I laugh as I crouch down, scratching his neck. Another black dog approaches, looking inquisitive. The shape of a German Shepard, only smaller and all black. Pointy ears high on her head.
“That girl’s Fruitbat. I’ve been calling her Bat since this morning.” Adley lets out a giggle that warms me from the inside. “She apparently understands that’s her name, too.”
“Bat,” I say, smooth and gentle, as I hold out my hand and let her sniff me. Her cold, wet nose dips under my hand to my palm, guiding my fingers to her snout for a pet, making me laugh. “I’ve got you covered, girl.”
“Let’s go sit in the living room. The whole pack will follow us.”
Pack.That makes me grin.
As she leads the way, she asks over her shoulder, “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
The living room is way more run-down than I expected. Maybe I shouldn’t have concluded everyone with the Pepper name was made of money. Jim obviously wasn’t. But Adley, with her new car and her designer clothes… she definitely comes from affluence. Whether it’s family money or her own, I don’t know yet. And it doesn’t matter, really.
I sit, somewhat gingerly, on the old, cloth couch. A sea of fuzzy friends jumps up to join me as Adley sits on the other end, laughing again.
“Please, excuse the mess. As I said, I only arrived yesterday. This whole place needs so much work.” A sigh. “I don’t have any idea how Uncle Jim managed for this long.”
There’s a red flag in that statement. “What do you mean?”
Adley appears to weigh how to respond, so I follow up fast. “You can tell me, Adley. We’re going to be partners. You know that.”
Her dark eyes are glassy when she nods at me. “We are. I may need you to remind me of that now and again. I’ve been alone for a long time, always working, never really knowing why I was doing it. It definitely wasn’t because I loved my job.”
I reach for her over the furry heads between us and take her hand. “If there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s problem-solving. Talk to me.”
“This place is broke,” she blurts. “Something Jim and I had in common is pride. He never wanted to ask for help, including donations. As best I can tell, as far back as his financial records go, he used any of his family inheritance to keep this place afloat for years. Took some odd jobs to supplement.” Her head shakes sadly. “I need to come up with a plan to generate buzz around the sanctuary, get people to donate. But I need to renovate this house and the rest of the property, too.” Adley gnaws on her bottom lip, her gaze falling to the wall across from us.
My brain is running a mile a minute, maybe faster. Non-profit, public interaction, revenue generation…
I’m in Plan Mode as I retrieve my hand and pull my phone from my pocket, open the note app. “What do you do for a living, Adley?”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “Believe it or not, I was a marketing specialist for a financial firm.”
I’m nodding as I tap away on my phone. “Well, I’m an app developer with a design background. Got my master's in Computer and Network Security. I’m self-employed now. But I think we can help each other. Jasper, too.”
Adley shakes her head in my peripheral. “Oh, no, no. I wasn’t trying to rope you guys into my mess.”
My fingers stop tapping, and I immediately look up at her. “Don’t say things like that.” I am deadly serious.
She looks confused.
“We’re going to be a pack, Adley. We may have just met, but fate decided we would be a family. Family helps one another because it makes the entire unit closer and succeed together.”
Her lips are parted, shellshocked. And I want to know why, but it’s not the time to ask.
When she speaks, her voice is little more than air. “Is that what family does?”
It’s like a lance to my chest. There’s a lot to unpack here, and we will. In time. But we need to take baby steps right now, tackle the more important and immediate threats.
I hold her gaze, steady and serious. “It’s what our family is going to do.”
Chapter Six
At five in the morning, a huge truck came backing up the driveway, beeping and screeching at deafening levels to unload two dumpsters. As I was telling the burly workers where I wanted them on the property, Ezra pulled up and parked beside my SUV, jumping out of his truck and telling the guys he had it under control.
Once the truck backs out, I turn to Ezra with wide eyes. “Good morning.”
