Gabriel’s eyes came back up, and his right hand wiped off a stray tear before he answered. “Money, obviously. Five thousand per bid, but only if the opposing bid was accepted. It got the creditors off us for a month. I’ve got the house on the market, and Ashley turned in her car.”

“And when he takes over, you’ll get a better position?”

Gabriel nodded. “He hasn’t told me which.”

“I hate to tell you this, but Charles is going to fire you. He won’t trust you now.” Rene thought about the situation. “How much do you need to get out of debt?”

Gabriel had gone a pasty white. “Seventy thousand.”

“The house will cover that, but you’ll need a place to stay and a job. And you need to put Ashley in college. She needs to start figuring out what she wants to do. Tell her to go to my mother and ask for a scholarship. There’s nothing my mother loves more than to send a young woman to school. I’ll let Mom know Ashley’s coming. Tell Ashley to stop the tough-girl routine and be nice.”

“Your mom would do that?”

“Yes. She’s done it many times. It’s one of the joys of her life.” He had no doubt his mother would continue to help people who asked her.

Gabriel stared at him, obviously confused. “But I hurt you.”

“And if it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else. Charles would have found a way. At least you did it to help your family. I’ll put you in touch with some people I know who might be able to help you find a job.”

“Why would you do that?”

Because punishing Gabriel wouldn’t fix a thing. Because he had no idea what he would have done in the kid’s place, so he wasn’t going to judge him.

“It’s hard to be the head of the family, and when you are, you cannot allow your decisions to be made in anger. Are you angry at your mother?”

“So angry. How could she put all of this on me?”

“She was supposed to protect you. She was supposed to be the strong one, but she left it all in your lap right when you were barely out of college and should have been starting your life. Of course you’re angry. But you’re trying to find a way out because no matter how angry she makes you, she’s your family and you love her. That’s what it means to be the head of the family. That’s why Charles is going to fail. He works from a place of constant rage, and you cannot guide an organization like that, much less head a family.”

“I’m going to be the reason you lose your house,” Gabriel pointed out.