I could ask Shelby, given that Noah was paying her so well and all, but I wondered if that would be akin to him giving me money, and I definitely did not want that.

It was something I kept running over in my mind. Part of me hoped that the bank would do their investigation quickly and that I didn’t need to worry about bringing in some extra money, but I knew I couldn’t depend on it.

I spent the day helping out at an adoption fair for a local animal shelter. Volunteering always put me in a good mood. While there I also handed out fliers offering one free grooming session to anyone who adopted a dog. There was nothing better to me than knowing animals were going to a good home, and I could definitely use the karma points. The hours flew by and thankfully distracted me from my current circumstances.

After the fair ended and we’d packed everything up, my problems came rushing back. What was I going to do? What could I do?

I could sell my plasma. I could try to get some gig job like delivering food or doing people’s grocery shopping. The problem was that I didn’t have a car, just my van. And by the time I added in the gas costs, I probably wouldn’t be making any money. I could try to borrow Shelby’s car, but now that she had a full-time job again, I knew she’d be driving all over the place to meet with her contractor and look for samples to show Noah and pick up band saws and jackhammers or whatever she did with her day, and her car would not be available.

When I got into the van, my phone rang. It was Shelby.

I answered and said, “This is a coincidence. I was just thinking about you.”

“Juliet, I need your help.”

I put on my seat belt and said, “I swear, if you’re calling me because you’re claiming that Noah is in desperate need of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation . . .” I mean, I would probably be too freaked out to do it, but if it meant keeping him alive, I could probably take one for the team.

Maybe.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” It was then that I noticed the frantic edge in her voice, making me feel like a jerk for teasing her. “I’m at Noah’s place with the movers and there was someone here watching his dog because I told him we’d be in and out all day and that guy just took off and I remembered that you mentioned that the dog tries to get out and run off and everybody’s asking me what to do but I’m so distracted and I cannot start this job by losing Noah Douglas’s dog.”