Chapter 19
Addie scrunched her eyes at the ringing phone.
No. She did not want to wake up. She’d been in that deep sleep where even cracking one eye open was a challenge.
The ringing stopped.
Thank God.
She started to drift off again, only for the phone to start ringing a second time.
Holy Hannah. She was going to murder them. Yep, they were going to be dead, and she was going to be arrested.
Noah’s arm tightened around her waist, and he nuzzled her neck from behind. “Want me to answer it?”
Yes. But that would require him to sit up and reach over her for her phone, when she could just stretch out a hand and answer it. Talk about lazy on her part.
“No, I’ve got it.” With eyes still closed, she reached for the phone on the bedside table and put it to her ear. “Hello?”
“Addie?”
“Mom? It’s early.”
“Your father and I are at your house.”
She frowned because she had to have heard wrong. It was Wednesday, and her mother had school. “What?”
“Your father and I are at your house. I know you said you’re staying with Noah, but we don’t know where he lives, so we came here.”
Her eyes popped open. “You’re at my house? Right now?”
“Of course we are. You didn’t want to come to Bozeman, so we came to you.”
She shot up to a sitting position. She wasn’t dreaming. Her parents were here, in Amber Ridge, right now. “Mom—”
“No rush. We might go get a coffee. I see there’s a diner in town.”
She should have known this would happen. Geez, why hadn’t she known they’d show up?
Noah sat up and frowned at her, questions in his eyes.
“Don’t go to Rob’s Diner,” Addie said, scrubbing her eyes. “All the coffee drinkers I know say it’s terrible. There’s a place called The Tea House. It’s on Fifth. I’ll see you within the hour.”
“Okay, darling, see you then.”
She hung up and sighed before turning to Noah.
He slid a piece of hair behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”
“My parents are in town.”
“In Amber Ridge?”
“At my house. I’m going to get dressed and meet them at The Tea House.”
“I’ll come with you.”
One side of her mouth lifted. “Meeting the parents. That’s a big step.”
“Too soon?”
“Not for me.” Absolutely not for her. Heck, she’d already thrown the big L word out there.
She leaned over and kissed him, and the second she did, he threaded his fingers into her hair and slipped his tongue inside her mouth.
She groaned. Even first thing in the freaking morning, he tasted good. Rich like spices, but also so masculine.
He growled. “We don’t have time for this.”
“I disagree.” But he was right. Dammit.
He pulled back, only to groan when he looked at her chest. The sheet had fallen and she was completely naked. “Get in the shower before I do something your parents would not approve of. I’m not going to be late for our first meeting.”
“But—”
“No buts.”
She groaned and dropped back onto the bed.
Her eyes were just closing again when Noah shouted, “Get out of bed, Addison.”
She chuckled as the sound of the shower turned on in the other bathroom.
It took them half an hour to get out of the house, and the only thing that really got her there was the thought of Mrs. Gerald’s hot chocolate. And giving her parents a huge, gigantic hug. But she knew exactly what was going to come with that hug. An earful of advice.
“Is there anything I should know about your mom and dad before I meet them?” Noah asked.
She glanced at him, sitting behind the wheel. “My mom is your typical first-grade teacher. She’s soft-spoken. Kind. Worries far too much but has a solution for everything. Although, that solution can offer differ from mine…she errs on the side of caution.”
Noah’s lips twitched. “And your dad?”
“You know that saying, acts tough but he’s really a big softy?”
“Yeah?”
“Not the case for my father. He acts tough because he is tough. But he loves me, something I remind myself of when he gets overbearing.”
“So he’s going to hate the thirty-five-year-old boyfriend who doubles as your boss?”
“Well, he hasn’t liked a single boyfriend of mine yet but…you’re a Marine, so there’s hope.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.”
“Fortunately, not much scares you. Anyway, I’m hoping the second they see how much you mean to me, they’ll love you.” Not likely though. Telling them how much she loved Amber Ridge had not warmed them up to the town.
Noah pulled into the parking lot beside The Tea House, and she immediately spotted her parents’ black RAV4. A smile curved her lips, almost making her forget about the pressure she was about to face to move back home.
Noah climbed out first and set his hand on the middle of her back as they made their way to the door.
She spotted them in a booth by the window the second she stepped into The Tea House.
Her mother looked up first, a large smile spreading across her face, then her dad.
Although, his smile was more of a lip twitch.
The second they stood, she ran into their arms and hugged them both at the same time.
God, they smelled like home—a mix of cinnamon and coffee and something else that was so infinitely them.
When she pulled back, tears gathered in her eyes. “Hey, Mom and Dad.”
Her mother wiped a tear from her own cheek. “Addie, we’ve missed you, darling.”
“I’ve missed you both so much.”
When Noah stepped beside her, she turned and smiled up at him before looking back at her parents. “Mom, Dad, this is Noah Hayes. Noah, meet my parents, Mark and Diana.”
Her father held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Noah.”
“You too, sir.”
His mother stepped forward. “In this family, we hug.” She wrapped her arms around Noah’s shoulders, and Noah returned the hug. When she pulled back, she clenched his shoulder. “Thank you for keeping our girl safe.”
He dipped his head. “Of course.”
Noah felt the frustration radiating off Addie beside him. Her thigh muscles were tense beneath his palm, and she’d barely touched her drink.
He didn’t blame her. It had been thirty minutes of her parents telling her to go back to Bozeman and thirty minutes of Addie saying no.
Every time she tried to change the subject, that new subject would last for a couple of minutes at best, before someone, usually her mother, drew the conversation back to Bozeman and all the reasons she should return home.
“Darling, I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself. But this is a unique situation. Someone has gone so far as to kill someone to send you a message.” Her mother grabbed her chest like saying the words out loud caused her pain.
Her father leaned forward. He had a bushy white beard that matched his white hair, and he hadn’t smiled once. “Someone wants you gone, Addie…so leave.”
“But who?” Addie asked. “And why? This is information I need to know, but I won’t if I run away.”
“Your life is the priority right now,” her mother gushed.
“And the sheriff will get that information eventually,” her father added. “You just won’t be here to watch them escalate.”
Addie’s chest rose and fell on a deep inhale. Noah tightened his fingers around her thigh.
Jesus, her parents were really pushing it. Did they not respect Addie’s wishes at all? She was an adult, for Christ’s sake.
“Mom, Dad, I really appreciate you coming to check on me,” she started slowly. “I’ve missed you both so much, but my answer hasn’t changed. There is nothing you can say that will make me leave.”
Annoyance flared in her father’s eyes, while her mother just looked ready to keep arguing.
“Hi, Addie. Noah.”
Everyone looked up to see Jules by the table.
Noah frowned. The second Addie had told him that it wasn’t her who’d told the deputies about his flashbacks, he’d pieced together that it had to have been Jules.
It hadn’t been Colt. And of course it hadn’t been Toby.
She must have overheard his conversation with Colt when she was looking for the photo.
Addie smiled. “Hi, Jules. How are you today?”
Jules’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Probably just as shaken as you.”
Was it Noah, or was she avoiding looking at him?
Addie turned to her parents. “Jules, this is my mom and dad, Diana and Mark. Mom, Dad, Jules runs a food truck at the park. She was there when we found…Rhett yesterday.”
Jules’s brows shot up. “Your parents? I thought you lived in Bozeman.”
“We’re visiting,” her mother said gently, still looking worried.
“Oh, okay.” Jules tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s nice to meet you both. You’re a teacher, right?”
Addie’s mother nodded. “I am. I managed to get some last-minute leave from work to come see Addie.”
“What a wonderful job. I always wanted to be a teacher, but life got in the way.” Jules cleared her throat, an emotion Noah couldn’t place passing over the woman’s face. “Well, I’ll leave you all to it. Addie, let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Addie nodded. “Thank you.”
“She seems nice,” Diana said, once Jules left. “The poor woman though, finding that body with you.”
“Cass is the one I’m worried about,” Addie said gently. “She was dating Rhett.”
That was a little fact that Noah still found interesting.
Neither Cass nor Rhett had mentioned anything to him or Colt.
And there was still the fact that Cass had neglected to tell Jesse that Rhett had been left alone with the equipment.
When Jesse had questioned her about it, she’d told him she’d just forgotten, but that was bullshit. She had to be covering for him.
Noah couldn’t trust her anymore, and a part of him wanted to let her go from the park for the omission, but they had time to think about it because obviously the park wasn’t reopening today like they’d planned.
Her father leaned forward. “Addie, I’d really like you to think about what we’re saying.”
Jesus Christ, they weren’t going to stop.
Addie climbed out of the booth. “I’m going to the bathroom, then I might need to go. I’ve got some work to do.”
Her mother stood too. “I’ll come with you, honey.”
If the expression on Addie’s face was anything to go by, she’d have preferred to go alone. Still, the two women crossed the café to the bathroom together.
Noah looked back to Addie’s father. “With all due respect, sir, I think this is Addison’s decision to make.”
Mark looked at Noah, expression unreadable. “Addie told me you’re a Marine.”
“No longer serving, but yes.”
“Why’d you leave?”
A sudden band tightened around Noah’s chest. “It was time.”
“As in your enlistment was up?”
Shit. Most people didn’t ask for specifics. But a man like Addie’s father? He should have expected this. “Medical retirement.”
Mark’s frown deepened. “Physical injury?”
“No.”
Mark leaned back, expression still unreadable. “You getting help?”
“Yes, sir.” Although, lately, Toby hadn’t felt like he was helping in the way Noah needed. Progress had stalled. Sure, Noah hadn’t had any more flashbacks, but that was because nothing had triggered him.
Mark leaned forward. “I’ll be honest with you, son, I’m apprehensive about my daughter dating you.
The combination of your age and you being her boss isn’t sitting well with me.
There’s also the military stuff. I know the kind of holes that can form after spending years on active duty.
I’ve spent a lot of time patching mine, but there are still some that sit wide open. ”
“You think they’ll ever close?”
“No. But I’ve learned to live with them. That only came with time.”
Time…time that Noah hadn’t given himself before dating Addie.
Mark met Noah’s eyes coolly. “I just need you to answer one question—is my daughter safe with you?”
He almost flinched. Every part of him wanted to say yes. He was a protector. It was why he’d become a Marine. And out of every person in his life, he wanted to protect Addie the most.
But could he honestly say she was safe with him a hundred percent of the time?
“Protecting your daughter is my priority.” It wasn’t a complete answer to Mark’s question.
And by the look on the older man’s face, he knew it.