Chapter Seventeen
Noah
“Now, you just have to let me know what to pack and where to find it, and we’ll get everything squared away,” Noah said as they walked into her house, watching Bree warily from the corner of his eye. “And if you notice anything missing, make sure to jot it down so we can let Detective Ramirez know.”
The dark circles under Bree’s eyes stood out today, proof of the difficulty she had sleeping the night before. When he asked about it this morning, she just shrugged it off and said she had a bad dream, but Noah suspected it was worse than she was letting on.
Bree nodded. “My art stuff should probably be packed up first,” she said quietly.
“Like sketchbooks and watercolors?”
She laughed lightly. “It’s a little more involved than that. That’s why I don’t have a spare bed or bedroom. My spare room is my art studio. Go take a look.” She said, sending him on his way.
Eli had cleared the room last night so Noah hadn’t had the chance to see it, but when he walked into the art studio, he was immediately captivated by a large picture of a landscape. The early morning sky colors reflected in the water, the soft grasses looking as though they were in motion. There was a small house nestled in the tree line and a child playing on the dock. There was peace and joy and movement, all so beautifully captured. The detail was exquisite. He didn’t have to know much about art to know that he was in the presence of greatness. This wasn’t a small side gig. Noah turned as Bree approached the room, amazed by her artistic talent.
“Well, what do you think?” She asked, watching him with a curious mix of dread and excitement, like she was looking forward to his reaction, but afraid of what he’d say at the same time. And he understood. This was something private. Something just hers. And she was sharing it. With him.
“It’s beautiful. You have a gift, sweetheart.” He said, walking over to her and planting a soft kiss on her forehead. She smiled up at him and he looked down at her, watching the way the sunlight streaming through the window danced in her eyes. “So, what do we need out of here?”
The next thirty minutes were spent with Bree telling him what needed to go and where to put it. They had a minor dispute over packing her clothes—Noah told her to just bring it all—and she eventually kicked him out of the bedroom so she could pack in peace. He loaded her things into his car, feeling a mix of lingering apprehension that someone had been in her house and relief that Bree would be coming home with him. Noah went back into the living room with Theo and Eli to wait for Bree.
“Are you sure you want me to stay with you? Long term is different than one night.” Bree asked from behind him. “Because I can stay in a hotel. I don’t want to bother you.” She added with a frown.
Before Noah could answer, a loud pounding sound reverberated through the space, jerking their attention to the front door. Noah pushed her gently behind him. “Eli, take her.” He said, handing her off to the man standing nearby. Eli nodded and put Bree between himself and the table, Theo taking up the mantle on her right.
The noise repeated, and yells of “Aubrey, open up!” chorused outside.
Bree groaned. “It sounds like Rae.” She said quietly.
Noah nodded and made his way over to the door, stooping to peer through the peephole before jerking the door open and pulling Rae in, shutting the door quickly behind them.
Bree was confused. “What’s going on?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” Rae asked, anger in her voice. Noah stepped around her and came back to the table, positioning himself protectively in front of Bree as Eli moved back slightly to stand on her left.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bree said, confusion coloring her tone as she moved to stand next to Noah instead of behind him.
“This!” She said, pulling a paper out of her purse and shoving it at her unceremoniously. Bree was getting tired of her attitude.
Bree took the paper and turned it over, feeling the color drain from her face as she took in the headlines and pictures accompanying it. Noah and Bree were splashed all over the front page. Noah pressed against her when she lost her footing getting out of the car the first day. Noah in the wings of the photoshoot she did with Steph. Noah with his hand on her back in the coffee shop. Noah and Bree nearly kissing. Noah, Theo, and Bree installing the cameras outside. The tears that had welled up in her eyes began to run down her face and she let them, not bothering to wipe them away. The article speculated that Noah was her boyfriend and he was the reason behind my unexpected retirement and relocation to “the middle of nowhere.”
She was so…angry. Frustrated. Violated. It was an invasion of privacy. Another one. And not just hers. Bree turned her head to look at Noah, whose jaw was ticking. “Noah,” She said quietly, tucking into his side as they looked over the paper together.
He looked down at Bree and rubbed her back in a soothing motion. “It’s okay, Bree. It’s just more speculation.”
“So he is your boyfriend.” Rae said hollowly. “Aubrey I know I’m not your agent anymore, but it would’ve been nice to get a phone call or something. Is he the reason you left the industry at the top of your game?” She asked, frustration evident in her tone.
“Can you check the tone? And why are you here anyway? I thought you were going back to L.A.,” Bree asked, unable to keep the bite out of her voice.
Rae scoffed, “There was a conference with some big labels over in Nashville, so I thought I’d swing by. Listen, babe. No man is worth giving up the money and fame when you’re at the top of your game. Look at you now! Trading nights on the town for nights in this…quaint home. Trading the stage for a paintbrush. You stripped away the most interesting facet of your personality and then whine when you get attention because you’re dating a hunk. Give me a freaking break.”
Bree stepped back as though Rae had slapped her and nearly collided with the table. Theo and Eli both reached out to steady her. A cacophony of noise surrounded her as everyone began to speak at once.
“What is your problem?” Eli asked, his muscles tensing as he took in the situation.
“You’re out of line.” Theo snapped, taking a step closer to Rae.
“Apologize,” Noah growled out, his hand stilling on Bree’s back.
“I didn’t leave the industry because of Noah, Rae. I didn’t even know him. I hated the spotlight. It was a miracle I stayed as long as I did. And whether Noah is or isn’t my boyfriend is none of your concern. So back off.” Bree argued.
Rae ignored the men and glared at Bree. “You’ll get bored of small-town living—hopefully before you completely lose the steam you’ve built up. Come find me when you get over it, and maybe we’ll be able to salvage your career.”
Noah and Theo were both vibrating with restrained anger as Rae walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
“Wow,” Theo said.
“Is she like that often?” Noah asked, clenching his jaw while slowly resuming the soothing rubbing motion on Bree’s lower back, the muscles in his hand more tense than before.
“She’s always been kind of hot and cold. Normally, I’d attribute it to just her being the way she is, but that was a bit much even for her.”
“Has she been acting differently since I started coming around?” Noah asked, tilting his head slightly.
“I mean, she’s been a little more moody and distant. Why do you a—Noah Hawthorne! You think Rae is the one who took those pictures and sold my address?”
Noah shrugged. “Why not? She could be trying to distance herself from it by showing outrage that you didn’t tell her about something going on with you. Because if she’d been the one taking the pictures, she’d have known.”
“It couldn’t be Rae. She is probably just feeling pressure from her bosses to sign a big up-and-coming client since they lost me. She wouldn’t sell me out, though.” Bree couldn’t stomach the thought of that.
“What if she was hoping that getting you back into the public eye would encourage you to pick the mic back up?”
“Then she’d be grossly mistaken. I’m never going back.”
“We’re going to step outside and do a perimeter check to make sure everything is secure from the outside before we all leave,” Eli said. Noah nodded, his eyes not leaving hers as a calm Eli and still irate Theo headed out the back door.
“Does Rae know your routines in Chattanooga?” Noah asked pointedly.
“I mean, yeah. She helped me originally set up the box, and I usually text her when I’m going to pick up mail. She knows I stop at the museum, too.”
“So it could’ve been Rae.”
“No, it couldn’t—”
“It could have been Rae.”
Bree nodded hesitantly. “I guess so.”
“Has anyone else been acting weird?”
“No, everyone else has been pretty normal. My parents haven’t called, but that’s not atypical since I sent them the money for the hospital bill for Jess. They usually call more often the closer it comes to being due.”
“Hmm,” Noah said shortly.
“I need more coffee to get through this day.” Bree groaned, her head and heart aching at the thought that her former agent and current friend could possibly be behind all of this.
“How about water?”
“Filtered through coffee grounds?”
“No, plain water.”
“Noah…”
“Coffee isn’t a meal, sweetheart. You need good nutrition—you’ve been under a lot of stress.”
Bree huffed. “Please?” She tried again with a smile.
“You are trouble, Miss Aubrey Gray.” He said, shaking his head and disappearing into the kitchen.
“Only if you try and stand between me and my coffee, Mr. Hawthorne.” She joked back at him as she moved to sit on the couch, dropping the article Rae had brought onto the table. His laugh sounded from the kitchen, and her heart filled with warmth, even as she waded through the pain and sadness. Who knew that such opposing emotions could coexist?
Noah came back a few minutes later and handed her a fresh cup of coffee. “Here you go.” He said, careful not to let it slosh all over.
She took it from his hand and took a large sip. Heavenly. “So…should we talk about this?” Bree asked, gesturing toward the article sitting on the coffee table.
“What about it?”
“They invaded your privacy too, Noah.”
“It’s not the first time. Comes with being part of a security detail. I’m just normally in a suit, and they fancy me some sort of wealthy businessman.”
“So it doesn’t bother you?”
“No. How are you feeling?”
“It was…shocking. First someone was inside my house and then the pictures…It’s a lot. But I’m physically unharmed, so I guess it could’ve been worse.” Bree said, attempting to shrug it off.
Noah furrowed his brow. “It’s okay that it bothers you, Bree. It was pictures taken of you in private moments. Those don’t belong to anyone except you and the person you shared the moment with. It’s okay to be angry or feel violated or whatever. Your feelings are valid.”
Bree sat back for a moment and tried to sort her feelings. Her head kind of felt like it was full of cotton. “I do feel violated. Those were private moments and they have no business broadcasting them. I went through that before, and it makes me angry that someone thinks they’re entitled to share pictures of me and people I care about.” She said, anger lacing her tone and sourness filling her stomach.
Noah’s eyes softened before darting to the back door as Theo and Eli reentered the space. Eli looked down at the broken door pane.
“We’ll get it covered up and get someone out to repair it,” Eli said as Theo walked around securing the inside of the house. “We also stopped over and asked Mr. Robinson if he saw anything. He said he didn’t notice anyone lurking outside of the house. No unusual cars coming in and out of the neighborhood.”
“So he either is coming into the neighborhood on foot or using different cars when he comes through for surveillance,” Noah said thoughtfully.
“Or he doesn’t do surveillance. Maybe he just got her address and decided to go over. More spur of the moment than planned.” Eli suggested.
“We’ll have to look into both options. I’ll see what I can uncover. Also, I know you wanted to drive Bree”s car so she has wheels. So I’m gonna drive your car, and Eli said he’d grab me and bring me back to my house.” Theo called from across the room.
“I appreciate it,” Noah said as they all returned to the living room, watching Bree carefully while she grabbed her purse.
When Theo and Eli both left, Noah locked the door between the garage and the house and then they hopped into Bree’s car and drove. Bree sat quietly, observing him while he drove. He kept his eyes on the mirrors to make sure no one followed them.
After taking a few scenic detours to shake any potential tails, they finally headed toward his neighborhood. It had been so late last night they just went in through the garage and he showed her the guest room and bathroom and they left first thing this morning. Noah normally didn’t care much about what others thought, but suddenly he was rather nervous about whether Bree would like his house.