Chapter 12
Raelyn
“I’ve spoken in length with the prosecuting attorney, and he’s agreed to a plea deal.” Jack Bivens, our family lawyer, looked over at me with a grimace. “It’s pretty tough, but there’s no jail time.”
“Really? That’s great!” Mr. Bivens had been my dad’s lawyer for as long as I could remember.
He was older than my father, distinguished and well-spoken, and he’d handled everything when my mother died and anything since then.
I knew he was excellent at his job, but apparently, he was even better than I thought. “What are the conditions of the deal?”
“He agreed to two years probation, sixty hours of community service, and a twelve-hundred-dollar fine.”
“Two years probation?”
“I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s less than I expected.
I thought for sure he’d go for five, especially considering the offense.
” He raised his eyebrow and gave Haleigh and me a condescending look as he added, “It’s no secret that people who are into things like parachuting off rooftops tend to find themselves in trouble again, and it’s often more serious. ”
“I understand, but I assure you I have no intention of getting into any more trouble.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” my father interjected. “And that goes for both of you.”
“Yes, sir,” Haleigh answered. “I really appreciate you helping us, Mr. Thomas. I promise we won’t screw up.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
I was slammed at work and worried about how I’d manage to get in all the hours, so I asked, “What kind of community service will we have to do, and when does it start?”
“Well, you have a few options.” Mr. Bivens flipped through the file on his desk, and when he found what he was looking for, he started to read off the list. “There’s the Metro Nashville Beautification and Environment Commission, which would involve litter pickup and various landscaping projects.
There are also several animal shelters that you can choose from or a couple of food pantries. ”
Mr. Bivens leaned across his desk and offered Haleigh and me the court-issued list of possible locations to fulfill our community service hours. After we looked it over, Haleigh glanced at me and asked, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “At this point, I’m up for anything.”
“Okay, how about one of the animal shelters?”
“Sounds good to me.” I turned my attention to my father, pleased that he appeared a little less stressed. “What do you think?”
“I think an animal shelter would be just fine.”
“Great. Then, that’s what we’ll do.” I turned to Mr. Bivens and asked, “So, how does all of this work?”
“We’ll call the shelter and let them know the two of you are interested in completing your community service with them and ask their available times.”
“Okay, and when will we do that?”
“No time like the present.”
Once he’d confirmed our schedules and available service times, Mr. Bivens picked up his office phone and dialed the animal shelter.
He spoke with the director and explained the reason for his call.
After a little back and forth, Mr. Bivens thanked them for their help and hung up the phone.
He smiled and said, “Okay, you’re all set. They’ll be expecting you in an hour.”
“We’re starting today?”
“Like I said, no time like the present.” Mr. Bivens jotted down the address, then handed it to me. “You both need to be there at two.”
“So, that’s it?”
“Almost. You still have to cover the court fees and the fine.”
“Oh, yeah.” I cringed as I asked, “What’s the total on all that?”
“The court fees are three hundred, and of course, that doesn’t include the twelve-hundred-dollar fine.”
“So, it’ll be three thousand to cover us both?”
My stomach sank when he nodded. It was more than I’d expected, and I wasn’t sure I had enough in my savings to cover both Haleigh and me. Dad must have noticed my concern because he said, “I’ve got it.”
“What? No!” I argued. “You’ve already covered all of the retainer. I can’t let you—”
“I said I’ve got it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his checkbook. After filling it out, he offered it to Mr. Bivens and said, “Thank you for taking care of this for us, Mr. Bivens. I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Glad to do it.” He stood and walked us to the door. “I’m always here if any other problems arise.”
“Appreciate it, Mr. Bivens.”
After we said our goodbyes, Haleigh and I followed Dad out of Mr. Biven’s office. Once we got to the parking lot, I gave my father a big hug. “Thank you, Dad. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“I do.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card from his wallet, then offered it to me. I took it from his hand and groaned when I saw Dr. Elizabeth Holt, Christian Family Counseling, embossed on the top of the card. “You were serious about the whole shrink thing?”
“I was, and I am.”
“But—”
“No buts, Rae. This is what you agreed to, and I expect you to follow through.” He glanced down at the business card and added, “Your mom said she comes very highly recommended.”
“Okay, I’ll set up an appointment with her.”
“Three appointments.”
“Three?”
“At the very least.” His tone softened. “Who knows, you might actually get something out of it.”
“I doubt it, but I’ll go.” I peeked over at Haleigh and tried to hide my embarrassment. “We better get going. We need to change before heading over to the shelter.”
“You’re probably right.” She stepped over to my father and hugged him. “Thank you again, Mr. Thomas. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
“Glad I was able to help.”
Dad hugged her back, then turned and walked over to his truck. Once he was gone, Haleigh and I got in my car and started home. I kept waiting for her to ask me about the whole counselor thing, but she didn’t.
Instead, she just sat there silently staring out the window. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet, especially after everything that had taken place, so I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired.” She let out a deep breath. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Me either. I tossed and turned all night.”
“We got really lucky with all this.”
“Yeah, we did. I’m just so sorry about all of it. If I could go back and change things, I would.”
“I wouldn’t.” Haleigh turned to me with a smile. “I know I’ve given you a hard time about it all, but I really did have fun that night. But then again, I always have fun when I’m with you.”
“I’m so going to remind you of that when we’re cleaning up dog poop and cat vomit.”
“Oh, wow, what a nice mental image! Thanks for that.” She giggled, then sighed and looked at me with a concerned expression. “I was a little surprised to hear about the whole counselor thing.”
“You and me both.” I shook my head and grumbled, “Dad was pretty pissed about the whole arrest thing, so I told him I’d go to calm him down. But honestly, I hoped he wouldn’t hold me to it.”
“I’m kind of glad he did.” She looked over to me with concern in her eyes. “I think it’ll be a good chance for you to talk about things with someone who’s impartial.”
“Yeah, maybe, or maybe it’ll just be a big waste of time.”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
“That we will.”
Haleigh and I ran into our apartment and changed, then drove to the animal shelter.
When we pulled up, I was surprised to see the place in such rough shape.
The roof was missing shingles, the bricks were crumbling, and the gravel parking lot was full of potholes.
There were a couple of larger planters by the front door, but the flowers were all dead, and weeds had taken root.
We could both hear barking as we opened the wooden front door, and it smelled like a veterinarian’s office as we stepped inside. I immediately spotted an older woman with silver hair and round, rosy cheeks sitting at the front counter, and I walked over to her.
As soon as she spotted us, she stood and tugged at her cardigan, straightening it along with her bright pink top. A welcoming smile crossed her face as she asked, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered. “I’m Raelyn Thomas, and this is Haleigh Nelson. We’re here about the community service hours.”
“Oh, wonderful.” She motioned us over to the counter and said, “My name is Leah. I’m the coordinating manager for the shelter. I’ll be the one you deal with most around here.”
“Great. We’re looking forward to working with you.”
She handed us each a volunteer form and said, “As soon as you fill these out, I’ll take you to the back and show you around.”
“Sounds good.”
After Haleigh and I completed the forms, Leah made a copy of our IDs, then led us to the back. Leah seemed completely unfazed as we entered the kennel area. I, on the other hand, felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest.
There were cages upon cages of the most adorable puppies I’d ever seen.
As soon as they spotted us approaching them, they would rush up to their doors and start yelping with excitement. I knelt and slipped my fingers through one of the holes in the metal gate, and gently stroked one of the Lhasa Apso puppies on the head.
His whole body shook. “Hey there, sweet boy. Aren’t you just the cutest?”
“Oh, my goodness.” Haleigh knelt down next to me and started petting one of the other puppies. “They’re so adorable.”
“Yes, they are.” Leah lowered her gaze to the tiny critters and sighed.
“We don’t usually have this many puppies, but animal control shut down a nearby puppy mill.
It was in a terrible state. Poor momma dogs were overbred, malnourished, and in need of medical attention.
The vets did all they could for them, and once they were well enough, they were brought here for adoption. ”
“That’s so sad.” I gave the puppy one last stroke across his head, then stood and said, “Hopefully, we can find them a good home.”
“We’ll certainly try.” Leah motioned us forward as she said, “The brooms and water hoses are in the corner, and the food is kept in the storage room.”
Leah went over every detail, from how to clean the kennels to how and when to feed the animals. As soon as she was done, Haleigh and I got busy cleaning our first cage. I gathered all the supplies and the hose while Haleigh moved the puppies outside where they could play in the fenced-in backyard.
I’d just started to hose off the concrete floor when Haleigh came up behind me and asked, “So, when are you planning to see Lynch again?”
“I’m not sure.”
It had been almost a week since the cook-out at his place, and even though we’d talked several times, we hadn’t actually seen one another. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see him.
I did.
I had a great time with Lynch—even after he left me a little frazzled on our last date. I had no idea what was going on with him, but he barely touched me the entire night.
No hand holding. No sitting extra close. No kissing.
Nothing.
I found it a little strange, especially after the way he’d been all the times before, and I was eager to see if things would be different on our next date.
Unfortunately, we hadn’t been able to figure out a time to see one another.
I’d been working long hours trying to get everything together for both the Sutherland wedding and Rebecca’s parents’ anniversary party, and Lynch had something going on with the club.
I could tell by Haleigh’s expression that she wasn’t sure what to think of my response, so I added, “We’ve both had a lot going on.”
“Yeah, Danny’s been pretty busy, too.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Every time we’ve made plans to get together, he’s had to cancel.”
“I’m sorry. I know you were looking forward to going out with him.”
“It’s okay.” She gave me a nonchalant shrug. “If it’s meant to happen, then it will.”
Haleigh was disappointed that he’d been putting her off, but she was right. If he really wanted to see her, then he would. The same held true for Lynch.
He was the kind of man who knew what he wanted, and he wasn’t afraid to fight for it. He proved that the morning he bailed us out of jail. I just hoped, with all that was going on, he hadn’t given up the fight.