Page 77 of Fake it For Good
She looked around the room from her bed. “My bag is downstairs.”
I opened a drawer and tossed her a T-shirt. “Wear this.”
“Thank you.”
I hopped in the shower and found myself whistling. It was just a little cheesy, but I was happy. Whistling came naturally.
I smelled sausage as soon as I hit the stairs. I jogged down to see what she was putting together.
“It smells good,” I said.
She was smiling and humming as she flipped a sausage patty. “I hope it tastes as good. I wasn’t sure what you were in the mood for. I went for a classic.”
“I know what I’m in the mood for.” I flashed a smile.
“Very funny. There’s a cup of coffee for you.”
I thought I was happy, but she practically had sunlight streaming from her eyes and ears. I wanted to believe I had made her glow like that, but it wasn’t all me. “You’re in a good mood.”
“How can I not be?” she said, laughing. “We had a good night, don’t you think?”
“Yes, but you seem really, really happy.”
“I’m excited for today,” she said. “I hope we get a ton of toys. I literally mean a ton. I want every child to have at least two gifts to open. With your name behind this, I’m confident it’s going to be a big deal.”
“This means a lot to you,” I said.
“Yes, it does.”
“Why?” I asked.
She served me a sausage, egg, and cheese muffin. “You’ll see when you’re there,” she replied. “Trust me. It’s going to change your world.”
I drove her to the orphanage. A banner announcing the toy drive hung from the fence surrounding a large blue house. Noelle went around to a side gate and punched in a code. The place was pretty damn secure. I supposed that was necessary.
We stepped into a large kitchen. It looked like an average kitchen except there were three refrigerators. A long table with benches was against the wall.
“This way,” Noelle said.
I followed her out of the kitchen and down a hallway. I could hear kids talking and laughing. An older woman stepped out of a door on the left. “I saw you on the security system,” the woman said and hugged Noelle. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“This is Cane Carver,” Noelle said. “Cane, this is Mrs. Drummond. She’s the owner of the home.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Drummond,” I said and extended my hand. She laughed and pulled me in for a hug instead.
“I am so grateful to you for the raffle,” she said. “We got notification the delivery from your warehouse was going to be delivered later today. I just can’t tell you how thankful we all are.”
“I’m glad we could help,” I said.
“Where do you need us?” Noelle asked.
“I got a couple of volunteers that came into help,” Mrs. Drummond answered. “We’ve got a couple of tables in the living room. I’ll open the gate in about thirty minutes. If the two of you can help keep an eye on the kids, I would be grateful. They’re all wearing bright green T-shirts. I figured that would be easier to keep track of them.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Kids?” Noelle questioned.
“Yes. How many are we going to be herding?”
