Rudy nodded knowingly. “Stubborn as they come, that one. But she’s a good girl. I hope you’re treatin’ her right. Now go get some coffee. Things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I got two cups of coffee from Vera and went back upstairs. Noelle was just coming out of the bathroom and she looked stunning to me, even with no makeup and her hair back in a ponytail.
“Thank you.” She took a cup from me and sighed happily as she had her first sip. “Best part of my day.”
“Tell me about it.” I sipped my own and sank into one of the chairs by the window. “Come sit with me, babe.”
She turned, a smile playing on her lips. “Do you know, I don’t think anyone has ever called me babe before?”
“Do you dislike it?”
“Not at all. I love it.” She sank down in the other chair, holding the coffee mug with both hands.
“Are you ready to talk?” I asked gently.
“I guess so.”
“I just want to help, to get to know you better and figure out where this thing between us is going.”
“I know. It’s just…embarrassing.”
“Don’t ever be embarrassed with me. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth but I am acutely aware of how lucky I am. I don’t hold it against anyone who wasn’t born with what I was.”
“Promise you won’t think less of me?” Her eyes were filled with insecurity and pain. So much so that I tugged her out of her chair and onto my lap.
“Promise. Now tell me how you wound up living at the arena.” I wrapped one arm around her waist and held my coffee with the hand of the other.
She looked away, chewing the inside of her cheek. “It started with a broken leg. I was working two jobs then. I did my thing at the arena part-time, but I also worked the front desk at a hotel in Whistler. The problem was that it was my right leg, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t drive. I was going to be out for six weeks and they fired me. Since I was only part-time, I didn’t have any benefits. This was two years ago, and I had two roommates, so I figured I’d be okay. Money would be tight, but I could still hobble around at the arena. Except, I couldn’t.” She sighed, putting her coffee cup on the small table and resting her chin in her hand. “I fell on my crutches and broke my wrist.”
“Oh, baby.” I grimaced, imagining how frustrating that must have been.
“Dwayne and Tandy helped out as much as they could, so I wouldn’t get fired from that job too, but then it was like the hits kept coming. The brakes went out on my car, which set me back a lot. Then I needed new tires. Like, they were completely bald, and I couldn’t put it off any longer. Those two things wiped out my meager savings, and then, because I have no luck at all, my car insurance randomly went up. There were four or five more little things that all happened at once, and for the first time ever, I didn’t have my share of the rent. My roommates were cool about it at first, but I had no money coming in and I still couldn’t work.”
“Did they kick you out?” I asked gently.
“When I couldn’t come up with rent for the second month, they asked me to leave. I sold a bunch of my things and came up with enough money to move in with this woman I knew named Jasmine. She loves to party and was always out, so she said I could sleep on the pull-out couch in her living room for cheap. I told her I wouldn’t have any money for a month, until the cast came off, and she was cool with it if I cleaned up a little around the apartment. I finally got the cast off my leg, so I could drive again, but no one was hiring. Jasmine wasn’t home much, and she didn’t care, so it worked out for both of us until she started bringing a creepy new guy home.”
I put down my coffee and tightened my arms around her. She’d shuddered slightly and I wanted her to remember I was right here and not going anywhere.
“What happened?” I gently prompted her.
“He was always hitting on me, right in front of Jasmine, and it seemed like she was cool with watching, if you know what I mean. That’s not my thing, so I kept telling him to leave me alone, but he was persistent. And with me on the couch, he had easy access to me. Then one night, things blew up. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and literally attacked me. I hit him with the lamp on the side table and knocked him out cold.”
“That’s my girl.” I gently kissed her temple.
“Yeah, well, Jasmine was hysterical, and she literally kicked me out then and there. Told me to pack my shit and leave. And of course, Connie had just had Daphne, so I couldn’t impose on them. So I started sleeping at the arena. Dwayne figured it out, but I told him my roommate brings home weird men and that I just sleep at the arena on those nights. I think he knows better, but he doesn’t say anything.”
“He cares about you,” I said gently. “Like a lot of people around here. Including me.”
Those sparkling emerald eyes of hers lifted to meet mine. “And that’s why I couldn’t bear to tell any of you how close to rock bottom I’ve been. I’m almost there, almost out of the arena and ready to rent a room somewhere, but I promised myself I wouldn’t until I had at least three months’ worth of expenses in savings, in case something like that happened again. I refuse to be in a position where one broken leg could derail everything I’ve worked for.”
“I’ll never let anything happen to you, Noelle.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Noelle
* * *
I wanted to protest, tell him I was okay, that I had everything under control. But that would have been a lie. I’d almost frozen to death because I was stubborn and proud and sometimes too much. Even for me. Human beings weren’t meant to be solitary. We were social creatures at our core, even the most introverted of us, and we all needed help sometimes. Having friends, especially ones who cared enough to jump on a snowmobile in a blizzard, was important. And more than that, Remy was important.
“It’s hard to ask for help,” I said softly. “It’s hard to admit you’ve failed at almost everything. I have a degree I can’t use unless I move to a big city, which I can’t do without money. I don’t have the earning potential in a small town like Garland Grove to save up that kind of money, so it’s a catch-22 and I hate everything about being in a position like this.”
“But you’re not alone,” he said, taking one of my hands between both of his. “Isn’t that what you’ve been telling Connie? That she can leave Craig because she’s not alone? Well, she can count on you and you can count on me.”
“Connie is literally the only person in my entire life I’ve been able to count on,” I said, waves of emotion making my voice a little shaky. “We’ve only known each other three weeks, Remy.”
“But sometimes you just know,” he said.
“What do we know?”
“That there’s something between us that I’ve never felt with anyone.” He cupped the side of my face. “That I’m going to do absolutely everything I can so we can be together. That I don’t want to lose you.”