Teresa was wondering if there really were any good men left in the world, and if there were, did she even want to be with one of them, when Noah walked into the room. He wore a pair of gray sweatpants, a snow-white T-shirt, and no shoes. He went to the coffeepot, and in minutes, the aroma filled the whole kitchen. While the coffee perked, he took the lasagna that was left over from supper the night before, cut off a slab, and stuck it in the microwave.
Watching him right then, living in the same house with him these past weeks—Noah was one of the few good men left in the world. Any man who would put his life on hold to come to a place like Birthright to take care of his ailing great-aunt had to be a good person. What would it be like to be in a serious relationship with him? Was he the single man Kayla just mentioned?
“Y’all can have that ice cream and cookies,” he said. “I’ve lived on sandwiches and junk food since I left. I’m so glad to find some leftovers in the fridge.”
“Good thing you got here when you did,” Teresa said. “Anything Italian doesn’t last long around here.”
“Or Mexican,” Kayla said. “Teresa made enchiladas yesterday. You should’ve been here then. I ate the last of it this morning for breakfast.”
“Y’all are killin’ me,” he groaned. “Will you make more next week?”
“Yep, but you have to be here to get any of it,” Teresa answered. “If you’re off on one of your trips, then you’ll lose out, again.”
“Believe me, honey, I’ll be here.” The microwave dinged, and he took the lasagna to the table and sat down. “I’ll have some of those cookies for dessert. As Miss Janie used to say, ‘It don’t get no better than this.’ Y’all know something—I believe being around Miss Janie has healing powers.”
Noah definitely seemed more relaxed and less tense than he had been before he left. What exactly had happened on that trip?
“That’s what we were just talking about,” Teresa said. There was that squeak in her voice again, but then, Noah’s knee was right next to hers under the table.
“I’ve been wondering . . .” Kayla dipped deep into the ice cream. “Y’all don’t laugh at me, but something I overheard Sam and Miss Janie talking about a couple of days ago has stuck in my mind. What would it take to start up a place here in Birthright for the senior citizens? You know, like they have in the big cities, only smaller—where old folks can gather up and play dominoes and have lunch together.”
“To start with, you’d have to have a place,” Noah answered.
“And money to get things going,” Teresa added. “And I’m not laughing at you. If we had the money and a place, I’d do that in a heartbeat. I love working with old folks, and together we could do the cooking.”
“I can’t imagine you two working together every day,” Noah said.
Kayla shook her spoon at him. “Miracles do happen.”
Teresa slid a sideways glance over toward Noah and hoped that Kayla was right.
Chapter Ten
Noah thought he could sleep for at least twenty-four hours when he went to bed at nine o’clock on Friday night. Things had been going so well, he’d been sleeping like a baby, but not last night. He awoke at five thirty the next morning. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t force himself to get back to that dream he had been having. He and Teresa had been sitting at the kitchen table looking over a legal document that had to do with a business. At one time she’d leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. No matter how tightly he shut his eyes, he couldn’t figure out what was on that piece of paper. He didn’t care as much about that as he did going back into the dream to kiss her again.
Finally, he got out of bed, went downstairs, and put on the first pot of coffee for the day. As soon as it dripped, he poured a mugful and carried it to the back porch to watch the sunrise. Later, he would go into the small office he’d set up in his upstairs bedroom and begin to take care of all the legalese of starting a new business, but that could wait.
Teresa padded barefoot out to the porch with a cup of coffee in her