of the biggest donation days of the year. We can push most of those tasks back.”
“Fence can’t wait.”
“Take care of whatever you can today and we’ll worry about the rest tomorrow. I’ll approve the overtime.” I hopped in my truck and drove off.
The sun rose to the east as I drove to the mall, turning the sky a shade of red that matched the Arizona landscape. With myself and the other volunteer, we could cover two of the four tables I had planned. Nordstrom’s and Express were probably the best choices. I parked my truck and went inside to notify the other store managers.
“You’re not setting up?” the manager of Macy’s said. He looked like he had been here all night, and was already flustered.
“I don’t have the volunteers.”
“But we mentioned your service in the newsletter!” he insisted. “Christie, you’re killing me…”
“Trust me, I wish I was covering your store too,” I said. “We’re going to lose a lot of donations today by being spread thin.”
He made an annoyed noise and stormed off. I walked back to my truck feeling even more dejected than before. These stores didn’t have to let me set up my gift-wrapping tables. It had taken a long time to build the trust and relationships to get to this point. I could feel those relationships slipping away.
Sandy, the thirteen-year-old volunteer who hadn’t canceled on me today, was waiting by my truck. “You decided to wear your Girl Scout uniform?” I asked her.
She grinned. “I get more donations when I wear it.”
“I like the way you think. There’s only two of us today, I’m afraid.”
“Lame,” she said. “Where do you want me?”
“I was thinking you could take Express and I’ll cover Nordstrom’s. And if we want to switch we can—”
“Christie?” called a familiar voice.
I turned to see Riley walking out of the mall. The morning sunlight streamed through his chestnut hair, and once again my stomach did a sexy backflip when he grinned at me.
Until I saw the Victoria’s Secret bag he was carrying.
“Buying something for your girlfriend?” I asked.
He looked down at the bag like he had forgotten he was carrying it. “No!” he quickly said as his cheeks turned red. “I mean, I don’t have a girlfriend. My sister loves their Bombshell line of perfume, and it was on sale today. You setting up tables for the Black Friday rush?”
“Yeah, but a bunch of volunteers bailed,” Sandy said. “We’re down to just two tables.”
Riley’s brown eyes widened at me. “Is that true?”
“It sucks, but it’s not a big deal,” I said.
“I can help!” he suddenly said. “I can cover a table no problem.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” I replied.
But Riley had already dropped his bag and was making a call on his cell phone. “Hey man. Drop what you’re doing and come to the mall. Some volunteers bailed on Christie and she needs our help. Right. We’re in the south parking lot.”
He hung up and told me, “Harper’s on the way.”
I simultaneously felt relieved and abashed by his quick help. “You two don’t have to waste your Fridays helping me.”
“We’ve got nothing better to do. I’ll text Logan and see if he can get down here.”
I laughed and said, “I met Logan on Wednesday night. He showed up late, and he was very adamant that he didn’t want to help today.”
He gave me a wink and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Riley was like a German Shepherd running through an obstacle course. After texting Logan he grabbed two folding tables from my truck and jogged into the mall. I could barely keep up with him as he placed the first one in Express, and the second one in Macy’s.
“Plans changed,” I told the manager there. “We’re setting up after all.”
Harper arrived after everything was set up. “Thank you so much for coming on such short notice,” I told him.
His freckled cheeks turned red, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the chilly air or if he was blushing. “Umm. Happy to help. Tell me what to do.”
The four of us took up positions in each store and got to work. On normal days, someone stopped at my table for gift-wrapping services maybe once every five or ten minutes. But today it was a non-stop stream of patrons. I had been in Nordstrom’s for only ten minutes and a line had already formed.
“You’re a life-saver,” said one man as he placed two boxes on the table. “I’m the worst gift-wrapper in the