Page 43 of Take A Chance

Rebelle’s throat constricted at the magnitude of what this was turning into, her lungs straining for oxygen. She had always wanted to grow the shelter, but felt like it was all happening too fast. He must have seen the fear in her eyes and his hand slipped to her lower back, stroking small circles of comfort.

“Hey, Belle. Deep breaths. We don’t need to talk about this now if you don’t want?”

Her breathing deepened but not from fear. He was touching her and she…didn’t hate it. Which scared her more.

She pulled away, pacing with her hands on her hips, trying to get her thoughts under control. “I knew that would happen, I guess, it’s just a bit sudden is all.”

“It is a lot to process. We can just focus on this one for now. I’m getting way ahead of us.”

She met his stare, her eyes slipping to his lips and her throat dried. She shook her head and met his stare again. His eyes probing her in a way that unsettled her and heated her skin.

She cleared her throat, adding more space between them. “Yeah, I think that’s for the best.”

They finished mapping out areas of the shelter and he left to call some contractors. The shelter grew quiet without him. It annoyed her that normally she would have no problem being on her own here, now shenoticedwhen he wasn’t around and she didn’t like it.

She was used to doing this all on her own. She didn’t want to start relying on him. Except she kind of needed to. He knew who to contact, what paperwork they needed, what approvals to get. She was relying on him and she hated it. She could feel a sense of helplessness building up so she tried to focus on the positives.

“Count out what’s good,” she whispered. “The animals are happy. The animals are healthy and loved. You’re getting stronger by the day. Your life isbeginning.”

The last one was a helpful reminder of how far she’d come in the last few weeks.Even if it is all down to him. She growled at the errant thought and turned away to grab the worm medicine.

Rebelle headed back to the trailer to check on Parfait who was still incredibly pregnant. By Rebelle’s count she should have given birth about three days ago and still was bulging at the sides. She considered calling Dr. Park but decided to wait another day or two. Parfait didn’t seem to be in distress, maybe she had just made such a nice home for her kittens that they were reluctant to leave.

When Rebelle went back to the shelter, she found Will talking to Betty, Veronica and Oscar as they wound around his legs, howling for the food he was putting onto dishes for them.

Rebelle leaned against the wall, watching him and enjoying listening to his easy chatter. He certainly was a talker, the complete opposite to her less than chatty disposition. The man hadn’t met a word he didn’t like, and she felt a smile creeping onto her face. Just as he sensed her, turning around, she fixed her mouth.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were there.” He flushed, his freckles standing out. Her eyes ran over his face eagerly, imagining the constellations she could make from his freckles. She had never thought about stars before until their chat a couple of weeks ago.

“Why do you like stars?” she asked before she could stop herself.

He placed the food down for the cats and they immediately abandoned him for the meat.

He straightened up, rubbing the back of his neck and appearing awkward for the first time and she wondered if she touched a nerve. She was about to change the subject when he began.

“When we lived in the trailer park, my mom would…” he paused. “Entertain men for money. It was a small home we livedin and although I know she tried her hardest I would sometimes hear them. There was a ladder attached to the back of the home and one night I climbed it to escape the noise and that’s when I noticed the stars. I took a pillow up one night and lay there, mapping them all out. I found a book at the library and taught myself which ones were which. I found it soothing and something about the night sky being so vast, so much bigger than myself, just helped me ignore what was happening and focus on the future. It made me want something more from life. To get away from there so my mom would never have to do that again. So we would never go hungry again or without heat again.”

Rebelle didn’t know what she was expecting but it wasn’t this. She didn’t know what to say.

“I can’t believe I just told you that,” he said, his brows pinched in confusion.

“Thank you for sharing that with me.” The words rasped from her dry throat. She knew how hard it was to share with people and an inexplicable wave of pleasure spread through her that he shared something so private with her.

“Let’s talk about something else,” he said brightly.

She looked to Betty and Veronica who had already licked their dishes clean and were washing and gazing up at Will lovingly. “You seem to have an affinity with felines. Did you have cats growing up?”

He shook his head. “We couldn’t afford them. I envied the friends who had pets. I’ve always loved animals. Even animals that people traditionally don’t like, snakes and spiders. Dogs might be loyal but they like everybody. Cats are pickier, more discerning. If you get a cat’s approval, then you know you’ve done something right.” He shrugged and gave her a lop-sided version of his smile and her heart pounded in her chest, a warmpulsing from between her legs startled her and she twitched on the spot.That was weird.

“They remind me of you,” he said, distracting her from wondering what her traitorous body was doing.

“Excuse me?” she choked out, pointedly looking down at Betty who was mid ass-lick.

Will barked out a laugh that echoed off the walls, startling Rebelle but also had her fighting not to join in. “No, I mean you’re picky about who you let in. You’re discerning too and I’m very grateful that you let it be me.”

She pursed her lips. “You didn’t give me a choice.”

“Exactly.”

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