Accidentaly Divine Read online

  He gave her a look of disbelief. “Porn hub? What’s a porn hub?”

  She snorted her cynicism. “You don’t know what porn is? C’mon, Dex. You’re an angel, but you’re not that much of an angel.”

  “That’s not what I asked. Of course I know what porn is. I want to know where the hub is and why you’d think it was here?”

  “It’s on the Internet.” George shook her head. “Never mind. Forget I said that. I want to know what’s going on in there that you don’t want me involved in. Animal rescue feels like a very angelic thing to do. So what’s the problem?”

  He stared out the window for a long moment, looking at the blanket of white beyond the barren trees. “Total honesty?”

  “No. I was hoping you’d lie to me.” She tapped his arm. “Of course I want you to be honest.”

  “If I do come clean, that means you’re involved, and that’s not fair to you. I’d really rather you went back to work and forgot you saw me here.”

  George scratched her head. “Too bad. Look, Dex, I don’t get this. We’ve been friends for almost a year, and I had no idea you had an animal rescue. I’m not surprised, because we don’t sleep and you might as well have something to do on your off time, but why is me simply knowing involving me in something? Why is that bad?”

  And what did all of this have to do with Justin Daniels? Because this was where Justin was supposed to be.

  “Because I really shouldn’t have an animal rescue. Yes, as guardians, we can keep our worldly possessions, but this wasn’t mine to begin with. I… I sort of took over for someone…”

  That piqued her curiosity. “Someone?”

  He didn’t say anything for what felt like forever, leaving them in awkward silence.

  She broke the silence. “Dex?”

  “Yes,” he responded almost defensively. “Someone. Just like you have things you aren’t ready to talk about, so do I.”

  Well, then.

  She guessed that was that.

  Chapter 15

  They sat in the stony silence for a moment until, with a gentler tone, he said, “Listen, there are a lot of factors at play here. The less you know, the better. I just need you to know this is really important to me. The animals saved me when I needed saving, and…”

  Man, did she ever know about that. Gladys had come to her at a time when the whole world was dark and very bleak. Gladys was the reason she’d gotten out of bed every morning for the last couple of years. Gladys and the seniors.

  “So you’re telling me whoever’s in charge up there wouldn’t want you to save animals with disabilities? What kind of barbarians are running the joint?” she asked, aghast. “I guess there really isn’t a Rainbow Bridge. How disappointing.”

  “Yes, there is a Rainbow Bridge, and no, the person in charge wouldn’t be upset I’m helping animals. But my supervisor Frank might not like the idea my focus is split.”

  She gripped his hand, her joy uncontained. “Wait, there really is a Rainbow Bridge?”

  He grinned for the first time. “There really is. It’s amazing.”

  That meant her childhood cat, Brad, the only other pet she’d ever owned, was up there somewhere. He’d gotten her through some of the toughest nights of her youth. Gee, she’d really love to see Brad again.

  “Can anyone… I mean, can any angel visit this bridge?”

  Now the old Dex returned, and he grabbed her hand with a warm Dexter smile. “Yeah. Yeah, you can.”

  The absolute bliss that brought her was immeasurable.

  But that revelation opened up the door to another question she wasn’t ready to ask. Not yet.

  Instead, she shook her finger at him. “Don’t distract me, mister. First, who’s Frank?”

  “The guy above Titus.”

  “And if you guys can appear at will, why hasn’t Titus caught you yet?”

  “Because Titus is a busy guy with a zillion things on his plate and he’s really good at leaving us to our own unless we need him. We check in a couple of times a month, but it’s always scheduled. So it’s easy to keep him out of the loop.”

  “So basically, you’ve been lucky. That still doesn’t answer the question about why you feel like you’re involving me in something I shouldn’t be involved in. Spit it out.”

  “Because no one knows about the rescue, I’m basically going to have to ask you not to say anything to anyone about it—especially Titus. Not right away, anyhow, and that puts you in a bad position—one I never intended you to be in.”

  Instantly, she melted. It was a gallant gesture to fear she’d incur the wrath of Titus, but she had a hard time believing that big redhead who smoked and drank would be upset about an animal rescue. A Pornhub account? Maybe. But animals with special needs? Nah.

  Still, she found herself trying to respect the things he didn’t want to talk about as much as he respected her lack of openness.

  “I don’t have a problem with that. Not at all. I can’t believe you’d think I would. You’re doing something good, Dex. I don’t know why that’s a problem, but my lips are sealed. And as a by the way, you also don’t need to protect me.”

  “The rescue doesn’t only involve the animals, George. It involves real live people. Kids. Kids who have crappy lives and come here to work a volunteer program to get away from those crappy lives. They’re doing good work here. Good, hard work and earning points for their college resumes. I don’t want them to lose that. I can’t let them lose that. Too many people upstairs knowing about this place, and the fact that I own it, leaves too many loose threads.”

  The change in his tone made her wonder if there was still something else he wasn’t telling her.

  “So now you’re telling me the entity in charge doesn’t want you to help underprivileged kids either? Again, I ask, what kind of looney-toon is running the show? Isn’t that what we’re all about? Helping people?”

  He looked down at his hand, covered by hers. “Yes. That’s what we’re all about, but… Like I said, it splits my focus. They don’t much like that. But I can’t give this up. I won’t.”

  “And you’re focus being split has to do with me, right? Because pathetic George can’t get it together enough for Dex to consider her a job well done and move on to the next assignment? Am I the one who’s keeping you from getting your permanent wings?”

  He looked at her then, his dark eyes deep and swirling with intensity. “It doesn’t just have to do with you, George. There are other factors at play.”

  “Like?”

  Just then, Nina banged on the window, a two-legged black French bulldog in her arms. When Dex rolled down the window, she snuggled the dog under her chin. “How the fuck could you keep this baby from me? Why the fuck would you act like this place—this mothereffin’ wonderland of babies in fur—doesn’t exist?” She held up the dog, who looked at her with lovesick eyes, and kissed his wet nose. “Why would he do that, Waffles? Why is Dex such a meaniebutt?” she cooed in the tone she reserved for animals and children.

  Marty held, of all things, a tiny goat tucked into her jacket, and she dropped kisses on the animal’s head. “Yeah, Mellie Vanellie, why didn’t bad Dex tell us about you guys?” she taunted, using Mellie’s paw to punctuate her question before snuggling her close.

  Dex chuckled and gave in. “Okay, okay. You should come inside and I’ll explain, but first, how did you guys find me?”

  “I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even know you had anything to do with this. I heard that voice in my head. It was Morgan Freeman this time, and he said someone named Justin Daniels needs my help, only this time, he provided an address.”

  Dex looked worried for a brief moment, and then he asked, “And you decided to come handle it on your own, even after I asked you to let me help this time?”

  “No. No, sir. I came on a recon mission. A mission of discovery, if you will. I had no intention of approaching the assignment without you. None whatsoever. I just wanted to see what I could see without engaging. That�
�s it. Swear. Ask the vampire and the werewolf. They can confirm.”

  “Tell stupid Dex that’s the fucking truth, Waffles, and then tell him Auntie Nina wants to see the babies. All the babies.”

  Marty cocked her head, a smug smile on her face. “So does Auntie Marty. It’s not like Muffin couldn’t use a friend in her old age, and Hollis would love it. Plus, had Auntie Marty known, she would have offered, at the very least—besides her amazing volunteer skills, that is—a very generous donation.”

  He grinned at them. “Then by all means, please come in.” Pushing his way out the passenger door, he came around to George’s side of the car as the women headed back into the farmhouse, and gave her a look of regret.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t forthcoming about the rescue. I’ve been so afraid I’d be found out, I guess I became paranoid.”

  “Are you seriously telling me no one upstairs knows about this? I thought they knew everything?”

  His looked was filled with guilt. “There are ways around it, George.”

  She looked up at him as the snow began to fall again, leaving wet splotches on his green vest. “What happens if you get caught, Dex? Or what do you think will happen if, as you said, you get caught ‘splitting your focus’?”

  He looked over her shoulder toward the distance. “They take this away from me and make me go back upstairs and clean toilets, and you best believe I’d never see my permies. Not for a very long, long time.”

  That made her heart ache. He’d worked so hard to get her to this place—even if she was still on shaky ground. That ratcheted up her guilt a zillion notches.

  George gripped his arm, her eyes searching his. “Would they really make you leave this, Dex? Leave the animals and kids who need you so much? How is that at all justice? How is that even a little like what an angel is supposed to stand for?”

  “Well, this isn’t my first infraction, George, and I knew before I became involved that I shouldn’t, but I did it anyway. Not following the rules…well, that’s frowned upon in our circles.”

  She nodded. “Note to self: don’t break the rules. Still, I can’t believe they’d rip this out from under you. But I promise you this. I won’t say a word. Not one. Now, the biggest question of all.”

  He smiled as if the work he so clearly loved wasn’t on the line. “That is?”

  “Why was I sent here, and does that mean someone knows about Furry Gates and you?”

  “No. At least, I don’t think so. But it does mean you’re supposed to help someone I know very well.”

  “Justin Daniels,” she replied.

  “Yep. He volunteers here. His mother’s an alcoholic and as dysfunctional as they come. She’s really torn his life up with her addictions to not just booze and men, but a host of other things. And when CPS comes calling in the hope they can catch her, he lies to protect her. Justin lies every single time. To hide his shame. To hide his pain.”

  Well, she certainly knew a thing or two about hiding things, and her heart ached for this boy named Justin. “And you know that how?”

  “That he lies to the police and CPS? Because his school counselor told me he does. I try not to get too involved in that aspect of their lives, simply because it’s really frowned upon by the people who let me run the school program. I’m not a certified counselor or, in the eyes of the school and the law, for that matter, capable of doling out that kind of mental help. But I’m apprised of their situations so I know what to look for, and Justin’s got some serious baggage with no one to help him but his grandmother, who’s unwell. It’s probably one of the hardest things I do here. Aside from the special-needs animals, having to ignore what’s right under my nose sucks, and Justin’s a good kid. Quiet, hesitant, but good and really great with the animals.”

  This poor kid and poor Dex, caught between a rock and a hard place. “So I suppose they picked me because I have some experience with this sort of thing?”

  He shrugged as though it was of no consequence, and he did it for her benefit because he knew it was a sore subject. “Maybe. I can’t speak for the people in charge upstairs.”

  Right. “Is Justin here?”

  “Not yet, but he will be later in the early evening.”

  Deciding she was going to mull over Justin and how she planned to offer suggestions to Dex on how to handle the situation, she drove her arm through his.

  “Okay, then I’ll come back tonight and you can introduce me. For now, take me inside and smother me with furbabies, huh? But hurry up, I have to be back at work in a half hour because I have an appointment with Vera Headly, and I think we all know how annoyed that woman can get if I’m not on time for an appointment. We have to set up the meet-and-greet with the new instructor for synchronized swimming. She’s been riding my butt about it for days, but it took me this long to actually find someone willing to deal with Vera. Apparently, she has a reputation amongst the synchronized swimming community.”

  He winced comically. “What happened to the old one? Gayle was her name, wasn’t it?”

  George threw her head back and laughed. “Hah! Novice. She ran Gayle out of town on a rail three instructors ago. The last one was Merrilee, who I don’t think is ever going to recover from the tongue lashing she received from Vera for being late—once.”

  “Then don’t let me hold you up. I wouldn’t want Vera to eat your face off. How about you come back tonight and have dinner with us? It’s pizza night, and the kids who come in from four to seven would love to meet you.”

  “Will Justin be here?”

  “He will.”

  “Then it’s a date. Wait. Not a date-date. A deal. It’s a deal,” she stuttered, her cheeks flaming hot.

  “Deal, date. Is there really a difference?” he teased, making her feel less like an idiot.

  She laughed as they made their way along the rocky path to the farmhouse to hide the fact that her stomach was in a big knot about this boy Justin, and the idea she’d been called upon to help him was scaring her witless.

  Chapter 16

  The ladies helped clean up the remnants of the remaining pizza they’d just finished, packing it away in Dex’s fridge, while George sat in the dining room surrounded by four or five dogs (she’d lost count), three cats with various disabilities, a partially paralyzed guinea pig, and three teenagers.

  Justin, who sat at the big rectangular wood table, scarred from so much use, hadn’t said much tonight. He’d mostly sat with the dogs, staying on the fringes of the conversation while he stroked a two-and-a-half pound earless Chihuahua by the name of Blip.

  Rather than pressuring him to chat, she scooped up Dex’s personal pet—a cat named Susan—and reveled in stroking her soft fur.

  Dex mentioned Susan was particular about who she let hold her, typically only allowing Dex or Justin to cuddle her. Of course, Nina was a shoe-in for the cat’s affection. Susan had swirled her tail around Nina’s long calves and it was love at first sight, surprising no one.

  Nina was a tough customer, but her love of anything helpless, especially animals and children, left a corner of George’s heart hers and hers alone. Marty and Wanda weren’t far off. Their ease with these kids Dex cared so much for made her fall even more in love with them than she already was.

  They were now happily playing a board game amongst a throng of dogs and cats. Wanda didn’t appear to care at all that she had dog hair all over her skirt, or that one dog who’d just made a comeback from parvo was drooling on her shiny, low-heeled shoes. She stroked their heads and cooed at them, laughing with the kids and joking with the other women.

  Marty played with a cat with no back paws, dangling one of her bangle bracelets under the glow of the light in the living room and giggling when the feline attempted to swat the shiny baubles.

  But Susan had also taken a shine to George, and hopefully, this was the perfect opportunity to show Justin she could be trusted.

  Grinning at Susan’s sweet face, she asked, “Has anyone told you how gorge you are today,
Susan? Because if not, let me be the first.”

  The sweet feline purred for all she was worth, tucking her face into George’s hand.

  “She had cryptococcus,” Justin said quietly.

  George smiled and nodded as she made note of how clean Dex’s rescue/home was. It wasn’t pretty, no, but it was well kept.

  “Is that the disease known as terminally beautiful?” she asked.

  For the first time that night, Justin—tall, lanky, dark-haired and fresh-faced, even with all his troubles—gave her a half-smile as he looked at her from across the old oak table. “Some would say she’s ugly because of it.”

  She looked him in the eye and grinned. “Well, whoever ‘some’ is, they’re wrong.” Holding up Susan, George cuddled her close. “Right, Susan? Sometimes, you have to look behind the exterior and inside at their hearts, and your heart is beautiful.”

  Justin leaned over the table and scratched Susan on the head with a vague smile. “She’s got plenty of heart, that’s for sure.”

  George glanced into the kitchen, where Dex, tall and handsome, was making coffee for the adults, the worn countertops chipped and stained, the stove ancient and avocado green.

  “Do you like volunteering here, Justin?”

  He gave her a pensive stare at first, but then a slow smile spread across his sweet face as he tucked Blip into his neck. “Yes, ma’am. It’s my favorite part of the day.”

  Her heart warmed at how clear it was this boy loved animals, and coming to Furry Gates allowed him the chance to immerse himself without interference. What a great program Dex ran.