Chapter 20
"That Noah Parker is a great man," Aunt Vivian said as Grace put on her coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and prepared to leave.
She had already worked with Noah that afternoon, the last period in school, with the high school kids.
They were scheduled to work with all of the rest of them the next day, which was going to be an extremely busy day, but she had something she had to do first.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Aunt Vivian said.
"I was thinking about what you said about Noah. He really is a good man."
"I just wanted you to know. After all, sometimes we have a tendency to drag our feet, and opportunities that land right in our lap slip out from between our fingers and we don't realize what we've lost until it's gone."
"Are you speaking from experience?" Grace stopped and looked hard at her aunt. It seemed like she was saying more than what the words coming out of her mouth would indicate.
"Well I guess I've never really talked about it, but I was engaged once, and I gave it up for my career.
I regretted it the rest of my life. He went on to marry someone super nice, and he had a great family.
Still does actually. And I'm alone. I have you now, which is almost as good as a family, but I always regretted my choice.
A career is cold company when you're my age. "
"I understand."
"I'm not sure you do. I definitely had financial security, I had accolades from people who appreciated me.
My work was good, and I had a lot of people think that I was the best at what I did.
But... Looking back over my life, it doesn't compare at all to having children and grandchildren and a family that supports you and loves you. I wish I would've chosen differently."
"Men like Noah don't come along very often.
" Grace believed that with all her heart.
She'd never met another man like him. He was sensitive and kind, but strong and confident as well.
And he was a protector, a provider, and most importantly of all of that, he loved Jesus.
And he trusted God. He had no fear of the future, and he encouraged her to have a better walk in her Christian life as well.
If she were giving someone advice, she would advise them to snatch a man like that up and never let him go.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay tonight?"
"I'm sure," she said, knowing that it was true.
Talking with Noah had given her a confidence that she hadn't had before.
Of course, all she was doing this evening was talking with a group of college students as a guest speaker.
Thankfully, one of her emails had been an invitation, a late one, since someone else had canceled, and a local college had wanted to see if she could fill in.
She was going to play a few notes, probably, but nothing major.
Nothing hard, and not for a paying audience.
Although she would be paid for her appearance, and hopefully it would be enough to replace Noah's furnace.
With a last wave and goodbye to her aunt, she headed out into the cold.
One of the reasons she'd taken this job was because it paid enough, and the other was because it was close by.
A private college in the next town. Somehow, they'd gotten wind that she was around, and that played right into her hands.
It wasn't nearly as difficult as what she thought, although she did freeze up for a moment when her fingers touched the keys.
Then, she breathed through it and just prayed that whether she messed up or whether she spoke beautifully, that God would use whatever she did for His glory.
That took all the pressure off of her, and she could do what she knew she was able to do without thinking about how it might turn out.
It was two hours, and the students were interested and attentive.
They were all hoping to be professional musicians, and those were the people she liked to talk to the best. People who were taking a music class just because they had to were no fun to talk to, although sometimes on the rare occasion that she had spoken with them, she tried to think of what she could say that would spark an interest in music for them.
She had no idea whether she'd ever been successful or not, but she had a good feeling about this evening as she said her last goodbyes to the students who now felt like casual friends and got in her car to drive home.
It was late, almost midnight, when she arrived in Mistletoe Meadows, and she parked her car where she usually did, but did not go in the house.
She had requested to be paid in cash, and the university had complied with her demands.
She had an envelope full of greenbacks, and she wanted to put it where Noah would find it in the morning.
It might be a little bit terrible, but she had noticed the combination that Noah had used when he had unlocked the store, and she thought she could remember it well enough to unlock it herself.
Nerves swirled in her stomach, because she didn't want to get caught. She was hoping she could drop it off without anyone seeing her. She didn't really want Noah to know that she was the one who had provided the money.
She had scribbled "furnace" over the top of the envelope, so he would know exactly what it was for, and she tried to picture how happy and excited he would be to find it.
He would thank God for providing it, and only God and she would know that God had used her to help.
After all, what were the odds that she would have an opportunity to make that much cash that close to where she was, on the exact evening that she needed it? It had to be God.
She was so excited and happy that she had made it to the door and had almost started punching numbers in when she realized there were shadows moving inside.
A light flickered, a face was illuminated, and it was not Noah's.
Her eyes widened.
Was his store being broken into?
She hadn't quite gotten her wits about her to grab her phone and call the police when another face came into the light, looking down at something, the mouth moving, and then as though it sensed her presence, the face looked up, and she looked into Noah's eyes.
His eyes widened, and something like panic entered into them, and then he almost seemed resigned.
He shifted around and came to the door.
She wanted to run, but she couldn't do that. Then she would have to explain why she was there and why she ran on top of it.
She wanted to hide the envelope, but that was the whole point of her visit. So she just stood there, doing nothing, as he opened the door and looked both ways before he said, "Can you come in?"
He didn't ask her what she wanted or why she was there.
She didn't think about that, but just stepped in the store while he shut the door behind her.
"Is everything okay?" he asked immediately, a warm hand coming down on her shoulder. She felt the heat through her coat.
"Everything's fine. What are you doing here rustling around in the dark?" she asked.
Then she realized there were bags on the floor by their feet, which was probably why he hadn't moved her further into the room. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could see that there were at least five grocery bags.
"Where were you grocery shopping at?"
He took a deep breath and then blew it out, and then said, "I have a confession to make."
Yeah. She felt her stomach drop and her heart stop. She had thought that he was too good to be true. He seemed like such a great man. But, he was harboring a terrible secret.
"Okay?"
What could the secret be? She couldn't think of anything that she would believe that Noah was doing that was wrong. But it had to be. What else could the explanation be?
"You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone."
"Unless you're doing something illegal."
She was not going to hide information from the cops.
"And I can't lie."
"No. I would never ask you to lie."
That made her heart tremble and start thumping in a regular rhythm again. That was the Noah that she knew. The one who would never ask her to lie. That was the one who she wanted to be with, not this secret hiding person who was doing something underhanded that he didn't want anyone to know.
"I'm the Secret Saint."
He said it so quickly and so softly that she almost missed it, and her mind was racing with so many other things it took a moment to process.
"You're the Secret Saint?" she said, her brows going up.
She swallowed. No wonder the Secret Saint wasn't helping him with his furnace. Or his roof. No wonder. And no wonder he had no money. He was probably spending it all helping other people.
"You are the Secret Saint?"
He nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I kept it from you.
There aren't very many people in town who know.
I took over from someone who was doing it but had gotten married and was starting a family, and I was the perfect person to pass the torch to because I had no family, and all my siblings were moving out.
I was not likely to get caught in the middle of the night doing something and have people ask questions. "
"Did I see someone else with you?" she asked, looking around his shoulder.
"You did. I have a helper. He could be considered a second Secret Saint, although he doesn't live in Mistletoe Meadows and... I would really like to not tell you his name."
"All right. You don't have to. I believe you."
That was easy. Because he had always been honest with her, and he had given her the feeling of safety and security enough that she trusted him. Everything made sense, and there were no holes in his story.
"I'm not sure I deserve that, but I appreciate it."
"Of course. And it makes sense to me now why the Secret Saint wasn't helping with your roof or your furnace."
"Right?" he asked, a little grin lifting the corners of his mouth.
"That's right."
She loosened her fingers just a bit, and then, to hide the fact that when she dropped the envelope, it was going to make a sound, she shifted closer and did the only thing she could think of to do. Reached up with her other hand, pulled his head close, and touched her lips to his cheek.
"Good night." She turned around swiftly and walked out the door. She knew he would be looking on the floor because his grocery bags were down there. He would see the envelope. He would almost certainly deduce that it was her, but... He wasn't the only one who had secrets.