With those few words, she lost her best friend and secret dreams at the same time. Somehow, she made it through the rest of her finals, bombing a few and doing fairly well on the rest, even as she and Steve avoided each other like the plague. She went home for Christmas with nothing more than a giant basket of dirty clothes, assuming that however bleak things were, she’d be back the second week of January.
It was over break that the crippling monster that was depression hit. It was the darkest, the ugliest, the worst time of her life. She hardly ever let herself think of those days. Somehow, in a world of gray nothingness, she found the shelter, around the same time she started medicine. And after the longest winter of her life, the sun came out again.
Kelsey had just turned twenty when Wes offered her a full-time job. In the months that followed, she turned away from everything that was gray and sad. She made the connection between the seven colors of the rainbow and the days of the week, and bought a different-colored adoption-focused T-shirt to wear each day, coordinating the day of the week with its corresponding rainbow color. She focused on the shelter and her family and, eventually, evening classes at a nearby university.
She had her life together again. Even though things were feeling a bit repetitious and empty before this rehab started, she wouldn’t risk experiencing hurt like that again.
Remembering the few glimpses she’d had of Kurt’s perfectly sculpted core underneath his T-shirts as he worked—and the resulting churning feeling in her midsection, the one that reminded her of the ocean before a storm—she knew it wouldn’t be hard to fall for him. Not only was he a pleasure to look at, but he was so natural and calm with the dogs.
Maybe she’d been wanting to kick life up a notch, but crushing on Kurt wasn’t the answer. She was here to help dogs that deserved the best second chance they could get. That was enough. For seven years, her work at the shelter had been enough. It would be enough at the Sabrina Raven estate too.
* * *
For stocking up, Kelsey focused on the peripheries of the crowded store, choosing a variety of easy-to-eat fruits, precut veggies, hummus, and several packages of natural granola bars. She couldn’t pass up a box of freshly baked cookies from the bakery but promised herself she’d leave them to Kurt and the volunteers. Mostly. As she was inventorying her cart, she remembered string cheese and bottled water and circled back, hoping they’d now be set.
In addition to them having the groceries, Megan had texted earlier that she was bringing a hot meal over tonight. Most likely Megan’s meal would be enough to feed a small army, so they wouldn’t need to worry about dinner for a few days, even if several volunteers showed up.
Megan loved to cook, and whatever she was making was sure to be fabulous, though Kelsey had stopped asking for her recipes after several failed attempts to replicate her incredible cooking.
Kelsey was steering her cart next into line at the register when she remembered paper plates. Normally she was a wash-and-reuse kind of girl, but she hadn’t inventoried the stash of dishes that came with the house. She left the cart to hold her spot in line and jogged to the paper goods aisle, grabbing the first package of recycled paper plates she could find.
She made good time in the store and wasn’t surprised to make it back to the Raven estate before Kurt. The grocery store was much easier to navigate than Home Depot. And he was renting a truck.
She was, however, surprised to find two cars parked on the side of the street in front of the house and five people milling around them. The hair on the back of her neck prickled knowingly as she took them in. Protesters.
Kurt had mentioned they might show up, but Kelsey had doubted him. Who’d want to protest on this quiet, forgotten street? Apparently, they would. She recognized one woman from the warehouse. Kelsey had read the sign now hanging loosely at the woman’s side the morning she chose the dogs: ONCE A KILLER, ALWAYS A KILLER.
A rarely felt anger bubbled up. The warehouse had been unfamiliar and foreign. But this was shelter property. How dare they! She pulled past them and into the circular driveway. Rather than grabbing the groceries, she squared her shoulders and crossed the front yard.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
There were four women and one guy. Self-righteous wasn’t a word Kelsey liked to label anyone with, but it certainly fit the bill this time. She could feel the indignation rolling off them. Several lips curled as she approached. The woman from the warehouse stepped forward, as if indicating she was the ringleader.
“We saw your interview. I doubt there’s anything you’ll be willing to help us with, so we’ll be helping ourselves. We’re getting a court injunction to shut this down before someone gets hurt.”
Shock and anger rocketed through Kelsey. The possibility that someone might try such a thing had been discussed among the group at the shelter, but it had seemed like a worst-case scenario. No one would wish them that much ill will. But clearly someone did. Five someones. And they were standing right in front of her.
With thirty-seven dogs, the shelter might be over regulation as to how many animals could reside there permanently, but the rehab was temporary. And thanks to a volunteer with great connections on the city council, they’d been given a waiver.
“I suspect you won’t have much luck
