Need You for Keeps (Heroes of St. Helena, #1)(25)
The grannies didn’t seem to feel the same, since they smiled and scooted a little closer, slipping an apron over Shay’s head. It had a picture of a giant umbrella sheltering dozens of pets.
“You need a place where your entire menagerie can have a safe place to live until they go to their forever homes,” Ida said, fastening the back of Shay’s apron. “And we think you should open up a real rescue.”
“I already run a real rescue.” Every bit of the love and heartache was real to her. Real to the animals who passed through her life. And real to the families who were lucky enough to find their perfect pals.
“No, dear,” Clovis clarified, her voice soft with apology. “What Ida meant to say was we think you should lease a shop in town so folks like Estella can’t call the sheriff every time they get their bloomers in a snit.”
“A shop? Here in St. Helena?” As in permanently?
“Why not?” Peggy said, obviously surprised at how horrified Shay seemed at the suggestion. “You’ve got to make a home someplace. Why not here?”
Because even though St. Helena had begun to feel like more than a brief stopover in Shay’s ever-changing life, she wasn’t sure if it had “home” potential. Sure, she’d made friends, and loved her house and her job, but she’d also made a few enemies and a million mistakes—not that that part was new. Only this time her mistake had put her at odds with one of the most powerful women in town.
Then there was Jonah—and that smoking-hot kiss, followed by an official citation and the silent treatment. Well, that might be a bit harsh. Hard to give her the silent treatment when he’d spent the past two days avoiding Shay completely. Yet she couldn’t help thinking maybe it was for the best. If he’d reacted that way over a few extra kittens, what would he do when he found out about her past?
Shay sucked in a calming breath, hating how her stomach pinched with nerves. A brick-and-mortar St. Paws was something she had spent a lifetime dreaming about. It would allow her to board up to forty pets, provide a central location that would put her fosters in daily contact with people, and help her save lives without bending laws.
To her, leasing a storefront sounded a lot like forever, and forever was a serious step. She knew this, not having taken it herself, but by the bonds she helped form with the animals and their forever families.
“Even if I could find a place”—storefronts in town were hard to come by—“where would I find that kind of money?” And the support? And the courage to take that step? Because a storefront meant Shay and her pets wouldn’t sleep under the same roof.
“The calendars,” Peggy said, clasping her hands in front of her face. “You can use the money from the sales to help lease the space.”
“Mr. Russell has a vacant sign hanging in the old barbershop next to my place,” Clovis said, her giddy smile taking a decade off her face.
“That sign has been there since I moved to town,” Shay explained, surprised to realize that it was nearly eighteen months ago that she’d packed up her car and headed north to start her new job at the Paws and Claws. She hadn’t even unpacked her car and she’d already fallen in love with the place. It wasn’t just the quaint downtown, picturesque mountains, or miles of grapevines that had drawn her in. It was how happy everyone was. How they always seemed to have a ready smile to share, and a friendly word for their neighbors—her current standoff with Estella excluded.
“Yup, but the old coot has a huge balloon payment coming due at the end of next year. We all do,” Ida explained. “At this point, some money is better than no money, which tells me I could persuade him to cut you some kind of deal.”
Shay wasn’t so sure. Mr. Russell was a class-A tightwad who would rather be right than profitable. He’d bought two of the historic Victorian storefronts on the north end of Main Street a few years back for twice what they were worth, and rather than lease them out for the going rate, he’d priced the spaces based on his elevated mortgage. Which was why they were still vacant.
“It would have to be a good deal.” She’d made good money on her calendar fund-raiser, but nowhere near what Mr. Russell was asking. It also would have to be the perfect environment, otherwise Shay wouldn’t be able to leave her pets alone at night.
Actually, Shay would never want to leave her pets alone at night. Or maybe it was that Shay didn’t want to be alone at night.
“He’ll see reason,” Ida said.
“All we have to do is tell Mr. Russell you’re bringing your cuties and he’ll see that in a few months he’d be able to lease out his other space for what he’s asking,” Clovis said, breathless with excitement. “Nothing attracts customers like hot men.”
“Hot men?” What kind of shelter did they think she wanted to open? Then all three women nodded in earnest, gray crops bouncing as they pulled out their Cuties with Booties calendars, and Shay got it.
“If we help you get the place, then you have to promise us you’ll host a signing every week with one of your cuties from the calendar.” Ida’s birdlike hands fluttered like hummingbird wings. “My favorite is Mr. July.”
Although Adam was lovely to look at in nothing but his fire pants and hat, he didn’t hold a candle to Shay’s favorite. Not that her favorite was in there. Nope, the uptight deputy didn’t think it was fitting to pose for a good cause—at least not her good cause. Then again, her favorite was the same guy who was evicting her dogs.