Zenith in Love (Zenith Series #5) - Leanne Davis Page 0,48

feelings lodged in his throat. “I do too.”

He had no idea what he meant. But it was something big. Kayla pressed her lips together and seemed just as confused, but also just as serious in that moment as Jim was.

Smiling, she joined the volunteers. Jim shook his head to get his thoughts back on their work. Entering the larger room, he scanned the faces of the volunteers until he found Judith before he quickly directed Kayla to follow him. “Hey, Judith. This is Kathy Randall’s sister, Kayla. She’s volunteering to help us here today. Could you show her the ropes?”

Judith beamed. “Kathy’s sister? Oh, I adore that girl. Of course. Nice to meet you, Kayla. Boy, you look so much like her…” Judith kept talking as they headed towards the start of the line. Kayla gave Jim a look at Judith’s comment that she resembled her sister. Jim only winced and shrugged because she did.

Judith showed Kayla how to take one client, as they called the food bank recipients, all around the small grocery store they set up in the warehouse. The volunteers put all of the food into the cart and the client wasn’t allowed to touch anything. All the recipients were served with dignity, politeness and respect. An assortment of breads, desserts, canned goods, frozen meat and an array of fruits and vegetables, as well as pharmacy items and perishables, like milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and eggs were in good supply and readily available. The items were also bagged and distributed by the volunteers. It kept anyone from taking too much and also allowed the clients to decide what they liked and wanted.

Jim often pitched in to help if they were short on volunteers. Today, he had to distribute meat alongside a man named Stan. Most of the permanent volunteers were familiar to Jim as dedicated members of the church. He knew them better than he did Kayla. Certainly, he spent more time with them. All were in or close to retirement, aged around seventy, and the oldest was eighty-eight. Jim worked in the meat section with a vitality and kindness that endeared him to most clients.

It grew crowded very quickly. Sunny days seemed to attract more volunteers and each was welcome. The food bank relied on its volunteers. Luckily, there was rarely any shortage. Along with the usual volunteers, they also employed the court-ordered community service participants that had to complete a number of hours, high school students who belonged to honor societies and were trying to enhance their college applications, and even businesses and other successful individuals who wanted to give back to the community. Jim didn’t care why they came, but he was glad when anyone showed up. It didn’t matter whether or not their motivation was altruistic. As long as the work got done, Jim was grateful to make an impact and he took any and all. It was the largest food bank in the county and it depended heavily on the surrounding city. Jim spent most of his time here during the week, devising fundraisers to keep the cash coming in for the many needs that the usual donations couldn’t fill.

Once they opened the doors, each client was checked into a line to wait for a volunteer to take them on a tour of the selections. Each tour took about twenty minutes. Like today, more than a dozen volunteers managed to keep the line in constant motion. The whole event usually took three hours with nary a moment to pause. Jim smiled, joking with the same people he’d known for years, as well as some others that he only knew for a month or a week. Some were there for their first time.

Kayla passed Jim often. He handed her the client’s meat choices and occasionally brushed her hand, despite the rubber gloves, but still, he felt that zing. That zap. The energy that radiated between them. It was insane. They didn’t say more than hello or make a casual comment. But their gazes hung on the other for a split second too long and both of them would smile sheepishly, turn away and blush.

It amazed him that Kayla was physically affected by him. Weirder still, he was completely distracted by her. That never happened before. Not once with Kathy. How many places did he and Kathy work together intimately? Dozens. Hundreds. Too many to count but not once did Kathy distract or influence him. Unlike Kayla. The graze of a fingertip from Kayla