Page 80 of Reckless Harmony

“Bold move,” Lucas said.

“Rayna declined, and he got pissed. He said he paid three grand for her, and she owed him sex.”

“Motherfucker,” Lucas spat, the disgust evident in his voice. “I hope she punched him in the dick.”

“She told him to go fuck himself and left. She drove straight to my place, and I’ve never seen her so upset, Lucas. She was shaking, and she was angry, but it was obvious that what he’d said really upset her, too. It was awful.”

Stark stared at his hands. They were balled into tight fists, and he made himself relax, staring at the indents from his nails in his palms. Fucking Jasper. He would kick his cousin’s ass for what he’d said and done to Rayna.

“C’mere, baby.”

He could hear the squeak of Lucas’s office chair as he rolled it back, and Stark took a quick peek into the office. Emma was sitting on Lucas’s lap, and he pressed a kiss against her mouth. “I’m sorry Jasper was such a dickhead to Rayna.”

“Me too,” Emma said. “She stopped at the store this morning in between work calls to tell me about Jasper demanding his donation back, and she…”

“She what?”

“She started crying right there at the store.” Emma sounded close to tears herself. “Rayna hardly ever cries, Lucas. But losing that money was a real blow. The rescue owes five grand to Harmony Falls Vet Clinic, and she was planning to use the three thousand toward that. The clinic won’t see any of the rescue’s animals until the bill is paid off, which leaves her with only two clinics to work with.”

“Wait, she returned the money?” Lucas asked.

“She had to,” Emma said.

“No, she didn’t. He donated it and -”

“Jasper threatened to sue the rescue if she didn’t return it,” Emma said. “She had Mack e-transfer the money back to him this morning.”

“Fuck, that guy is a real piece of work,” Lucas said. “I can’t believe he’s Stark’s cousin. Stark can come across as cold, but he’s a good guy who would never fuck someone over like that.”

“You can’t choose your family,” Emma said.

“Can Rayna use the money from the other donations to pay the clinic?” Lucas asked.

“She’s using the other donations to pay the PawsPrint Vet Clinic bill, part of the Brandt clinic bill, and adding to the Helping Hands program,” Emma said.

“Shit,” Lucas said.

“She’s already talking about doing another fundraiser, but she just looked so… tired and defeated, Lucas. I’ve never seen her like this before. She’s burning the candle at both ends to keep the rescue going, but I don’t know how much longer she can keep going.”

Stark backed away from Lucas’s office, returning to his office and sitting at his desk. He stared at his laptop screen before stabbing a button on his desk phone.

“Yes, Mr. Stark?” Hollis answered on the first ring.

“I know it’s your lunch hour, but do you have five minutes?” he asked.

“Of course. I’ll be right there.” She ended the call and was sitting in his office less than a minute later with a tablet in her hand.

“I want to make a donation to Little Whiskers Rescue,” he said.

“Of course. How much?” Hollis swiped a finger across her tablet screen.

“Five thousand,” he said, “and I need it to be anonymous. I don’t want Ms. Abrams to know I donated.”

If Hollis was curious about the secrecy, it didn’t show on her face. “That might be difficult. Even if I can contact someone else in the rescue to handle the donation, I doubt that the information wouldn’t get back to Rayna.”

“I know.” He drummed his fingers against his desk, trying to think of how to make it work. “I want the donation to pay the amount the rescue owes to Harmony Falls Vet Clinic.”

“You could donate directly to the clinic,” Hollis said. “I’ll speak with the vet clinic, and we can etransfer the amount owed directly to them. The clinic can let Rayna know it was an anonymous donation. But you know that the rescue isn’t yet a registered charity, right? You won’t get a receipt for the donation.”

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