Page 34 of Silver Fox in Cedarwood

Martin winked, then wandered off without pushing his chair in.

Len eased the chair up to the study table, then resumed his place behind the cart. He mulled over his conversation with Martin. A donation. He wasn’t with Isaac to garner donations for the library. What did Martin know?

Len finished shelving books and returned the cart to the storeroom. The girls at the counter waved as he clocked out. He’d put in three hours. Now he needed to grab some lunch and Cissy before he headed to the shelter for his afternoon volunteering hours.

As he strolled out to his car, his phone rang. He waited until he was behind the wheel before answering. He left his keys on his lap. “Hello?”

“It’s Stone. Hi.”

“Stone,” Len said. “How are you?”

“I’ve had better days,” Stone said. “I’m calling because I need you to purchase a couple bags of dog food before you come in for your shift. I’ll personally reimburse you, but we’re out. I put a request on social media, but we need the food right now. Donations will come through, I’m sure, but if you can help me, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll do it right now and you don’t have to reimburse me. Consider it my donation,” Len said. “My pleasure.”

“Thanks. It means a lot.”

“No problem. I’m leaving the library when I get off the phone with you. I’ll pick up the food and Cissy, then be over in less than an hour.”

“I appreciate it more than you know,” Stone said. “I hate that we got this low.”

“No problem. I’ll see you in a bit.”

When Stone hung up, Len engaged the engine and sped out of the lot. He drove right over to the store. A thought occurred to him. He’d planned on having lunch with Isaac.Shit.He hurried through a text to Isaac.

Need to get dog food for the shelter. They’re out. Will have to cancel lunch. Sorry. Call me when you get out of work. <3

He wasn’t sure why he’d added the heart to the end of the text, but oh well. It felt right.

Within seconds, a reply text showed up on his phone screen. From Isaac.

Dog food? How much? I’ll contribute. Meet me at the store.

His heart warmed. He could be in love with Isaac. Len paused.Love? Damn.He’d never thought he’d touch that emotion again. But Isaac was different. He didn’t need Len’s money or status. Isaac could handle himself. He was handsome, stable and kind. He was the type of man Len could spend forever with and be happy. He should answer Isaac.

Already here. Waiting for you. <3

Back to the heart stuff. He shook his head. He’d lost his heart to Isaac, so he might as well advertise it. He tucked the phone into his back pocket and waited by his car. Moments later, Isaac pulled into the lot.

“Hi.” Isaac left his vehicle in the spot next to Len’s. He rubbed his hands together. “You’re standing me up to buy dog food?” A grin spread across his face. “Is the need that big?”

“Unfortunately, it is,” Len said as he fell into step beside Isaac and entered the store. “Stone wouldn’t call and ask me to pick up supplies if they weren’t in dire need. Once he asked, I couldn’t turn him down.”

“You know that’s sexy.” Isaac bumped shoulders with Len. “Is there a specific brand?”

Len pulled one of the carts from the rack. “It’s a green bag. Cissy eats the kind in the purple bag, but the green one is more economical.”

“Then green it is.” Isaac opened his coat. “I’m glad you texted. I wanted to get out of the office for a little while. I’ve had nonstop appointments today and some have been tough. I don’t like sending patients out for tests, but we don’t have a lab on premises. It means they can’t have the test done right now and we can’t get the results right away.”

“It costs too much for one?” He didn’t know how the labs worked. All he knew was that he hated having blood drawn.

“It’s cost and the staffing. We don’t have to have urine tests done every day, but we do need a phlebotomist on staff. It’d make the nurses happy. They’re stretched so thin. Aiden’s lucky he’s at the hospital. Everything he needs is right there.” He sighed. “It’s not fun when we can’t help patients because we don’t have the equipment. It’s also not fun when those patients give us a tongue-lashing because they aren’t happy. I can’t make the appointments run smoother so it doesn’t take as long. I can’t help it when someone faints because they’ve seen a needle or screams when they’re supposed to get a shot.”

“Slow down.” Len stopped in front of the dog food display. “I’m listening, but this is our stop.”

“Oh. How many?”

“Get eight.” Len helped Isaac add eight bags of food to the cart. “Feel free to continue decompressing.”

---