“I expect they’ll have all first responders on call.” A volunteer fire fighter himself, Hayden was ready and waiting in case he got called out. At just under six thousand people, Wishful didn’t have a full-time fire department—something they were hoping to change in the coming year.
Chester readjusted his stance, leaning against the counter. “Can’t say I’m sorry not to be worrying over animals this go round. There’s a lot I miss about having the farm, but stressing out over circumstances like this isn’t part of it.”
Abe shifted his attention to Hayden. “Speaking of animals, if you’re gonna take that dog food delivery to the shelter, you’d best do it, or it might be a few days before the roads are clear enough to get there. This cold’s coming in and sticking.” He jerked his head toward the stock room in back.
“You sure you’ve got things covered here?” Hayden asked.
“The crazy’s slowing down. And either way, we’ll be out of cold-weather supplies in an hour, if not before.”
“All right then. In that case, I’ll load up and clock out.”
“Take some care, will you? I noticed there were more damaged bags in this shipment than usual.” Abe shot him a bland look, and Hayden realized he knew.
The farm supply had a standing arrangement with the Wishful Animal Rescue. Rather than taping up and selling off torn open bags of dog and cat food, they donated them. As the number of animals at the shelter had been higher than usual lately and donations from the rest of town had been down, Hayden had been rather rougher than necessary when handling the latest shipment to make sure there was sufficient food to go around.
Feigning innocence, Hayden shrugged. “Oops.”
Abe just rolled his eyes. “I’m sure Brooke will appreciate your sacrifice.”
Okay, yeah. It wasn’t just about the animals, but about their stalwart champion with the pretty green eyes. Brooke Redding was passionate, big-hearted, and completely oblivious to Hayden’s interest, same as she’d been back in junior high school. He wasn’t even sure she realized they’d gone to junior high together. He’d been bone skinny and short back then, and his family had moved away before he got up the nerve to really talk to her. Well, he might be taller and broader these days, but some things hadn’t really changed.
Saluting his boss, Hayden headed into the stock room and slipped into his winter gear, such as it was. The thermal vest and scarf didn’t do much to slow down the wind and sleet slapping him in the face as soon as he opened the back door. Damn. It really was worse than he’d realized. He made quick work of backing the truck into the loading dock, then piling the bags of food into the bed, alongside the generator and propane he’d grabbed that morning. Covering the lot of it with a tarp and securing it as best he could, he climbed into the driver’s seat and headed out into the storm.
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