Page 60 of Finding Noah
“Okay, feed the dogs first and then eating.”
He grinned. “Works for me.”
And so we did. Then I left an hour later to get through my long list of tasks so I could get back to Christian as quickly as I could.
Chapter Seventeen
Christian
Miss Esmeralda was in exceptionally high spirits when I arrived. I’d thought to maybe drop by, but she’d actually called me and had asked me to show up at eleven o’clock on the nose.
Just before the appointed time, I crated the dogs and headed to the nursing home. I found my landlady in the sitting room with an older, distinguished gentleman sitting beside her.Has she found a gentleman caller? He’s a bit younger than her…but go, Miss Esmeralda!
She beckoned me to sit in a high-backed chair across from her. “This is Mr. Sampson.”
I extended my hand in greeting. “Christian Carter.”
The man had a strong shake—but not overpowering. Just solid. He eyed me with incisive dark-brown eyes that somehow suited his shock of short, white hair.
What will Noah look like when he goes gray? Will I be around to see it?
I retook my seat.
“Mr. Sampson is my lawyer.” Miss Esmeralda sat a little straighter.
“Ah.”Is she kicking us out? We could probably find another place to live…right? Hopefully she gives us enough— I was so absorbed in my panic, that I almost missed her next words. “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
She gave her lawyer a knowing smile. “Told you he’d be shocked.”
Mr. Sampson regarded me. “Miss Stanton has asked me to draw up the papers so that, after her death, you and Mr. Gainey inherit her house and property.”
My eyes widened. “No. No, no, no.” I turned to the woman I was coming to think of as a friend. “You can’t do that. Surely you have family—”
“Only child of only children. I have a few distant cousins who never responded to my letters about thirty or forty years ago. Look, if I don’t bequeath the house to someone, the state might take it and, if they can’t find someone, they might keep the profits. I love California, but not enough to hand them a pile of money. I knew from the moment we spoke on the phone that you were the one. The only question is whether I give it to you alone or whether I include your, uh, best friend.”
I chuckled to myself. She missed nothing. “I can’t speak for Noah. I don’t want to tie him to me. That said, he loves the property.” If I didn’t spend all my savings, I would have enough for a down-payment on a little property of my own. Dillon paid me a living wage, so I’d be okay. Noah could keep the house and… I blinked. How would we split the dogs? And what if I fell in love with the cats? Were we going to have acustody arrangement? Because as happy as he’d been this morning, my worries that I wasn’t enough for him continued to crowd my mind.
“You have time to decide whether you want to accept this gift.” Mr. Sampson offered what I thought of as a sympathetic smile. “This is a lot to take in.”
I blinked. “I met Miss Esmeralda yesterday.”
Slowly, the lawyer nodded. “Yet she spoke to me last week. She wants things settled.”
“She can change her mind, right? If she meets someone else who she thinks would be better suited—”
“There is no one better suited.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I see you as an intelligent young man.”
“Well, okay—”
“I’m offering you a chance to secure your future—and your friend’s.” She pointed. “You probably don’t think I know, but I do. You talk a lot when you don’t realize it. That first night? You told me your life story.”
“Did I?” I had a vague recollection of a three-hour call. Noah and I had been on the road for about twelve hours, and I’d been ready to collapse. But I’d promised Noah I’d find us the perfect rental—and I had. “I didn’t intend to.”
She pursed her lips. “You being left at the altar was a blessing.”
“I wasn’t really at the altar—”
“And you being in love with someone who you thought would never return that affection made me sad.”
