Page 11 of Galen's Redemption
“Okay.” Billy stopped, then lunged at Noel, wrapping him in a hug. When Noel’s eyes went wide, Billy tried to step back. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
Noel clutched him tight. “Don’t worry about it. I can clean up, too, and we both could use a hug, you know.”
The two of them stood there for several long moments, just holdingeach other. Robert marveled over how big Noel’s heart was. A few years ago, he was the tremulous young man needing a hug, but today, with help from his lover, Lincoln, Noel had blossomed beyond all expectations.
“Thank you, Mr. Noel.”
There were tears in Billy’s eyes when he stepped back. He’d always made a show of being the tough, defiant teen, but Robert knew how fiercely Billy loved his mother.When she asked Robert about finding a family to take care of Billy, he’d refused and insisted that his place was with her because, he told her, she needed him to help her.
Robert gave an internal sigh. No one so young should have to be that old.
“It’s just Noel, and I’m always down for a hug from a friend. Now, get to your mother and make sure she comes back here.”
“Okay, I will.” He stuffedhis sandwiches into his jacket and headed off toward the shower.
“You were great with him.”
“Yeah, well, it’s nice to give back.” Noel knelt and grabbed the box of clothes from under one of the cabinets and started riffling through them. “If you needed me, why didn’t you call?”
Robert sighed. “You have a life now. You need to—”
Noel jumped up and spun on his heel. Narrowed hazel eyes let Robertknow Noel wasn’t too pleased. “Don’t youdarepull any martyr crap on me, Robert. You told me we were friends, so let me be a friend.”
The kettle whistled, and Robert grabbed the tea from the cabinet over the sink, put two bags into the mugs, then put the box back. He went to the stove and turned off the burner, then grabbed the handle of the kettle and poured the water over the tea so it couldsteep.
“It’s not been easy, you know? Things have been spiraling out of control, and I’m not sure how to stop it. This thing with Bree is just the latest incident.”
“But I gave you the check. Hire some people to help you—”
Even though he knew this moment would come, Robert had hoped it would be some time before it reared its ugly head. “I returned the money.”
“You didwhat?” Noel’s raisedvoice had several people turning toward them. His cheeks were flushed when he regarded the people in the common room. “Sorry! I’m sorry.” He spun back to face Robert. “What do you mean, you returned the money?”
“Noel, there were so many ways that could have gone wrong for you. I wasn’t about to have you get in trouble for this.”
“But that’s my problem, not yours. I had it all taken care of.”
Noel was like a son to Robert, and sometimes a child needed a bit of tough love. This was one of those moments.
“It’s not for you to take care of me, Noel. I made the decision to give the money back as soon as you handed me the check. I know you gave it with the best of intentions, but did you even think of the ramifications? They could have come after you, taken you to court, sued your ass off.And for what?”
Noel’s face was mottled red. “I said I had it handled!”
“But you didn’t.” And Robert needed Noel to understand that. He gestured to the chair, and Noel sat. After adding some sugar to his tea, Robert sipped a little, trying to figure out how to get Noel to listen to what Robert was saying. “If he had taken you to court, who would be your lawyer?”
“He… I…. There was no agreementsigned. He wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”
“He’s got money, Noel. It doesn’t matter if he’s legally right or wrong. If he went to court, would you have enough money to challenge it? Would Lincoln back you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ah, the certainty of youth. “All right, think about this from my point of view for a minute, okay? I have a check for a quarter of a million dollars sitting in a deskdrawer, ready to be cashed. I take it, go to the bank, deposit it into our account, then proceed to spend it on fixing the building up, buying a van to help get people to and from appointments, and things like that. Then I find out Merriweather’s suing not only you, but us. We don’t have the money to defend against that. And while you say Lincoln would support you, how much are you willing to risk?Would you want him to lose the diner? Are you willing to put your friends’ livelihoods in jeopardy?”
Noel’s chin dropped to his chest. “I… I didn’t think about that.”
“It was all I thought about when I saw the check. Would it have helped? God, yes. But it also ran the risk of all of us losing everything we’ve built, and the cost was too high.”
Noel sighed. “I’m sorry. I just wanted….”
