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Lance could feel his uncle’s attention waning. He took a deep breath and willed his racing heart to slow.
“Finally, the Foundation supports a local children’s home. These children have failed out of foster homes and have nowhere else to go. If we close it down, they’ll get lost in a system that doesn’t know how to provide for them. Kids like my buddy, Brandon, won’t have a home. We can’t do that to them.”
That was it. His heartfelt argument. He only hoped that his uncle could see the truth. New Hope deserved their help. He’d never seen a community so closely knit, so ready to help a stranger. Even hundreds of miles away, he could feel a string connected from his heart to that town. It pulled at his insides, willing him to come back into the safety of its arms.
“I’m not a monster, you know.” Uncle Matthias unfolded his arms and rubbed a hand on his chin. He was perfectly shaven, like every day. Lance wondered if he did it himself with a straight razor every single morning. “I don’t like shutting down our charity. But the truth of the matter is that this is an area we can no longer afford.”
“But that’s not totally true.” Lance perked up. He’d been going over the company’s numbers a dozen times in the past week. “With the tax breaks the company gets from supporting this foundation, it’s barely a nuisance.”
He dug into his pocket for the sheet he’d folded up and stuffed in there yesterday before the party. It was the argument he’d meant to make to his uncle, but never got the chance. Finding the correct piece of paper, he shoved it across the table and into his uncle’s hands.
Matthias did him the favor of pulling on an old pair of wire glasses and looking down at the small print. His eyes grew wider as he studied it, until finally he put the paper down and looked up at his nephew. “These are the numbers from our accounts?”
Lance jumped up and pointed to the charts. “The very same. I had accounting pull them five days ago.”
“And you’re saying we can afford to keep the foundation open?”
“Yes!” He jumped up and grinned. “This is what I’ve been trying to tell you. The numbers are clear.”
Uncle Matthias looked back down at the paper and considered them for a full sixty seconds of agonizing silence. All Lance wanted to do was shout, jump in the air, or even do a small fist pump. But he held perfectly still, barely daring to breathe for fear of disrupting his uncle’s concentration.
“Alright,” he finally said. “I’ll let you keep your foundation. You’ve won yourself a deal.”
Lance yelped. At the same time, his uncle raised his eyebrows at him and he felt blood rush to his ears.
Uncle Matthias dropped the crinkled paper and smiled. For the first time in Lance’s memory, it was a joyful one. “Go spread the good cheer.”
“Yes, sir.” He spun to head out the door, but not before his uncle’s voice stopped him.
“Oh, and son?” He pulled off his glasses and began to wipe them with a microfiber cloth. “I’m proud of you and your work. You’re going to be a wonderful partner.”
Lance could hardly breathe as he smiled and backed out of the office. It was everything he’d been working for these past ten years. He couldn’t believe how this holiday had taken a turn for the better. There was only one person left who could use some extra cheer.
He only hoped she’d listen to him.
Chapter Fourteen
The city park was once again alive with lights and colors and songs. The whole town had shown up for Christmas morning in the park. Children ran back and forth, showing off their newest toys and gifts from Santa. Adults loaded up on free coffee, the steaming hot cups warming their frozen hands. The local barbershop quartet sang carols from under the bandstand. There were fun and games everywhere Gemma looked, enough distraction to drive away the winter blues that had settled in her heart the past few days. At least - for a f
ew minutes, anyway.
“You’re really going?” Laurie looped her arm around hers and pulled her in tight. “You’re going to California?”
Gemma squeezed her hand. “It’s just an interview. But yes, I’m going. Mom was right. If there’s no career for me here, I need to branch out. I can’t be afraid of change anymore.”
Chloe took her other arm and smiled fiercely. “Good for you. Our Gemma bird is flying the nest. I’m proud of you. But, I’m not ashamed to admit I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss both of you so much.” She passed their stroll and pulled them both into a hug. “Work just won’t be the same without my ladies. I am so incredibly lucky to have both of you in my life.” She hugged them again and then pulled away to wipe at the tears clinging to her lashes.
“Have you heard from Lance?” Laurie asked meekly, watching her friend for her reaction.
Gemma grimaced and took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll be happy if I never hear from him again. He wasn’t who I thought he was.”
“The boy lied,” Chloe replied. She shrugged in her puff jacket and sighed. “I won’t deny that. He messed up big time. But I don’t think he was all bad.”
“Yeah, it took him a while to warm up, but when he did, I think it was genuine,” Laurie added. “He really liked you. No one could fake emotion like that.”
“Girls…” Gemma held her hands up. It was a beautiful, crisp December morning. She was surrounded by people she loved. She didn’t want to be thinking about him at this moment. “Let’s not. He was a mistake, and I learned my lesson. Time to move on.”
