Should she have just let Maudie ask the questions and not volunteered any information until she was asked? Did saying that she had worked at many jobs make it sound like she’d been fired?

Questions raced through her mind so fast that they made her dizzy.

“Jackson is right. Anyone can fake a résumé. What I’m interested in is someone who loves animals and will work hard.” Maudie led April into her office.

“I can do that for sure.” April glanced around the small room. A laptop computer sat on an old, scarred oak desk right in front of her. The office chair behind it looked like it had come out of a 1920s movie, and the only other seat in the room was a padded wingback chair that was covered in a floral tapestry and had a cat curled up on it.

“Jackson described you perfectly. Have a seat.” Maudie pointed to the chair where the biggest cat April had ever seen was sleeping. The critter opened one eye and looked at her like he was daring her to touch him.

Was this a test to see if she could get along with a big, lazy cat? If so, she sure hoped that cat liked to be awakened.

“I love cats.” April scooped him up in her arms and sat down. She buried her face in his thick fur and then put him in her lap and kept petting him. Not only was the cat a huge boy, but his big, loud purr matched his size.

“You’re hired,” Maudie said. “Can you go to work right now?”

April jerked her head up and stared at Maudie, who looked even smaller in the chair behind the desk. Surely she hadn’t heard the woman right. “You don’t need to ask me any questions about my past employment or anything?”

“Nope, Willie there is my test, and you passed it. I don’t care about the past. My only concern is whether you like animals. The last person who applied for the job refused to touch Willie and sneezed three times. Can’t have someone with allergies working with animals all day. She came in here wearing a fancy little suit and high-heeled shoes. I don’t know what she thought she would be doing here,” Maudie chuckled. “You’re wearing the right clothes for a place like this.”

“I can start right now.” April thought about pinching herself to see if she was dreaming.

“Good. The shelter is through that door.” Maudie pointed. “Just put Willie back on his chair and go to work. Be here at twelve thirty every day and stay until five thirty, when we close up shop. I’ll pay you minimum wage until Friday. If you still want to stay after this week, I’ll increase it by a dollar an hour after that. Do we have a deal?”