Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Reputation
Z
Marin returned the next morning.
Then the next.
She told herself she was staying because the money was good. She needed rent, groceries, and the medical bills her younger sister had left behind when she died. Every dollar mattered.
But the truth became harder to ignore.
Noah waited near the staircase each morning.
He still didn't speak, yet he communicated with surprising precision. He pointed to colors, moved objects when he disliked them, and tugged Marin's sleeve when he wanted her attention.
She began painting little scenes around his bedroom: a lighthouse, a harbor full of boats, and a sky scattered with stars.
Noah chose every detail.
Gideon began appearing at breakfast, although he usually left before the food arrived. He asked Marin whether she needed anything and listened when she said no.
One afternoon, she found him repairing a broken wooden sailboat at the kitchen table.
“You're doing it wrong,” she said.
He looked up.
“I'm sorry?”
“The mast goes in before you attach the sail. Otherwise, you'll tear it.”
“I own three shipping companies.”
“And yet you're losing a fight with a toy boat.”
Freddy, passing the doorway, abruptly became fascinated by the ceiling.
Gideon stared at Marin for two seconds before laughing.
It was not a polished laugh. It sounded rusty, almost unfamiliar.
She sat beside him and showed him how to repair the boat.
“You know,” she said, “you could hire someone to do that.”
“I could hire someone to do almost anything.”
“Except fix your son's heart.”
The amusement disappeared from his face.
Marin regretted the words immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” Gideon set down the tiny screwdriver. “You're right.”
He told her that after his wife, Elena, died, he had buried himself in work. He had believed providing security and wealth would protect Noah from the world.
Instead, his son had spent two years surrounded by guards, doctors, and people too frightened of Gideon to speak honestly.
“I thought I was keeping him safe,” he said.
“Sometimes keeping someone safe means letting them be scared without being alone.”
Gideon looked at her as though she had opened a window in a room he had forgotten was closed.
That evening, Marin stayed late to finish the lighthouse.
When she finally left, Gideon accompanied her to the front door.
“Dinner tomorrow?” he asked.
“Is this a job interview?”
“No.”
“A business meeting?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
He hesitated.
“An invitation.”
Marin smiled faintly.
“Ask me again when your son approves.”
From the staircase, Noah appeared, holding the repaired sailboat.
He placed it in Marin’s hands, then pointed at Gideon.
Marin looked between them.
“Is that a yes?”
May you like
Noah nodded vigorously.
For once, Gideon Rourke seemed to have no idea what to say.
