Read Online Now and Always by Lori Copeland - Free Book Online

few notes. “Keep things cleared away. Set up files for your correspondence, and I’ll find you a computer program to keep track of your income and expenses. You’ll save time, and you won’t be as apt to lose or forget bills under all that mess. How often do you buy groceries?”
    â€œWhenever we run out of something.” She had no intention of telling him she made two trips to town a day to get a latte. It wasn’t a luxury if she was there to pick up something for Tottie.
    â€œYou’re what? Three or four miles from town? How many trips do you make a week?”
    She shrugged. “I don’t keep count.”
    â€œBurning all that gas, and I’d guess that every time you go to the store, you buy more than you need.”
    Katie felt a jab of guilt as she thought of the trip she’d made yesterday for a gallon of milk and ended up with two brown paper grocery sacks full of things she hadn’t planned to buy. “You could say that, I suppose.”
    â€œBuy in bulk whenever you can. It’s more expensive at first, but it will be cheaper in the long run. Always make a list. Now, what about emotional spending?”
    â€œI do plenty of that,” she confessed. “Every time I’m late paying a bill and someone calls about it I get very emotional.”
    â€œThat’s not what I mean. Do you go shopping when you’re angry? Depressed? Bored?”
    â€œI go for a walk.” She indicated the hiking trail. “I’ve worn out several pair of shoes working out my frustration.”
    He nodded, smiling. “Okay. I’ll see what I can work out, but I can’t do much until you get me these figures.”
    â€œI’ll start to work on them right away.”
    He got to his feet, eyes skimming the pasture. “You’re doing a good thing here, Katie, but someday, someone is going to take advantage of you big time. You’re too trusting, and you could get hurt.”
    She stood, meeting his eyes. “It’s better to be too trusting than not able to trust at all. Most people are trustworthy. It’s just the few renegades who aren’t.”
    He shrugged. “I’ve learned the renegades outnumber the other kind.”
    She watched him walk back to his pickup. Someone had broken the man’s heart. He drove away, and she walked back to the house feeling pumped about the prospect of a budget. Sure she’d have to make some personal changes, starting with those lattes. She drank two lattes a day at three dollars and thirty-nine cents a cup. It would be hard to give up something she enjoyed so much, but if it helped keep the shelter going, it would be worth the sacrifice.

    Warren pulled onto the highway, his mind on their earlier conversation. Talk about your innocents. Katie had no idea the kind of trouble she could incur with her trust.
    She couldn’t stay on a budget if her life depended on it. She wouldn’t last on a strict regime longer than two days, or he’d eat his hat. Paul Addison had been a good friend to his father, so it was his responsibility to take care of Katie and make her see the truth for what it was.
    He pulled out to pass a slow-moving car. He’d had an experience with a woman who maxed out credit cards. His. She had run up thousands of dollars of debt charging clothing, jewelry, and makeup before she took off with his best friend. Well, Joe was welcome to her. Chances were that as soon as he ran out of money, she’d have another sucker lined up.
    After Susan left, Warren turned his back on New York, mentally leaving people in general and the business world in particular, and came back home to Wyoming. Katie had a more honorable excuse, but she was just another woman looking for a man to pull her out of a financial pit. Warren was a good enough business man to know that Katie’s venture would fail. He would work with her. But she’d still be forced to close the shelter,