Chapter 27 - Liberation
Chapter 27
Liberation
The phone rang. Noah glanced at the clock to see that it was six in the morning, 8:00 a.m. New York time. No one would be calling that early but his parents. He picked up the cell phone and slipped from bed, trying not to wake Cora.
How he hated leaving her warmth. Three steps took him to the living room where he could see the number, and dread curled up his spine. “Morning, Mom. What’s wrong?”
“You know what is wrong. I got your message. My only child has lost his mind. How could he think of marrying a woman we haven’t even met?”
He moved to the window and spent a minute watching the town sleep before he spoke. “Mom, you’re going to love her.”
Her voice rose in panic. “How could I possibly like an old maid in her thirties who’s trying to steal my son? She probably has the vocabulary of a first-grader. Texans never know how to talk.”
Noah closed his eyes and said calmly, “Mom, I’m going to marry her.”
A long pause hung on the line.
Then his mother’s voice shook with anger. “Your father and I have talked it over. If you marry her, you are no longer our son.”
“You can’t mean that.”
“We do mean it. We’re not going to spend the rest of our lives driving back and forth across the country. And I would worry myself into an early grave.”
Noah closed his eyes, no longer wanting to see the sunrise.
He realized in that moment that he was free.
He was not his parents’ child. He was Cora Lee Buchanan’s lover and partner for life. He opened his eyes and looked at his town. Deep inside he felt sorry for his parents. They had already missed so much of life, and now they were cutting off more joy they could’ve had.
He straightened and smiled and realized he was ready to step in and take all the happiness he could get. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mom. I’ll talk to you next week.”
As he hung up the phone, snapshots of his childhood tumbled from his memory, giving him a different perspective.
Silently, he moved back to the bedroom and snuggled beside Cora. “I love you; I always will. I’ve been waiting for you all my life.”
Half asleep, Cora kissed his cheek. “I love you too. I never knew there was a man like you out there for me.” Yawning, she asked, “Who was that call from so early in the morning?”
“My parents. Mom talked but you can bet my dad was listening on the other line.”
“What did they need?”
“Nothing important. I told them I was going to be a writer.”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing.” He realized, for the first time really, that this was his life, and he planned to live it on his terms with beautiful Cora by his side. He kissed her cheek like she’d done his. “What’s on the calendar today?”
“I was supposed to meet Katherine for our lunch with Bear, but he’s not here.”
Noah sat up and rested his back against the headboard. “I have to tell you something. A lot of things happened yesterday while you were at school. Andi is a detective out of Dallas. She got into a bit of trouble by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And now she thinks she’s being stalked. The sheriff and Dan are helping her out. Once she testifies, trouble will be over. Pecos thought it best if she lays low here in Honey Creek tonight. I offered her my apartment last night. Dan is on guard with her. They left at dawn; they’re already gone. The sheriff, Dan, and Bear have a plan to get her out of town.”
Noah smiled. “I’m part of the team. Everyone calls into me.” He straightened. “I think they call that Central Command.”
Cora sat up and cuddled against his side. “Tell me all the details.”
Noah smiled. “I’ll tell you everything tonight, but right now I want to hold you before you have to leave. School all day then you have PTA. I might not see you for twelve hours.”
“You’ve lived thirty-three years without me.”
Noah shut his eyes. “Wrong, I didn’t start living until I saw you.”
Two hours after his mother woke him up, Noah stood on the landing and kissed Cora goodbye. “One more, one more,” he pleaded.
“You’re going to kiss my lips off,” she said with a smile. “What a morning. What a way to start the day.”
She turned to head to school, and he stepped into his bookshop. In his mind’s eye he could already see a huge desk in the corner near the windows, out of the way and waiting for him to write.
They say that one person out of a hundred who wants to be a writer actually finds success. He stood tall like a matador, ready for the fight. Once he got the desk downstairs, he’d write I’m the one. I’m the writer in five-inch letters above where he sat.
He might not ever be his mother’s son again, but he was his own man as of today.
The morning passed with no word from the sheriff or Dan. He’d heard footsteps in the apartment much earlier, and he heard they’d left for Holly Rim at dawn. She must be safe by now. He could stop worrying and think about a story that he birthed from pieces of the puzzle playing out in this danger and helping others survive.
Suddenly, he laughed. This was the perfect town to write in. He was sure half the people here wanted to write. The other half were crazy and would make great characters.
Noah strolled to the front of the store just as his phone rang. The plan to save Andi was in place. Everyone must be ready. Andi and Dan were at Eliza’s Holly Rim, the sheriff was in his office with all his men ready to head out, Rusty and Zach were along the road halfway to Eliza’s farm, ready to drive in any direction needed.
Noah was about to wait on his only customer when the phone rang again a few minutes later. He answered on the second ring.
Bear didn’t bother with hello. “Noah!” he screamed. “Get ahold of Andi’s brothers and tell them the thugs with guns are hiding out at the bend. Rusty and Zach need to delay them for just a few minutes. They’re closest. Do not physically engage. I repeat, Do Not Engage. The perps must have followed Dan and Andi out of town.”
“Don’t worry.” Noah paused. “I’ll inform Pecos. He needs to get up there.”
Bear answered, “This’ll all be over in thirty minutes and everyone will be safe if the plan goes okay.”
What else could Noah do? He couldn’t leave the shop. Except. . . he could call that Texas Ranger that was hanging around Andi last week.
He frantically dug through a cluttered drawer for the card that Ranger Ramm had given him. He grabbed it and dialed the number.
The Texas Ranger answered on the first ring. He wanted facts fast and didn’t bother with goodbye. Noah hoped they’d all get there in time.