Healing the Boss's Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

At least not this time.”
    “I wish I could say the same for the Logan ranch,” she replied. “I suppose there won’t be any way totell how Jesse and Marie are until communication is restored.”
    “Maybe we can hitch a quick ride out that way later and you can see for yourself.”
    She shook her head, then pointed. “Not unless that bridge is in better shape than it looks from here. The whole roadway is blocked up by big pieces of houses and goodness knows what else.”
    “You’re right. That probably means the rescue units from the other side of the river won’t be able to get to us without going miles out of their way, either.”
    “I know.” She sighed. “It’s going to take us weeks just to dig out, and that will be only the beginning. No wonder so many people are just wandering around in a daze. It boggles my mind, too.”
    “I can help with the rebuilding,” Greg told her, leading their little group in a circuitous path that avoided loose wires that were dangling between battered telephone poles. “My lumber yard and hardware wholesale can supply resources, even if they’ve sustained some damage.”
    “That should be profitable, too.”
    Maya knew she shouldn’t have taken his offer so negatively but she’d worked for the man long enough to know that he was fixated on the bottom line: net gains. It wasn’t his fault that that was the way his mind worked, but she did see it as the reason he’d been so successful when he was barely thirty.
    He sobered and glowered at her. “This isn’t aboutbusiness, it’s about survival. I’m not going to try to make money from the misfortunes of others, even if my father’s opinion of me suffers as a result.”
    “He wouldn’t understand?”
    “No. That old man has never approved of anything I’ve done, which is the main reason I told him I was leaving High Plains for keeps, years ago.”
    “It must have been hard for you to come back.”
    “Yes, it was. If my cousin Michael hadn’t phoned and told me Dad was terminally ill, I’d still be enjoying my studio apartment with a view of Lake Michigan, instead of standing in the middle of this horrible mess.”
    “With me,” Maya added, giving his strong hand a squeeze. “I’m really sorry you have to go through all this but I’m glad you’re here. If you hadn’t been, who knows what would have become of me in this storm.”
    “I hope you’d have had the good sense to duck.”
    Maya nodded. “Yeah. Me, too. But I doubt it.”
     
    Reverend Michael Garrison, Greg’s cousin, was also pastor of the largest house of worship in town, the three-story High Plains Community Church.
    By the time Greg, Maya and Tommy arrived on the church grounds, Michael had his shirtsleeves rolled up and was standing outside the historic, white-sided wooden building, offering solace and sanctuary to passersby.
    Tall, slim and darker-haired than Greg, he greetedeveryone with open arms, then shook Greg’s hand as Maya left with Tommy and hurried toward the annex where the preschool was located.
    “How does it look over here?” Greg asked Michael. “Are the church and preschool okay?”
    “Fine, fine,” the pastor answered. “Maya’s daughter is a wonder. She came through the storm like a trooper. All the kids did. The last time I looked, Layla was helping Josie and Nicki comfort the most frightened little ones.”
    “Sounds tough and capable, just like her mama,” Greg said proudly. He scanned the church. “I can’t believe those big stained-glass windows survived.”
    “They have safety glass over them, thanks to our insurance company’s insistence.”
    “How about the parsonage out back? Do you still have a place to live?”
    “Yes. It’s fine, too.”
    “Good. Well, if you don’t need me right now I’ll go see how Maya’s faring. Is there anything else I can help you with first?”
    “Not that I can think of,” Michael replied, looking weary and old far beyond his twenty-eight years. “I’m