Page 41 of Denying Davis
“What do you mean?”
“You need help and so does your mom. And I’m the man to give it to you.”
“What?” Her eyes widened, and some of the color drained from her face. Not exactly the kind of reaction I’d expected. I chose to disregard it, though, and settled into the threadbare couch. “Listen, Davis, I—”
I held up a hand. “I know you’re not asking me for anything. You’re too proud for that and too stubborn. You’re not the type to be indebted to others. I get that, and I admire that about you. You work two jobs. Gave up college when your mom got sick. You fight for what you want, and you’re willing to work hard.”
“Thanks,” she said, but her voice wavered. She sat in the chair opposite the sofa. “I appreciate the compliment.”
“You’re welcome.”
I moved to the edge of the couch and locked eyes with her.
“That’s why I want to do something for you, Samantha. I want to help you in whatever way I can.” I held up the folio. “I met with Aaron Shields this morning. He’s been a trusted advisor to us for years, and he helped me locate some money we can redistribute.” I handed the folder to her. She grasped the other side of the folio, but I didn’t drop my side. Not yet. I wanted her to get the full effect of what I was suggesting, and in a way, I was hanging on to her, hanging on to the change the money would bring her. “And that’s what this is. It’s a summary of some money I’m having placed into an account in your name. Once you fill out the corresponding paperwork, which you will find in here, the money will be yours.”
She took a few deep breaths. “How…what are you—?”
“How much? A little over seven fifty.”
“Thousand?”
I nodded.
“No,” she gasped. “No way. You’re joking.”
“I’m not. Just over seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” I still stared at her. “I don’t know how much you owe in medical bills, but this should take care of most of it, and maybe give you some money left over. Samantha, this is what you need. I have the power to wipe away your debts, and I want to. Let me do this.”
She didn’t reply for a long time, and when she did, she was paler and more stricken than I expected.Didn’t this please her?
“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “But I can’t take this. I can’t take the money.”
In some ways, it wasn’t even a decision. It was a simple fact of life. I wouldn’t take the money. Icouldn’ttake it—doing so would seem too much like what my mother had done before, when she’d had us both sign documents that meant the payout she collected came with all kinds of stipulations.
“I just can’t,” I said. “It doesn’t feel right.”
His mouth dropped open. “Why?”
“My family received a lot of money from yours a long time ago, and it…I can’t. We’ve been down this road once, and I don’t want to repeat this mistake. I won’t do this again.”
“But I’m not going to make the kinds of demands that my father did. I promise you that.”
His hand covered mine. As he did, his touch sent a spark of heat pulsing through my body. It made me aware of everything about him—like the way a lock of his hair fell from a cowlick on the top of his head, how one side of his mouth always seemed on the verge of a smile, and how his eyes had a pleading eagerness behind them that never seemed to go away.
“Please, Samantha. I’m offering you this because I want to, and because I can,” he said. “And I want to give you this money without any stipulations.”
I looked away. “I can’t get it out of my head that this—this reminds me too much of the other time when attorneys for your father showed up with a big payout and all kinds of promises.” I returned my attention to him. “Besides, what you are saying is crazy. No one just gives someone over three quarters a million dollars.”
“I do.” He laughed once. “And I can.”
“I know we need a way out of this mess.” I still studied his face. “But I don’t think becoming further indebted to your family is the answer.”
“It’s not a debt.”
“How can it not be?” I paused. “I don’t think you can give someone money like that without there being legal consequences.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “That’s why I have Aaron. He’s the master at figuring shit like that out. I’m the one who comes up with all of the excellent ideas.”
I stared at him for a long time. Oh, how I wanted this to be real. How I wanted to snap my fingers and accept this bailout. Plenty of other women would, especially since it would take care of the over $300,000 we owed, plus leave more than half leftover for any of Mom’s upcoming treatments. Hell, I could even head back to college with that kind of money. Resuming school at Florida State might not be possible since I needed to take care of my mom, but I could at least enroll at Palm Beach Atlantic or Florida Atlantic.
