“Are you sure about that? Because this deal will make sure that all five of those kids have the best opportunities in life. Their college will be paid for and you’ll never have to worry about their futures.”
She was about to argue, but she couldn’t think what to say to that.
“Nathan may have been reluctant to put his family’s future ahead of the needs of the community, but I’m not.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“NOAH IS STILL in the waiting room,” Rebecca said, poking her head around the lunch room door.
Lindsay didn’t glance up from the three-month-old issue of Vogue she’d already read cover to cover. “So? Take him in.”
“He asked to see you.”
Of course he did. He’d called twice and texted three times since the day before. Each time she saw his number light up her phone, a heavy weight had crushed her and she’d continued to ignore him. “Tell him I’m not available to chat.”
“Tell me yourself. Unless you’re not done avoiding me,” he said, appearing in the doorway behind Rebecca.
“This lunchroom is for staff only,” she said through gritted teeth, a memory of the last time they’d been in there together making her cheeks flame.
“That didn’t stop us before,” he said purposely with a smirk.
Rebecca’s eyes widened as she glanced between the two of them.
Fantastic. Now rumors would spread that something had happened between them in the clinic’s lunchroom. Of course, something had happened. She’d fallen in love with him.
“Fine,” she said, closing the magazine, standing and pushing them both out into the hallway. “Follow me,” she said to Noah, leading the way into the farthest exam room at the back of the clinic, away from Rebecca’s ears.
Once she closed the door behind them, she turned to face him. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”
“What would you call three unanswered text messages and two unreturned calls?”
“Busy. I have a life, Noah.”
“I know you have a life. One you don’t want me to be a part of. I get that. I don’t like it. But I get it. But I need to know what’s going on with the center because it’s one of the few things I have left to care about these days.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m not sure I can help save the center,” she said quietly.
His forehead creased. “Why not? If Ben is telling you he can do this without your cooperation, he’s lying.”
“He’s not. He admitted he needs my signature.”
She stared at the scuffed tiled floor at her feet, unable to meet his gaze. How could she look at him when she was about to tell him she could save the community center if she tried—she just wouldn’t? He was going to hate her.
“So what’s the problem? Don’t sign.”
Sure, because life was just that easy, she thought bitterly.
“Noah, it’s complicated.”
“You’re kidding, right? You actually think a strip mall is better for the community than a center for kids...a center your own kids benefit from.”
No. Even though she’d been trying to convince herself of that all day.
“The jobs the stores will create will be appreciated.” That much was true at least. And, really, the only benefit to all this. The one she was desperately clinging to...to ease her guilty conscience. “I mean, look at Play Hard,” she continued quickly. “No one saw the value of that store, either, until Victoria convinced them otherwise, and look how great it’s been for so many people.”
“This is hardly the same thing. Legend’s Sporting Goods wasn’t helping anyone. And besides, Luke turned it into a museum. You can’t compare the two, Lindsay.”
She wished he wasn’t right. She sighed, busying herself with his chart. “Well, it appears that the bone is setting nicely...” She carefully kept her voice void of the emotional extremes she was feeling.
He advanced toward her, taking the file from her and forcing her to look at him. “What is with you? Yesterday you were on my side. What changed?”
“A quarter of a million dollars changed.” There she’d said it. Now he could hate her.
“Money?”
“Yes, money!” Her hands gestured frantically as she spoke quickly. “I’m a nurse Noah...and suddenly I have the future of five little people to consider. Kids whose father started this venture to make sure they were set for anywhere life took them. How do I deny them the future he’d worked so hard to secure?”
It had taken hours after her talk with Ben for the realization of what he’d said to sink in.
This deal was worth half a million dollars to the company and would give them more opportunity to grow. After a heavy-hearted, sleepless night, she’d decided she would do what her brother had fought against. Nathan may have been confident that the company would succeed without this deal and he would be able to provide the best life for his children, but she wasn’t as sure of herself.
“Things change. That much you should know better than anyone. And, besides, you have a million years before these kids go to university—if they choose to. You can’t base decisions—major decisions—now on what could happen in the future.”
She felt her heart harden. This was exactly why she hadn’t been able to let go and trust Noah. The very reason she’d pushed him away.
He lived in the here-and-now—carefree to the point of recklessness in his choices. He had no plans for a future if his fighting career didn’t work, or worse, left him injured so badly someday that his own future was jeopardized. So, how could she ever trust him to think about a future with her, a future for the kids, when here he was telling her not to worry about it?
“You care about those kids at the center. I understand that. So do I. But I have to do what’s right for the ones that matter most to me. I’m sorry, Noah, but I’m signing the deal.”
She took back his file and pretended to read it, but the words swam together on the page as tears filled her eyes. She furiously blinked them away.
Stay strong. At least for a few more minutes.
He was silent for an excruciatingly long moment and when she finally found the strength to meet his gaze, his expression was hurt and betrayed. “Well then, I guess you’re not the person I thought you were, after all.”
After everything she’d been through the past few months, she hadn’t thought it possible to achieve yet another level of sorrow. It turned out she was wrong.
Squaring her jaw, she forced her voice to remain steady as she said, “People are who they are, Noah. And if you can’t accept that, walk away.”
“Walk away,” he repeated and nodded slowly. “Like you did?”
“Like I did.”
Without another word, he moved past her for the door and, swinging it open, left the room.
* * *
“I CAN’T BELIEVE Lindsay refuses to stop this,” Ethan said as he turned the fire truck into the community center parking lot.
“Me, either,” he grumbled. He understood wanting to do the best thing for her kids, but at what cost to so many other people? His disappointment over the potential loss of the program was overshadowed by his disappointment in Lindsay and her unwillingness to help.
“I’m sorry, man,” Ethan said, tapping him on the shoulder. “But the good news is that we have a full-time spot on the team coming up with Mark Adams leaving next month. It’s yours if you want it. Save lives in a different way...or at least rescue cats from trees and get paid for a change.”
Noah nodded. “Thanks, Ethan. I appreciate the offer. If I win my next fight, I may not have time, even for my volunteer role.”
He planned to focus all his energy on his fighting—the one thing he had control over and the one thing in his life he could depend on.
�
�I totally get it. I’d choose a career in MMA over firefighting any day...if my wife would let me.” He laughed as he put the truck in Park.
“Of course she’d let you. Bailey loves MMA. You should have seen her at my fight.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Yes, I saw the countless photos she took that night.”
His tone reflected the slightest jealousy and it was hard to tell if he was jealous because she’d attended the fights without him or because of all of the photos of her and the MMA fighters.
“The thing is, she loves to watch other guys fight. Even her brothers—although she’s happy they stick to coaching. It’s one thing to watch strangers fight, it’s totally different when you watch someone you care about. She’d never want me to fight.”
“Yeah, I guess. Anyway, thanks for the ride.” He jumped down from the truck and tossed his duffel bag over one shoulder.
The sound of a police siren at the back of the building made him frown. Going around the side, he saw a Brookhollow squad car park and the new Sherriff get out. He’d seen the man around the fire hall that shared the building with the police station and he’d been at the hospital the night of the accident, but he’d yet to formally meet the man.
It looked as if he was about to.
He shielded his eyes from the glare of the car’s flashing lights. “Hey, what’s going on?” Was he putting cuffs on someone?
“Stay back, please,” Sherriff Matthews said. When he turned, Noah saw that the kid in front of him was Dominic.
“Hey,” he said, ignoring the man and moving closer. “That’s one of my kids. What are you doing?”
“I said stay back,” the officer said with more force this time.
Noah stopped. This guy was intense.
“Sorry, I won’t come any closer, but can you explain to me what’s happening.”
Dominic stared at the ground, refusing to speak as his hands were cuffed behind him. He looked guilty as anything.
What did you do, Dominic?
“Are you his father?” the young officer asked.
“No. His mentor here at the center.” Not for long, he thought grimly.
“Great job,” the other man said sarcastically, and Noah stiffened. “Well, I guess you at least taught him to spell properly.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. Who was this jerk? “What are you talking about?”
The officer kicked a can of spray paint and it rolled to Noah’s feet.
He picked it up and glanced at the building. The words Mayor Parsons Sucks were written in dark green across the side of the building.
As much as he had to agree with the bold statement, his heart sank. “Dominic. You did this?”
“Of course he did. I caught him doing it,” the officer said.
“I’m talking to the kid,” Noah said. “Dominic?”
Dominic nodded.
Great. Noah sighed. “Are the handcuffs necessary? It’s a can of spray paint, not a knife.”
“This time,” Sherriff Matthews muttered, but he removed the cuffs. “Don’t go anywhere,” he said to Dominic.
The kid rubbed his wrists. “What were you thinking?” Noah demanded.
“They’re planning to tear it down anyway,” Dominic mumbled.
Huh, maybe telling the boy that there was a chance of that hadn’t been such a great idea, after all, but he’d been so upset about the program possibly being shut down, Noah had needed to be honest with him. He didn’t want the boy thinking it was because he’d given up. “Vandalism is a punishable offense and you’ve insulted the mayor.”
“What I wrote is true. Everyone thinks so.”
Noah couldn’t exactly argue the point. “Regardless, this is not acceptable.” He turned to Sherriff Matthews. “This is the first time this boy has ever done anything like this...and he’s upset.”
He prayed Dominic wasn’t getting the wrong idea about his plea to the cop. He wasn’t off the hook for this. Not even close. But he hoped the officer wouldn’t insist on filing criminal charges against him. Not when the boy had just filled out college applications.
“I still need to take him in.”
Wow, he was going to be a wonderful addition to the community. Who hired him anyway?
“What if Dominic agrees to remove this right away and perform some community service? Can we put this to rest now instead of taking him in?”
“That’s not protocol,” the guy said. Noah caught a thick New York accent.
That explained a lot. Except for why a New York City cop wanted the low-paying, low-action job of deputy sheriff in a town of less than ten thousand residents. “I understand, but this is Brookhollow, not New York. I think you’ll find that most things don’t go according to protocol around here. It’s called giving people a chance.”
“A chance? To do what? Become better criminals?”
Noah’s jaw tensed. “I assure you, that’s not always the case.”
The officer hesitated then shook his head. “Whatever. I want this off the building by tomorrow morning.” He turned to Dominic. “If I catch you with a spray can or anything else in your hand doing damage again, you won’t get off so easy. Got it?”
Dominic nodded.
They watched Deputy-Sheriff Matthews get back in his car, cut the flashing lights and drive away.
“What a moron,” Dominic mumbled next to him.
Again, Noah couldn’t really disagree.
“What is this?” he asked, turning to gesture toward the wall. “Are you freaking kidding me? You’re lucky I was here or you would have this stunt on your permanent record for the next seven years.”
Dominic shrugged. “It was a joke.”
“Not funny. Stupid. This could affect your chances of getting into college.”
The boy looked away.
“Tell me you mailed those applications we filled out.”
Dominic nodded. “Yeah.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I sent them.”
Noah struggled with whether or not to believe him. Ten minutes ago he’d never have thought the kid would pull a stupid stunt like this. “Okay. Let’s go get something to remove this.”
“You’re going to help?”
“No way. You do the crime, you do the time.”
The kid stopped on the way to Noah’s motorcycle. “Do you really think they are going to tear the place down?”
Noah let out a deep breath to the darkening sky. “I hope not.” There was still a chance to have his voice and opinion heard at the town meeting the next evening and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be the only one fighting to prevent the center from being torn down.
He just wished the one person who could actually stop this deal was on his side.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SITTING IN THE back of the town hall’s meeting room the following evening, Lindsay hunched in the plastic chair as Mayor Parsons took the podium. She wasn’t sure who else in the room knew why this town meeting had been called but she knew once everyone found out they weren’t going to be happy. She wasn’t happy about it, either, but being an immediate recipient to its benefits, people were hardly going to believe she was as much opposed to the center’s demolition as they were.
Noah sat in the front row. He was wearing a pair of dress pants and a dress shirt and tie. The same tie she remembered teasing him about at Bailey and Ethan’s wedding several months before.
Only several months? It felt like a lifetime since she’d loosened that tie and narrowly averted his lips as he’d tried to kiss her. If only she could go back to a time when she didn’t know how his kisses felt.
Noah’s knees bounced and he turned to scan the quickly crowding room. She averted her gaze but not quickly enough and t
he coldness in his made her shiver. So different from the look he’d given her a few days ago. When he thought she could stop this. Would stop this.
You’re not the person I thought you were.
She stared at her hands as several people she didn’t recognize moved past her into the row and sat.
“Hello, everyone,” Mayor Parsons started. “Thank you all for coming. As many of you have known for years, our younger generation is moving away in search of jobs and better opportunities that unfortunately Brookhollow can’t provide...but we are hoping to change that. Similar to the employment opportunities Play Hard Sports has provided, there’s a new opportunity for development of a new strip mall in town.”
He paused.
A murmur of conversation rippled through the crowd and Lindsay cringed. Sure, Mayor Parsons, tell them the good news first, get their hopes up that this is a good thing.
She felt nauseous.
“Of course, as many of you also know, the land around the community center has been government property since the late eighties...and we are considering its use for the development of this new venture,” he said.
The murmurs died down and silence fell over the room for a moment before hands went up and people began to bombard him.
Mayor Parsons held up a hand. “We are open to questions, but please, one at a time.”
Delores Myers stood. “What does that mean for the community center?”
The question on everyone’s mind, it seemed, as most raised hands lowered and everyone stared at the mayor.
“Unfortunately, it does mean the center would be torn down,” he said.
More whispers and murmurs, disbelief, all around her. She closed her eyes.
Pat Morry, a father of four, who owned a convenience store in town, stood. “Will the city be rebuilding the center somewhere else?”
Lindsay held her breath. If that was the plan, it would help ease the guilt she was feeling.
“No,” Mayor Parsons answered.
She blew her breath out between her lips.
“Will the center’s programs be held somewhere else?” asked Mrs. Mason, Victoria’s mother.
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