Page 66 of Studfinder

“You asked me to have faith in you, and I did. I only wish you’d had the same faith in me.”

With that, she turns again, giving me her back, and walks away.

26

Rita

It wasn’t easy, but I found something I thought Nolan could do for Building Buddies. It took more than a week to consider my options and make a decision. As Jake suggested, I should have spoken to him first before planning the meeting with Parker Avery. In the same breath, I knew Jake might not show if I simply told him what I thought. I’d lost Jake in my bet that things would work. I’d known it was a risk. Lesson learned. I should never gamble.

Still, I found myself at his house with a proposition for Nolan.

“Is Jake here?” I could have called, but I thought it best we discussed what I’d come up with face-to-face. Nolan stares up at me through the screen door.

“He isn’t.”

It was a Sunday, and I expected Jake to be home, maybe working on a lamp in his garage, but the closed garage door gave no sign of him. In the heat, he’d surely have it open.

“Do you know when he’ll be back?” I ask, finding this kind of conversation tedious.

“Actually, I don’t know where my brother is. He left here a week ago. Said he was moving out. I thought he might have moved in with you.”

“Me?” I ask. “Why would he move in with me?”

Nolan shakes his head without answering. Licking his lips, he looks away from me, and I cross my arms, feeling the tension between us through the screen barrier.

“Could I come in? I’d like to talk to you.”

Debate plays out on Nolan’s face, but eventually, he acquiesces, tipping his head to the side. I help myself to open the door and enter the small home. The place is clean but very much a bachelor’s pad, complete with a slouchy couch and a flat-screen television taking up most of the wall. I help myself to a seat on the cushions while Nolan rolls into the room. He waits on me to begin.

“Jake asked me to do something for him which involves you. As much as he wanted me to speak with him before I did anything in regards to you, perhaps I should just lay this out for you, as it does pertain to you.”

Nolan huffs at my run-on sentence. “What could big brother possibly want me to do?” Bitterness rings in Nolan’s tone, and after all I’ve sensed his brother has done for him, it’s undeserved toward Jake.

“Nolan, it’s obvious we don’t care for each other. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to you, but I know what you did. Period. Jake told me everything.”

If Nolan knows this truth, he gives nothing away, but a slight tic near his closed jaw hints he didn’t know how much I knew.

“I’m not here for your confession, although I certainly believe you need to confess to someone. It must have been hard to hold that secret in all these years.”

Nolan huffs again, turning his face away from me, giving me belligerence. “Lady, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough,” I state, but I don’t wish to go into my own story. “I’m here because I care about your brother. I care about him a great deal, and he asked me for a favor. I’d like to offer you the redemption you need.”

Nolan scoffs. “Redemption?”

“You should have gone to jail.” My voice cracks, and I swallow against the prickle in my eyes. “You let an innocent man go in your place. Your own brother.”

“I don’t need your damnation,” he bites, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I’m not here to damn you,” I state, reminding myself why I’m here. I will not pass judgment. “I’m here to offer you a job of sorts.”

Nolan’s brows lift as if I must be joking.

“Jake would like you to enter a restorative justice program similar to his parole. Without officially being on parole, I can’t make you attend, nor can I place you in a program without revealing your guilt.”

His mouth opens, but I hold up a hand to stop him.

“I’ve also found you a criminal therapist.”