Chapter 9

Tom told him.

“Sounds great. My housing allowance will cover that with room to spare. I’d love to take a look at it as soon as I can.”

“Would right now be okay, then?” Tom said. “We can go in my car.”

“I’ll stay here and visit with Nate,” Noah said. “That way, the car won’t be so crowded.”

Tom said, “Follow me,” and led them through the kitchen, out the backdoor, and to a garage behind the house, where he opened the door to one of the two bays. “Give me a minute to back the car out; this garage was built in the twenties and modern cars have wider doors than cars did in those days, so it isn’t as easy to get in and out of the passenger door as it should be.”

Tom disappeared inside the garage and reappeared a minute later at the wheel of a late-model Jaguar sedan.

“Tom’s mother keeps giving him her old cars,” Quentin said, when he saw Chris’ reaction to the Jag.

“Lucky Tom,” Chris said.