, dreading entering the old brick structure. If a lot of animals were housed in there, the heat would make the stench that more unbearable.

Andrew parked his truck in front of hers and jumped out. "Did you talk to anyone yet? What do we have?"

"I don't know yet," she glanced up at the house. "They're all busy. I'll wait until someone comes to tell us it's okay to go in."

"You're too patient," Andrew said with a scowl. "Let's go find someone. See what we're up against."

"No." She yanked his arm. "This is a drug arrest. I don't know if someone's going to start shooting or something. We'll wait."

He pulled his arm free and leaned back. "Fine."

Another marked police car pulled up, and Andrew tipped his head toward it. "Can we ask him to find out?"

"What's your problem today?" Hailey had never seen him so on edge. "What's the hurry? You know the protocol. The police go in first. Then, they signal when it's safe."

"Yeah, yeah. Protocol." He glanced at his watch. "I've got somewhere to be tonight, though. I can't be late."

"We just got here! What's wrong?" The other van pulled up and parked behind Hailey's truck, and the volunteers poured out, eagerness in their eyes. "We'll talk about this later, but if you have something important going on, you can leave. I've got four. That should be enough."

"No. I'll stay." His words were more sighed than spoken.

"Okay." She stepped toward the four volunteers, college students on summer break. They'd already proven to be a huge help. A couple of them were preparing for veterinary school, and all of them were energetic and skilled. "Hey, gang! Ready for a big round-up?"

Krystal, the tallest of the bunch, who resembled a giraffe, spindly legs sticking out of cutoff shorts, was the most vocal, and today proved to be no different. "Any word on what's inside yet? I'm so geeked. Thanks for calling us in on this one, Hailey!"

Hailey didn't get a chance to answer. Before she spoke, a police officer approached and pulled Hailey to the side. His face was grim, and misgiving settled inside her belly.

"It's ugly in there," he said, wiping his forehead and shifting the bulky bulletproof vest under his shirt. "Hot, smelly and crawling with all sorts of animals. I'd say there's easy fifty. Even snakes and such."

That was no surprise to Hailey. Since first opening Paws and Claws in Sequoia Valley, she'd seen plenty of filth and abused animals.

"Okay," she said, again mopping her brow with her sleeve. Sweat dribbled down her hairline as the heat of the afternoon sun blazed up from the concrete. "We're ready whenever you give us the go."

"You're clear."

"Excellent!" She turned to her crew. "Let's go." With several collapsed cardboard containers under her arm, a dog pole in one hand and a cat carrier in the other, she led Andrew and the volunteers to the front door.

The familiar odor of feces and urine burned her nose as she stepped inside.

"Damn, it stinks!" muttered someone.

"How can anyone live like this?" said someone else.

Hailey surveyed the first room, a mostly-empty living room, housing a ripped up couch, a recliner and a dozen or so skittering critters.

"There's no way we'll be able to catch them all!" she heard Krystal say. "I've never seen anything like this."

"We'll probably get half today and come back tomorrow," Hailey said loud enough for them all to hear. "And we can set some live traps. Hopefully, we'll catch some overnight."

Andrew went right to work, netting a ferret and locking it in a metal carrier. Hailey's heart broke at the thought that some of the animals would have to be euthanized. Even at a glance, she could tell some of them were sick--no doubt from living in the filth, and overcrowding.

But at least they wouldn't be suffering any longer, she reminded herself as she caught the first of undoubtedly dozens of panicked creatures, a raccoon with matted fur. From the basement, she heard the shouts of a Humane Society volunteer. He'd found pens of dogs.

Her heart gained at least ten pounds that day. But afterward, as she cleaned and housed the creatures that could be saved, her heart lifted. This was good work, rewarding work. She was grateful for Amy's prompt payment, something she hadn't expected. The surprise windfall afforded her the modest building in a working class neighborhood just outside of Detroit.

The phone rang as she settled the last animal in its temporary home. She wiped her hands on her coveralls before answering it.

"Hi, Beautiful!" Rainer's voice made her tingle from filthy head to grimy tennis shoe-clad toes. "Ready to call it a day?"

"Yes. This was one heck of a day."

"Good, you can tell me all about it. Now, come open this door."

Her heavy heart soared, then quivered in her chest. "This door?" She walked from the back room up to the front and giggled at his animated face in the window. "I don't know. You told me to keep the door locked at all times."