"What can I say?" Sadie said, smiling at me. "I guess I'm a miracle worker."
"She doesn't deserve it."
"I know."
"She'd have killed you as easily as watching you breathe."
"It isn't about that."
Watching her smile widen, I wasn't certain I'd ever understand what it was really about. Maybe she had been plagued by a ghost, or maybe our new mate just had a conscience made of gold. I sighed and kissed her forehead. "Becca would have loved you."
Dinner that night was all excitement and discussion about Sadie's new role in the company. I thought I'd seen my packmates enthused about new packaging or new formulas of feed, but this was a thousand times that. We spent every night thereafter working with her, helping her learn what to say and how to speak to those who were under her. There was always a chance that subordinates may try to fight back against a newcomer and we wanted to prepare her for it.
Yet, by the night before our grand return to the company, Sadie sounded as if she'd been with us from the start. She was passionate, endearing, and daring; the three things that any good high-ranking businessperson needed to be.
Besides that, it'd be good for her to get away from the house now and then. The rescue would continue to have a solid support staff, though I assumed that Sadie would want to expand it in the near future. Maybe we'd spend the spring building outdoor enclosures for the birds, giving them more room to fly. We could always heat the buildings and, sadly, there always seemed to be a great deal of exotic parrots with no homes and few rescues taking them in.
We took her to work with us the following day and peeked in on her now and then, making sure that there was nothing she needed. I stopped by her new office just before the staff went home and leaned on her doorframe.
Sadie was at work on a grant request, already trying to spend money other than ours. From a selfish point of view, it was a wonderful idea.
From a logical standpoint, it was more work than she needed to expend. "You can just use the money put in the account, you know."
Her head popped up and she smiled at me. She was adorable in a comfortable pantsuit of midnight blue. "I know that, but I want to have a backup just in case. Besides, I'm diverting all of this directly to a different kind of rescue."
"Oh?"
"There's a wolf sanctuary up north that keeps wolves and wolf dogs from being put down in shelters when they're too dangerous to be adopted out. They take them all in and let them loose on several hundred acres of land." The smile turned into a grin. "It only seemed right for us to help them out."
Too right it did.
Chapter 19
Hudson
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
I felt as though I were questioning her at every step. Most women would have been frustrated, to say the least. Not Sadie. After years of dealing with animals that worried about every choice, she was used to questions.
And she was getting used to reassuring my stupid, barky brain.
She smiled back at me. "I'm positive. It's going to be okay. But we're going to be late. Come on."
Winter was in full swing but the Hummer had made the trek to the courthouse easily enough. I glanced at the parking lot and spotted Lillian's car. The need to growl at it was fierce, overwhelming, but I managed to hold it in. Distracted by it, Sadie took me by the hand and tugged me toward the building.
Eventually, I followed.
"Your plans in Omaha are going well, I hear," I murmured to her as we walked past active court sessions.
Sadie's hand tightened on mine, an affectionate squeeze. "We've got vets lined up around the block trying to seek employment at the new shelters. It's a full-time gig and they don't have to try to advertise a personal clinic. Turns out that most of them hate trying to establish themselves. Who'd have thought it?"
"Who dave foght it," echoed Tommy as he toddled along the yellowing tiles.
She beamed down at him. "That's right. Whoda thought it? Can't imagine that people aren't going to stand up and take notice of you guys now, right?" Her head turned back toward me and I saw her squinting. "Who are you again? Fountain... something?"
"Hilarious," I deadpanned.
Her eyes sparkled. There was a little snap of excitement through our connection, the close quarters making certain that I felt everything she did and vice versa. We paused at the end of the hallway. The double oak doors held our future behind it, another judgment that would set in motion an entire lifetime of differences. I glanced at her, checking one last time, but she'd already let go of Tommy's hand to push open one of the doors. She held it for my son and then, gently, pulled me through it.
I hadn't spent extra to be first in line, we'd simply been the first in alphabetical order. The three of us walked into the court and sat down on the first bench. The judge entered and we rose, waiting until we were told to sit once more. Tommy was thoroughly overexcited by the entire process and the judge, a beta werewolf from a different pack, smiled down at him.
The court case was quick. I was asked a handful of questions. Sadie was asked another handful. It slowed a little when Sadie called Lillian as her character witness, but Lillian did as she'd promised and told the court about her apprehension; and what had won her
