Page 26 of Her Devoted HERO

“Ma’am, you should have stayed in the car,” the officer said to Kenna after Dex was done with his explanation.

“Look, I don’t need all of you males ganging up on me,” Kenna growled.

“Over here,” the cop motioned when the medics arrived.

Kenna looked over Dex’s shoulder and moaned.

“Are you in pain?” he asked.

“Yes. I don’t see a female medic. I’m surrounded by testosterone. I swear Dex if one more man gives me shit, I’m going to scream.”

The police officer coughed. Dex knew he was covering up a laugh.

“It’s okay, Poppy. No one else will give you a hard time. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

He wasn’t as concerned as he had been initially. She didn’t look pale, disoriented, just frustrated. Dex really thought that the EMTs were going to give her a clean bill of health, but still, he wanted her checked out.

“What?” Kenna asked him.

“What do you mean, ‘what’?” Dex asked.

“You’re looking at me funny.”

“Just looking at your pretty face.”

She snorted and turned to the young man who knelt beside her. “Don’t forget to check out Dex. He took some hits during the fight. I think he might have suffered some brain trauma.”

The cop covered another laugh.

***

Kenna found herself drinking coffee for the second time that morning thanks to Reverend Langley providing some in his office after the police and EMTs had cleared out.

“I am so sorry that you arrived when we had violence going on.”

The clergyman looked awfully tired, and Kenna felt bad for him.

“Does this type of thing happen often?” Dex asked.

“We used to have a good security team that worked around the clock. We had to cut back. Now they work at night. In the morning we count on volunteers, but unfortunately, our two volunteers didn’t show up this morning.”

Kenna held the Styrofoam cup of coffee in both hands so that neither man would see her hands tremble. She still wasn’t one hundred percent since the fight, but she didn’t need their focus. Luckily, her voice was steady as she asked, “what other cuts have you had to make?”

“We have beds and mattresses, but as we move into the winter, we won’t be able to turn up the heat like we need to. We’re constantly making choices between food and utilities. It’s a balancing act. I know you’re going to go to some of the other shelters today. They need some funds as well, but in Encanto, we have to depend on government resources because our community is poor. The government resources have been drying up over the last three years. I hope that you will see your way clear to help us.”

Dex leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and listened to every word the Reverend said. As he ended his speech, he looked sideways at Kenna. “What are you thinking?” he asked her.

“Do you have a budget showing what your funding was three years ago, and where you stand today?” she asked.

The reverend went to a computer on his desk. He gave a sheepish grin. “Despite my complaints, I have made sure we are connected to the internet. I’ll e-mail you what you requested if you provide me your address.”

“Reverend, having internet access is a necessity,” Kenna assured him. She set her coffee down on the floor beside her purse and took out a business card. Then she stood to walk it over to his desk and wobbled just the slightest bit.

Before she had a chance to right herself, Dex had his arm around her waist. It helped. It ticked her off, but the helping part took precedence. He took the card out of her hand and held it out to Reverend Langley.

“I’m so sorry you both were hurt at my mission,” he said with a frown.

“It’s nothing,” she assured him.