"I think I can get by with just one bow," Jeff said, as he finished with the first shoe and started on the second. "Are you ready to go?"

"I need a coat," the girl informed him.

"Do you know where yours is?"

Maggie nodded, then took off in the direction of their cot. Ashley waited until Jeff finished with her shoes and straightened.

The room wasn't spinning so much now and her head felt slightly more clear than when she'd first awakened. Her body still ached and she knew she looked horrible, but as long as her brain continued to function, they would be fine.

"You're acting as if it's all decided," she said.

"Isn't it?" He jerked his head toward the cot where two members of the volunteer staff were already collecting her things. "You need time and a place to recover. I can provide both."

"I want to trust you. As you've already learned, I'm running out of options. But I still have questions. I don't know why you're doing this."

For the first time since he arrived, he wouldn't meet her gaze. He looked over her head, but she doubted he was seeing the bustling activities in the temporary shelter. He'd gone somewhere else, and based on what she knew about it, it wasn't a place she wanted to know about.

Finally he shrugged. "I'm under my good-deed quota for this lifetime."

It wasn't an answer. It wasn't even a good fake answer. She had the sudden thought that maybe he didn't know why he was doing it, either. Which was scary, but not as scary as having nowhere to go. It all came down to whether or not she trusted him. Ashley looked into his face, the strong bone structure, the empty eyes. He had a scar by his mouth and the few gray hairs at his temples. Both her gut and her daughter said he was safe. Was that enough?

"I'm a member of the Better Business Bureau. Does that help?"