Finding Home (Montana Born Homecoming Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

turned back to his laptop and Logan understood he was dismissed.
    “I’ll make it work.” He got to his feet, extending his hand. “I appreciate your time, Frank.”
    The principal glanced up, as if mildly surprised. “Of course. Of course.”
    The man had engaged the cooperation of his staff, but not their love, and it saddened Logan that the ordinary niceties of social interaction were unexpected.
    He walked down the hallway, taking a moment to enjoy the quiet. The shiny floors, the walls full of colorful notices, posters, art projects, murals, trophy cases. So much pride here.
    The upcoming football game between Livingston and Marietta high schools featured heavily on the walls. Working in Livingston while living in Marietta had never been a problem for him. He cheered until he was hoarse for his school team. Then, when he went home at the end of the day, he lifted a glass in congratulations or commiseration or defeat with whoever happened to be at the bar. He had good friends on both sides of the rivalry and he liked it that way.
    Now, however, he had to find a way not to let one house in Marietta ruin a Livingston project that spanned both towns.
    He wouldn’t let his students down.
    But he couldn’t let Samara down, either.
    *
    Early that evening, Samara lifted the key to her new house with shaking fingers. She was already feeling anxious about leaving Jade asleep in her room at Bramble House, under Mabel’s crusty supervision. Now, finally able to make an undistracted progress check, alone, she was anxious about what she’d find.
    But as she unlocked the kitchen door, she noticed the scent of something tangy wafting up. Looking down, she saw a hose attached to the side of the house, and on either side of it, herbs.
    An herb garden, gone wild!
    She’d grown basil in her Manhattan windowsill, but this, oh this was the real thing. Dill grown tall nodded at her and thyme crept between the broken paving stones at her feet. She bent forward and let her fingers drift over the soft spikes of fragrant rosemary and on to a stand of leafy bee balm, inhaling the scent of tea and sweet spices.
    Her mother had grown herbs the summer they’d lived in Marietta, and the luxurious aromas brought with them images of the greenery she’d tended in hopes of brightening up their dumpy shack.
    Samara straightened up, shaking off the bittersweet memories.
    She stepped over the threshold, forcing her thoughts back to the present. She and Jade had spent enough time in limbo; they needed to be settled. Time was ticking! They couldn’t afford to waste a single minute, yet when she surveyed the kitchen, it appeared as if no one had been inside all day. If anything had changed, Samara couldn’t tell.
    But when she flicked the switch in the front room, the light shone soft and warm over the room. A beautiful light fixture now covered the bare bulb, and surrounding it was a sparkling panel made of the same beautiful embossed tin as in the master suite.
    Her annoyance dissolved. Clearly Logan had been here.
    Of course he had. He promised he’d get it done and he was a guy who kept his word. It wasn’t Logan’s fault that the house was behind schedule, she understood that. She didn’t want him to jeopardize a project so long in the making, and something that would do so much good to students who needed the hand up.
    Samara hugged her elbows, surveying the big empty walls. This time, they didn’t loom as much as they waited, patient and expectant, for her and Jade to bring them back to life.
    She bit back a grin. This was her house!
    However, in the meantime, she still had a truckload of furniture arriving in less than a week, and an unfinished house full of workers, sawdust and equipment.
    Samara took inventory of the remaining tasks: the technically challenging work was mostly in the kitchen. The upstairs trim needed to be installed. Most of the painting was yet to be done. Everything needed cleaning.
    His students couldn’t work