“Focus on the fundraiser,” Logan insisted. “I can wait until later. It’ll take that long to process me, probably. And Christie?”
“Yeah?”
“Whatever I may or may not have done to Pierce’s nose? It was totally worth it.”
He grinned as the cops took him away.
Sandy was upset when she learned about Logan’s arrest. Harper was surprised he and Riley weren’t arrested too, which only raised more questions about what had happened last night. But Logan had said to focus on the fundraiser before bailing him out, so we settled in and tried to do that.
In the years I had been doing this fundraiser, I had never set up more than four tables. It was usually only worth the time and effort in the biggest stores, like Macy’s and Nordstrom’s. But today everything was booming. Even the smaller stores were full of customers getting their last-minute gifts wrapped. Even people who didn’t request gift-wrapping made donations. I guess Christmas Eve was putting everyone in the giving mood.
It gave me a glimmer of hope.
I took Logan’s place in Victoria’s Secret. Obviously I didn’t attract the same crowd that he had, but I was still busy almost non-stop. The next hour flew by.
Bubba came walking up to my station. “Every ounce of food is gone! They cleaned me out! Raised a couple thousand bucks for ya.”
“That’s amazing!”
After that, Bubba started running between all the stores to make sure everyone had enough supplies of tape and wrapping paper. When we ran low, he drove to the Wal Mart to pick up some more.
“Had to fight off all the Wal Mart shoppers, but I got whatchya need!” he said while dumping new paper off at the store.
We wrapped gifts, collected money, and thanked customers long into the afternoon. By the time the stores started closing up around four, my throat was sore from talking so much.
I went around to every store and thanked the Girl Scouts for their help. Several of them asked me about hiking the Grand Canyon, which allowed me to recount my experience. All of them were excited for Logan to lead them on a hike in the spring, Sandy most of all.
“You’ll get Logan?” she asked as we walked across the parking lot. “From jail?”
“That’s where we’re going right now,” I promised.
She nodded. “Good.”
Sandy’s mom was waiting outside her minivan. “Your daughter has been a huge help,” I said. “I can’t thank her enough.”
“She’s always trying to help,” the mom said with a smile.
“Mom! Someone stole a bunch of money from Christie’s non-profit. You’re a lawyer. Can’t you help her get it back?”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” I said.
Her mom smiled politely. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be much use on a theft case. I specialize in employment and wage disputes.”
I gave a start. “Really? Because that’s actually what this is about. My ex volunteered for me for two years and is now claiming I owe him back pay.”
“See!” Sandy said. “We can help!”
She gave me her card and I walked back to my truck. Riley, Harper, and Bubba were parked next to me. Their vehicles were filled with donation jars.
“You want us to deposit these at the bank, right?” Riley asked.
“NO!” I shouted before I realized he was joking. The three of them laughed at me, and I laughed too.
“We must’ve raised at least ten grand today,” Harper said.
Riley nodded. “That doesn’t replace what Pierce stole, but it’s a start.”
“It means I can pay the bills for my dog shelter for the foreseeable future,” I said. “Right now, that’s all a girl can ask for.”
Harper and Riley wanted to drive downtown with me to pick up Logan from jail, but I told them it was a bad idea to leave that much cash sitting in their trucks. So they drove back to the farm while I went to get Logan. He had already posted bail by the time I got there, and was sitting in the jail waiting area when I arrived.
And he was still wearing only his sexy Santa outfit.
He got up and walked across the waiting room. There were a few chuckles and sideways glances, but he ignored them.
“There’s my favorite criminal,” I said with a smile.
“Allegedly.”
“You allegedly punched Pierce?”
He smiled. “Nah. I totally did that. But he had it coming.”
As we drove home, Logan filled me in regarding what happened at Pierce’s house last night. Including his plan to sue me for missing wages.
“I received the claim yesterday,” I muttered. “I wish I had