Read Online Broken Wings by Alexandrea Weis - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alexandrea Weis
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want to feel her heartstrings tug for another, not another human anyway. She could not risk letting someone else in and she had spent enough time with the opposite sex to know that relationships only ended up being mistakes that she wished had never happened. No, it was best not to entertain any emotional feelings for Daniel Phillips. Her animals fulfilled her and she knew the silly banter between two lonely people would never amount to anything. Besides, a man like Daniel Phillips would only use her and move on, and she had endured enough heartbreak for one lifetime.
Chapter 4
The following afternoon Pamela was trying to stuff a few heads of cabbage into an old refrigerator when Daniel walked into the barn.
“What’s with all the boxes of food?” He asked as he examined the boxes of old cantaloupes, radishes, apples, turnip greens, and other assorted fruits and vegetables scattered around the barn floor.
“Hey. I didn’t think I would see you back here again,” she casually stated as she tried to rearrange some old cantaloupe in the refrigerator.
“I told you I would be back.”
She did not look up at him, but kept her eyes focused on the contents of the refrigerator. “Yeah, well, people may say one thing, but do another.”
“You’ll find I’m a man of my word, Pamela.” He came up to her side and waved his hand to the boxes. “So what is all this?”
“I just made my run,” Pamela replied, grabbing some cherry tomatoes and putting them in a second refrigerator.
“Your run?”
“I have a 501C non profit organization so businesses can donate goods to my facility and write it off as a charitable donation. The grocery in Folsom saves all of their old produce for me, and I go to collect it three times a week.”
Daniel picked up a soft cantaloupe. “Is this stuff edible?”
“It is to a fox, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon.” She waved her hand at him. “You get the idea.”
He nodded as she continued to fill the refrigerators.
“The feed store in nearby Covington donates broken or torn bags of seed and deer corn, a local grade school collects old clothes for bedding, and I have a building contractor who gives me scraps of wood I use to build nest boxes,” she explained as she shoved some wilted kale into the refrigerator.
“Nest boxes? Like the ones birds use?” Daniel asked.
Pamela nodded. “Squirrels too. I also build dens for the foxes, climbing trees for the raccoons, houses for skunks, basically anything an animal will need to help them adapt to being released back into the wild.”
“You’ve got quite an operation going here,” he commented.
She walked over to a box of zucchini mixed with broccoli. “Took me a while to get everything set up, but it’s finally come together in the past year or two.”
“So how did you get into this?” he asked as he started helping her unpack some of the boxes.
She picked up the box and stepped back to the refrigerator. “I lived in the city with my husband and a neighbor brought a baby squirrel to me.” She put the box down on the floor. “I had always been an animal nut as a kid. I raised orphaned kittens and took in stray dogs all the time. Drove my father crazy. But I had never taken care of a squirrel, so I got on the Internet and learned all I could.” She smiled and her face warmed over with memories. “Her name was Widget and she taught me how to love squirrels. Soon I began to connect with permitted wildlife rehabbers in the area and learned more about raising baby squirrels and other small mammals. Right after I got my wildlife rehabilitation permit from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, my husband asked for a divorce. Bob never liked animals much. So I moved out here and decided to pursue rehabbing full time.”
Daniel stared at the woman as she stuffed some zucchini in the refrigerator. It was then he noticed the scratches on her forearm peaking out from under her long-sleeved shirt.
“What happened?” he asked
Chapter 4
The following afternoon Pamela was trying to stuff a few heads of cabbage into an old refrigerator when Daniel walked into the barn.
“What’s with all the boxes of food?” He asked as he examined the boxes of old cantaloupes, radishes, apples, turnip greens, and other assorted fruits and vegetables scattered around the barn floor.
“Hey. I didn’t think I would see you back here again,” she casually stated as she tried to rearrange some old cantaloupe in the refrigerator.
“I told you I would be back.”
She did not look up at him, but kept her eyes focused on the contents of the refrigerator. “Yeah, well, people may say one thing, but do another.”
“You’ll find I’m a man of my word, Pamela.” He came up to her side and waved his hand to the boxes. “So what is all this?”
“I just made my run,” Pamela replied, grabbing some cherry tomatoes and putting them in a second refrigerator.
“Your run?”
“I have a 501C non profit organization so businesses can donate goods to my facility and write it off as a charitable donation. The grocery in Folsom saves all of their old produce for me, and I go to collect it three times a week.”
Daniel picked up a soft cantaloupe. “Is this stuff edible?”
“It is to a fox, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon.” She waved her hand at him. “You get the idea.”
He nodded as she continued to fill the refrigerators.
“The feed store in nearby Covington donates broken or torn bags of seed and deer corn, a local grade school collects old clothes for bedding, and I have a building contractor who gives me scraps of wood I use to build nest boxes,” she explained as she shoved some wilted kale into the refrigerator.
“Nest boxes? Like the ones birds use?” Daniel asked.
Pamela nodded. “Squirrels too. I also build dens for the foxes, climbing trees for the raccoons, houses for skunks, basically anything an animal will need to help them adapt to being released back into the wild.”
“You’ve got quite an operation going here,” he commented.
She walked over to a box of zucchini mixed with broccoli. “Took me a while to get everything set up, but it’s finally come together in the past year or two.”
“So how did you get into this?” he asked as he started helping her unpack some of the boxes.
She picked up the box and stepped back to the refrigerator. “I lived in the city with my husband and a neighbor brought a baby squirrel to me.” She put the box down on the floor. “I had always been an animal nut as a kid. I raised orphaned kittens and took in stray dogs all the time. Drove my father crazy. But I had never taken care of a squirrel, so I got on the Internet and learned all I could.” She smiled and her face warmed over with memories. “Her name was Widget and she taught me how to love squirrels. Soon I began to connect with permitted wildlife rehabbers in the area and learned more about raising baby squirrels and other small mammals. Right after I got my wildlife rehabilitation permit from the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, my husband asked for a divorce. Bob never liked animals much. So I moved out here and decided to pursue rehabbing full time.”
Daniel stared at the woman as she stuffed some zucchini in the refrigerator. It was then he noticed the scratches on her forearm peaking out from under her long-sleeved shirt.
“What happened?” he asked
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