Page 37 of Chance
Musical laughter filled my hands-free speakers.“Sorry, let me introduce myself.I’m Gracie Hannigan.I founded and run Sanctuary, the women’s shelter here in Creswell Springs.Nishia gave me your number, and I wanted to reach out.She said you were interested in potentially interning with us, but also perhaps volunteering.”
“Oh!”I gasped.“Oh my gosh, yes.Th-thank you for calling.I am one hundred percent interested in both.Or either.Anything.I—” Breaking off, I blinked back tears, not even sure why I was suddenly fighting the urge to cry.Taking a breath in an attempt to ground myself, I tried again.“I would very much like to work with Sanctuary in any capacity.Not just for my coursework, but because I-I really just want to help others the way someone once helped me.”
There was a pause on her end, and I felt the heat of embarrassment.I was still learning what was appropriate to share with people.Maybe I’d overshared.But then Gracie Hannigan cleared her throat and spoke in that light voice that calmed my flaming cheeks.“I’d love to sit down and have a chat, Evie.What day works best for you?”
“Other than my classes, one of which I just got out of and the other that is on Fridays, I have an open schedule.”
“I’m currently at Sanctuary if you have time to stop by.”
Evie
Sanctuary was a fortress.At least, that was what it felt like when I pulled up to a giant metal gate.Gracie had given me a temporary passcode to use that opened the gates.They rolled back with a mechanical hum, and I drove up the long driveway.The grounds were well maintained.I passed a few women in linen work clothes tending to several different flower beds.In the distance, I saw ten cabins.A wall surrounded what little of the property I could see through the trees.
And then there was the main building.
It was an older mansion, three stories high, spreading out with separate wings.I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting a women’s shelter to look like, but this place looked more like a reclusive billionaire lived inside.Maybe one who fought crime in the dark of night.I wondered if there was a secret batcave with a hidden entrance.
That thought was playing in my mind when the front door opened, and I saw Jack exit, wearing his Angel’s Halo MC leather vest.Cut.I needed to remember that it was a cut and the bikers got salty if you called it a vest.
A nervous giggle bubbled up when I saw him walking toward me, and I pictured him wearing a Batman suit.With his thick blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, his beard a little on the shaggy side, and his massive body, Jack didn’t fit the whole Bruce Wayne persona.Maybe Thor, but that was the wrong comic franchise.I needed a DC character to put the handsome, albeit slightly terrifying, man in.Instead of Jon, the Viking Prince, I had Jack, the grumpy biker.
“Evie?”He greeted me as he descended the steps.“My mom asked me to show you to her office.”
“Hi.Thank you.I probably would have gotten lost if I attempted to find it on my own.”I walked with him inside, noting the homey foyer.Fresh flowers in hand-painted vases were spread around, offering a pop of color.
As we passed several other people, all of them women with timid smiles, I felt my heart jump into my throat, wondering if they worked at Sanctuary or lived there.I wondered if any of them had been victims of human trafficking…
If they were my father’s victims.
Swallowing the emotions choking me, I folded my hands together in front of me and waited for Jack to knock before opening a door bearing a gold plate that read Gracie Hannigan.Beneath her name was written: Friend.Founder.Director.
Jack stepped back, indicating I should enter first.Gulping, I moved forward, not sure what to expect.
Gracie Hannigan sat behind a modern-style desk with a laptop open but pushed aside.A group of files was stacked on one corner, while other documents were spread in front of her.She looked up from them, giving me a welcoming smile that quelled a little of my nervousness.She stood with a confidence I knew I would never possess, hand extending.
Her red hair was pulled back in a business-appropriate knot, streaks of gray highlighting the strands she’d pulled free around her face.She was aging with grace rather than maintaining the color.Her eyes were full of life lessons that I would never understand.
“Evie, thank you for coming.”
I shook her hand, wondering if my grip was too firm.She didn’t grimace, but I hadn’t gotten the pressure right yet.Handshakes were weird.Evy told me I should just fist-bump or do nothing, but I wasn’t sure.“Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I’ve got it from here, Jack,” she told her son, who still stood in the open doorway.“Evie and I are going to get to know each other a bit.”
He wasn’t much of a talker.Giving me a chin lift, he started to shut the door, and I forced a smile, biting back a plea for him to keep the door open.At the last moment, he left the door ajar, and I almost wept in gratitude.I wasn’t sure I could have made it through this interview, or whatever it was, if I was hyperfixated on the closed door.
Gracie walked around her desk and waved at one of the guest chairs before taking one herself.Dressed in a simple pair of black slacks and a light-yellow top, she kicked off her heels and crossed her ankles as she sat on the edge of her seat.“Tell me a little about yourself, Evie.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, wondering what I should and shouldn’t share with her.There was a line between friendly and being too personal that I struggled with.“Well, I’m from Seattle.I lived there with my dad all my life.When he passed, my twin sister and I decided to start over somewhere away from the heavy pace of a large city.”
Sympathy softened her eyes.“My condolences on your loss.”
Jaw clenched, I nodded.Telling her that the world was a better place without William Adams in it would have definitely been sharing too much.“Thank you.”
“And you’re getting your degree in social work?”I nodded.“Why did you choose that field of study?Is it a passion project, or was it something that you fell into?”
“A little of both, I guess.Until recently, it seemed I was taking classes aimlessly, with no real goal.And then when my father passed, I struggled with my…grief.My world was upended, and I was faced with a lot of unknowns.It was an intensely frightening time.But during it all, there was one person who stuck out to me.”Tears stung my eyes, remembering Gemma.“My social worker helped guide me through a proverbial minefield.She wasn’t the superhero in the story, but without her, I’m not sure if I would have gotten this far.”
Gracie nodded, as if she truly understood what I meant.I gave her a smile that felt wobbly.“I don’t want to be a superhero or even a sidekick.That’s not who I am.I just want to assist people who are going through what must feel like the hardest times of their lives.”
