okay, Chloe?”
She sighed. “If I have no vet willing to come aboard, I have no foundation for an animal-assisted therapy program.” Chilled, she rubbed her arms. He followed her motions, then removed his denim jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She didn’t mind that he let his hands linger there a moment. “Thanks, Chance.”
He wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a quick hug. Had it lasted longer, she may have been tempted to rest her head, and her problems, on his strong shoulders.
Just once, to let herself lean on someone else.
“Come. Tell me about it.” He seemed to read her mind as he nodded toward the porch swing. They climbed the steps and sat side by side.
“If my cousin wasn’t already with our Chicago-based team, I’d try to snag her to come live in Refuge.” But Mallory was engaged to a guy who wanted her in Chicago and uninvolved in Chloe’s program.
Time to think of something more pleasant than how her cousin, her best friend, was about to ruin her life by marrying a man who’d make her forego her dreams. Projects and programs that Chloe and Mallory had planned since childhood.
Speaking of programs, Chloe studied Chance. Had he not been in the midst of difficulty, Chloe might’ve hit him up to be part of her southern Illinois team. Though he’d likely be willing, it would be too much to ask right now.
Then his plans to pursue youth pastoring passed through Chloe’s mind again like a flesh-piercing arrow.
She scooted another inch away from him.
His long legs paused, the pressure pushing them in a relaxing back-and-forth swinging rhythm. He noticed.
She eyed her watch. “I should get to bed. I have back-to-back meetings tomorrow and a twelve-inch stack of papers to fill out for permissions and taxes, funding and zoning. Not to mention research on the citizens of Refuge to see if I can cull people to be on my team.”
“I might be able to help with that if you tell me what you need.”
Right now what she needed was for his cologne to stop overpowering her resistance to him.
She breathed deeply and wished breathing wasn’t so necessary for survival. “I like what you wear.”
He dipped his head to eye his T-shirt, emblazoned with a military emblem.
“I meant the woodsy cologne.”
Her face heated about the time his shy grin appeared. “Thanks. You always smell good too.” He bumped her shoulder with his, then left his arm resting against hers.
His nearness joined the cologne’s assault on her senses. She could so easily fall for this man.
But falling in love right now was far too dangerous to her dreams. Chloe stood. “If you’re serious about helping, come on inside.”
She led him in and they sat around her lighted kitchen table. Chloe lost track of time, lost herself in him and in the number of cups of coffee and time they spent bent over her table going through the phone book and her required steps for the Refuge clinic. She chattered and Chance listened and occasionally offered suggestions. Good ones.
Had Chance not been beside her, calming and encouraging at the helm of every obstacle and challenge that surfaced in her search for solutions, she might have thrown up her hands. Her cell phone chimed. When she saw it was after eleven o’clock, alarm shot through her.
“Chloe, this is Fiona’s mom. We’re at the hospital.”
“But the baby’s not due for another five months!”
“She’s in preterm labor. They’ve stopped it but said since the baby dropped, she’ll be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy.”
“Do you need me to come there? Can I do anything to help?”
“No, I think we have everything under control. Except that Fiona needs to rest, and she wouldn’t until we called you. I know it’s late, and I’m so sorry, but she wanted me to let you know she needs a medical leave of absence from the team.”
Chloe’s heart dipped, both from fear for her friend and her baby and because this would set Chloe back even more. If she had to keep putting out fires on her Chicago team, she couldn’t focus on building Refuge’s.
But truly, some things took precedence. People were more important than programs, period. Saving Fiona’s baby’s life was far more important. “Tell her not to worry at all. I’ll take care of it and cover her duties. Tell her also that I’m praying.”
“Thanks, Chloe. We knew you’d understand.”
Chloe hung up and just sat there, staring. Then she pressed her fingertips to her pulsing temples and released them with an overdue sigh.
Chance sat beside her. “I take it something happened.”
“Yeah. My best animal trainer on the Chicago rescue team is down for the count. Hospitalized with a problematic pregnancy. Please pray for the baby to go full-term?”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“Yes. Pray I can replace her quickly, and with someone very efficient. Otherwise, I will have to go back to Chicago.”
A weaker woman would have given up and gone back to Chicago right then. But Chloe was no quitter.
Chance rested a hand on her back. His presence sustained her, especially when she realized he was praying right then and there.
After he finished, a sense of well-being catalyzed Chloe. Vigor renewed, she pulled out her planning board.
Chance handed her dry-erase markers as she plotted her plans and needs. Despite his upbeat attitude, the more she wrote the more she became overwhelmed. Discouragement took stabs at her. She girded her courage and pressed on.
Untold minutes ticked by. “I’m getting tired. Maybe I need a break.” That whole quitting thing suddenly seemed appealing. But Chance’s enthusiasm over her program catapulted her on. As Chloe researched, more urgent needs and time-consuming tasks emerged.
“My to-do list is about a mile long,” Chloe groaned.
An owl hooted outside. Chance rose and stretched. Then he eyed his watch. “It’s nearly midnight, and I’ve got an early class in the morning with new recruits. If I didn’t have to get up before the birds, I’d stay longer. I need to chat with Brock a minute if he’s still up and grab a few things from his place before I go.” He offered her an apologetic glance, which is when she remembered she had his jacket still draped over her shoulders.
She went to remove it, but he shook his head. “I like the way it looks on you better.”
She brushed fingers along the dark denim, enjoying the rugged-but-soft texture. “Are you saying I can keep it?”
He smiled a slightly sad grin as a flash of nostalgia drifted like a sideways sunset across his handsome face.
“For a while, but not forever. It was the last gift Mom gave me before she died, or I’d let you have it.”
Her hand fell to his arm. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. I know you’ve been there.”
She nodded. Swallowed back lumps. How had she come to care for this man already? Frightening. Not having words for once in her life, she nodded and her bangs slipped from behind her ear.
His vision drifted there and for a moment he seemed mesmerized. His hand moved as though to brush them back off her forehead, but his fingers curled into his hand.
She couldn’t deny the disappointment flooding her.
But it was for the best that they didn’t act on this emotional attraction. If they did, it would be a detriment to her dreams. She moved so her chair sat safely between them, creating a physical barrier like the