Free Broken Things (Faded Photograph Series) by Andrea Boeshaar Page B

if they could “help” with anything. “I think that’s it for today. I appreciate your assistance. You gals can go back to the library for the remainder of your study hall.”
    “Don’t you need some filing done?” Heidi Lutz stood. The petite, somewhat pudgy young lady stood and looked up at him with hopeful brown eyes.
    “Um…”
    “Your desk is kind of messy,” redheaded and freckle-faced Sabina Lewis pointed out. “I could stay and straighten for you.”
    “Kind of you to offer, but that’s not really a mess you see in there.” Logan threw a thumb over his shoulder.
    “It isn’t? What do you call it?” Kim wanted to know.
    “It’s a collection of organized piles. I know just exactly what’s in each one, too. So if you clean it up, I’ll be lost.”
    The girls burst into giggles.
    “Okay.” Logan smiled in spite of himself. “Back to study hall with you. Scoot. Go on.” He held the door of the church office suites open for them.
    The girls complied, albeit grudgingly. But he breathed a sigh of relief once they were gone.
    “Looks like you’ve got some groupies on your hands, Pastor.”
    Logan paused in the threshold of his office in time to see Mrs. McMillan, the church secretary, leaning over her desk and grinning at him.
    “Yeah, it appears that way, doesn’t it?”
    “Well, not to worry. I’m going to start collecting work for them. I spend a couple hours each day at the copy machine, copying and collating various documents. It’s a perfect job for those girls, don’t you think? It’ll sure free me up.”
    “Marvelous idea. You’re a genius.”
    “Not really.” The middle-aged woman smiled. “I just have a daughter in the youth group…and she’s a groupie too.”
    Logan groaned.
    “But I’ve forbidden her to come in here and make a nuisance of herself. She really needs her study hall to…well, study.”
    “Imagine that.” Logan grinned.“I didn’t think anyone studied during study hall.”
    “Pastor, if you don’t mind me saying so.” Mrs. McMillan’s expression changed to one more serious. “A wife would really deter these girls.”
    Like I haven’t heard that before. Logan blew out a weary sigh. “I’m working on it.” He strode toward his office. “I’m working on it.”
     
     
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    Labor Day. How fitting . Allie put her hands on her hips, and glanced around the extended-stay suite she’d moved into over the weekend. Boxes that she’d had Nick ship from home last week lined one wall, waiting to be unpacked―for a second time in three months. And now she could settle in for the next six months or however long the reorganization of Arbor Springs would take.
    Strolling into the kitchen, Allie prepared a cup of tea. The place supplied basic amenities, furniture, appliances, dishes, and she’d picked up some groceries Saturday morning. Best of all, her temporary place of residence was almost walking distance to Arbor Springs.
    Tea in hand, Allie began to unpack and tidy up. She mulled over Nora’s recent invitation to their family’s Labor Day picnic. Should she accept? Nora mentioned that there was a chance Jack would show up, and Allie really wanted to stay out of the guy’s way. On the other hand, Nora also said he rarely showed even though he was invited year after year.
    Should she? Shouldn’t she? Allie debated while unpacking. Finally she decided to brave the picnic, figuring it beat sitting in her hotel room alone on this gorgeous, sunny day.
    Around noon, Allie headed for the shower. Afterwards, she dressed in a denim skirt and a blue and white striped short sleeve sweater. She brushed out her hair and applied her cosmetics, adding concealing cream to her unsightly scar. With that completed, she slipped her feet into comfortable, navy leather flats, grabbed her purse, and left the hotel.
    During the drive to Steve and Nora’s, Allie reflected on this past week at Arbor Springs. After conducting several