13. Noah
NOAH
I t was a long night, and it’s been an even longer day.
Add the fact that I went straight to the precinct after that double homicide and haven’t been home yet—to eat, sleep, or throw myself in the shower—it feels more like a very long year.
But instead of heading in the direction of home, I make a beeline for Lottie’s bakery. That’s where Lyla Nell is, and that’s where Lottie is. And more than I need sleep, food, or anything else, I need my girls. That’s where my home truly is. Wherever they are, that’s where it is.
The bakery is bright against the dark, snowy night, each window festooned with hearts, cherubs, and the promise of something sweet inside. As soon as I step through the door, the warmth and scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wrap around me like a hug.
“ Noah ,” my mother sings out from behind the register.
The place has a smattering of customers, mostly seated and huddled over something delicious. I spot Lottie filling a refrigerated shelf next to my mother with an assortment of treats and head their way.
“How are you feeling, Mom?” I ask as I step up to the counter. “Are you sure you should be working? Your teeth must be in pain.”
Not to mention, a splintered smile won’t bode well for business.
“Oh, I’ve never been better,” she says, stepping in close. “The dentist gave me my smile back this morning.” She flashes a wide, toothy grin, and an electrical jolt just runs through me at the sight.
“ Geez ,” I growl so loud the windows shake. “What the—” A thought hits me. “Okay, those have got to be some sort of temporary dentures, right? Don’t tell me that’s all they had to give you. I can’t believe they’d let you run around looking like a character from a horror movie. It’s not Halloween. Just point me to their office, and I’ll have a word.”
And maybe I’ll fire a round into the place so they can’t practice for a good long while.
Lottie swoops in, shaking her head at me, and I can’t help but note that my mother looks crestfallen.
“It’s just typical of you, Noah,” Mom growls right back.
“I tried to warn you,” Lottie says in a sing-song voice as she lands a plate of fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookies in front of me. Lottie knows I can’t resist them. Just the way I can’t resist her.
“I should have expected it from you, Noah,” Mom growls once again. “I do one nice thing for myself, and you have to poop all over my parade,” she continues. “I get it—people like me can’t afford the finer things in life; therefore, you think I shouldn’t have them. Well, guess what? I do now. These teeth are mine, and they’re permanent . You’ll just have to get used to the fact that your mother is living like a one-percenter now, and it’s all thanks to Essex.”
My eyes widen at the mention of his name.
Despite the fact he’s married to Lottie, despite the fact we’ve more or less made amends to our checkered past, there is still a part of me that suspects he has a nefarious vendetta against me.
So I stole a girlfriend from him once in high school.
So what? The girl turned out to be psychotic. He should have penned me a thank you. But instead, I keep getting things like this.
“What does Everett have to do with this?” I direct the question to Lottie, because, clearly, my mother cannot be trusted.
“Everett let her know last night that she might be compensated by Romeo and Juliette’s company for her teeth.”
“Was this before or after Romeo and Juliette were skewered like marshmallows?” Normally, I wouldn’t speak so glibly about the dead, but my blood is boiling, and my mind is spinning in ten thousand directions at once.
“Well, of course, it was after.” Mom shakes her head at me as if I should have known as much.
“Of course,” I mutter, pinching my eyes shut for a moment. “And how did you pay for this in the interim?” Because I know for a fact the dead aren’t about to chip in. But knowing Everett, he can squeeze a dime out of both the living and the dead with his legal acumen. Again, nefarious.
Lottie shakes her head frenetically. “You don’t want to know.”
But my mother waves her off. “You’d be proud of me. I managed to negotiate a pretty decent price. They wanted one hundred and forty, but I got them to come all the way down to seventy-five. Even though, in the long run, it’s not my money I’m spending. You know me—I had to get the very best deal.”
Just watching her mouth open and close with a burst of yellow in between makes my stomach churn.
“Wait.” I shake my head. “You got those caps put in for seventy-five bucks? This is starting to make a lot more sense. Where is your dentist located—some back alley in Leeds?”
Leeds just so happens to be the smarmy town south of Honey Hollow, and they probably have more fake gold teeth per capita than anywhere in the world.
“No, silly. I got them done right here in town. And it’s not seventy-five dollars. Heavens no. These are solid gold, Noah. I wanted nothing but the best.”
“It was seven thousand five hundred?” My blood pressure spikes again.
Lottie hitches her thumb up, and my eyes widen to the point I think my head is about to explode—and I wish it would.
“Seventy-five thousand , Noah,” my mother snaps. “And I happen to think I was worth every last dime.”
“She put it on her credit card,” Lottie says with a sigh, and my eyes are back to wishing they could pop right out of my skull.
“Mother, that bill will be due in less than a month,” I point out, obviously to someone who has no idea how a credit card—or the monetary system in general—works. And you might be able to add teeth to that list, too. “I’m going to have to mortgage my cabin for this,” I say, stunned.
Alex just had a newborn, and he’s been saving for a bigger home. There’s no way I’d even think of asking him to pitch in.
A customer heads over, and my mother snarls at Lottie. “Why don’t you take him home and do whatever it is the two of you do to make yourselves feel better? I’ll help Lily and Effie close up shop.” She bares another toothy grin my way. “Don’t you worry, Noah. I’m sure Essex will have a grand payout check to me in no time. And who knows? I might even get enough to keep myself in gold body parts for the rest of my life. I’ve been meaning to get my knees done,” she trills as she drifts off to help a woman and her child.
No sooner does she welcome the customers to the bakery than the kid breaks out in tears. Thankfully, Lily steps in.
“Where’s Lyla Nell?” I ask Lot, suddenly feeling the need to protect my own child from my mother.
“Coming in hot.” Lottie nods to the right, just as Miranda emerges from the Honey Pot Diner carrying the cutest little girl with her hair in pigtails and looking cozy in a white furry jacket.
“ Daddy! ” Lyla Nell practically jumps into my arms as Miranda and I exchange a quick hello.
“I have her all bundled up and ready to go,” Miranda says with a smile. “And don’t you two forget, we have a wedding coming up in just a few days. I don’t want any funny business from either of you.” She points my way. “Your father has been an invaluable asset in all this.”
“That’s a first,” Mom quips from the register.
I’m still not sure how she manages to live at the B&B while her ex-husband cozies up with his girlfriend under the same roof, but it seems to work.
I sigh over at Lottie. On second thought, I’d move in with her in a heartbeat, despite Everett’s constant presence. However, my mother’s motives, and my own, couldn’t be more different.
Miranda lifts a finger. “We have the arch yet to be festooned with the flowers, chairs, tables, the flowers on order, and an entire flock of white doves ready to be delivered.”
“Mother, this is an indoor wedding,” Lottie points out as Miranda speeds toward the door.
“Stop being such a fuddy-duddy, Lottie. Just focus on bringing the most fabulous desserts known to mankind.” She blows us a kiss. “No trouble allowed. Nothing will go wrong with this double wedding!” she barks it out like a threat before she sails off into the frozen night.
“Nothing will go wrong?” Mom smirks, flashing those gold, public nuisances of hers. “Has she met the two of you?”
I’m about to respond when Lottie’s phone chirps and she looks at the screen.
“It’s Evie.” Her brows furrow. “She says she’s at the house. Sam is there with the baby, and Carlotta is… flashing her boobs.”
“And we gotta go,” I say as Lottie, Lyla Nell, and I make a dash for the house.
My prediction for the rest of this week?
There will be plenty of trouble. And everything that can go wrong will.