Rescue Me (a quirky romance novel about secrets, forgiveness and falling in love) by Sydney Allan Page A

situation can be resolved."
    "That isn't what I wanted to hear."
    "I know it's not."
    She crossed her arms over her chest. "What'll we do if we wait, sacrificing time, and then lose? This whole thing could take months."
    "True. Do you want to look for another lot somewhere else--maybe somewhere further north where the property won't be so expensive?"
    "That doesn't make sense. There are plenty of marine rescues up this way. I saw a gap. The location made sense. We can't go south, either. We'd be competing with the bigger organizations down in San Diego." She sighed. Everything looked so different a few days ago--after her meeting with Barrington.
    It was frightening how quickly things could change. In just four days, she'd gone from euphoria to devastation. Her sister was sick, and her dream was on the throes of being dashed. The muscles along her spine lost their strength, and she slumped forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.
    "We'll find a solution."
    She nodded, staring at the floor.
    Pete nudged at her shoulder. "You're not giving up that easy, are you? We both knew this would be tough."
    "No way. I'm not giving up. It's been my ambition for years. I moved across the country for this. I just have to find a way to convince the niece, nephew--whoever is contesting the will--that our rescue is worth the sacrifice."
    "No small feat."
    She searched his face. "Why do you say that? Do you know something I don't?"
    "Nope."
    "Are you sure? You look guilty."
    "I swear, I don't know a thing." He gathered some charts and supplies.
    "That's okay. We can find out who it is--or Nancy can. It'll be in the court records. Once we find out who he is, I'll just go talk to him."
    "Him?" His voice lifted.
    "Just a guess."
    "I see." He smiled as he stepped toward the door. "Well. I'll leave you to your scheming. I have a couple of matters to attend to--and some puppy shots to give if we're going to be ready for tomorrow."
    "Okay. I'll be back to help in a few." She swiveled on her bottom until she faced his phone and dialed Nancy's number. When she was told Nancy was out, she ran to her office, changed her clothes and shouted, "I'll be back later!" then dashed from the building. No long-lost relative out to make an easy buck was going to destroy her vision.
     
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    "Heidi doesn't look good. Is she all right?" Margaret whispered to Rainer as they stood outside Heidi's room. Margaret's face was almost as pale as her daughter's. She wrung her hands. "She's blue, for God's sake, and the doctors won't tell me a thing. They say she's handling everything as best she can. What does that mean?"
    Rainer walked to the nurse's station and requested Heidi's chart. A young nurse gave him a cursory glance before handing it to him. He scanned the lab reports and notes. "Looks okay to me. She's a little dehydrated, but they've increased her antiemetic and IV fluids. Everything else looks fine."
    "No. Something's wrong. Something they're missing. She doesn't look good, and I can't wake her up."
    "Hmmm..." he scanned the records again. "Maybe they gave her something to help her sleep." He didn't see an order for anything. "I'll go check on her."
    Margaret held his forearm. "Thank you."
    He nodded, and the question that had haunted him for days, since he'd watched Hailey climb into the cab, popped into his mind. "Can I ask you something?"
    "Sure."
    "What happened between Heidi and her sister? She has never said much about Hailey, other than they don't speak."
    Margaret looked toward Heidi's door. "That's because Hailey is dead to her. That was Hailey's idea. Heidi tried for years to talk to her about what happened, but Hailey refused. So, Heidi finally gave up. She hates Hailey for what she's done. And in my opinion, Hailey doesn't deserve her forgiveness. She doesn't deserve anyone's forgiveness." Her voice was razor sharp, and he wondered how often it had sliced at both daughters' souls.
    "Don't you think you're being a