“I forgot the star for this tree. I’ll have to run back to the store. You go ahead and finish up. It will only take me a few minutes.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to. I can—”
“I’m not letting you go to the store alone at this time of night,” insisted Nick. “It’s already been broken into once.”
Noelle glared at Nick. Why was he always treating her as if she were helpless? “There hasn’t been any more trouble since then.”
“I’m still going with you.”
“Oh, all right. But I’m driving.” Noelle thought she could retain that much control at least.
“Fine,” conceded Nick.
They made the trip in frigid silence. Noelle pulled up to the store and turned off the car.
She felt Nick’s solid presence at her back as she opened the door to the shop and walked in. The store was dark, but with surprise, Noelle realized she could hear voices in the back. She stopped abruptly and Nick ran into her. She stumbled, but he reached out and steadied her. They exchanged glances, and she realized he heard the voices, too. Noelle started to walk toward the back, but Nick stopped her. “Stay here,” he whispered and headed toward the back door.
Noelle didn’t argue. She just followed him, one hand fumbling in her purse for her cell phone. As Nick reached the back room he flipped on the lights. Noelle’s mouth dropped open in surprise. On the floor, in a circle of sleeping bags and food wrappers sat Drake, Deirdre, Ryan and Kendra.
“What’s going on here?” she asked.
The kids froze. Deirdre looked like she was about to cry and Drake looked angrier than usual. Ryan and Kendra were frozen in fear.
Noelle repeated her question and Deirdre sprang to her feet. “I’m s-so s-sorry.”
“Do your parents know where you are?” asked Nick.
“We don’t know where our parents are,” Drake answered. “Our Mom left a long time ago. Dad remarried. Ryan and Kendra’s Mom is dead, and now Dad took off too.”
“We t-tried to keep going,” Deirdre said. “But…um… Drake and I couldn’t find jobs at first and we were …um… evicted from our apartment.”
Suddenly the “break in” made sense. Kendra had probably broken the angel while playing with it, and the kids had probably just forgotten to lock the door on their way out. “Don’t you have any relatives who could help you?” Noelle asked.
“Not any that would take all four us,” said Drake. “Deirdre and I have a different mother than Ryan and Kendra.”
“And we don’t want to be split up,” Deirdre exclaimed.
“Come on,” said Drake to his siblings. “Let’s get the sleeping bags rolled up. It’s time to go.”
“But I don’t want to sleep in the car again,” whined Kendra.
“You’ve been sleeping in your car?” cried Noelle, aghast. “No, you can’t do that again.”
“You can’t want us to stay here,” growled Drake. “And don’t even think about calling social services. We’ll be long gone before they get here.”
“But you can’t…” began Noelle.
“Don’t tell us what we can and can’t do,” Drake shouted. “Our Dad shouldn’t have left us, but he did. Now we make our own decisions.”
Nick stepped in and laid a hand on Drake’s arm. “Let me make a suggestion.”
“What?” The angry teen snapped.
“You can stay at my place for now. We have to do something to get you settled, but I promise we won’t call social services yet. And if it comes to that, Noelle and I will talk it over with you before we call them.”
Drake and Deirdre stared at each other. Finally Drake said. “All right. You’ve both been good to us, so I guess we’ll trust you.”
Relief poured over Noelle. “Thank you Nick,” she said. “That’s an excellent idea.”
The children started to gather up their things so they could move to Nick’s house. While Noelle helped Kendra get on her coat, she noticed the little girl felt hot.
“Are you feeling all right, honey?” she asked.
Kendra shook her head. “My ear hurts.”
“Deirdre,” Noelle motioned the girl over. “I think she’s running a temperature, and she says her ear hurts.”
Deirdre knelt down beside her sister. “Oh, no. It could be another ear infection. I have some pain reliever for her in my bag. Deirdre got out the bottle and the tiny measuring cup that went with it. She poured out a dose and gave it to Kendra. “That should take care of her temperature, too.”
“We can take her to the doctor in the morning,” said Noelle.
“No,” Drake and Deirdre cried at once.
“What? Why not?”
“You aren’t her parent or guardian,” answered Deirdre. “You can’t give consent for her to be treated. And when they find out we don’t have a parent or guardian…”
“Then we’re back to social services stepping in,” finished Nick.
Noelle sighed. Helping these children would not be easy. “All right. Let’s get you all out to Nick’s house.”
****
The star for the Christmas tree was forgotten as they helped the children get settled at Nick's big, old farm house. Deirdre and Kendra chose one bedroom. Drake and Ryan decided on the one next door. Noelle tried to discreetly keep track of their possessions as she helped the girls unpack. She started to mentally compose a shopping list for them.
By the time they were all ready for bed, Kendra's fever had dropped, and she fell asleep. Noelle decided they could afford to wait until the next day for the doctor. She went downstairs to let Nick know the girls and Ryan were in bed for the night. He and Drake were having a very serious discussion at the kitchen table. When she came in, Drake got up and left the room with a mumbled “g'night.”
“I guess I'll go for the night, too. I'll call you tomorrow morning. We have to figure out a way to get Kendra to the doctor. Also I've started a list of things the kids need. I'll pick them up later this week.” She grabbed her coat—his coat—from the back of a kitchen chair where she’d left it. “It’s a good thing Larry decided to leave early for Florida this year.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Uncle Larry couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.”
“I don’t remember him leaving so early in the year before.”
“He leaves earlier every year. I think he has a girlfriend in Florida.”
Noelle laughed at the idea of Nick’s retired bachelor uncle living it up in the south.
“I guess this night didn’t turn out like we planned,” said Nick.
“I’ll stop by the church tomorrow and put up the star,” she assured him. “That’s the only thing left.”
“No, leave it. It’s too high. I don’t want you climbing that old ladder by yourself. I’ll do it.”
“What, the ladder’s safer for you?”
Nick squeezed her shoulder and gave her a slight shake. “Noelle, I have enough on my plate. I don’t need to worry about you falling off that ladder.”
“Why should you worry about me at all?” It wasn’t as if he cared about her...and she wasn’t about to set herself up for that fall again.
“Look, for tonight will you just promise me you won’t try to put that star up by yourself?”
“Fine.”
He tilted her chin up. “Look me in the eye and promise me.”
“I promise.” Noelle pulled back from him before he saw too much in her eyes. “I’m tired. I want to go home.”
****
Early the next morning, Nick saw Noelle’s car coming back up his driveway, and she wasn’t alone. An elderly gentleman carrying a messenger bag got out and followed her to the door.
Nick opened the door before they could knock. She looked so fresh and pretty, her hair neatly arranged; her clothes perfectly coordinated. The only thing that didn’t fit was his old coat. It made him smile to see her wearing it. It was way too big and about as far from coordinating with the
rest of her wardrobe as a person could get.
“Sorry to drop in so early,” she said as she breezed past him and into the house. “This is Dr. Cooke, a family friend.”
“What?” Drake was just coming down the stairs. His eyes turned from sleepy to wary as he saw the stranger and heard his introduction.
Noelle held up a hand to ward off Drake’s outburst. “He’s retired and he’s agreed to see our patient no questions asked, if that’s okay with you.”
Drake thought it over and then nodded. “I’ll go get her.” He turned and went back upstairs.
Nick offered a hand to the white-haired doctor. “Thank you so much for coming.”
Dr. Cooke shook Nick’s hand. “I’m happy to be of help. I understand there are some unusual circumstances to this case, and I trust Noelle to handle them. I’ve known her since she was just a child.”
“Could I get you some coffee while we wait?”
“No thanks. Noelle’s already supplied that.”
Nick guessed that she’d bought the doctor one of those expensive coffee drinks she liked so much.
It wasn’t long before Drake came down holding a sleepy Kendra. Deirdre was right behind him.
Dr. Cooke took a few moments to speak to Kendra before he started his exam. He was gentle and quick. His messenger bag, an updated version of the doctor’s little black bag, held his instruments. In no time at all, the elderly man had finished.
“You were right Noelle, it is an ear infection.” He took some sample packs of antibiotics from his bag and explained how to use them. “Has she had problems with ear infections in the past?”
“Y -yes,” offered Deirdre. “Her ears seem to ...um… bother her a lot.”
“I’m happy to help,” said Dr. Cooke “but if this little girl is prone to chronic ear infections then this is just a temporary fix. She needs to see a specialist. If these infections aren’t taken care of, it can result in a hearing loss.
Drake and Deirdre exchanged worried looks. Drake came forward and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thank you,” he said. “If you give me your name and address we’ll pay you when we can.”
Dr. Cooke waved away Drake’s offer. “This is nothing. I’d far rather see your sister get the help she needs. I’ll give you my card, but only so you can contact me if you need any further help. No payment is necessary.”
As they turned to leave, Nick pulled Noelle aside for a moment before she followed the doctor out to the car. “We’ve got to talk. Are you free for lunch around one o’clock.”
“Yes, we can walk to the café downtown if you want.”
“All right. I’ll meet you at the store.”
****
Nick arrived at the store at one. He and Noelle walked down to the café, leaving the shop in the hands of a clerk. The air was cold and crisp, but there had been no snow yet. Over lunch—a salad for her and a burger for him—they discussed the Simmons kids.
“Drake told me his father’s parents are dead,” Nick explained to Noelle “and it doesn’t sound like there’s anyone else on that side that could take them. Drake and Deirdre’s grandmother—their Mom’s mother—would take them, but he’s afraid she wouldn’t want Ryan and Kendra. She’s quite elderly and not in the best health. A pair of good teenagers like Drake and Deirdre she may be able to handle, but not two younger children.”
“Where is Drake and Deirdre’s mother?”
“They don’t know. She’s a musician and has always traveled a lot. I guess she just stopped writing and visiting years ago.”
“Do Ryan and Kendra have anyone?”
“There’s an aunt that lives in the Chicago area, but they don’t know how to contact her. And of course the older ones are afraid she’d take Ryan and Kendra, but not them.”
“Anyone else?”
“No, that’s it.”
Nick watched Noelle as she pondered the problem. Today she was wearing a red sweater with embroidered snow men on it. Whatever she wore, she always looked good. When Noelle finally spoke, he found he’d momentarily forgotten what they were talking about.
“I think we should check out the aunt.”
Nick blinked. “Oh, you mean Ryan and Kendra’s aunt.”
Noelle rolled her eyes. “Really, Nick, who else’s aunt?”
He gritted his teeth. She was already starting in on the ‘really, Nick’s.’ “How are we going to do that? We can’t exactly call her up and say ‘hey we’ve got your niece and nephew.’”
“No, there has to be a more subtle way of figuring things out. Do you have her name?”
“Yes,” he said. “What about an internet search?”
“I suppose it’s a starting place, but I think we’ll have to do more than that.”
“What do you propose?”
“I’m going to hire a private detective.”
“What?” Nick threw his hands up in the air. “Don’t you think that’s a little drastic?”
“No, I don’t Nick,” she insisted. “We have to find a place for those kids or else call social services. And if we call social services, they’ll take off.”
He could see she was becoming agitated. She was tearing her napkin to little bits and not eating. “Okay, okay. Maybe we could try a private detective, but I’ll pay for half.”
“The kids are living with you. You’re housing and feeding them. That’s your half.”
“All right.” This time, he supposed that actually made sense.
“What about the star for the tree?”
“I can stop by the church and put it up before I go home again.”
“Oh no, you don’t,” Noelle protested. “If that ladder isn’t safe enough for me to climb by myself, it isn’t safe enough for you either.”
Nick wanted to object, but decided not to. “How about we do it tonight, after you’re done working?”
“Tonight’s my night to work late.”
“How about tomorrow?”
“I have shopping to do tomorrow.”
“Shopping? Can’t you do that another night?”
“It’s for the kids. They need a lot of stuff.”
“Well, then I’m going, too.” What was he doing? He’d been trying to finish their decorating project so he wouldn’t have to see her anymore. Why was he insisting on accompanying her on, of all things, a shopping trip?
Noelle glared at him. “Shopping is my area of expertise. I can do it by myself.”
“Fine, I’ll just carry the packages, then.”
“Nick, that’s ridiculous. I can do it by myself.”
He folded his arms and matched her glare. “I’m coming along.”
Noelle muttered something under her breath about stubborn mules. Nick smiled. “What time should I pick you up?”
Nick And Noelle
Chapter Eight
He came to regret his offer to carry the packages. “Noelle, you have to stop.” Nick groaned, peeking around the towering pile of boxes he carried. He had shopping bags slung on both arms. “I can’t carry any more.”
“Let’s take this stuff out to the car,” she suggested. “Then we can hit the stores down there.” Noelle pointed to an as yet unexplored wing of the mall.
“Don’t you think you’ve bought them enough? You’ve got toys for the little ones, mp3 players for the teens, books, DVDs, more clothes than they can wear in a week and enough fancy soap and shampoo and stuff to last them until they’re in their thirties.”
She looked up at him with sad eyes. “But they have so little Nick. I can’t help it.”
He sighed. How could he fault her for having a compassionate and generous nature? “All right, let’s take these out to the car. But only that one group of stores after that and this pack horse is finished.”
“Thank you, Nick.”
They’d decided to take Noelle’s car since it had more appropriate storage space than Nick’s old truck. While they were stowing the shopping bags in the trunk, her cell phone rang. Noelle checked the caller I
.D. “It’s the private investigator,” she announced before flipping open the phone.
Nick finished with the bags while Noelle talked. After a bit, she hung up and turned to him. “Bad news. These people aren’t parent material. The investigator said the aunt is married to a real estate developer. They’re childless by choice and enjoy a real jet set life style. What are we going to do now?”
He looked down at her. She seemed ready to cry. “Don’t give up. We’ll pray about it and see where God takes us next.”
She nodded. “Of course. God has it all under control. I shouldn’t forget that.” In spite of her brave words, Nick could see her chin quiver—a sure sign tears were close. But she wouldn’t let them fall. Once again, he felt a surge of irritation that she wouldn’t share herself with him.
She could hold back the tears, but she couldn’t completely hide how she felt. She stood before him, the emotion naked on her face making her even more beautiful. He longed to take her in his arms and hold her close. But he reminded himself that she didn’t want his comfort. He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“It will be all right Noelle. They have us.”
“But we’re not legal guardians. And we’re too young to be parents to them, Nick. You know we are.”
He liked the way she said “we.” He liked the idea of being part of a family with Noelle. In spite of that, he knew what she said was true. The Simmons kids needed a real guardian.
“It’s late. Let’s sleep on it. We’ll talk about it again tomorrow.”
Noelle nodded. “All right. I don’t think I want to hit that last group of stores any more. Let’s just go home.”
Noelle drove them back to her shop where Nick had left his truck. They divided up the packages. He took the things the kids needed immediately, and she kept the things they’d decided to give them as Christmas presents.
****
A few days later, Noelle took Monday afternoon off at the store. She knew the kids had an early release from school that day. When the bus dropped them off at Nick’s house, she was there with shopping bags full of cookie ingredients. She was glad Nick wasn’t there. His kindness and concern toward the Simmons kids made him even more attractive than before. It was becoming harder and harder to pretend she didn’t care about him.
Nick and Noelle Page 6