"I moved here from St. Louis to get my doctorate in botany," Noah said, "So I've been here a while. Long enough to feel almost like a native, at any rate. I like the temperate climate, cool and rainy--it beats the heat and drought of a Midwest summer. And plants love it here. So I stayed. I can't imagine living in LA."
He stirred his tea. "One of my brothers lives in Boston. I've been there visiting and while it had its charms, it didn't hold enough appeal to keep me there."
If he had stayed, would he have been able to talk some sense into Ben, get him to bend just a little, enough to have kept him out of the trouble he was in now? Noah turned the idea over in his head. Probably not; Ben had always had an unyielding, unbending nature, and nothing he would've said or done would've made a difference. But still, the thought hung on.