Riley can handle by himself is a turkey sandwich,” Harper teased.
“Shut up. I’ve totally got this,” I said. “I’ll man another station.”
“Great!” Christie said. “I’ll go get another folding table and materials from my truck.”
“I’ll help,” I said. “As long as Harper here can hold down the fort.”
Harper glared at me. “I am holding it down just fine.”
“Hope so. Because two customers just walked by,” I said.
Harper gave a start, then quickly tried to wave to one of the customers walking away.
I laughed and followed Christie out of Nordstrom’s and into the Flagstaff Mall. To be honest, it was the first time I had set foot in a mall since I was a teenager buying my first phone from the T-Mobile store. I had heard that malls were declining in popularity, but this one had a good crowd for a Wednesday afternoon. Especially considering Thanksgiving was tomorrow. People trying to get their shopping in before Black Friday, maybe.
“Thank you for volunteering,” Christie said as we walked down the hall.
“Happy to help.”
“Are you volunteering to earn college credits?” she asked. “Or for any other community service requirement?”
“No, definitely nothing like that,” I quickly said. “Harper and I are just happy to support a worthwhile place. I love dogs.”
“I figured that was the case, but wanted to make sure. Sometimes we get volunteers who are only here because a judge told them to complete forty hours of community service. They’re usually not very helpful.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “Hah, I bet.”
“Not that I don’t mind!” she quickly said. “I’m grateful for any help I can get. But the volunteers who want to be here always do a better job. So I guess I’m trying to say thank you.”
I smiled sideways at her. “You already thanked me.”
“Oh. Ha ha. Well, thank you again.”
“You’re welcome again.”
Christie was cute. If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was nervous. But that didn’t make sense. She was used to doing this gift-wrapping fundraiser, and we were the new guys. She had nothing to be nervous about.
We walked outside and across the parking lot to her truck. Two big dog crates were strapped into the bed of the truck.
“We rescue dogs from local animal shelters when they get full,” she explained. “Sometimes I feel like an Uber driver for dogs!”
I opened the tailgate of her truck and picked up a folding table. “How many dogs do you have?”
“Currently? Nineteen.”
“That must get crowded,” I said.
“It’s not so bad. I have plenty of land.”
I hefted a box of supplies onto my shoulder, then picked up the folding table with my free hand and held it under an arm.
“I can carry something,” Christie said.
“Nah, I’ve got it.” The words left my mouth without thought. I realized I was trying to show off for her.
Could you blame me?
Christie closed the gate of her truck and led me back inside. “What do you guys do for a living?”
“We’re park rangers at the Grand Canyon.”
“Woah!” she exclaimed. “That must be cool.”
“It’s pretty great,” I admitted. “Harper and I love being outdoors. Plus it allows flexibility with our schedules so we can do other volunteer work, like this.”
“Well I’m glad to have you.” She stopped inside the mall and pointed. “We have permission to set up in Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, Express, and White House Black Market. Let’s get you set up in Macy’s—they’re always a high-traffic place.”
“You got it.”
“I’ll bounce back and forth between you and Harper today to make sure you’re okay.”
Oh, we’re going to be more than okay, I thought.
I tried not to ogle Christie as I followed her into Macy’s.
4
Christie
Riley and Harper were great volunteers. Riley was personable and charming, while Harper was intelligent and careful with his wrapping. They were enthusiastic and took pride in their work.
I immediately liked them.
At the end of the day I helped them pack up the gift-wrapping stations and then we carried everything out to my truck. “I am fairly certain I earned more than you,” Harper said with a sly smile.
“You had a head-start!” Riley argued. “Plus your jar had a bunch of donations in it before we got here.”
“I don’t know,” I said to fan the flames of their argument. “Riley’s jar has a lot of big bills in it. When I count everything up tonight it will be awfully close…”
“Hah!” Riley shot Harper a victorious look.
When we loaded everything in my truck, I realized there was a long-forgotten tingle in my stomach. It was the nervous hope that one of