Reagan couldn’t hold back her smile if she tried. Her cheeks warmed as she held Jill’s gaze.

“Don’t hurt yourself there, Jill,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m Stacey, the intake coordinator here. It’s nice to meet you. She dragged you with her, huh?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, before you do anything, I need you to fill out some paperwork. Can’t volunteer here without it, and because you’re brand new, you can’t handle any of the dogs yourself yet.”

“Jill told me already. I understand.”

“Great. Fill these out and then I’ll let you know how you can help.”

Reagan filled out the necessary forms and they were given the tasks of unloading food and cleaning out some of the cages. After hanging up their coats in a locker, Jill led her to the loading area in the back and they started the first job.

At first, they worked in comfortable silence, naturally maneuvering around each other. But coming here had Reagan curious. “Is this typically what you do when you come here?”

“Pretty much. Unload supplies, laundry, clean around the facility. I could work more at the front desk or facilitate the adoption appointments if I wanted. But that’s not really my thing.” Jill shrugged.

“How come?”

“I’d rather not deal with people. I do that enough at work. Coming here means I can lose myself in whatever task they need me to do. Gives me time to think, I guess.”

“That makes sense. Is it ever hard to work here? I mean, there have to be some abuse cases, right?”

Jill nodded and frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. Cases of dog fighting, neglect. Some days I just want to go home and punch something. Or cry.”

Reagan brushed her fingers along Jill’s forearm. “That must be so tough. How do you do it?”

“I just try to remind myself that they’ll find a good home more often than not. And this place is a chance of hope for them. Stacey and the rest of the workers make it their mission to provide a safe environment until the animals can find their forever home.”

“Seems like they do amazing work here.”

“Oh, definitely,” Jill replied with a smile.

After stacking the final cans of cat food on the shelf, Reagan crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway, licking her lips as she watched Jill pull the last of the bags of food off the truck and into the storage room.

She stopped and looked at Reagan with a raised eyebrow. “What?”

“No offense, but I just haven’t seen you do anything very physical since we met. Just enjoying the view, that’s all.” Her cheeks warmed at the admission.

Jill closed the distance between them and held on to Reagan’s hips. “Last night wasn’t physical enough for you? Or this morning?”