His True Purpose by Danica Favorite

Author:Danica Favorite
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-06-11T22:48:52+00:00

Chapter Eight

The days after their trip to Buena Vista found them busier than ever. Janie had wanted to talk to Alexander about his conversation with Sam to make sure they were on the same page, but it felt like she’d barely seen him.

With the high school needing their gym back so they could accommodate the elementary school students, the Red Cross was vacating their outpost there. The community resource center occupied an old storefront on Main Street and had been left unscathed by the fire. The smoke damage was minimal, which made it easy to transfer all the donations the Red Cross had been sorting through at school to the resource center.

But without those extra volunteers, it left people like Janie working long hours trying to sort everything into piles—what they could use, what was junk and what could be donated elsewhere.

She picked up a box that seemed to consist mostly of pet supplies. People often didn’t think about the animals displaced by disasters, so she was especially grateful for whoever had thought to send something for the pets. The question was, where would she put it?

Every available space was taken up with items for other needs. They’d sectioned off some of the conference rooms for people to meet with insurance adjusters or to talk to someone who could help them sort through their claims.

The large food pantry was overflowing with donated food, and people were still sorting items. They’d always had a place for those donations, since the resource center had always provided for the hungry in the community, but this was more than they’d ever received.

She paused at the door to Ellen’s office. The door was ajar, and Ellen sat at her desk, staring into space.

Janie rapped on the door gently. “Do you have a moment?”

Ellen jumped, like she was startled, but then smiled. “Of course. How can I help?”

The question sounded fake, forced.

Janie set the box down on the floor, then sat in one of the chairs. “How about you start by telling me what’s going on. You seem off.”

Ellen sighed. “I’m sure your father has told you that I want to leave Columbine Springs. I know it sounds terrible, but I just can’t stand looking at the rubble of the house Jim and I built together. And yet I feel guilty, leaving the community in the lurch.”

She gestured at the overflowing stack of paper on her desk. “There are so many donations to process, and so many letters from people offering help, it’s overwhelming. What I want to do is cry over the loss of everything I’ve held dear, but everyone is counting on me, so I can’t.”

Janie knew the feeling. But unlike Ellen, she wasn’t eager to leave. “Let me help,” Janie said. “I know most of the operations just as well as you. Let me do some of the work, and you can go back to wherever you’re staying and have some time for yourself. Just the other day I went into Buena Vista with my father, and the time away was so refreshing.

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