Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 693(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 462(@300wpm)
I flaunted the fingers of my left hand in his face. “Oh, sorry, I’m engaged.”
“Well, that’s too bad.”
My phone buzzed again.
Milo
Be safe, Little Dove. I’ll see you later tonight.
No.
It wasn’t too bad at all.
FOURTEEN
TESSA
“Okay, Gary, see you tomorrow,” I called to Eden’s father as he pushed open the door to the office that housed Hope to Hands.
Standing in the doorway, he grinned back at me where I sat at my desk. “Don’t stay too late. You work yourself too hard, you know?”
“Um, I didn’t show up one time last week. I would hardly call that working hard. You’re going to have to change my official title to slacker.”
So maybe I’d been distracted by a man beast who made my belly quiver.
A light chuckle left Gary. “We all deserve a break once in a while. It is summer, after all.”
“You know I like staying busy.”
“That you do, but I expect you to take care of yourself, too.”
He sent me one of those fatherly glares that made my chest stretch tight. Gary was in his mid-sixties, his hair grayed and the burdens he’d carried on his shoulders written in the deep lines set in his face.
But his eyes—they were kind.
And his heart was genuine.
Affection wobbled in my spirit.
“I am. I promise.”
Better than I’d been in years.
“Okay, then. Lock up.”
“Will do. And I expect you to go home and put your feet up and relax.”
He laughed a slow sound. “I just might do that. Drive safe, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight.”
The door swung shut behind him, and I returned my attention to the paperwork I’d been working on.
Hope to Hands was the nonprofit foundation affiliated with the private school and church that Gary had founded years ago.
I’d become a teacher here the same year Eden had.
She and I had gone to college together, and at that time, I’d had no clue what I wanted to do with my life.
Shocker.
But Bobby had sacrificed for me, worked like crazy to have the funds to put me through college, insistent that he wanted me to have the full experience without the worry of debt, so I wasn’t about to screw that up.
So, I figured, why not?
I’d tag along with Eden and go into education.
Sure, I enjoyed being in a classroom, but not the way Eden did. She was incredibly invested in each child.
It wasn’t like I didn’t love them, but there’d always been something missing.
No true passion.
But I’d found it here.
Helping the families who came to the church who were in need.
I’d taken over as executive director when it’d become clear Gary needed to let some of his responsibilities go.
I wasn’t quite sure why he was so worried about me overextending myself when the man would work his fingers to the bone, which he’d basically done.
We’d had a big scare about a year ago when Eden had found him dizzy and confused in his office. We’d worried it was a stroke, but it’d turned out to be exhaustion.
Eden had demanded he give up at least one of his positions.
I’d been volunteering at the foundation for years, so it’d made sense that I’d stand in for him since it was the source of a lot of his stress.
It turned out that I loved it.
Thrived in it.
My heart had found the place where it flourished.
Giving back in the same way as Bobby and I had received years before.
It just felt right.
I scanned over the submissions for rent assistance.
Why I felt the need to print them out, I didn’t know. But I guessed it made it tangible.
Something palpable to hold on to.
Something real because there were real people behind these forms.
I needed something that didn’t blur into another number on the screen.
The hard part was there was always more need than resources.
I separated the applications by urgency, prioritizing those who were in the process of being evicted.
A light thud that sounded from outside had me freezing.
Unease prickled through my senses, and the fine hairs lifted on the back of my neck.
I sat completely still.
Listening.
Barely breathing.
For a long time, the only sound was the manic pounding of my heart. Until there was the unmistakable crunch of a footstep just outside the door.
Fear spiraled down my spine.
A cold, icy dread.
Crap.
I should have immediately hopped up and turned the lock when Gary left.
It was a little after six, but camp had ended at four. The rest of the staff would have already left for the night. The maintenance crew worked overnight, so they shouldn’t be here for another six hours.
I tried to swallow around the terror that thickened my throat, and I reached for my phone and stood at the same second the doorknob slowly turned.
I rushed to punch 9-1-1 into my phone. My hand shook as I hovered my finger over send, and my stomach was panging with a gnawing fear.
The door swung open, and Karl appeared in the doorway, venom in his stance and a snarl on his face.