“About like always. My dad says we’re going to be in a world of hurt if it doesn’t rain soon. But he says that every year. ‘If that mold spreads, we’re gonna be in a world of hurt.’ ‘If that new varietal bombs, we’re gonna be in a world of hurt.’ ‘If that label doesn’t sell, we’re gonna be in a world of hurt.’ I swear I’ve lived in a world of hurt since the day I was born.”
“Angela is off to college next year,” Freddie Jo said.
Angela smiled. “Which means I’ll miss harvest. Darn.”
“Hard work?” Luke asked.
“My dad always says, ‘Everybody pulls their weight at harvest, doubly so if your name is Cordero.’” She rolled her eyes. “I doubt I’ll have a professor half as tough as my own father. I swear it’ll be like a four-year vacation.”
In spite of Angela’s complaints, Luke didn’t hear any animosity in her voice. That was unusual for the average teenager, but he guessed Angela was above average. She reminded him of Shannon at her age, with a lot less intensity and a lot more smiles.
“Gotta go,” Angela said. “Nice to meet you, Luke.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
After she left, Freddie Jo said, “Angela comes in after school and on weekends. She’s the only other paid employee. But we’ll lose her next year when she goes to college. Damned shame. She’s a good kid. We could use three more just like her, if only we had the money in the budget.”
“So the rest are volunteers?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. We have a few on the schedule right now, but they come and go.”
“Are things really that tight around here?”
“Expenses are up, and donations are down.”
“You’d think this town would support the shelter no matter what.”
“It’s not that people don’t want to. But when it’s between that and putting food on the table, you know what comes first. Angela’s doing a good job with our website and Facebook page and donations are coming in, but it could still be better. The festival is coming up, though. During that we can usually count on a bunch of adoptions and some decent donations.”
Luke couldn’t say he was looking forward to that. The festival was just one more place in this town where he’d felt as if he was on the outside looking in.
“Shannon said you had some rules for me,” Luke said.
“Only a few. Do you do drugs?”
“Nope.”
“Smoke?”
“Nope.”
“Entertain women after hours?”
“Okay, you’ve got me there. I just won’t do it here.”
“You catch on fast.” She gave him a grin. “Just so you know, you may have left town, but your reputation is still hanging around.”
“I’d be surprised if it wasn’t.”
“Heard you used to be pretty bad news. Or is that just a dirty rumor?”
“Well, normally I’d say you can’t believe everything you hear, but where I’m concerned, you probably can.”
“So you really were a juvenile delinquent?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am. Juveniles don’t get much more delinquent than I was.”
“Nice to see you got over that.”
“What makes you think I got over being delinquent?”
A sly smile stole across her lips. “I was talking about the juvenile part.”
Luke liked this woman. Hell, he was inclined to like anyone who didn’t hold his past against him. Of course, she hadn’t lived there when he was a teenager whose goal in life was to disrupt life in Rainbow Valley as often as he could. He didn’t expect to get the same cheerful welcome from the rest of its citizens. To a point, he had to admit that was fair.
To a point.
“One more question,” Luke said.
“Yeah?”
“Tell me about Russell.”
“Russell? You know about him?”
“Not exactly. But evidently Shannon is seeing him tonight.”
“He’s a dentist. Moved here about four months ago. He and Shannon date now and again.”
So Russell was her boyfriend. For some reason, picturing Shannon with another man made a twinge of jealousy slide along his nerves. But in spite of their history, Shannon wasn’t his. She never had been. So why did he feel as if he was losing something valuable even though it wasn’t his to begin with?
“Thanks for the help,” Luke said. “And thanks for talking Shannon into hiring me.”
“Teach the llamas not to spit, and we’re even.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Freddie Jo’s gaze turned serious. “Look, I know you and Shannon have history. Don’t know what it is. Don’t need to know. I’m just glad you’re here because we need the help something awful. Just always remember that even when Shannon’s barking, she’s not going to bite. She needs you too