Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
S tark sat back in his office chair and glanced at his office doorway before reaching for his cell phone. He opened the pet camera app and scanned the screen. He’d installed a pet camera in his bedroom last week, and he smiled when he saw Molly nursing her kittens on the bed.
“That’s a good girl, sweetie,” he murmured and watched for a few more minutes before closing the app.
He glanced at the time. It was a few minutes after noon, and he debated whether to try to work or grab a bite at Nan’s Diner. His growling stomach and inability to concentrate all morning decided for him.
He wanted to blame his hunger on his focus issues, but he knew damn well that wasn’t the problem. He’d spent all weekend vacillating between lusting after Rayna and jealousy that she’d gone on her date with his cousin instead of staying with him.
He’d paced his house like a lovesick teenager all of Friday night, looking out the den window every hour to see if Rayna had returned home. By eleven, he’d finally admitted to himself that Rayna wasn’t ending her date early to come home to him. He’d gone to bed, lying sleepless in the dark with Molly and her kittens and pretending he wasn’t waiting to hear the sound of Rayna’s car.
He’d fallen asleep still waiting.
He’d hoped that work today would help him forget just how fucking amazing it was to have Rayna come all over his fingers, but no such luck. He didn’t know how it was possible, but his lust for her was even more intense despite how many times he’d masturbated this weekend. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this obsessed with a woman.
You’ve never been this obsessed over a woman. You need to let it go. It was a one-time thing, and besides, you know as well as I do that Jasper would have gotten her into his bed Friday night. He might be as big of an asshole as you are, but he hides it a fuck of a lot better than you do.
Irritation overtook the lust, and he abruptly stood, yanking on his jacket and heading out of his office. Stark slowed as he approached Lucas’s office, debating whether or not to ask him to have lunch with him. For a change, he didn’t want to eat lunch alone. Maybe his mother was right. Maybe he needed to start showing people the real Isaac Stark.
He stopped just before Lucas’s open door as Lucas’s voice drifted into the hallway. “What do you mean he asked for the donation back?”
“He emailed the rescue this morning and demanded his money back.” Emma’s voice was quiet, and Stark moved closer to the door, straining to hear.
“All three thousand?” Lucas asked.
“Yes.”
“But why?”
Emma sighed. “Friday night, when you came to my house after your night out with Connor and Nix, and Rayna was there? That was the night of her date with Jasper. They went for dinner, and after dinner, he didn’t want to go ice skating, so she suggested coffee at Grind My Beans. He suggested she go to his hotel room with him instead.”
“Bold move,” Lucas said.
“Rayna declined, and he got pissed. He said he paid three grand for her, and she owed him sex.”
“Motherfucker,” Lucas spat, the disgust evident in his voice. “I hope she punched him in the dick.”
“She told him to go fuck himself and left. She drove straight to my place, and I’ve never seen her so upset, Lucas. She was shaking, and she was angry, but it was obvious that what he’d said really upset her, too. It was awful.”
Stark stared at his hands. They were balled into tight fists, and he made himself relax, staring at the indents from his nails in his palms. Fucking Jasper. He would kick his cousin’s ass for what he’d said and done to Rayna.
“C’mere, baby.”
He could hear the squeak of Lucas’s office chair as he rolled it back, and Stark took a quick peek into the office. Emma was sitting on Lucas’s lap, and he pressed a kiss against her mouth. “I’m sorry Jasper was such a dickhead to Rayna.”
“Me too,” Emma said. “She stopped at the store this morning in between work calls to tell me about Jasper demanding his donation back, and she…”
“She what?”
“She started crying right there at the store.” Emma sounded close to tears herself. “Rayna hardly ever cries, Lucas. But losing that money was a real blow. The rescue owes five grand to Harmony Falls Vet Clinic, and she was planning to use the three thousand toward that. The clinic won’t see any of the rescue’s animals until the bill is paid off, which leaves her with only two clinics to work with.”
“Wait, she returned the money?” Lucas asked.
“She had to,” Emma said.
“No, she didn’t. He donated it and -”
“Jasper threatened to sue the rescue if she didn’t return it,” Emma said. “She had Mack e-transfer the money back to him this morning.”
“Fuck, that guy is a real piece of work,” Lucas said. “I can’t believe he’s Stark’s cousin. Stark can come across as cold, but he’s a good guy who would never fuck someone over like that.”
“You can’t choose your family,” Emma said.
“Can Rayna use the money from the other donations to pay the clinic?” Lucas asked.
“She’s using the other donations to pay the PawsPrint Vet Clinic bill, part of the Brandt clinic bill, and adding to the Helping Hands program,” Emma said.
“Shit,” Lucas said.
“She’s already talking about doing another fundraiser, but she just looked so… tired and defeated, Lucas. I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s burning the candle at both ends to keep the rescue going, but I don’t know how much longer she can keep going.”
Stark backed away from Lucas’s office, returning to his office and sitting at his desk. He stared at his laptop screen before stabbing a button on his desk phone.
“Yes, Mr. Stark?” Hollis answered on the first ring.
“I know it’s your lunch hour, but do you have five minutes?” he asked.
“Of course. I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and was sitting in his office less than a minute later with a tablet in her hand.
“I want to make a donation to Little Whiskers Rescue,” he said.
“Of course. How much?” Hollis swiped a finger across her tablet screen.
“Five thousand,” he said, “and I need it to be anonymous. I don’t want Ms. Abrams to know I donated.”
If Hollis was curious about the secrecy, it didn’t show on her face. “That might be difficult. Even if I can contact someone else in the rescue to handle the donation, I doubt that the information wouldn’t get back to Rayna.”
“I know.” He drummed his fingers against his desk, trying to think of how to make it work. “I want the donation to pay the amount the rescue owes to Harmony Falls Vet Clinic.”
“You could donate directly to the clinic,” Hollis said. “I’ll speak with the vet clinic, and we can etransfer the amount owed directly to them. The clinic can let Rayna know it was an anonymous donation. But you know that the rescue isn’t yet a registered charity, right? You won’t get a receipt for the donation.”
“I don’t care about that. Do you have time to speak with the vet clinic and make the donation this afternoon?” he asked.
Hollis nodded. “Sure.”
“Thank you, Hollis.”
* * *
“Paid off? The entire bill was paid?” Shock made her knees wobbly, and Rayna sank onto her worn couch beside Bea, absently scratching Bea’s stomach when the beagle immediately rolled onto her back.
“That’s right. They donated the full amount.” The receptionist at Harmony Falls Vet Clinic sounded a little dazed herself.
“Who donated it?” Rayna asked.
“I can’t tell you. They were very clear about it being anonymous,” the receptionist said.
“Are you serious?”
“I am,” she said. “Anyway, Dr. Felton asked me to call and let you know the account has been cleared, and you can book appointments again.”
“Okay, well, that’s amazing. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Bye, Rayna!”
Rayna set her phone on the couch before staring at Bea. “Bea, it’s a frickin’ miracle.”
The beagle snored loudly, and Rayna laughed before leaning over and kissing the old dog’s forehead. “I don’t know who paid that bill, but if I did, I’d kiss them, too.”
Bea opened one eye, her tail thumping happily against the couch before she farted.
“Oh God,” Rayna said, jumping off the couch. “Way to ruin a moment, Bea.”
Waving her hand in front of her face, she left the living room and headed down the hallway. Freddie was sitting in the laundry room doorway, and he meowed disapprovingly at her. She nudged his stocky body with her foot. “I know you’re pissed because your kittens got adopted, but don’t worry, there will be more. Hell, you’re lucky Krysta could take Louis Hapson’s bloodhound, or you’d be sharing your space with him right now.”
Speaking of which, she texted a quick message to Krysta and then folded the laundry she’d left in the dryer while she waited for Krysta’s reply. Her phone dinged out a reply, and she scanned the message, grinning at Freddie, who had leaped onto his usual spot on the laundry supplies shelf. “Krysta says Red is doing really well. Eating and resting comfortably.”
She reached up to pet Freddie, who growled and gave her a swat. “All right, Mr. Crabby Pants, I’ll leave you alone.”
She walked upstairs and started the shower. She stripped off her clothes and stepped under the hot water spray, letting the water beat down on her shoulders and back. The heavy weight she’d been carrying since this morning when she’d returned Jasper’s donation had disappeared, so why did she still feel so damn tired?
Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you spent your entire weekend barely sleeping and your brain either rehashing the disaster that was your date with Jasper or asking you to knock on Stark’s door and beg him to fuck you.
She sighed and washed her hair, trying to keep the thoughts at bay, but they wouldn’t be denied. She’d been upset by her disastrous date with Jasper, but by late Saturday morning, she’d been back to obsessing over what had happened with Stark. She’d spent the entire weekend fighting her urge to text him. Hell, to just show up on his doorstep. How pathetic did it make her to be so desperate for sex that she would happily fuck the guy trying to take her house from her?
You could have had sex Friday night with Jasper, and you didn’t. So, are you sure you’re desperate for sex, or are you desperate for sex with Stark?
She wouldn’t think about that. What she would think about is the enormous bullet she dodged by discovering Jasper’s true nature before she slept with him. Even thinking about how she’d found him charming and funny made her furious with herself. She was usually a much better judge of character.
Stark might be an asshole, but at least he’s upfront about it. Hey… quick thought… you should text him for a booty call.
She muttered a curse and quickly finished her shower, toweling dry and slipping into a cotton nightgown before putting her wet hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She lifted the nightgown and studied her crotch in the full-length mirror before turning to Bea, who had wandered into her bedroom and was stretched out on the floor. “You’re too blind to see it, but my cooch looks ridiculous, Bea. She looks like my grandma in a bathing cap.”
Bea thumped her tail against the floor in reply. Rayna reached between her legs and touched the two waxed areas. Even just the thought of finishing the wax job made her shudder, and she stared at Bea again. “Nope, not doing it. It’ll just have to look weird until the hair grows back. It’s not like anyone will be seeing it, so who cares what it looks like, right?
You could ask Stark to wax it. He’s done it before, remember?
“Gah!” She stomped to her closet and yanked on her robe, tying it off at the waist before turning to Bea. “C’mon, Bea-Bea. It’s time for dinner.”
At the word dinner, Bea popped up like a jack-in-the-box, grinning happily and her tail wagging furiously. She followed Rayna down the stairs, her tail whacking against Rayna’s leg when she pushed past her.
“You know, sometimes I think you have selective hearing rather than being deaf,” she told the dog as she gave her some dry food with a heaping spoonful of wet mixed in. “You never have any trouble hearing when it’s time for dinner.”
Her tail still wagging wildly, Bea dug into her dinner with relish, crunching the food loudly as Rayna added some canned cat food to Freddie’s dish in the laundry room. He sauntered over to the dish, even letting her give him a quick pat as he settled in to eat.
She returned to the kitchen and opened the fridge, studying the contents as she tried to decide what to cook. Her work day hadn’t been that busy or challenging, but the lack of sleep over the weekend and the stress of losing the three grand this morning left her feeling exhausted and unmotivated to cook.
She stretched lightly, glancing at her phone on the counter. She really should check her messages and respond to some emails for the rescue.
Eat first, and then you can do some more work.
Good plan. She reached for the bag of salad, pausing when there was a loud knock on the door. Her heart went into overdrive immediately. Maybe it was Stark. Maybe he was here because he couldn’t stop thinking about Friday night, either.
She started eagerly toward the door, her footsteps slowing as her common sense kicked in. It wouldn’t be Stark. It was always the same when she got a knock on her door. Some random stranger with an animal they no longer wanted and the belief that she had to take it.
Ignoring her disappointment, she opened the front door. There was no one standing on her porch, but a large cardboard box sat on the snowy ground a few feet away from her porch steps.
“Are you kidding me? You couldn’t even leave the poor thing on my porch?” She shoved her feet into boots and stepped outside. The cold air immediately brought goosebumps to her skin, and she considered grabbing her jacket to throw over her robe before hurrying down the steps instead. Who knew what was in the box and how injured it might be. The sooner she looked, the better.
She crouched next to the box and peeled back the tape that held it shut. She moved back a little and stretched to open the top flaps, keeping one hand raised in front of her face. She had a feral cat come flying out of a box and attach itself to her face once, and she wasn’t going through that again.
No angry, hissing cat came flying out, and she lowered her hand, peering cautiously into the box. “What the hell?”
The box was empty, and she stared in confusion at it before straightening and studying the darkness. Her skin prickled, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. “Hello? Is there someone there?”
The wind was her only reply, and seriously creeped out, Rayna turned to walk back to the house. She jumped about a foot and nearly fell on her ass when she saw the man standing in front of her porch steps.
“What the fuck, Louis! You scared the shit out of me.”
Louis stared at her, his big body weaving slightly and his nostrils flaring like an angry bull’s. “I want my dog back, bitch.”