Page 137 of Reckless Harmony

“Honestly, I’m lucky to get three fifty from Stark. No one else will pay more than three hundred for it. Hell, they’d probably offer less after seeing the house. Plus, Stark is willing to close in fourteen days. He’ll just be tearing the house down, so he doesn’t need an inspection or anything like that.”

“Oh, honey,” Emma said. “I’m so sorry.”

Rayna picked at the label on her beer bottle. “It’s a fair offer, and I knew it was a long shot that he would agree to the five hundred. I hoped he would, but…”

She drew in a shaky breath. “At least he’s still willing to buy it, right?”

“Okay,” Emma gave her a determined look, “I’ll talk to Zuri first thing in the morning, and we’ll brainstorm some fundraiser ideas. You’ll still owe, what… fifty-eight grand on the rescue debt? We can -”

Rayna took her hand. “Em, stop.”

“What?” Emma said. “We can do this, Rayna.”

“No, honey, we can’t. Our biggest fundraiser, the bachelor/bachelorette night, only raised thirteen thousand dollars, including the three grand from Jasper. We’ll never be able to raise nearly sixty grand.”

“Okay, but even if we raise ten grand, that can go toward the debt and -”

“It’s not enough,” Rayna said gently. “The only way I could keep the rescue going is if I completely paid off the debt immediately.”

Emma leaned back in her chair. “What happens now?”

Rayna took another deep breath. “I’ve been in contact with three rescues in neighbouring counties. They’ve agreed to absorb Little Whisker’s fosters into their rescues. I’ve already spoken with Zuri, Reba, and the cat and dog foster coordinators. I’ll send out a bulk email to our fosters tonight informing them that the rescue is dissolving and that the foster coordinator will be in touch with them regarding the placement of their foster animal with one of the new rescues. We’ll give them the option to adopt their foster animal free of charge, and I’m hoping that a good number of them will take that option. I don’t want to overload the other rescues if I can help it.”

“And then what?” Emma said.

“What do you mean?” Rayna asked.

“You close down the rescue, you place all the animals, and you move out of the house you love, and then what?”

Rayna drank some more beer. “Tomorrow, I’ll look for a place to rent on the south side that will allow me to keep Bea and Freddie. I’ll start packing up my stuff this weekend.”

“I don’t want you living on the south side,” Emma said.

Rayna smiled faintly. “You and me both. That’s bringing up way too many childhood trauma memories, but with the monthly payments on the remaining balance of the rescue’s debt, I can’t afford anywhere else. I hate to ask, but is there any chance the three of us can stay with you temporarily? I doubt I’ll be able to get a place in the next two weeks.”

“Of course, you can. You can stay as long as you need,” Emma said.

“Thanks, Em. I’ll rent a storage unit this weekend so that you won’t have all of my crap at your house as well. Hey, do you think Lucas and some of his friends would be willing to load and unload some of my furniture if I found a truck to borrow?”

“Yes,” Emma said, giving her a troubled look. “Rayna, I’m so sorry.”

Rayna shoved down her sorrow, forcing herself to smile at Emma again. “It’s all right, Emmy. I have no one to blame but myself.”

CHAPTER 46

“Hey, don’t bite your brother’s ear.” Stark gently separated the three kittens, lifting the biter and pressing a kiss against his spotted belly. “You don’t even have any teeth yet, so what’s with the biting? You’re going to be a troublemaker.”

Molly walked into the bedroom and jumped on the bed, rubbing up against Stark before stretching out on the bed beside him. The three kittens wobbled over to her immediately, lining up at her belly like cowboys at a bar. Molly chirped and purred to them, grooming them as they settled down to nurse, their purrs mixing with hers as they kneaded at her belly.

“Did you enjoy your break from the babies?” he asked, scratching under her chin. “Never thought I’d spend my Sunday night babysitting kittens so their mama can have a little alone time.”

Molly purred even louder, and he bent to kiss her forehead. “You’re my little sweetheart, aren’t you?”

He leaned back against the headboard, one hand still lightly stroking Molly as she fed the babies. Tomorrow, Kira would send the paperwork to Rayna, and in ten days, her property would be his.

He had no idea why Rayna had agreed to the three-fifty or why she wanted such a quick closing date, and he told himself he didn’t care. He’d gotten what he wanted, and that was all that mattered. He was happy.

No, scratch that.

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