Page 18 of Burke (The Haven #2)
“And that’s what he needs for his animal refuge,” he noted.
“Oh, and, just so you know, there’s a squirrel here named Dodger, and an owl named Gibraltar,” he shared, as she watched all around her, her mouth open.
“A bobcat slinks in and around the place. He’s called Billy Bob.
Just don’t make sudden movements around him or the bear that comes around sometimes.
No need to be alarmed if you see either of them.
Big Mike may be a bear, but he has been harmless so far, even to the other injured animals we have here. ”
She frowned at him and asked, “You’re joking, right?”
“No,… I’m not. Timber is some kind of animal whisperer and healer, so they gravitate to him when they need help. We also have an armadillo here at times too. I don’t know his name. He tends to be really quiet or not-so-friendly to newcomers.”
She just stared at him and shook her head. “I had no idea.”
“And some rescue horses just arrived, to add to the few other horses and the donkey that were already here.… The donkey would be Danny. I’m not sure I even know how many dogs are here right now,” he said, with a laugh.
“When we sat outside having coffee this morning, we had Big Mike wandering the yard.”
She just stared at him in shocked delight.
He laughed. “You don’t seem to be upset about it.”
“No, are you kidding?” She laughed. “That’s fabulous, and I can’t think of anything nicer.”
Just then Timber returned and joined them outside.
“So, I just talked to your landlord and explained the situation. He’ll cancel the lease right now, and he’s changing the locks.
His buddy is on his way over right now to take care of that.
He’ll watch your mail and set it aside for one of us to pick up later. ”
“Did you get everything out?” Burke asked her.
She nodded. “I got 99 percent of it anyway. If I left anything, I’ll have to apologize to him. I just couldn’t get out fast enough.”
“And he understands that now,” Timber told her. “He is someone we’ve dealt with before, which helped.” When she stared at Timber in shock, he just nodded. “In this industry it’s all about who you know. Anyway he’s got the locksmith coming, but you probably will lose your deposit.”
“That’s fine,” she muttered, “considering he’s having to change the locks and that he’s letting me off the hook on cleaning it and the rest of it, I’m fine with that.”
Timber nodded and added, “He doesn’t know whether anybody has been there looking for you or not, but there have been a couple complaints from the neighbors about noise.”
She winced at that. “And, of course, that’ll be Silvia, right?”
“It’s hard to say. Yet, once the locks have been changed, he’ll post a notice that the apartment is for rent, so your sister will know you’re no longer there.”
“I don’t know what she and Frankie will do when they see that.” She sighed. “It could really send her off the deep end.”
Timber tilted his head. “That may be, but it also could be exactly the wake-up call your sister needs.”
“Sure, but now that she feels entitled to my money and to my home, and intentionally caused such drama that I lost my job, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” she shared, sadness in her gaze.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to contact her and let her know where you are?” Timber asked.
“God no,” she muttered.
“And is that because of her, or because of her boyfriend?”
She stared at him for a long moment, then reluctantly replied, “Both.”
“Good. Keep that in mind. Your sister is no longer the same person she was. She’s become someone who is very free with other people’s money and belongings,” Timber acknowledged.
“That isn’t a person anybody needs in their world.
We are good hard-working citizens, and the last thing we want around here is anybody who’ll just take whatever they want and not give a crap. ”
“I hear you,” she said. “Are you sure I can stay here? I might be bringing trouble to your doorstep.”
“Absolutely you are welcome here,” Timber declared, with a smile.
“And listen. Even if Silvia does find you here, remember that you’re not alone.
Some people will always be around here at any time of day or night.
Oh, and that’s not all. You’ll need to keep an eye out for some wildlife around here. ”
“I already heard about a few of the animals, even some with names,” she replied, with a big smile. “If I can help with any of them, let me know.”
“What skills do you have?”
She winced. “My training and certification is in project management, so not exactly what you need. Other than that, most recently I was working as a receptionist.” She laughed. “Again, not something you need.”
“On the other hand,” Burke noted, turning to her, “didn’t you work at animal rescues at one time?”
“Sure, I did,” she confirmed. “I did work with a shelter for several years. I was horse crazy back then, but I also worked with a lot of reptiles.”
“Reptiles?” Timber asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
She nodded. “One of the few women who didn’t mind working with a snake,” she replied, with a smile.
“I don’t have any snakes right now,” he noted, “but, if you want to work with any of animals, there’s lots of work to be done.”
“Absolutely,” she declared. “When you’re working with animals, it’s not really work.”
“Exactly,” he agreed, with a smile. He turned to Burke. “I like her.”
Just then Dwight yelled from the front porch, “Get your butts inside. It’s dinnertime.”