Page 13 of An Unexpected Home

“Yeah, well we thought you’d need a lot of room and plus we each want a desk.”

“Not a bad idea,” she said. She noticed the stacks and stacks of paperwork sitting on one of the desks. “Is this all for me?”

“You’re gonna leave aren’t you?” Carly said. “We’ve scared her away, Mel. I told you we should have tried to do some of the paperwork.”

“Will you shut up,” Melanie shushed her friend. “She’s no pushover, our girl here. A little pile of paper isn’t gonna scare her away.”

Leah shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Did you guys have this little skit planned? You,” she pointed to Carly, “acting like I’m afraid and you,” she directed her attention to Melanie, “building me up so that there is no way I could leave.”

“I told you she’d catch on.” Melanie looked at Carly and tilted her head.

“I hate you both.” She tried to look angry but her lips curved into a smile and soon they were all laughing.

When the laughter died down she said, “Why don’t you two go do whatever it is you need to do and leave me to the giant mess of an office?”

“Does this mean you’re staying?” Carly asked.

“I have nowhere else to go so I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Yay!” Carly said and grabbed her in a fierce hug. “We are going to have so much fun.”

“And hopefully make a little money,” she heard Melanie say behind her.

Leah liked the sound of that. While it was true that money was the root of all evil and had already ruined her life once, it was also true that in order to survive in this world, you needed at least a little bit of it.

Chapter 4

“I’m going out for lunch,” Brandon said as he strolled by the station's receptionist Katie.

“Have a good one,” she said and waved.

Katie had worked for Cedarville Police longer than he’d been alive. He knew that when outsiders heard her name they assumed she was a younger woman but that wasn’t the case. Katherine Jacobs was seventy-two years old and was apparently still as spry as she had been when she was thirty. She knew everyone and everything that went on in Cedarville and didn’t hesitate to tell anyone.

Outside on the street, he made a quick decision to grab a sandwich and chips from the deli so he turned right. Many townspeople waved to him or said hello as he passed by all the storefronts.

Opening the door to the deli he spotted Melanie at the counter.

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