That wasn’t what she’d been about to say. But was that what had changed? Was he acting different because her father was no longer paying him?
What did that mean?
“I’m so confused.” And she was getting a headache.
“Don’t think about it right now, Spitfire,” he told her soothingly. “Just relax and let me take care of everything.”
She groaned.
That was exactly what she wanted to do. But she couldn’t do that, could she?
For most of her life, she’d had to take care of herself. Be strong and independent. Leaning on a man she had only known a few weeks wasn’t wise.
Tempting, but not wise.
“The way I see it, you can look at this time as a bad thing or you can think of it as a reset. Almost like a holiday. You’re safe. There’s no way for him to track you.”
“A holiday? My life is a shambles.”
“We’re going to fix everything. I promise.”
It would be so nice to believe that. And it wasn’t like her life had been perfect to begin with. Sure, her house was smoke and fire-damaged but she did have insurance.
And maybe she didn’t have all her babies with her, but she had a new friend that was taking care of them.
Perhaps she had lost her job, but the puppies had been rescued and that’s the main reason she’d been working there. Sure, she wished she could find another job quickly. But she had a bit of savings she could use.
Enough for a few weeks off work.
“You’ll let me know what bills you have to pay and I’ll take care of them.”
Um. Nope.
Bad enough she couldn’t pay him but she certainly wasn’t going to take his money.
“I have enough money to cover my bills,” she informed in a huff.
“For how long?” he asked as he pulled up in front of a log cabin.
Oh, this place was cute. It was the quintessential log cabin, nestled in the woods around it. There was a small front porch that had actual rocking chairs on it.
Adorable.
It was the sort of place where she would love to live if she had the choice. Plenty of room for her babies and to adopt more. No neighbors to complain or interfere.
Her dream would be to have a kind of animal sanctuary. Where unwanted and abused animals could come and live safely. Maybe she’d end up adopting some out . . . maybe she wouldn’t.
“Maya? Maya, you with me? Or am I dealing with zombie Maya?”
“Huh?” She turned to him, blinking. “What?”
“I asked you a question.”
“You did?”
Amusement filled his face. “I can see I no longer have your attention. That could hurt my feelings.”
“It doesn’t,” she stated.
