Heart-Shaped Hack(23)

Ian: Felt your forehead before I left, and you were cool. I’ve got some work to do, but call me if you need anything. The streets are a mess, so don’t leave the house. I’ll know if you do. Just kidding. Not really.





CHAPTER NINE

Kate and Helena were busy running through the checklist for Thanksgiving. “I feel bad abandoning you,” Kate said, although she knew Helena was more than capable of running things on her own as she’d recently demonstrated when Kate was sick.

“Your family wants to see you,” Helena said. “Go home and enjoy the holiday with them.”

Kate’s last visit home had been at Christmastime, and it had been almost six months since her mom and dad visited Kate in Minneapolis. She had a good relationship with her parents, and she missed them as much as they missed her. Though Kate was reluctant to leave the food pantry before a major holiday, they’d reached a compromise where Kate promised to come home for Thanksgiving if her parents would fly to Minneapolis for Christmas. Kate was leaving tomorrow, and she and Helena had a lot to get through before then.

Kate’s clients needed so many things at this time of year. In addition to their regular food needs, they also sought out warm clothes? boots, and coats for their children. Kate had been holding clothing drives since early fall, and now that Minneapolis had received its first snowfall, she and Helena had begun outfitting people in winter gear at a steady rate.

A little boy pushed open the door and made a beeline for Kate. He was two years old and his name was Georgie. He was followed by his mother, Samantha, and two older sisters, seven-year-old Alex and nine-year-old Emily.

Samantha had been a regular of Kate’s since she’d opened the food pantry. She was raising her kids alone after divorcing an abusive husband who had never paid a penny of child support. Even though Samantha worked as many hours as she could at her waitressing job, it was never enough to carry the four of them through to the end of the month. Kate was always there to make up the difference.

Because Kate had gotten to know the family well, she knew their sizes and had begun setting things aside as she received them. Fortunately, Georgie already had a winter coat, but Kate had held back a Curious George stocking cap with ear flaps and a pair of gently used navy snow boots.

She crouched down and slid the hat onto Georgie’s head. “This monkey has your name!” Georgie laughed as Kate swapped his worn-out tennis shoes for the boots. “You look adorable.” Georgie didn’t talk much, but he hugged Kate, took off his hat, and hugged that too.

For the older girls, Kate had managed to snag two parkas, one pink and one blue. They both had fur around the hood and were in excellent condition. Kate had gloves for both of them, and she’d also thrown some lip gloss into her cart the last time she’d shopped at Target.

The girls squealed in delight as Kate presented the items. “Thank you, Kate!”

Next to Samantha, Kate knew the family’s circumstances were hardest on nine-year-old Emily who was old enough to understand what was going on.

While Samantha and the girls filled their box with food, Kate pulled Georgie onto her lap and unwrapped a Hershey’s Kiss for him. He crammed it into his mouth.

“Someone likes chocolate,” Kate said, giving him a little squeeze.

He held out his hand for another.

“One more,” Kate said.

When Samantha was ready to go, she thanked Kate and told her good-bye. Georgie scooted off her lap and joined his mother and sisters.

“I’ll see you soon,” Kate called after him.

When she looked up, Ian was standing in the doorway. Now that he’d given her the phone, he texted her throughout the day, but the last time she’d seen him was two nights ago when he’d fallen asleep in her bed. Kate stood as Ian approached her desk.

“Hi,” he said.

She smiled. “Hi.”

Helena sidled up to them. Kate had shared quite a few details about the dates she’d gone on with Ian and how he’d taken care of her when she was sick. She might have forgotten to mention the hacking and that she didn’t know Ian’s last name, but Helena didn’t need to know everything.

“Hello,” Helena said. “We spoke briefly once before.”

“Helena Sadowski, please meet Ian Smith,” Kate said, emphasizing Smith.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Ian shook her hand.

Helena appeared ready to swoon. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she said. “Kate can’t stop talking about you.”

Ian looked at Kate and grinned. “Is that right?”

“Oh, yes. She goes on and on.”

Kate made a mental note to talk to Helena about the importance of keeping certain things to herself.

“Katie? A moment alone, please,” Ian said.

“I’ll be in the back for a second, Helena.”

Ian followed Kate into the back room and waited until she closed the door behind them.

“What is it?” she asked when she turned around. He looked so serious, and she wondered if he was going to tell her he’d decided to leave Minneapolis in favor of the next city. She was surprised by how much that thought bothered her.

He put his arms around her and pulled her close. “Now that you appear to be back to your former, healthy self, I trust that the kissing ban has been lifted?”