“Maybe ten minutes?” I suggested meekly.
She chuckled. “Something this juicy? Try five. I’m resisting the urge to call my friend right now and tell her what you just told me.”
I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. “Okay, so I stepped on his pride.”
“You stomped all over it,” she said. “People will talk, Theo. Avery doesn’t need that right now on top of everything else.”
“Okay, sure, but isn’t having people talk better than losing everything?” I asked. “Sometimes, shit happens. Good people get blindsided and need help. That’s not weakness. It’s life.”
“That’s your opinion,” she said firmly. “You’re entitled to it, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in telling you to shove it.”
Frieda listened to me rant for at least a solid five more minutes before she finally stood up, came over, and patted my arm.
I sighed. “What?”
“Let it go.”
“That’s your advice? To just let it go when I know my friend is drowning?”
“Yes. He can handle it. Let him. It’s none of your business.”
“Maybe not, but what if hecan’thandle it?” He was capable, sure, and stubborn as hell, but none of those things would make fifty thousand dollars in his bank account overnight. “What happens toRaquelif he can’t fix it?”
Frieda gave me an infuriatingly knowing smile. I was honestly starting to wonder if she’d been genetically engineered to produce that kind of thing, or if old women got together when they turned a certain age and were given a workshop on how to form that shape with their lips.
“Perhaps a whole new world of possibilities will open up to her.” She patted my arm again. “It’s funny how losing what we think is our whole world can show us we were only existing and not really living.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, but she just shot me another smile and walked around the desk, pretending to immerse herself in invoicing or something until I left.
As I walked out though, I decided against taking her advice. Raquel lived and breathed for that shop. Not only that, but it was part of her childhood.
So many of her memories were tied up in it. So much sweat, tears, and blood.
The idea of her losing it made my heart give a painful throb. I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen when I could prevent all that heartache by writing one check.
I went back to fixing the trim, but when the time came to leave for Raquel’s place like we’d planned last night, I couldn’t get there fast enough. As soon as she opened the door, I could see that she was just as upset—if not more so—than Avery.
Her eyes were red and watery, her shoulders were tight, and her smile was weak. “Hey.”
“Hi.” I opened my arms and she walked right into them, holding on to me as I walked us both inside and kicked the door shut behind me. “I saw Avery earlier. What did the bank say?”
“Nothing useful so far,” she murmured against my chest. “He’s still trying, though.”
“What about the lawyers?” I asked, resting my chin on top of her head and just holding her. “Has he found one yet?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Last I spoke to him, he was still at the bank.”
I drew in a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for another harsh rebuke, but I had to offer. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t. “Raquel?”
“Yeah?”
“You know I can help.”
Immediately, her arms dropped away from my waist and she lifted her head to look up at me. “Thanks, but we’ll be okay.”
“No, just listen to me. Please.” I took her hands and tugged her over to a couch standing haphazardly in the middle of what would become her living room. “I know that you and Avery willfigure this out and I realize you’d rather do it yourselves, but you’re not alone. You have me and I can write you a check for fifty thousand right now.”
Her eyes widened, but before she could turn me down, I rushed out the rest. “I can also have attorneys here by the end of the week. People who specialize in this stuff who can make sure that nothing like it ever happens again.”
