AllFreeNovel
Share Us
***
Hours later, Lucas was still at Joe’s desk nowhere near solving his problem with Ella or the problem with the restaurant when Martha walked back in. Her salt and pepper hair sat in a mess of wild curls that bounced with each step she took.
“Martha, this really isn’t a good time.”
She slapped her hand down on the desk, and he looked up past her cluster of silver rings to see a stack of crisp twenty-dollar bills underneath. It was a sweet gesture and while he appreciated it he knew Joe would be a different story.
“You know Joe won’t take charity,” Lucas said.
“This isn’t charity. This is money I owe him. I’m sure you can find it on an IOU in that box over there.” She motioned to the shoebox that was filled with scraps of paper. “If I’d known the old geezer was suffering for cash I would’ve paid him back ages ago.”
“That’s really nice, Martha, but I’m afraid he’s going to need more than hundred-and-twenty dollars.” If it was only a hundred-and-twenty-bucks then Lucas could have given him the money a week ago and he wouldn’t be pulling his hair out trying to find another solution.
“I know,” Martha said. “That’s why I made a few phone calls.”
Lucas sat up in his seat intrigued.
“Line up!” she called out the door. Suddenly a line of people appeared in the doorway. A line that extended all the way outside. People of all ages, holding cash and check books. “Okay let’s get started, shall we?” Martha said to Lucas then turned to the man at the door. “You first.”
The man walked up. “Name’s Skip Harrington. I owe Joe thirty-two dollars and twenty-nine cents. My IOU should be in that box.”
Lucas stared at the man and the line, trying to comprehend what was going on when Martha snapped at him. “We don’t have all day, and these people have places to be. Chop chop.”
Lucas grabbed the box and opened it, the scraps of paper practically pouring out the top. He started sorting through them and found one for Skip Harrington. He pulled it out and wrote paid across it then placed it aside.
“Next,” Martha said.
Frank walked up to the desk, and Lucas smiled at the cab driver. “Frank, it’s good to see you.”
“Likewise, young man. Your grandfather has done a lot for me over the years, and it’s time I pay him back.” Frank handed Lucas an envelope, and Lucas’s eyes widened at the stack of hundreds.
“This is a lot of money.”
“I would’ve lost my house if it wasn’t for Joe. He bailed me out, and now I’m happy to return the favor. He’s a proud man, your grandfather, but he’s a good man. You can learn a lot from him.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” Lucas admitted.
“What’s taking so long?” Martha called out.
Frank laughed. “I hope this isn’t the last time I see you.”
“It won’t be.”
Frank shook his hand, and Lucas placed his envelope to the side. Martha sent the next person over, and Lucas dug out IOU after IOU, marking paid and writing down loans Joe never recorded.
His grandfather had helped so many people through the years. Lucas had people handing him money dating back to the seventies. Lucas thought Joe was lonely, but how could he be lonely in a town surrounded by so many people who cared about him?
Joe lost his son to his own stubbornness, but he became a father to the entire town, taking care of the people the best way he knew how—by lending them money and never expecting it back.
After a couple hours the line finally dwindled, and Lucas was about to close the empty box when Vinny Moretti walked through the door.
Chapter 22
The next morning Ella sat at a table at The Local Bean with Cami and Krissy, catching them up on her drama filled life. She hadn’t heard from Lucas since she’d slapped him and walked away.
She had no idea if he still believed she was the one who made those flyers, but since he hadn’t sought her out, she assumed he did.
She missed him.
