Once cleaned up and headed to his office, he noticed Janie in the church clothes closet, where all the clothing donations were stored. She was going through children’s clothing. Noting the torn and worn jeans and sweatshirt she was wearing, Oliver hoped she’d also look for something for herself. Another reason Janie tugged at his heart was that she’d named her youngest daughter Anna, after Oliver’s deceased wife.

“Hi, Janie, how are things going?”

She looked up, eyes rimmed with exhaustion. “Oh, hi, Pastor Mac. We’re okay, I guess. It’s just hard. Helping the kids to understand why everything is gone—” Her voice broke, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

The hardship of the last few days seemed to make Janie, a small, pale woman to begin with, even smaller, and his heart went out to her.

“We’re here for you, Janie. You know that.”

She sniffled, wiped her nose with a crumpled Kleenex she had in her hand. “Thank you. I do know that. And we have a place to live for the winter. I’m very grateful for all your help.” Janie managed a smile, and that touched Oliver.

He noticed the bags of clothing she’d gathered so far. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Well, yeah. I need to get these things home and then head to work. Do you think you could give me a ride?”

“Of course. Is Garrett at home watching the kids?”

A shadow crossed her face. “He dropped me off and then went to the library in Shady Cove to use the Internet. He had business to take care of. Before the fire, he was trying to earn money by selling stuff on eBay, but now . . .” She bit her bottom lip for a second. “Kayla is watching the kids for me.”

Oliver worked to keep his expression neutral. Business to take care of for a guy who didn’t work? eBay? Now he was further stretching the family budget by forcing the hire of a babysitter. Oliver had tried to get Garrett on the work crew, but he’d disdainfully said no. “I’m not the manual labor type,” he’d sneered.

Oliver let it go and nodded. “Well, let’s put these things in the car.”

The Coopers had been in Oliver’s office for counseling right after Janie’s mother died and they found themselves in possession of her home and belongings. He recalled that Garrett wanted to sell the place and buy something bigger and newer. At the time, he’d been working, driving a logging truck. Janie was adamantly against moving; after all, the house had been in her family for a hundred years, and it was paid off.