me. We get along, so why not? And get this—I actually enjoy spending time with you.”
Many, many reasons to worry about this, she thought. Like being devastated, for one thing.
The wine came and he said, “Have a sip of wine. I hope you like it okay. And I hope you relax a little, otherwise you’re going to suck all the fun out of this.”
“Right,” she said, taking a sip. She glanced up at the waiter. “This is very nice. Thank you.” And then she took another sip and a deep breath. He was right; he was going to some trouble. She should be cordial.
She relaxed as much as possible, put her glass down and said, “I apologize. This is very special. I don’t want to ruin it.”
“Great. Now tell me, how’s it going with Jed?”
“Going well,” she said. “I keep trying to not be swayed by his generosity and he keeps admiring me for that. He offered to help me finish school if I’m interested. Being a professor at Stanford, I guess he can get me in and I qualify for family housing. If I wanted to do that, he could help.”
“Do you want to?”
She looked down. “Eventually,” she said. “Right now I have a few loose ends to work out. But that’s a very good destination, don’t you think? Good for my girls, too. The best thing I can do for them is set an example.”
After appetizers, a little more wine and some talk about going back to college, Tom asked about those things she had to work out. Well, she wasn’t about to tell him she’d like to be sure Maxie wasn’t retired before she was ready.
“I haven’t told anyone but Noah,” she said. “Can you keep it to yourself?”
He made a face. “If it isn’t going to cause death or injury,” he said.
“It’s about my house,” she admitted. “When Chad brought me to Virgin River, I thought he’d rented it, I thought he had plans like he said. Fay was barely two weeks old and it was winter, I wasn’t into asking a lot of questions. When he left us there and took off with the truck and most of our things, I expected to be evicted right away, but nothing happened. I just kept quiet and let the neighbors and the town help me out—bringing me supplies, sealing off the doors and windows so we wouldn’t freeze, offering me part-time work as the snow started to melt. But months passed and no one sent me bills for rent. I paid what I could on the gas and electric bills—bills addressed to some unknown tenant. After a few months I realized Chad must’ve known the house was abandoned or something. I’ve been squatting. I owe a lot of money—to the power company for sure, though I don’t exactly use much in that tiny house. And someone is due rent or something.”
He stared at her in wonder.
“Oh, no,” she said. “Oh, God, I’ve told you something you just can’t imagine. Please don’t lose all respect for me—I plan to make it right. I’m saving every cent I can. I’ll pay the back rent, I swear I will.”
“Nora. Stop. I’m shocked all right—that he didn’t even take care of the safety of his own children.”
She shrugged. “He’s not a nice person, Tom. But before you waste any more anger on him, remember, I got myself into this mess.”
“You were vulnerable. Homeless with small children. Don’t let him off that easy.”
“At the end of the day, he’s not off easy. Last I heard, he’s going to spend a long time in prison. I wish I hadn’t told you so much… .”
He reached for her hand across the table, giving a reassuring squeeze. “I’m glad you told me. You’ve come a long way, you should be proud of yourself, not beating yourself up. Is there some way I can help with this?”
A gentle smile came to her lips. “Tom Cavanaugh, you’re such a good and generous man. Thank you, but no. I’m going to be fine. I have lots of options.”
The salad was delivered and when the waiter left, Tom said, “I have a feeling about some of those options. You aren’t going to stay here, are you?”
She thought briefly and then said, “Less than a year ago I lived in a little house that wouldn’t keep out the wind, no food in the house and two babies. I wanted so little then—I just wanted to keep us warm and safe.