Harbor Street (Cedar Cove #5)(42)

“Two weeks is all?”

David leaned forward, his eyes filled with hope. “Two weeks.”

“A bank won’t lend it to you?”

“No. I’ve tried again and again, but with my credit rating, they refuse to even talk to me.”

“Oh.”

“Charlotte, if you could help me, I’d be forever in your debt.” He picked up his drink and drained the little that remained. “It could possibly save my life.”

Their lunch arrived just then, but Charlotte’s normally healthy appetite had vanished. She smiled her appreciation at their waitress and reached for her tea, needing to think carefully about this. “Save your life?” she asked, resuming their conversation.

David turned and looked out over the cove. “I don’t want to get into the medical aspects,” he said in a low voice. “It’s rather complicated….”

“No, please tell me.”

“I need this money so badly, I’ve—I’ve considered—” he paused, dropping his head “—suicide.”

Charlotte’s hand flew to her heart and she gasped.

“If I don’t have the surgery…”

Charlotte hadn’t recovered from the first shock and now there was a second one. “The money is for surgery?”

David nodded. “Funny, isn’t it? No one’s ever asked me why I need the five thousand dollars. My father assumes it’s to pay off gambling debts. That’s just like him. Sad as it is to say, my own father chooses to think the worst of me.”

“You need surgery?” Her mind was reeling with this information. Surely Ben would have given him the money if he’d known that.

David’s eyes were weary. “I won’t humble myself any more than I have already. You know what hospitals are like. They want the money up front before they’ll agree to do any kind of procedure.”

“But surely you have medical insurance.”

“Some,” he agreed. “But not enough. I need money to pay the balance.”

“But, David, your father would want to help you if he knew the reason you’re so desperate for this loan.”

He smiled as if she’d made a joke. “You don’t know my father as well as you think. I was never his favorite. Dad always saw the bad in me instead of the good. I suppose I gave him plenty of reason but…we’ve never had much of a relationship.”

Charlotte could see that Ben’s problems with his son were far more complex than she’d realized. For one thing, this wasn’t a recent falling-out, as she’d assumed. She felt sad for them both. Considering the disappointment Will had been to her in the past few years, she understood far better than she cared to admit.

“Dad would be so angry if he knew you gave me the money,” he said, dejection overtaking his voice once again. “I can’t let you do it, Charlotte.”

“You can’t?”

“I don’t want to risk damaging your marriage to my father.”

“Nonsense. Once I tell him, Ben will understand. Besides, it’s my money and I can do with it as I please.”

David didn’t respond.

Charlotte bent down for her purse and pulled out her checkbook. She’d finished writing the check and ripped it free when Justine stepped up to the table.

She glared at David. “Grandma! What are you doing?”

David raised his hand for the check. “I don’t believe this is any of your concern.”

Charlotte had just given him the check when Justine jerked it out of his hand. When she saw the amount and the recipient, she scowled darkly.

David stood. “Give me that,” he demanded.

Then Ben was there, storming across the dining room. What happened next was embarrassing to both Charlotte and her granddaughter. Everyone started talking at once, providing a spectacle for the entire restaurant. Before she could protest, Ben was escorting Charlotte outside, David trailing after them.

“How did you know I was here?” she asked, her cheeks red with mortification. She drew her coat—which Justine had sent after her, via one of the waitresses—more closely around her.

“Justine phoned me.”

“Oh, dear.”

“She was worried. She said David had been drinking quite a bit. I knew immediately why he asked to see you and told her to make sure you didn’t give him a check.”

“But Ben, he’s ill! He needs medical treatment.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed on his son. “It’s a lie.”

“But…”

“David, for once in your life own up to what you’ve done. Tell her the truth.”

Eyes wide, Charlotte stared at Ben’s son. After an awkward moment, David shrugged. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

Her face burned. Like they said, there was no fool like an old fool. “Oh, Ben,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, so very sorry.”

“Sweetheart,” he said, slowly shaking his head. “It isn’t your fault. My son is a master manipulator. He fed you a lie, the same way he’s been feeding me lies through the years. David is willing to say or do whatever it takes to get money. I’m ashamed to call him my son and even more ashamed that he’s involved you in this.”