Free More Than Words: Stories of Hope by Diana Palmer, Catherine Mann, Kasey Michaels Page A

before we start tomorrow and key in the data?”
    “That would be great, Matt!” Mary exclaimed.
    “It shouldn’t be too difficult,” he added. “If I can read your handwriting, that is,” he mused.
    “Well,” Mary began worriedly.
    “Could you get off an hour early and have Smith watch the kids for you?” Matt persisted.
    “She works for me tomorrow, and sure she can get off early,” Billie volunteered, stepping forward. “Hi. I’m Billie West. Don’t let the glitter fool you,” she added when the others gave her odd looks. “I came up in Chicago, on the wrong side of the tracks.”
    The odd looks relaxed into smiles.
    “I’m Bev, I run the shelter. Welcome aboard,” Bev said, shaking hands. “That’s Sam Harlowe over there, and this is Matt Clark. Matt’s a police officer.”
    “Nice to meet you,” Billie said. “Thanks for letting me and my SUV join up.”
    “You and your SUV are most welcome,” Mary replied. “And thanks in advance for the hour off.”
    “Where do we start?” Billie asked.
     
    Now that they’d added three restaurants to the ten they already had, Mary realized the waiting time and the packaging of the donated food once it was picked up was going to pose a problem.
    “This isn’t going to work,” she told Matt while they were briefly alone in the shelter’s kitchen, finishing up filling the last containers of food. “We really need one more vehicle so that we can split the list three ways and each truck will have a third of the restaurants to pick up from.”
    “Bev said that she’s already had calls from six more restaurants that heard about your project and want to contribute,” Matt told her. “Your little project is turning into a business.”
    “But there aren’t enough people,” Mary said worriedly. “Not nearly enough.”
    “You need to talk to someone about the future of this project,” Matt pointed out. “You can do a great job if you just have more volunteers. It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing. You can’t let it overwhelm you.”
    “It already has,” she said with a husky laugh.
    “It shows,” Matt said with some concern. “You look worn-out, Mary, and I know you can’t be getting much rest at night. Not with a toddler.”
    “John’s a good boy, and the kids are great about helping look after him,” Mary said defensively.
    “Yes, but you still have to be responsible for all of them. That includes getting them to and from practice and games, overseeing homework, listening to problems they have at school,” he said gently. “That’s a heck of a responsibility for one woman, all by itself. But you’ve got a full-time job, and you’re spending every night running around Phoenix to restaurants and then distributing food until late. Even with your energy and strength of will, you must see that you can’t keep this up indefinitely.”
    Until he said it, she hadn’t realized how thin she was spreading herself. She was beginning to have some chest pain that was unexpected and alarming. She hadn’t mentioned it,thinking that perhaps if she ignored it, it would go away. But that wasn’t happening.
    “I can do it as long as I need to,” she said firmly.
    “You’re like me, aren’t you?” he mused, smiling. “You’re stubborn.”
    “Yes, I think I am,” she agreed, smiling back. He made her feel young. He was like a sip of cold water on a hot day. He was invigorating.
    “I have ulterior motives, you know,” he commented. “I’m fond of you. I don’t want you to keel over from stress.”
    She was touched. “I promise not to keel over,” she told him.
    He signed. “Okay. That will have to do for now. But you really should think about delegating more. And eventually, you’re going to need some agency to help you oversee the project. It’s outgrowing you by the day.”
    “I don’t even know where to begin,” she said.
    “Talk to Bev,” he told her. “She’s been in this sort of work for a long time, and she knows