CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“MAKE SURE YOU PRESS in the soil. The stem should be able to stand on its side when it starts growing.”
“Like this?”
“Perfect.” Amber beamed at Mrs. Rhodes who wore an equally bright smile of her own. “You’re a natural at gardening.”
Mrs. Rhodes flushed, freckles just like her son’s dotting across her cheeks. “Only under your guidance. How did you get into the hobby?”
A small smile crossed Amber’s face, but the usual sadness and pain that resided in her chest at the thought of her dad was nowhere to be found.
“My dad taught me. He loved gardening. It was his way of relaxing after a tough day. I used to join him in our little backyard to plant different kinds of flowers.” She smacked her gloves. “I continued after he died. The greenhouse back home honors his memory.”
Mrs. Rhodes’ smile was sympathetic. “He sounds like an amazing man.”
“He was an amazing dad, too.” Amber rested on her knees, a soft laugh escaping her. “He grew my favorite flower and gifted it to me in a beautiful ceramic vase for my tenth birthday. I kept it right by my bed so it was the first thing I saw each morning when I woke up.”
The pink blossom had never failed to put a smile on her face. A flower so resilient and beautiful. She grew the pink cosmos in the greenhouse every year without fail.
Mrs. Rhodes pulled the glove off her left hand, laying it on Amber’s forearm. “It must have been hard to lose him.”
“It was,” the admission came out in a whisper. “I miss him more and more every day.”
She never got to talk about her father. Her mom had blown up after Amber had mentioned him. He was a ghost in his own home. A soft squeeze on her arm lifted her head. Mrs. Rhodes had rolled her jeans to her knees and pulled her hair in a ponytail to join Amber on the grass. She’d wanted to learn from Amber. She was interested in planting seeds with her. Her mom had never even stepped into the greenhouse.
“You’re an amazing girl, Amber. He’ll be proud of you no matter what.”
Warmth settled in her chest at her words, a feeling that grew more familiar the longer she stayed at the Rhodes home. They were a real, loving family that cared about each other and looked out for one another. They extended that same generosity to her free of charge.
“Watch out, bro. They’re sharing feelings over there.”
Ronan’s yelljerked their attention to the deck where he stood with his hands cupped around his mouth as he warned Noah who was on his way over to them.
“Am I interrupting?” Noah asked, his gaze darting between her and his mom.
She started to reply when his mom side-eyed him. “Yes, you are. This is girl time, and I don’t get a lot of those when I live in a house full of boys.”
Noah’s lips tipped at the cover. “I’ll leave, but Dad sent me to ask for the grocery list. I’m heading out to fill up the tank for the trip tomorrow.”
Amber stifled a laugh at the indignation that colored Mrs. Rhodes’ face. “I told your father it was in the second cabinet to the right.” She began to stand.
“I can get it,” Noah said quickly but she was already on her feet.
“No need. Girl time is ruined.” She huffed, brushing dirt and blades of grass from her knees. “Must I do everything myself in this household?”
Ronan jumped away from the door as she headed inside, narrowly avoiding his mom on the warpath.
“Girl time, huh?” Noah asked, pulling her gaze to him.
“Yep. Spilling hot gossip and all that. Your mom was about to bust out the baby pictures,” she teased.
He tucked a hand into the pocket of his cargos. “I’m surprised she hasn’t done that already.” He didn’t sound the least bit embarrassed about it. He was calm, collected and cool as usual. “Are you set for tomorrow?”
She nodded. She’d packed the essentials out of the things Dottie had brought her. “I’m a little nervous, though.”
A thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Want to join me? We’ll make a pit stop before the gas station. It won’t take long.”
She squinted up at him, still kneeling on the grass. Her pulse kicked up a notch at the memory of his confession in the meadow. She caught herself daydreaming of it every other hour. Some nights, she laid wide awake, her heart beating to a silent chant.
Noah loves me.
Noah loves me.
Noah loves me.
“You fishing for my company, boy genius?” she couldn't help but tease.
“Every time and every day, m’lady.” He grinned boyishly. “Don’t get sick of me yet.”
“Your pit stop was the Hidden Gems Bookstore?” she asked, raising a brow.
Noah unclicked his seat belt and swung the door open. “Come on.”
She watched the back of his head as he climbed out. What was he up to? She followed slowly, shutting the car door. She began to walk toward where he waited on the sidewalk when a crawling sensation raked over her. Amber frowned as she looked up and down the street, but except for random passersby minding their business, she didn’t see anything that would cause alarm.
Why did this feeling keep following her? First at the mall with Beverly and Evelyn and it was here again. Why couldn’t she find what caused it?
Noah’s hand slipping in hers erased the frown lines that had gathered on her forehead. She moved closer to him, his touch grounding her.
“What are we doing here, Noah?”
He met her eyes. “We never got to buy anything.” He clarified further when he saw her confusion. “The day we bumped into each other here, when I found out about your stories, I made Arthur a promise to buy something but I didn’t. Then the day you came looking for me, we left without getting anything too.” He smiled softly. “I don’t know about you, but I had my eye on some new titles until you distracted me.”
“I distracted you?” She gave him the stink-eye. “The first time, you creeped on me and held my notebook hostage. I’d set aside the books I wanted but had to leave them behind.”
His smile turned mischievous. “I would have been sorry if it didn’t give me more of a reason to do this.”
He walked into the store, pulling her along by their joined hands.
“To do what?” she asked over the chiming bells. The checkout counter was empty of the store owner. Noah continued past the display tables, skirting around the other shoppers. The bookstore was surprisingly busy for a late Saturday afternoon.
Noah pulled her closer. “We have thirty minutes before we have to leave. We’ll browse the shelves, pick what we want and I’ll pay for everything you pick.”
Amber halted in the middle of the aisle. The words took their time to sink in.
“You’re paying?”
Noah nodded.
“Are you joking? You must be joking. Please don’t be joking.”
The emotions course through her, ranging from disbelief to excitement. Noah laughed as she bounced in her spot, his grip tightening on her hand.
“I’m serious. Go ahead, m’lady. Pick anything you want.”
A cheer left her before she could stop it, but she didn't care about the stares that turned her way. The next half hour was a blur as she and Noah wove between the aisles, pulling random books, reading blurbs to each other and admiring book covers. In the Mystery aisle, Amber stared unabashedly as Noah spoke about a book he’d read a month earlier. He flipped through the pages, stopping at a few of them to read an excerpt to her. It was the most she’d heard him say at once, and she wasn’t ready for him to stop. His voice rumbled, his excitement and passion washing over her. She took a mental picture of the dazzling smile on his face, storing it into a treasured memory bank that was steadily being filled up by him.
Her phone buzzed in her hand, reminding them of the timer they’d set for themselves.
“Come on, boy genius. Time to pay up.”
“Why do I regret offering to do that now?” He placed the book on the shelf, his hand lingering on the spine.
“No take backs.” She laughed. She paused at the look that graced his face. “What?”
He shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. “Just imagining your book on this shelf one day soon.”
The thought sprang to life within her. It was easy to imagine her book occupying the same shelf space as those of famous authors. Her stories finally had a chance to see the light. She clutched the books she held to her chest, imagining she held her book instead. She smiled, the wondrous feeling in her chest almost too big to carry.
Amber tucked her phone into the pocket of the fresh pair of jeans she’d changed into earlier. She climbed into the truck, placed the bag filled with her purchase in the backseat and clicked in the seatbelt as Noah kicked the truck in gear. Mr. Arthur waved them off. As they rode down to the gas station, Noah told her about his aunt handling him and his brother as little troublemakers when they visited her.
“She really did that?”
“She has four boys. With me and Ronan there, it was six kids making trouble at the ice cream shop. She didn’t hesitate to pull us by our ears into the car. It was the worst punishment because we could see everyone else enjoying their frozen treats except us.”
Amber giggled. “She sounds vicious. I love her already.”
His next words were interrupted by her ringtone. She lifted off the seat to pull out the device, but froze at the name of the caller ID flashing at her. The call rang out and the screen dimmed but she couldn’t shake herself out of the trance.
“Amber? What’s wrong?”
Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth as she said, “My mom called me.”
Noah’s head whipped toward her as he struggled to keep his focus on the road. “You didn’t answer.” The statement was stern.
“I don’t know what to say!” Her words came out panicked. “I thought she’d never speak to me again. This can’t be real. Am I dreaming? I might be, because how else would I see her call my phone. It was probably a mistake. Like a butt-dial. She probably won’t call again–”
Her ringtone interrupted her rambling, the vibration of the call sending a mixture of dread and hope though her.
“Pick up,” Noah prompted. When she didn’t move, he reached out and snatched the phone, hitting the accept button and putting the call on speaker.
For a moment, the car was silent.
“Amber, honey. Are you there?”
Oh God. She was dreaming, or maybe this person knew her name but had the wrong number.
“Yes?” she answered cautiously.
A sigh of relief came through the line. “I thought I was too late. I came to see you and I was knocking for so long, but when no one came to the door, I thought you’d left, that I’d missed my chance to see you. Until Noah’s mom said you stepped out to run some errands.”
Noah returned the phone to her hand so he could drive properly. Amber stared at the device in disbelief.
“Mom, where are you right now?”
“I’m at the Rhodes' house. I came to see you.” Her mom said softly. “Amber, I’m so sorry for everything. I wasn’t just a horrible person. I was a horrible mother. I caused you so much pain. I’m the one who tore our family apart, not you. I should never have said what I did. I wasn’t thinking straight and I accused you of the worst thing imaginable.”
“Mom…” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
“I listened to your voicemails. All twenty two of them. It broke my heart to hear you cry. And when you said you were leaving tomorrow, I had to get down here as fast as possible. I told them I had to leave the institute, even if for a few days. I had to see you before you left. I had to tell you everything.”
“What institute? What are you talking about?” She grasped her phone.
Noah alternated between looking into the rear view mirror and her. His hand tightened on the steering wheel as he increased their speed.
Her mom sighed. “I wish we could talk in person. Dottie convinced me to join a therapy institute to help me. It took weeks for me to get used to the place but I know it’s for my own good. I wanted to tell you but I didn’t want you to think–”
“No, mom. Don’t be ashamed that you’re getting help. You and your health are priority number one.” She darted her eyes around the truck. “You’re right. It’ll be better if we talk face to face. Can you wait for us to get back?”
“I’m not going anywhere.” The reassurance made a tear slip from her eye. “I’ll be right here until you–”
“That car keeps coming up fast,” Noah murmured, a second before a loud crash sounded behind them. They flew forward, the tires screeching against asphalt. Amber fell forward onto the dashboard, her seatbelt choking her.
“What was that?”
As soon as the question left her, a second crash came. Amber screamed, trying to hold on as everything tilted. Her heart knocked about in her chest, her breathing shallow. Noah fought the steering to get the car under control, a look shed never seen before in his eyes.
Fear.
“Amber, what’s happening? Answer me! Oh God, please don’t take her away too. I beg of you. Please don’t take my daughter. Amber!” Her mom’s scream blended with her own as the blue car ran into them again.
Her phone fell from her hand as they swerved. Noah struggled to gain control of the steering wheel but it was becoming clear that this wasn’t an accident.
Another hit came again, slamming into Amber’s door this time. She screamed, scrambling away as a dark blue sedan came up right beside them. In her panic, she vaguely realized she recognized the car. The heavily tinted windows were still rolled up so they couldn’t who it was.
“Amber, get down.” Noah pushed a hand out to keep her in her seat.
She clung to him as they were pushed into the opposite lane, the few cars on the road swerving wildly to avoid hitting them.
“Stop!” she yelled out to the driver of the blue car. “Why are you doing this?”
The window rolled down and Amber sucked in a deep breath that stuck in her lungs.
Lexi stared her dead in the eyes, a sneer of her face as she careened into them again. Amber screamed as their car jolted, nearly hitting a parked cab.
“You’re not going to get away with this, Amber. It ends here and now.” Lexi cackled. “I can’t wait to see how you look in a casket.”
Her words and the chilling laugh that left her frightened Amber. It felt like she was looking at someone else entirely.
Noah sped up in an attempt to ditch her car but Lexi met them par for par. He was doing his best to keep them on the road while Lexi wanted to throw them off.
“This is madness. Stop this, Lexi. Please.”
“It’s too late for begging. You’re gonna get what you truly deserve. I’m done being in the shadows of your spotlight.” She yelled out the window. Her venomous glare hit Amber square in the chest. “You’ve ruined my life by being so perfect, Amber. They don’t see what I see. That you’re nothing. You’re weak, simple-minded and don’t have a backbone! Beverly was my friend before you stole her from me! That role was supposed to be mine before you ruined it! It’s all so easy for you. Well, I’m going to enjoy taking everything from you the way you did to me. I already look like you. All I have to do is replace you.”
Lexi was frothing at the mouth, her movements growing more erratic as she yelled. Using all her strength, she spun her wheel, aiming her last hit right for the middle of Noah’s truck. If she came at them like that, there was no way they’d stay upright. Her engine revved towards them, about to slam directly into Amber.
A loud pop sounded in her ears like something had exploded. “Noah!” she screamed. The car spun out of his hands as their tire burst.
Noah threw his upper body over her, his grip tight on her hand as he kept her down.
“Hold on to my hand! Don’t let go!”
She couldn’t answer because the next moment, the car hit the curb and turned over, smashing them into the heavy metal corners and slamming her head against the glass. She felt like they’d suspended in the air.
Time slowed down around her. Broken glass cut into her cheek, she felt numb in every part of her body, helpless to do anything as the car somersaulted onto its roof. She slammed her head, awareness leaving her for several seconds. She wasn’t sure which way was up and down or if they would survive. The seconds ticked to the end and she prepared to say goodbye.
As darkness invaded her senses, all she could feel was Noah’s hands in hers. All she could was the blood that stained every inch of the crushed car.
She’d done it.
She’d chosen herself.
Her happiness.
Him.
If this was to be their end, she thought as her eyes fell closed, there was still nowhere else she’d rather be.