“Get your ass in gear, beg everyone you know, everyone you’ve ever met, and every stranger you come across on the street to help you make this happen.”
I groaned louder. “I have no idea what to do.”
“I’ll tell you what you shouldn’t have done.” She looked over again, no hint of humor in her eyes.
“What’s that?”
“You shouldn’t have put your foot in your mouth. You shouldn’t have undermined Lacey. You shouldn’t have made a promise before you knew what you were getting yourself into.”
I bit back the sharp retort that threatened to fly out of my mouth and took a deep breath instead. “That’s great advice. But it’s about ten minutes too late. How about we focus on the future instead of dwelling on the past?”
“Can you pull over here? I have dog food to pick up.” She pointed up ahead.
I brought the truck to a stop in front of the feed store, then got out and followed her inside. The building looked like an old barn that could collapse at any moment. An older man with agrizzled beard sat behind the counter. One strap of his overalls fell across his chest. Zina didn’t hesitate; she wrapped the man in a hug, the smile on her face genuine.
“Hi there, Coop. You said you’ve got some dog food to donate to the shelter?”
“I heard you were in a bind. Figured a few bags of food might help.”
“It always helps. But I don’t want to take anything you can make money on. You need to keep your own rescue going.”
He grinned, revealing a smile that was missing a front tooth. “You’ve got a good heart, girl. We’ve got to look out for each other, us animal lovers.”
“You’re right about that.” She ran her hand over the back of an orange tabby cat that hopped up on the counter. “Coop runs a cat rescue.”
I didn’t think she was still speaking to me after the exchange we’d had in the truck. “That explains the cats.” I glanced around. Cats in all ages, sizes, and colors roamed the store.
Coop rounded the counter and shuffled toward the back. “Got it saved over here for you.”
Zina motioned for me to follow. “He saves any bags that pass the expiration date or break open during delivery.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Sure is. Like he said, we look out for each other around here.”
I wondered what she meant by that. Sure seemed like a jab at me in some form. We reached the back of the store, where a tall pile of dog food bags stacked against the wall.
“Now, Coop. What’s wrong with those bags?” She leaned closer, looking at a label. “They’re not expired and don’t have any holes. You can’t donate those, you should put them out on the floor.”
“Would you just take ’em off my hands? I want to help.” The older man reached for the bag on top.
“I can’t. I appreciate your willingness to pitch in, but you need the sales.”
I didn’t wonder for a moment who would win that battle. My money was on Zina. All of it. Every single time.
The older man pulled something out of his pocket and sank it into the bag of dog food. “Well, will you look at that? Seems this one’s got a hole in it. I can’t sell that one. You’d better take it.”
“Coop.” Zina’s voice came out low, threatening. “Cut that out now.”
“This one, too.” He stabbed another bag. “Am I going to have to attack the whole stack or would you do me the favor of taking these off my hands?”
Zina’s expression changed. I watched the glow spread across her face. “You know I don’t appreciate it when you self-sabotage to help me out.”
“Just this once. You were such a help to me when I was about to lose it all, and I heard about what happened at the shelter.” He turned to me. “You should have seen what she did when my building was on the line. They wanted to shut me down, but Zina helped me file to become a nonprofit rescue for these poor kitties. She’s an angel, don’t you think?”
I studied the “angel” next to me. For someone who projected such a tough exterior, she appeared to have a whole lot more going on inside than what she wanted the world to see. “I agree.”
“You two stop it.” Zina’s cheeks flushed. “I’ll take it. Just this once though. For the pups.”
