Page 101 of Tempting Fate
Somewhere in the mess of clothes on the floor, a phone rang.
“Is that yours or mine?” she asked Gabe.
“Not my ringtone.”
“It’s probably Butch calling to tell me he wants half the gold.” She rolled her eyes and hung over the edge of the bed to find her cell. “It was Dana. What do you suppose she wants?”
Gabe sat up and scrubbed his hand through his hair. “You think she found a new buyer already?”
Raylene sincerely doubted it. It had been less than two hours since she’d left Dana’s office. She hit the return call feature on her phone and held her finger against her lips to let Gabe know to be quiet. “Dana, it’s Raylene. I couldn’t get to my phone fast enough. What’s up?”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I told Gia about the situation with your land…how you turned down Moto Entertainment’s offer…about your financial situation, and about how you’re a benefactor for a women’s shelter. She’d like to meet with you.” Annie had once mentioned that Dana and Gia were BFFs, and in Nugget nothing was ever a secret anyway.
“All right,” she said. Why not? Other than Gabe, Wanda, and Dana, Raylene hadn’t told a soul about her money woes. She figured the folks in Nugget would only be too happy to see how far the mighty had fallen. But why not take advantage of her sure to be short-lived good standing while she could? Though Raylene had never watched Gia’s show—financial self-help programs weren’t her thing—she could use some good advice. And Gia was a millionaire ten times over.
“How about in my office in twenty minutes?”
“Sure,” Raylene said, and got there five minutes early.
A short time later, Gia swept into the room, a laptop case slung over her shoulder. For a former talk-show host, there was nothing fluffy about her. Her blond hair was tied back in a smooth ponytail, her face flawless without makeup, and her clothes tailored but not stuffy.
“What’s the name of the women’s shelter you told Dana about?” she asked by way of a greeting, then set up her laptop on Dana’s desk.
“Lucy’s House.”
Instead of responding, Gia tapped away at her keyboard. “This it?” She turned the laptop toward Raylene. When Raylene nodded her head, Gia continued typing. “It’s a 501(c)(3).”
Raylene had no idea what she was talking about.
“It’s legit,” Gia announced.
Duh. Of course it was legit. Did Gia think Raylene wanted to give two hundred thousand dollars to the Real Housewives of Santa Monica?
“I can help you with this,” Gia said. “I can help you with your own finances, too.”
“Why? Why would you do that for me?”
“Because you’re Annie and Logan’s family and I love Annie and Logan.”
Okay, that sort of made sense. And perhaps Gia thought if she didn’t help, Raylene would stay and mooch off her brother indefinitely. She had zero plans to do that. But if it meant Gia would help her with Lucy’s House, Raylene wouldn’t disabuse of her of that notion.
For the next two hours they stuck their heads together, and for the first time in Raylene’s life she had a strict budget to follow. It included getting rid of her beach house and moving into a cheap apartment with a roommate. Getting a full-time job, which wouldn’t be easy given Raylene’s lack of skillsets. And selling her truck and buying a used, more fuel-efficient car.
Gia emphasized that none of these cost-saving measures were going to save Raylene. The only thing that would do that was a career with good earning potential.My horse farm, she thought to herself. But without the land or the money, it was a fantasy.
By the end of their brainstorming session, Gia had given her an Iris Foundation grant application and a wink and nod that the fix was in for Lucy’s House. Apparently, the foundation was so flush, the board had begun awarding money to other women’s organizations around the state in addition to the good it already did in Nugget.
When she got back to the farmhouse, she found Lucky in the driveway, leaning against his truck.
What now?she wondered, exhausted from trying to paste together her freak-show of a life. She slid out of the driver’s seat. “You looking for me, or Logan and Annie?”
“You.”
“It’s cold out here. You want to come inside?”
“Nope. This won’t take long.”
Here we go. She was sure there must be some infraction she’d committed. Maybe he still wanted the money for Tawny’s dress. “What can I do for you?”
