"Five dollars. And don't try to give me the hard sell, or I'll tell that nice blond lady in charge."
I blink twice. If she's watching the telethon, then she should see me. I'm the blond one in charge. This whole conversation has been odd, and it leaves me wondering if she's even watching.
"And don't think I won't check my bank statements either, I know exactly how to do it,” she continues.
"I'm sure you do," I answer, grabbing the paperwork to fill out. Right now, I can’t afford to say no to any donations.
I grab the pen and paper and start the ten-minute process of filling out the form. "Name?"
"What?"
"Can I get your name, please, ma'am? For the donation?" Somehow, I'm fairly sure this is going to take more than ten minutes. That's when I hear a commotion near the entrance. I glance over there.
"My name is Mindie. M-i-n-d-i-e."
I'm half writing the name and half trying to see what it is that the crowd at the front of the room is reacting to.
"Did you get that, dear? That’s Mindie with an i-e, not a y. If you spell it with a y then that hateful shrew down the hall in 7B will take all the credit for saving the animals. I'm the one saving the kitties.”
My pen is poised over the paper, but I haven't started writing yet.
Gavin and his crew have crossed the room to confront somebody who has entered the building. And whoever he is, he’s tall, and he has something wrapped up in a blanket.
And whatever it is that he's carrying in the blanket is yowling in pain. I'm the vet on call tonight. Everybody else are just volunteers and television crew.
I rise from my seat to get a better look.
"Mindie! You got it?"
I still hear the woman’s voice on the other line and realize I forgot to hang up. That means that I can still hear her voice on the other line screeching across my soul. She's shouting now. I wince in pain and pull the phone away from my ear. "Hang on," I say.
When I see the person with the injured animal in the center of the crowd take a step forward, the phone falls out of my hands.
It hits the floor with a loud clattering sound.
Mia gives me a concerned side-eye before reaching down to grab the phone. She hangs it up. “You okay, boss?”
I don’t answer. I'm too busy staring at the guy with the blanket who just walked in. There’s something awfully familiar about his tall, muscled frame. And he’s strong enough to have no problem holding what looks to be at least a thirty-pound squirming dog in his arms.
I hear murmurs of surprise and recognition wash across the room.
I stand and stare more intently at the familiar face that looks a little older now, but somehow still the same. Holy shit. It's Jake.
That's when I hear yelling again at the front door as more people burst in.
What in the hell is going on here? I feel like I’ve entered an alternate dimension, only I know the new voices all too well. They belong to Kaylee and Fi, my two best friends in the whole world. And they don't usually make a habit of barging in unannounced at my work functions.
"Angie!" Kaylee says, spotting me first and then sprinting across the room. Fi is right behind her. Kaylee’s a whir of dark curly hair and flashing eyes right now. Something is definitely up.
"I'm so sorry to bother you here, but…” in mid-sentence, Kaylee’s head whips around to the snack table. “Hey, are those the little red raspberry rose cookies from Smith's downtown?"
I nod, grateful for the easy question since there are so many difficult ones swirling around my head right now.
"Kaylee!" Fi punches her in the arm. Fi has fierce blue eyes and long dark hair pulled into a ponytail. "Angie, we really didn't come here to eat your snacks," she says as she shoots Kaylee a black stare. "We came here to warn you."
"Oh yeah. Angie, it’s Jake. He's back in town," Kaylee finishes with a worried flourish.
I simply point behind my friends to the tall blond guy who is now surrounded by camera and crew people. He’s still holding a blanket with a howling animal. An animal I have to go save.
Which means I have to confront my past. Right now. I will my feet to move, but they stay cemented to the floor.
All I can do is stare, like he’s a mirage. But I’m not that lucky. He really is right here in front of me, in the flesh. Jake Mann. Football God. St. Tropic High School Homecoming King. And the man who broke my heart. When I finally look directly at him, his baby blues are locked onto mine.
There’s a whirl of black hair as Kaylee’s head whips from me to Jake and then back again. "Oh shit, Fi. We're too late. This is exactly what we came here trying to avoid."
Without another word, I cross the room to check on the animal in the blanket.
Fi crosses to Jake with me and jumps in front, making the sign of the cross with her fingers. "Back, foul beast. Turn right around and take your tight ass out of here."
Jake freezes.
I push my way past everybody, professional instinct kicking in. It doesn't matter that I have a history with Jake Mann. It doesn't matter that he broke my heart or that he's the last person I want to see tonight. Or next week. Or ever.
In fact, I could live my entire life without this stupid, unhappy little reunion he is forcing on me now. But I don't have that luxury.
"What happened?" I ask.
"Car accident," he says, his face tight with emotion probably only I can read.
He's tense, and he looks as surprised to see me as I am to see him. It's clear that he didn't walk
