Chapter Eleven
THE SCENT OF maple syrup and sizzling bacon hit Noah the second he stepped through his mother’s screened rear porch.
It was eight o’clock on Saturday morning, but the house was humming like a diner, with pans clanging, someone’s voice raised with animated storytelling, and laughter bouncing off the walls.
His brother Eli’s golden retriever, Hiccup, stood from his dog bed by the door and lumbered over to bump his head against Noah’s hand.
Bending down, Noah obliged. “Morning, boy.” He heard raised voices coming from the kitchen.
He announced himself just in case the story was about his performance yesterday.
His brothers never passed up an opportunity to rib him.
And he’d provided them with plenty of cannon fodder. “Mama. I have arrived.”
“Close that door, lil’ rabbit,” his mama called back. “You’re letting the blessings out and the devil in.”
The nickname reminded Noah of PawPaw. He wished his grandfather was alive to see all Noah had accomplished.
To see Rachel grown up and successful. To see the family thriving, the vet clinic growing under Eli’s direction.
To see their mom learning to do life without their father yet keeping them together on Calvary land.
The spacious kitchen, with its vaulted ceiling, smelled like a big country breakfast. The rich scent of fresh coffee clung to the air.
On his left, one of the Dutch door gray cabinets hung open, showing empty spaces where mugs should be.
There were simmering pots on the six-burner stove.
The natural stone counters were lined with platters overflowing with crisp bacon, smoked sausage links, and slices of scrapple, a local favorite of pork scraps mixed with cornmeal, then pan-fried to perfection.
Floral bouquets of peach and white roses, multicolored tulips, and daisies filled the farmhouse sink.
Seated at the oak table at the center of the room were Amarie and Eli, hugged up and seconds away from feeding each other.
Not that Noah minded the public display, but after another night of being so close with Rachel, yet miles away from any resolution between them, he didn’t need the reminder of what he didn’t have.
He had today to remind her they’d worked well together once, that being stuck with him wouldn’t sabotage her career because her dreams were important to him.
“About time,” Amarie breathed. The chair legs scraped against the wood floor. She wrapped Noah in a hug, her head reaching his chest.
“What’s that for?”
“My apologies for yesterday’s meeting. I wanted to root for you. But my big sister-to-be was so amazeballs. You understand.”
“I don’t, Little Miss Double-Sided Coin.”
“Told ya,” her husband said. “He’s Prince Petty.”
“Mama, Eli’s name-calling at the table.” Noah grinned.
“Snitches get stitches,” Eli shot back.
“And end up in ditches.” Their mother laughed, without looking up from the stovetop. The kitchen was Leah Calvary’s trophy case. First place Service County Cook-Off prize ribbons hung in a custom-crafted cabinet he and his brothers had constructed as a Mother’s Day gift.
Tobias grinned and pulled out the milk, then nudged the refrigerator door shut with his hip. “You ain’t never lied.”
Noah washed his hands at the sink and then dropped into a chair at the old pine table, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Don’t start.”
“Too late,” called Eli, shoveling a piece of toast into his mouth. “I saw your face last night when Rachel walked out of the house in a white dress. You looked like you heard wedding bells.”
“Keep it up. We’ll see whose bell gets rung.”
“It’s okay, lil’ bro,” Tobias teased, “if you forgot how to breathe.”
Noah dropped his head to the table. “Can I have coffee before we ruin my life?”
A mug thunked down beside him. Strong. Black. Merciful.
“Don’t be dramatic,” his mother said, nudging the sugar bowl toward him. “We’re just observing. Like wildlife experts.”
Noah raised his mug and took a long sip, sighing as the dark roast exploded on his taste buds.
Breakfast together was a Calvary family tradition.
Every important decision that impacted his life had occurred over a home-cooked meal around this table.
“I must have done alright last night. Tobias didn’t pull out his Linus blanket medical kit. ”
“Hey, I don’t take it everywhere.”
“You do,” his mama said flatly, flipping a pancake. “And Noah, you looked just like your father the first time he saw me walking across the college yard. Stammering. Slack-jawed. Helpless.”
Tobias slid into the seat across from him, eyeing him with that older brother mix of affection and provocation. “So? Whatcha talk about in the barn last night?”
“Goodness. Did all of you spy on me?
“A little,” they said in unison.
“This family is too close.” And he loved them for it. But appreciation for how they’d always come through for him didn’t curb his next comment. “Y’all might want to consider group therapy.”
“Can Rachel come?” Amarie giggled. “That way you only have to tell her how you really feel once… and under supervision… in case it goes sideways.”
Noah smirked. “Are you done?”
She angled her head, and her purple dangling earrings twisted, flashing Noah with the word YEAH. “Yes, if you tell us what happened when you disappeared with my sister.”
“Not that it’s your business, but we looked at sketches.”
Silence.
“Is that a euphemism?” Eli wiggled his brows.
His big brother, though still a grumpy-pants to most, had experienced a romantic awakening since remarrying. Noah was thankful for Eli’s happiness with the bubbly registered nurse who’d escaped to Service after a bad breakup with a cheating ex. He envied what they had.
“No, stupid. Six sketched the wedding arch. So, all we did was talk and some hand-holding,” Noah muttered.
Which was nice. The connection felt more significant than the physical action, at least for him.
He could tell Rachel had doubts. He had no intention of pushing.
For now, it was enough to be in her presence. “Sort of.”
His mother paused, with one hand on her hip. “You touched her hand?”
Tobias nodded slowly. “Like E.T., with your fingertip, or interlocking fingers, palm-to-palm?”
Noah leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “I swear you carry that medical kit out of personal necessity. Of course not like some extraterrestrial with a pillowcase hat popping wheelies on a dirt bike at four a.m.”
Tobias winced. “Don’t get so defensive. I read this book—”
Noah held up a hand. “A book or a romance novel?
A look of genuine confusion graced his brother’s face. The skin around his blue eyes, their father’s eyes, crinkled at the corners. “What’s the difference?”
“I’m glad you asked, ’cause I’ve peeped your OverDrive book suggestions,” Noah laughed, finally digging into a biscuit smothered in sausage gravy. “It’s got the feels of a preteen girl who’s addicted to the Inside Out movie.”
“First off, romantasy as a genre is ageless. Second, that’s an invasion of my privacy. And third, I’m trying to help you.”
Noah almost choked on his orange juice. “By pushing over-the-top pretty-boy book tropes at me?”
Eli outright hollered. “You tell him, Noah. You ain’t no over-the-top, dazzle-and-shine pretty-boy slingin’ his dragon-tamer at a woman who’s journeyed to a land far, far away to escape your clutches.”
“Good heavens, you boys are worse than I thought,” his mama said, wiping her hands and sitting beside him.
Pointing his fork like a dagger at a grinning Eli, Noah said. “He’s not helping.”
“Never said I would. I’m here for the tantalizing conversation.” Eli smirked, sopping up the last of his hashbrown casserole.
Tobias chimed in again. “Maybe your chances with Rachel would improve if you avoided late nights in the plunge pool, speaking at committee meetings, and the route to the high school.”
“Not another word, Mr. Page Turner. This isn’t one of your books.”
“Sticks and stones, little brother. Don’t take my advice. If you listen to Petey again, you’ll come crawling back at the dark moment.”
“See?” Noah gestured to his bookish brother.
“That right there is what I’m talking about.
” His voice carried through the house, and he realized his brothers, with their talk of him messing things up again, had gotten to him.
“If you want to help, make sure that folks show up on the farm to help Rachel and me with the preparations. And leave Pete out of it. He’s the only one who told me to marry Six as fast as I could or she’d leave this place and never look back,” he accused.
“I didn’t. She did.” Yeah, he’d sped up the timeline from what he and Six had discussed, but it shouldn’t have mattered.
She’d lied about wanting the same things he did.
Marriage. Kids. Him. And now she was back, telegraphing signals that maybe something had shifted in his favor. Noah aimed to find out.
“Noah, breathe,” his mama said, placing one hand on his cheeks. “Don’t worry about people showing up in support of the Johnsons. The town knows what needs doin’.”
He inhaled calmly and exhaled his frustration. When he opened his eyes, his mama’s loving smile greeted him.
“You don’t have to listen to anybody, lil’ rabbit. Your heart knows. And I can’t think of a time when you didn’t want Rachel around.” Noah wanted to protest. Say it wasn’t true. But the farmer’s daughter had branded his heart. “Do not let that woman slip away again.”
“Mama, it’s not that simple. She’s not staying. She has a whole life somewhere else.”
“So build a life she’ll want to stay for,” Tobias said. “Or go with her. Eli left for the military. I travel.”
“To book conferences,” Noah bellowed. “For more books. So stop with the dating advice.”
“Okay, Mom’s speaking,” she said gently, turning his face until she could look him square in the eyes again. “You’re good at so much, Noah, that I imagine love not being easy for you is hard to fathom. But it’s worth it. Love always is.”
The room quieted for a beat as everyone turned back to their plates, the kind of thoughtful quiet that settles when truth’s been spoken.
Then Eli ruined it by reaching for the last piece of bacon and getting smacked with a spoon.
“So,” Tobias said, grinning, “what’s your next move, Nomeo?”
Noah took a sip of coffee, his gaze steady. “I’m picking Rachel up for a lumber run. We’re building her dad’s wedding arch.”
“Oh ho, romantic, and so you and Rachel,” his mama gushed.
“Just like when you two were teenagers. We all knew if you saw one, the other was close behind. Rachel in the bleachers with those old pom-poms. And you, in Matt’s fields, helping with her chores.
It’ll be nice to see you two building something together again.
Your daddy always teased that Rachel taught you just as much about construction as he did. ”
“Yeah, but back then Rachel didn’t have a Benji protection detail following her every move.” Eli grinned.
“You ain’t never lied. That guy looks unassuming, but he might take you out if you hurt his FriendFriend.”
Noah shot his brother a withering look. “Shut up, Tobias. From the moment I pick her up, I have the day all planned. Slow drive, time at my place to discuss designs.” And how to renovate them, doing more than just talking, the next time they were alone in the barn.
“I have a couple of steaks marinating for later—”
Barking, loud and incessant, interrupted Noah’s fantasy. Followed by a blood-curdling “MRRRRROWWWWWWW!”
If ClamClam was here, that meant—
“MRRRRROWWWWWWW!” followed by more barking.
“What in the world,” his mama said, looking toward the back porch. Everyone, including Amarie, who needed a nuclear event to pull her from a plate of his mama’s cooking, left the table.
Rachel stood in the yard, sketch pad and tablet in one hand, a water bottle in the other. Noah looked her over, or more like drank her down. Hair up, boots on, she wore an expression that was all about business. Last night’s Rachel was nowhere in sight.
With a lift of his chin, he gestured toward the Johnson farm. “No entourage of dad, bride-to-be, and Benji to keep it strictly business between us.”
Rachel narrowed those gorgeous amber eyes, the heat there burning with a warning. “I can handle you, Noah Calvary.”
A devilish thought entered his mind, of Rachel’s hands using his body as her private skyscraper to climb over, and over.
And he had all day to stoke her flames. His grin must have telegraphed his fantasies, because Rachel rolled her eyes heavenward, but not before he caught her smile and the sound of footsteps.
Rachel lifted a hand in greeting. “Good morning, everybody. I hope you don’t mind my showing up to steal Noah away.
” A mixed quartet of Please, take him–You go, girl–Aw, that’s so sweet sounded over his shoulder.
Noah didn’t have to see his family to know they gushed with dopey smiles and googly eyes at Rachel.
When she turned her attention back in his direction, he slipped under her spell, too.
“I had an idea for the vacant Main Street storefronts. Can we swing by after the mill, and then Benji and I will do lunch at the Black Bear?”
As she detailed her plan, which didn’t include him, the spell broke. Noah ground his jaw at the unspoken message. Outside of their business, she was otherwise indisposed. He would’ve laughed if someone other than himself was the joke.
“MRRRRROWWWWWWW!” ClamClam added, as if to say, his answer had better be in the affirmative.
“Ah, is that the cat you gave her?” his mother asked, taking a step back.
“One and the same,” Noah ground out.
Amarie, trying to whisper and missing the mark, asked Eli, “What’s wrong with it?”
Great, not only had Rachel ruined the day he’d designed with her in mind, his family thought his gift was defective.
“Not a thing,” Rachel defended. “ClamClam is vocal. The vet said some cats take on their owner’s personality.”
Unless Rachel had a secret identity or an alter ego, this cat was a furball of surprises.
To his knowledge, the feline had been uncaged, free roaming the countryside since its arrival.
ClamClam was one generation away from feral.
But Rachel had come to her defense. If she adored the little banshee, Noah had delivered on his promise.
“The cat’s fine. Everybody’s fine.” He wasn’t. “Stay here. I’ll grab my truck,” he muttered.
Tobias grinned. “How’s that plan working out, bro?”
Rachel had used the hours apart to outmaneuver him.
The brief moment of genuine connection they’d shared last night had led to reinforced walls this morning.
When Eli chuckled, Noah shot a warning look.
Rachel had surprised him by making the first offensive move.
Well played, Six. But he was an excellent rock climber.