Trying to be discreet, she inhaled in an attempt to catch her breath from rushing. “Let me put Lilly in the kennel, and I’ll be ready.”
He glanced down at her feet, and his lips twitched. “Did you want to change your shoes? If you want to wear slippers, that’s fine by me, but…”
“Oh no.” She kicked off her slippers and slid on a pair of sandals by the door. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. My brain is scattered every which way.”
“Don’t feel bad. I showed up to church with two different shoes one day.”
“You’re lying.”
“I wish.” He gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. “Shoe shopping is worse than a dental visit in my mind, so when I find a style I like, I’ll buy a pair in each color. I usually wear tactical boots for work, but occasionally I’ll attend a conference that requires dressing up, and then church on Sundays. Well, last time I bought dress shoes, I purchased a pair of black ones and brown in the identical style. A few weeks later, I was rushing out the door on a Sunday morning with a black shoe on my right foot and a brown one on my left.”
“Yikes.” She didn’t feel so bad now. “Did anyone notice?”
“If they did, they didn’t say anything. It took me to the closing song to realize it.”
She grinned. “For the record, I’ll always want to know if I’m about to wear slippers out or if I have two different shoes on.”
“Duly noted.”
After she kenneled Lilly, they left. She hadn’t been in Connor’s truck since that first week. He’d cleaned it out—not that it had been messy—and added an air freshener. It smelled of pine and musk, like the cologne he’d worn in college.
“How was your half day?” Connor asked her as he drove.
“Busy. We have a new resident with four children, two of whom are twins.”
“How old are they?”
“Six, four, and the twins are nine months. Thankfully, our new hire is fully trained, or I’d be pulling lots of overtime.” She smiled, thinking of her morning with the twins. “I wouldn’t mind though. The children are great, and the twins are at a fun age, albeit an exhausting one.”
“Hope House is an amazing place. I love hearing about the work you all do.”
“We couldn’t do it without the community.”
“Speaking of the community,” he said, navigating a turn, “I’ve been thinking, and even talked to Chief about it last week. What do you think of a joint campaign between the shelter and the police department?”
“What do you have in mind?” Curious, she shifted her hips so she could see him better without her neck hurting.
“We, the police department, would like a good relationship with your residents. Someone of them have been on the wrong side of the law, and some of the children have been taught to fear us.” His voice dropped, and Tiffany could tell he’d put a lot of thought into this. “We’d like them to come to us when issues arise. Oftentimes, there are even programs we can offer them in lieu of jail time, programs that are meant to get them back on the right path, like what Hope House does, but on a different level.”
“Rachel would be the one to talk to, but I think it sounds great.”
“We’d also like to collect Christmas gifts for the children when December rolls around. The department always chooses a charity to donate to, but the one we’ve been working with closed their doors this spring.”
Excited, she clasped her hands. “That would be an answer to prayer. We’ve never had a child go without, but we struggled with Easter baskets this year. They came together, but the economy is tough right now. We’re starting to see the trickle effects of that at the shelter, though we’re grateful for the incredible generosity we see.”
“Should I call Rachel and make an appointment?” The hitch in his tone gave away his excitement.
Tiffany found it endearing. “I’ll talk to her Monday and give her a heads up, find out the best time. Then I’ll call you.”
“Great. I can’t wait.”
They reached the restaurant in record time for a Friday evening. There was little traffic, and few cars in the parking lot.
Connor looked around. “I’m not sure this is a good sign.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It is strange. It’s eerie for it to be this empty.”
“At least we won’t have to wait.” He moved his hand toward hers, then seemed to think better of it, and dropped it to his side.
