would happen soon. It would save him $2,500 a month, not to mention the relief of not having to deal with her anymore. But he’d been wishing that for the past five years, ever since the divorce. He was beginning to suspect that as long as she had him to pay a hefty chunk of her monthly bills, she’d be unlikely to tie the knot with someone else. She wasn’t the type to part with a freebie. Besides, she saw his financial support as punishment for the fact that he’d never been able to love her—and, truth be told, he saw it in the same light. That was why he’d agreed to that amount and why he helped her out as often as he did. Guilt demanded it.
“Someday,” he muttered as he picked up.
“Someday what?” Noelle asked.
Someday he’d be rid of her. But he couldn’t say that. “Nothing. What’s going on? Why have you been blowing up my phone?”
“Why are you ignoring my calls?” she countered.
“Because I can’t think of any reason you’d need to talk to me. We are divorced, remember? And with all the money I’ve given you over the past few years—in the past several months alone—I’m a good six months ahead in my payments. That pretty much leaves you with no excuse.”
“It’s my water heater,” she said.
“Your what?”
“My water heater.”
She’d found something new to complain about? “What’s wrong with it?”
“It went out on me. I can’t take a shower or do laundry or dishes. I don’t have any hot water.”
He rocked back in his chair. “Then...shouldn’t you be looking up a plumber instead of bothering your ex-husband?”
“Why are you being rude? I’m calling because you happen to own a solar manufacturing plant. Can’t you give me a deal on a solar system? So I can get my hot water bill down?”
“I manufacture photovoltaic panels, Noelle. They run air conditioners and other electrical appliances. Anything that requires gas is a whole separate thing.” They’d been married, for God’s sake, and she still didn’t understand what he did for a living?
“You have connections for hot water systems, too. You put one in for Brandon and Olivia’s neighbor.”
Why had they told her he’d done that? “Mrs. Stein is nearly eighty and she lost her husband a year ago. I saw that she got a deal. That’s all.”
“You bought it from the manufacturer at wholesale and let her have it at cost. And your photovoltaic installers put it in for her.”
“Because she could use the break. Brandon asked me to help her out. Occasionally, I do favors like that for my brother.”
“Come on. You didn’t do it for Brandon’s sake.”
Irritation clawed deeper, causing his eye to twitch. “Of course I did. We’ve been getting along great,” he said, and that was true. He and Brandon had once been rivals. They hadn’t met until they were in high school, when Brandon’s mother married Kyle’s father. Two large-and-in-charge boys so close in age would understandably have a difficult period of adjustment. But the dynamic was different these days. In spite of everything that’d happened back then, and with Noelle and Olivia since, Kyle cared about Brandon. He got the impression Brandon cared, too. At least, he heard from his stepbrother quite a bit. He also saw Brandon and Olivia every Friday at Black Gold Coffee. They’d joined the close-knit group of friends Kyle had grown up with.
“Quit lying to yourself,” she spat. “You’d do anything for Olivia. The way you stare after her when she leaves a room—or you avoid looking at her if you’re in the same room—makes it so obvious. They’d see it themselves, except they don’t want to see it.”
His blood pressure shot a little higher. “Fine,” he said. “You want a solar hot water system? I’ll offer you the same deal I gave Brandon and Olivia’s neighbor.”
She seemed startled that he’d capitulated so suddenly. But there wasn’t any point in refusing. She’d never be able to afford it. Besides, he didn’t want to talk about Olivia. What Noelle said was true. Olivia was her sister—which was a big part of the reason Noelle had gone after him in the first place—but Olivia had been, and still was, the one great love of his life. She’d been with him before she’d ever been with Brandon.
“That’s better,” Noelle said. “So...how much will it cost? I have nearly $250 in my account.”
She stated that amount proudly. She wasn’t good at saving money, so this did signify quite a feat. But, as usual, she was completely clueless—or, more likely, calculatedly clueless. “That’s what I thought,” he said.
“What?”
“You don’t have enough to buy even a traditional water heater.”
“I don’t?” She sounded dismayed. “How much are they?”
“A decent one will run you eight hundred or more.”
“And how much is solar?”
“Nearly three grand.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she cried. “How do you expect me to pay that?”
“I don’t expect you to pay it. You need to drive over to the hardware store and see what’s in your price range.”
“In other words, you don’t give a shit whether I’m in a bind.”
His head was beginning to pound... “I’m sorry your water heater died, but it’s not my problem.”
“You can’t help me?”
Morgan tapped the glass between her workstation and his office and made a face at him.
He waved her away. “What do you expect me to do?”
“A solar hot water system can’t cost you that much,” she replied.
“It can and it does. Check the retail price and you’ll see it’s around six grand. Wholesale would be about half of that.”
“Then maybe you can put one in and let me make payments.”
“We’re divorced! And you’re only renting. Call your landlord.”
“Harry won’t do anything. He’s letting me stay here for a lot less than he’d charge someone else. Why do you think he gave me such a good deal?”
“Because he’s your cousin?”
“Because in order to get that deal, I have to take care of all maintenance and repairs.”
“Then it’s on you.”
“If you can’t get me solar, can you at least help me pay for a regular water heater? From what you just told me, I only need another $550. What’re a few hundred bucks to you? You make so much more than I do!”
