Chapter 4
four
I f the stress of the day wasn’t going to do him in, the lyric-less soft rock playing over the law office speakers was sure to take him out.
Noah leaned forward in the faux leather waiting room chair, resisting the urge to glance at his watch a third time as a lazy ballad blared overhead and August Bowman’s paralegal, Peggy, prattled on the phone across the lobby. Instead, he raked his fingers through his hair and stared at the worn area rug beneath his shoes.
August had asked him to be there at two o’clock, and it was already ten after. He’d give the man about five more minutes, then Noah had to get on with his day. Namely, finding the right color paint for Peter, and getting his insurance agency on the phone about the mold issue. The claims department had yet to call him back despite his repeated messages. The incident with Delia had temporarily distracted him from the bad news he’d received from Isaac, but now that he knew she was conscious and being taken care of, the weight settled back on his shoulders and made itself comfortable.
He released a tight breath. Maybe his first instincts were off, and his policy covered a surprise like this. The inn had hurricane coverage, which he’d already tapped into for the damage that occurred last summer. The problem might be in proving the mold came from that named storm. But maybe they’d have an additional stipend he didn’t know about. Maybe it wouldn’t be as detrimental as he feared.
Sure. And if wishes were crawfish, he’d have a nice bowl of gumbo about now.
Noah grabbed a nearby fishing magazine from the end table and flipped through the glossy pages as Peggy babbled about a recent nail salon experience. But all he could see were the events of the day in place of each article. That dreaded FAILED stamp. Elisa’s startling blue eyes. The half-chopped carrot lying next to Delia’s still form.
Elisa flirting with that fireman.
He shifted in the chair. Not that it had bothered him—he just didn’t want a front row seat to this game she seemed to be playing. Since when did she get her way by flirting? It wasn’t Elisa.
Though to be fair, how was he to know who she was anymore?
Noah tossed the unread magazine back on the table. He had bigger catfish to fry without getting all affected by Elisa—like his grandfather’s legacy and his own inheritance hanging in the balance. Maybe if insurance wasn’t going to help with the mold, he could extend his existing loan. But his buddy Owen, who was a loan officer at Magnolia Bank & Trust, had warned him four months ago when he took out the construction loan that Noah was near his approved lending cap.
One way or another, he’d figure it out. He wouldn’t quit until he did.
He wasn’t Russell Hebert.
“August shouldn’t be much longer.” Peggy finally hung up the phone from behind the counter and took a loud slurp of a nearly-empty drink. The middle-aged woman had a penchant for her new granddaughter and Schnauzers, if the collage of photos covering her workspace was any indication. “He’s usually very punctual.”
Noah responded with a brisk nod, but that apparently didn’t curb her need for small talk.
“It’s good to see you again.” She pointed a blue pen at him, despite the one already tucked behind her ear. “I guess you haven’t been back in this office since the estate settlement, have you?”
“No, ma’am.” He hadn’t had a reason to. And he didn’t want to think about what the reason could be now. Whatever August needed, he would have to say no. Noah’s plate was already overflowing with tasks, and his chest hurt thinking about his to-do list, which now included the insurance hassle.
And if this song didn’t stop in the next five seconds he might?—
The lobby door swung open and a woman rushed inside. “Sorry I’m late. There was an emergency.”
The woman’s gaze landed on Noah the exact moment her identity registered. Blood roared in his ears. He started to stand, then sank back into his seat. Twice in one day. Magnolia Bay was shrinking. “Elisa.”
“Noah.” They stared at each other.
“ And Peggy .” The receptionist finished off the name declarations in a sing-song voice before cracking up. She wiped at her eyes, still laughing. “Sorry, I watched that Hamilton musical for the first time last week. I couldn’t resist.”
Noah watched the same rod that felt suddenly attached to his spine stiffen Elisa’s posture as she hovered in the doorway. They should have cleared the air between them back in the diner while they had the privacy, but he hadn’t wanted to stay and watch her show with the captain.
So now what? A dozen options flashed through Noah’s head. Offer Elisa a chair? Pretend their reluctant bonding in the kitchen over Delia had never happened? Be friendly?
Peggy’s gaze darted between them. “Well, look at you two! Back together again.”
Elisa sank onto the chair farthest from Noah. “Coincidence, I’m sure.” She crossed one jean-clad leg over the other, a gold sandal dangling half off her foot. “But you never know, do you?” She winked at him.
Noah narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t Captain What’s-His-Name, and he wasn’t interested in joining Elisa’s list of admirers. Especially not when she’d shot down his effort to help her earlier and resorted to flirting instead.
Peggy laughed again, the overeager sound of a woman who hadn’t had quite enough conversation for the day. “Those were the good ol’ days, huh? You two, shoving that family feud where the sun don’t shine.” She tilted her head and squinted. “I was only in my, what, mid-thirties back then? But I remember that star-crossed season like it was yesterday. Y’all were a real-life Romeo and Juliet—with a less tragic ending, of course.”
That point might be debatable.
Elisa kept a steady smile trained Peggy’s way, but Noah caught the flash of emotion skittering through her eyes before she tempered it. “All good things must come to an end.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. “Good?” Not the word he would have chosen to describe that summer. Heated. Reckless, maybe. Foolish, for sure.
“And look at you now.” Oblivious to the tension, Peggy tucked her hands under her chin. “All grown up. I mean, I see Elisa around town now and then—you know I can’t stay away from the café’s bread pudding. Obviously.” She patted her hips. “But Noah, you’ve been a stranger around these parts for years! And apparently even since you’ve been back.”
“Been busy with the inn.” His throat felt as dry as his rote answer. Where was August?
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with that old place. Everyone loved Gilbert, you know. Was such a shame what happened to him but I’m glad you’re taking up the helm.” Peggy pointed with the pen again. “Now, inquiring minds will want to know—including my niece. Are you single?”
His dry throat suddenly felt clamped in a vise. Was it his imagination, or had Elisa leaned forward a little in her chair?
The phone rang, the shrill alarm a blessed rescue. He exhaled enough to create a draft.
“Oops.” Peggy uncapped her pen as she reached for the phone. “Hold that thought, now.”
Definitely would not.
Elisa released a low whistle. “Saved by the bell, huh?”
He didn’t smile back. The last thing he wanted to discuss with Elisa—or anyone, for that matter—was his relationship status. Which, for the record, hadn’t changed since he’d been back in Magnolia Bay or even for the past two years before that.
But Elisa was watching him, as if waiting for a response. Fine. He’d give her one. “What are you doing here?”
Her hesitant grin faded. “Not following you, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I wasn’t.” He was, but he refused to feel guilty for the white lie. This Elisa he didn’t know, and despite their earlier shared crisis, he wasn’t about to start trusting her now. Not after her father’s tricks—and definitely not with Peggy casually bringing up their past like it was a local trivia game.
Elisa tilted her head, studying him warily. “If you must know, I have an appointment with Mr. Bowman. Sort of.” She glanced at her phone display. “Everything got all turned around on me after Delia’s collapse, though. I might not have gotten the time right.”
Okay, now he felt a little guilty. “How is Delia?”
Elisa tucked her phone back inside her purse. “She’s at Magnolia Memorial.”
He nodded stiffly. “They running tests?”
She hesitated. “It’s not my place to say.”
He snorted. He saw what she was doing now. The fire captain could be a pawn on Elisa’s chess board, but Noah refused to pick up a game piece. Not again. “Let me guess. Protocol , right?”
Elisa blinked twice at him with blue eyes that would stop any other man in his tracks, her long dark lashes fluttering against high cheekbones. He steeled himself. Noah wasn’t any other man. He was a Hebert. Maybe he’d forgotten for a moment earlier in the day, but he wouldn’t again.
“Protocol?” She leaned one finger into her cheek, drawing his eyes to the dimple adorning her jaw. “What are you talking about?”
He shouldn’t finish his thought. There was no reason on this entire storm-affected bay to finish his thought. And yet…he’d never been great at saying no when it came to Elisa. “That if you’re expecting me to try to woo information out of you next, don’t hold your breath.”
“Excuse me?” Her eyes flashed as her hands dropped to her lap.
He was too far in to back out now. “Like you did earlier today with What’s-His-Face. I’m not playing your games.” He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.
“What games ?” The words exploded from her lips, then suddenly, that same shell he’d seen at the diner slipped into place. She tossed back her hair, her expression now soft and controlled. She opened her mouth, but the sudden clatter of the phone hitting its base stopped her short.
“Oh, you two,” Peggy giggled as she gestured with her drink. “It’s not even Fourth of July and just look at all these fireworks!”
“I’d say more explosion than sparks.” He cut his eyes toward Elisa.
“You must have me confused with someone else, sugar.” Unfazed, she leaned toward Noah, holding his stare as her accent deepened. And like a sailor with a siren, he couldn’t look away. Her pink lips parted, and a thousand traffic lights couldn’t have stopped his gaze from following the movement. He felt her pause and short intake of breath in his own chest.
She didn’t break eye contact. “I never once asked you to woo me.”
The double meaning slammed his gut.
“You know, for a minute, back in the diner…” Elisa’s voice trailed off. She shook her head. “I thought maybe we could get along—for Delia’s sake, at least. But apparently not.”
Then the interior door to the lobby opened and August appeared in the frame. “So sorry to keep you waiting. Come on back.” He held the door ajar.
Gladly. Noah stood, his throat heated. Whatever August had to tell him would be better than this stroll down memory lane at gunpoint. He took a step forward, then hesitated. “Me? Or her?”
The same question was written across Elisa’s stoic face as she perched on the edge of her chair, tucking her purse strap up on her shoulder.
“Both of you, of course.” August hurried them along with a wave of his hand. “This way.”
* * *
Elisa settled onto one of the hard wooden chairs across from Mr. Bowman’s desk. She’d never encountered a grizzly bear, but she imagined they’d be a lot like Noah Hebert—temperamental, unpredictable, and overly scruffy. The man needed a haircut as much as he needed an attitude adjustment, and she had little hope of him receiving either.
She avoided looking at the man-bear taking the seat to her left and tried to focus on the grandfather clock tucked in the corner of Mr. Bowman’s office instead. The air conditioner kicked on overhead, sending a welcome draft across her flushed cheeks. What in the world had happened to the kinder version of Noah that comforted her in the kitchen after Delia’s collapse? The man who distracted her from the sight of blood and took charge when she couldn’t?
Some burr had nestled up in his saddle blanket, that’s what. Well—maybe bears didn’t wear saddles. She was mixing metaphors, but that’s what trying to communicate with a man like Noah did—confused someone senseless.
Once upon a time, he’d kissed her senseless, but that was a memory she hadn’t entertained in a decade and certainly wasn’t going to start again now. She lifted her chin.
“I’m sure you’re both wondering why you’re here.” Mr. Bowman folded his hands atop a thick file resting at the center of his tidy desk.
“More curious as to why she is,” Noah muttered. “Is this about my grandfather?”
“Indeed.” Mr. Bowman pushed his glasses up on his nose. “There’s been a rather peculiar turn of events, but Gilbert was always a little peculiar himself, wasn’t he?” He smiled fondly.
“I actually didn’t know Gil—Mr. Hebert very well.” Elisa frowned. “He came to the local puzzlers club meetings, but we rarely talked.”
She was the only Bergeron in the club, and he had been the only Hebert, so by default they gravitated to opposite sides of the room. Sort of like all of her and Noah’s extended family members did at church. Every Sunday was like a wedding, split with a groom’s side and a bride’s side. Maybe Delia was right, and no one cared that much anymore. But habits ran deep in Magnolia Bay, and those church pews might as well be branded with family crests.
“Well, Gilbert seemed to know you better than you might realize.” Mr. Bowman leaned back in his chair, the worn leather creaking.
“What’s this all about?” Noah’s impatience shone through his clipped tone.
She’d wanted to ask the same thing, but leave it to Noah to pave the way with rudeness. “I’m sure he’s getting to that, sugar.”
Noah’s eyes cut hard to her profile, but somehow she resisted the urge to look back. She kept her gaze trained on the lawyer.
Mr. Bowman tugged at his shirt collar with one finger. “I know this is unconventional. But Noah, I do have good news.”
Noah leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees. His jeans were dusty, and blue paint flecks she hadn’t noticed earlier dotted his right forearm. “I could use some good news today.”
She could too. Did he really think he’d had a harder day than her? He hadn’t watched Delia hit the floor, hadn’t had to process the fact that his entire life might be about to change with the potential sale of the diner. But Elisa wasn’t about to make this a competition—or a scene. She sat quietly, tucking back her instincts to protest his claim.
Her father would be proud.
“There’s a stipulation to your grandfather’s will. Now that six months have passed since his death, I’m free to disclose it.” Mr. Bowman picked up the file lying on the desk but didn’t make a move to open it. “There’s more inheritance to be had.”
“What?” Noah sat up straight. “How?”
“Like I said, it’s unconventional.”
Elisa frowned. More money given on the anniversary of a death? That was more than a little unconventional. But she wasn’t there to judge. To that point, she still had no idea why she was there at all. Other than she was clearly making Noah uncomfortable, and that was a bit of a win. She allowed a small smile.
“This is great timing.” Noah rocked back on two chair legs, his eyes wide as the announcement visibly sank in. His face practically shone with relief. “You have no idea how great.”
“Hang on there, son.” Mr. Bowman’s tone grew cautious. “There’s a condition.” He swung his gaze toward Elisa. “This is where you come in.”
She froze.
Noah’s chair legs landed with a thud. “I’m sorry?”
“Me?” Her voice squeaked and she cleared her throat. “I don’t understand, Mr. Bowman.” She felt as confused as Noah looked.
He offered a patient smile. “Call me August.”
“August,” she obediently parroted, still perplexed.
The tension radiating off Noah, however, was clear as the bay on a summer morning. “How in the world does my grandfather’s will have anything to do with Elisa?”
“Good question.” August pulled a sealed envelope from the file and handed it across the desk to Noah. “The remainder of the inheritance is hidden away. Inside that envelope are clues to its location.”
“Clues?” Noah sputtered. “Like a treasure hunt?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Noah pulled a single card from the envelope, his brow furrowed. “This says Clue #1, Part 1.” He squinted into the envelope’s depths. “Where’s the rest?”
August hesitated, then rolled his shoulders back as if bracing for a blow. “Well…” He reached over and handed Elisa a second envelope.
Even before she opened the flap, she knew. So did Noah, judging by his horrified stare.
Sure enough, she reached inside and pulled out a card. Clue #1, Part 2.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She didn’t speak the words out loud, but she matched Noah tone for tone in her head. None of this made sense. Everyone knew Elisa liked puzzles. She enjoyed her monthly meetings with the Puzzlers Club and heading up the annual Magnolia Bay Scavenger Hunt every year. This treasure hunt could be fun to solve, but not like this. This felt more like the type of puzzle where all the pieces seemed to fit at first, but the picture didn’t line up on the seams and you realized it was all wrong.
This was all wrong.
“This has to be a joke, right?” she pleaded with August.
“No joke.” The older man shook his head and busied himself straightening the fake succulent on his desk, taking care to line it up with his beige pencil holder—and avoid their eyes. “You’re supposed to work together to solve the clues.”
Together .
Elisa’s eyes locked with Noah’s. Her heart stuttered, panic swelling her pulse into her ears. No way. Today only proved they had zero business doing anything together, ever again. “Here.” She thrust her envelope toward Noah. “I can just give you mine.”
“I’m afraid that’s very generous but prohibited.” August gently tsk’d a finger at them. “It will forfeit you both from the inheritance if you cheat.” He peered at them over the rim of his glasses. “And I will be watching, as I was instructed.”
Good gravy.
Her thoughts bounced like a ping pong ball inside her tired brain. Gilbert Hebert had left inheritance for her ? She wanted to ask how much money, but that seemed irrelevant. Right now, any amount could help Delia…could possibly save the Magnolia Blossom Café.
But like this? She didn’t even know Mr. Hebert. It felt wrong.
Helping Delia felt right, though.
Elisa stared at her envelope, unsure what to do next. And judging by the seconds ticking loudly off the grandfather clock behind August, everyone else in the room felt the same.
Finally, Noah exhaled and broke the silence. “Listen. My grandfather could be eccentric, but he was never without purpose.” He tapped his envelope against his knee as he squinted at August. “What else do you know?”
“Nothing I’m at liberty to discuss, I’m afraid.” August spread his hands wide in a helpless shrug.
The envelope tapped a faster rhythm. “So you’re saying we don’t have a choice?”
“Not if you want the remaining inheritance.”
Noah’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “And she gets part of the treasure?”
Elisa frowned at the offended tone of that “she.” Like she was gum on the bottom of his boot. Though honestly, she couldn’t fully blame him right now. She had no idea how she’d feel if her family member had suddenly passed and included Noah in their inheritance.
August nodded. “That’s what’s listed in the will. As executor of his estate and as his lifelong legal counsel, it’s my job to see the will is upheld according to the specifics of what my client”—he paused, softening his rapid legal verbiage, and met Noah’s gaze—“what your grandfather wanted.”
Elisa shot Noah a look, feeling strangely affected by the way he seemed so unaffected. His back, ramrod straight, didn’t even move with his breath. He kept his eyes trained on August, profile still, eyes slightly narrowed as if he were absorbing a beating. Like he’d win a prize if he showed as little emotion as possible.
She knew what that was like.
“Listen.” August crinkled his nose at them both. “I know this is not typical. But that was Gilbert. And that’s part of his charm and why we all loved him so dearly. Right?”
Noah’s voice stayed tight but controlled. “Right. Sure.”
Elisa risked a second look at the man-bear, and that’s when she saw the truth. She recognized that mask he wore—she’d put it on herself almost every day for a decade.
Noah had never grieved his grandfather.
A surge of unexpected empathy welled in her chest. And suddenly Noah wasn’t her mortal enemy, he was that awkward kid in middle school who turned bright red when the teacher called on him. The quiet teen who moved away in the midst of scandal and then reappeared as a man some four years later and swept her off her flip-flops.
“We can make this work.” She shifted to face Noah, noting from her peripheral August’s surprised straightening in his chair. But Noah continued staring at the succulent on August’s desk. She ducked her head, trying to make eye contact with him. “I’m good at solving puzzles. Together, I’m sure we can?—”
“Absolutely not.” Noah suddenly stood, his chair shoving back a few inches. “Thanks for your time, Mr. Bowman.” Then his eyes finally met Elisa’s. “But I’m afraid it was all for nothing.”
Then he simply walked out of the room.