Chapter 6EMMA
Chapter Six
Noah and Emma
EMMA
“I don’t think looking out the window every five minutes will get them here faster,” I hear Noah laugh from the kitchen.
“They should be here by now. I hope they didn’t get lost,” I peer out the window again.
“I sent them the address when they landed. They’ll be here.” He lifts the lid on the stove and stirs the chili. “God, this smells good. Maybe I should try it first before we serve it to our friends.”
“Don’t you dare,” I laugh, coming over to him. “It still needs to simmer for a bit longer, and I still have to add the cream right before it’s served.”
“I can’t believe I’ve never had your white chicken chili before. You’ve been holding out on me,” he grins and puts the lid back on the pot.
“I finally went through all of my mom’s recipes and found it. I’ve been craving it, and with this cold weather, I thought it would be a perfect dinner for everybody. If you think it looks good now, just wait until you taste it with the cornbread and cilantro.”
“You’re killing me.” He pulls me into his arms and kisses me. The sound of a truck pulling up to the cabin has me grinning against his lips.
“They’re here,” I squeal, breaking away and running as fast as my pregnancy waddle can take me.
Throwing open the door, a blast of cold hits my face as I see my best friends start to get out of the truck.
I spot Bella’s long blond hair first as her blue eyes meet mine.
Except for the hair color, she and Noah look so much alike with their beautiful smile and ocean-blue eyes.
Grinning, she comes running over to me and is in my arms before I can make it down the front porch steps.
“How are you feeling? Is my niece doing okay with this cold weather?” She places her hands on my belly as she rapid-fires her questions.
“You sound just like your brother,” I laugh. “Everything is good. She’s kicking up a storm in there, and I’m pretty sure the cold weather isn’t getting through these layers I’m wearing.”
“Hey, sis,” Noah comes up behind me and grabs his sister in a hug. “I’m so glad you guys could make it.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it.”
“There’s my favorite pregnant lady,” Maverick says, pulling me into a hug.
He’s the same height as Noah at six foot three and towers over my five foot seven frame.
His chin-length hair is sticking out of his white beanie, and with his golden streak highlights and tan from the sun, he looks every bit like the surfer he is.
I pull back and study his good looks. “How is it that you can go from the cover of a surfer magazine straight to the cover of a snowboarding magazine just by changing your clothes and environment?” I peer at him, and he flashes his dimpled grin my way.
“It’s the hair.”
“Don’t give him a bigger head than he already has,” Noah laughs and hugs his best friend. “Good to see you, man.”
“Good to see you, too.”
I peer around Mav and throw my arms around his sister, Sophia, as soon as she gets up the front steps. Unlike Mav’s lighter hair, Sophia’s jet-black hair is long and wavy down her back. Her beautiful green eyes match his, though, easily telling you they are related.
“I’m so happy you are finally here! Did Max have a good Christmas?
” Max was initially one of her students in her kindergarten class she teaches, and they quickly formed a bond.
She got the surprise of her life, though, when her hot one-night stand, Travis, ended up being the single father of her favorite student.
Things got complicated at first, and they tried to deny their feelings but quickly realized there was no keeping them apart.
They married shortly after, and Sophia didn’t hesitate to adopt Max.
“He did. I think Santa gave him everything a seven-year-old could want,” Sophia laughs.
“And who’s fault is that?” Travis laughs, coming up behind her and warming me with another hug.
At six foot four with his dark hair and grey eyes, they make a stunning couple.
He’s a tattoo artist and owns Inked in our small Florida town, Crystal Isle.
He and his three brothers and sister have quickly become like family to us.
We all spent the Fourth of July together at their family beach house and quickly decided to make it a yearly tradition.
“I may have gone overboard,” Sophia laughs. “I can’t help it though. He’s so stinking cute, and it doesn’t help he’s a spitting image of you. It’s hard to deny you two anything.”
“I’m not going to complain about that one,” Travis laughs.
“I should hope not,” Sophia grins and winks at him.
Travis shakes his head and chuckles before they both greet Noah.
“Let’s get you guys inside. I’m sure your Florida asses are freezing just like mine,” Noah laughs and ushers them into the house.
“This is beautiful, you guys.” Bella takes in the cabin and all the updates we showed her through pictures.
“I give all the credit to Noah. He did an amazing job on the place.” I beam up at him as his arm comes around me.
“It was a beautiful place to begin with. I just gave it a little something extra.”
We give them a tour of the place and show them their bedrooms so they can unload their bags. Luckily, the layout was perfect for having guests and listing it as a vacation rental, so we didn’t have to change much of the structure.
The master bedroom is downstairs, along with a small office and a murphy bed for more guests.
The loft has two bedrooms on opposite sides of the house with their own bathrooms, so everyone has privacy and their own space.
The open area in the middle overlooks the downstairs, where we added a pool table and dart board for entertaining, along with a small bar and TV for watching sports.
“I can’t get over this view,” Sophia walks over to the windows covering the back of the house. The bigger mountains can be seen in the distance as the hills surrounding it are covered in snow-covered pines. “It’s like a winter wonderland out there.”
“It is beautiful,” Mav agrees. “It’s amazing what replacing small windows can do for a view. My favorite thing about our house is waking up to a gorgeous picture outside our back wall of windows every day.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Bella wraps her arms around his stomach. “I still have to pinch myself that we actually live there.”
“Who wants a drink?” Noah asks, going behind the bar. “Cole and Skye should be here in an hour from their skiing trip. Their flight will be landing soon. They were stopping by their place to change and unpack, so we have some time before dinner.”
Noah starts pouring the girls a glass of red and handing the guys a bourbon. Settling on the couch, I catch up with Bella and Sophia while the guys play a game of pool.
“Oh my God, that was so good. I can’t eat another bite,” Mav groans, pushing away his empty bowl.
“Emma’s mom would double the batch every time she made it so I could take it home and eat on it for days,” Skye smiles at the memory and meets my eyes.
She’s been my best friend since kindergarten and has seen me at my best and at my very worst. I will always be grateful for her.
When I lost my parents and went through a terrible breakup a short time later, she was my only light in the darkness I had surrounded myself in and made sure I found my way back.
She met Cole in high school, and the two blond beauties immediately hit it off. They have been together ever since. Everyone in our school had no doubt that Ken and Barbie would stay together long after we graduated.
“She would have been the first to make a giant pot today for everyone.” Noah lays his hand on my thigh, and I give him a reassuring smile. Even though I miss them terribly, especially around the holidays, Noah always seems to have a way of taking the pain away and helping me breathe easier.
Cole looks at Skye, his blue eyes shining with excitement. Puzzled, I watch Skye try to contain her happiness. She’s never been good at hiding her feelings, and I immediately pick up on her mood change.
“What’s going on, you two? Skye’s about to bust out of her seat. I can feel her excitement from across the table.”
Laughing, Cole’s blue eyes find mine. “We wanted to wait and tell you in person.”
“You’re pregnant!” Bella sits up straighter and glances between the couple. I stare wide-eyed at my best friend.
“No,” Skye says, laughing. “I’d like to be married first before that happens.” She glances at Cole’s smiling face again before her bright blue eyes find me. “Cole’s getting transferred. We will be moving this summer.”
“What? Where? Please don’t tell me it’s further than Florida to Tennessee.” The hardest part about moving to Florida was leaving them behind. We visit each other as often as we can, but it’s not the same. I absently rub my belly, hoping my baby girl will get to see her Aunt Skye often.
“Well, it’s definitely not further,” he grins. “You are looking at the new firefighter for the Crystal Isle Fire Department.”
I blink, not quite believing what I’m hearing.
“You better not be messing with me, Cole Benjamin West. I’m very pregnant, and you can’t mess with my emotions like this.
” I glance at Skye, and she has the biggest grin on her face.
“You’re moving to Florida?” I whisper. The excitement starts to flow through my veins at the thought of being able to see her every day just like we used to.
She nods her head and laughs as I jump from the table, catching me in a hug. I’m a blubbering mess as I cry happy tears. Everyone starts talking excitedly at once, and I hear Noah’s name being mentioned.
“You knew?” I wipe the tears from my eyes and stare at him, shocked.
“Who do you think made the call to the chief?” Cole asks me. “His friend from high school vouched for me because of Noah and I was instantly hired.”
“I know how bad you want them here, especially after the baby arrives, so as soon as I heard about the job opening, I immediately called my friend, Jack. My dad golfs with the fire chief, so it was an easy sell,” he shrugs.
I lunge at my husband and pepper his face with kisses. “You are so going to get lucky tonight,” I whisper into his ear, causing him to laugh. “Thank you,” I softly say.
“You're welcome.” He brushes back a piece of my hair and smiles. “It was so hard keeping that secret from you,” he chuckles.
“It was actually a group effort. Sophia was sworn to secrecy, too,” I hear Skye say. Whipping my head around, I see Sophia grinning widely.
“I may have mentioned Skye’s name to the school board at our last meeting. It just so happens they need a second-grade teacher next year.”
Skye nods excitedly when she sees the question in my eyes.
“I start in the fall. I’ve never taught second grade before, but I’m excited for a change.
Sophia assures me that it’s not that much different than kindergarten.
Plus,” she looks over at Travis and grins, “rumor has it that I’m going to have the cutest second grader ever in my class.
I’m looking forward to spending time with Max and getting to know him more. ”
“I can’t believe this is really happening,” I whisper.
“It’s happening, Em. Life has a way of bringing people together who are meant to be.” Noah kisses my hair as I lean back into him. I blink back the tears and look around the room at the people I love most in this world. His hand finds mine as he places them both on my belly.
There was a time when I never thought I would be happy again, but here in this moment, as I watch our friends laugh and talk to one another, I’ve never been happier. I lost one family, but through that loss, it led me here, where I gained another.