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"That would be lovely. I'm so sorry for the short notice and, well, everything. I hope it's not causing you too many problems."

I stare at the signed stack of papers on our counter. ‘Too many’ problems? No. One giant, unsolvable one that will ruin everything?

"No," I find myself lying and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Of course, um, it's—” I stammer.

Pull yourself together, Brooke. She’s got enough problems, don’t make her feel guilty.

I take a deep breath and try again. "Don't worry about me, Marjorie. It's a bit of a pickle, but nothing I can't manage."

"Oh, I'm so relieved to hear that." Her voice already sounds a lot lighter, the soft steps stopping. I stare at the wall right next to the phone and try to remember to breathe. "I would hate to have put you in a tough spot."

"Yeah, no, it's... You focus on taking your ex for everything he’s worth, alright? I’ll send you an e-mail with Hudson’s contact info."

"Oh, trust me, I will. Thank you so much, Brooke. I knew you'd understand. I'll be in touch again as soon as the issue is resolved, hopefully soon."

"Fingers crossed." I force my lips into a smile. She says goodbye, and the line goes dead, but I keep the receiver pressed to my cheek, listening to the monotonous tone of an empty line.

Fuck.

"Brooke?" Hannah sounds scared. "What's going on? You’re super pale all of a sudden."

"It's..." I close my eyes for a moment. Take a deep breath, Brooke. Don’t freak out. Not yet. Then I hang up the phone and slowly turn around.

"Mrs. Bernard was served divorce papers and has to pull the funding."

"No!" Hannah's hands fly to her cheeks, and she draws in a sharp breath. "Fuck!”

“Taking the words right of my mouth.” My stomach bubbles with anxiety. I fight the urge to laugh. Of course, it was too easy. Of course, the universe had to add an obstacle.

“Huh? What funding?" Evan glances from Hannah to me and back. “Do you mean for dog food? How much can it be for you to be in such a panic?”

Wordlessly, I point at the stack of papers right next to him. "Not dog food."

Evan takes a step closer, skimming the letters. The color drains from his face. "Oh, fuck. Seriously? Why would you sign this before you had your funds?"

"I’m not stupid, Evan, I had the funds," I tell him, hysterical laughter threatening to break free. "But the property was available now, and I had to take this chance. If not now, who knows when another property in the area becomes available? That's months, if not years, we could already be saving animals."

"Yeah, well, what a smart idea." Sarcasm drips from his voice as Evan shakes his head.

"Shut up, Evan. It was." I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to sort my racing thoughts. "You’re so not helpful right now,” I throw his words back at him. “The deadline to make the remaining balance available by December 23rd so if any of you has an idea how to pull this off, I’m all ears."

Hannah and Evan shoot each other a look.

"We'll find a way," Hannah says with conviction, and Evan nods.

"Tell me if I can help."

"Sure." I pick up Mr. Muffin again and run my fingers over his fur to calm myself.

“Give me a moment to crash out first,” I whisper so softly the two of them can't hear.

Chapter 4

Brooke

What the hell will I do?

I've mulled over this exact question for the past 24 hours, ever since Mrs. or now Ms. Bernard's call. And I’m still not any closer to an answer.