CHAPTER 5
NOAH
Pulling the sleeve of my undershirt down over my hands, I use it to wipe the sweat beading on my brow.
It’s hotter than Satan’s balls in this damn house.
“Dude, why the fuck is it so hot in here?” I grumble at Grayson as I pull the nail from between my lips and line it up with the wood.
“It has to be a comfortable seventy-two degrees in the house for the baby,” Grayson replies, casually rolling his paintbrush against the wall. I narrow my eyes at his bare back, not a drop of sweat visible on his skin. Fucker had the right idea.
“Do you realise it’s a beautiful spring day out there? Take the baby outside and turn on the aircon inside.”
“I dare you to say that to Liv,” he says, turning to me with a challenge in his eyes.
“Say what to me?” Liv appears in the doorway, a small bundle of dark curls resting against her shoulder.
“Uh…” I open and close my mouth, trying to think of something.
“Noah was just complaining about the temperature, weren’t you, Noah?”
Liv raises a brow at me, her head cocked. “Something wrong with the temperature, Noah?” She asks, her British accent making her question ten times more intimating than it should be. Just the way my name rolls off her tongue sends a terrifying chill down my spine.
Grayson watches me, a smirk on his face as I glance back and forth between him and his future wife, not sure how to go about answering without getting my ass chewed out.
“Cat got your tongue?” Liv challenges, her head tilted to the side, striking blue eyes boring into me.
I’m almost certain she’s going to show me her teeth next.
Just as I open my mouth to squeak out an answer at the scary mama-bear in front of me, my nephew, Rueben, begins to fuss, his small head rolling back and forth against Liv’s shoulder, no doubt in a search for milk.
I wait until she’s halfway down the hall before I release a heavy breath and turn back to Grayson. “What the fuck was that, dick?”
Grayson laughs, his eyes twinkling with a mischief that was once missing from them. “I was hoping she’d go all psycho mama on you. Honestly, I think it’s my favourite version of her.”
“You’re so whipped it makes me sick,” I grimace.
“Not whipped, man. Just happy.”
That makes me pause. If anyone in this world deserves to be happy, it’s him.
And for the longest time he wasn’t. That is until Liv came walking into his life two years ago and reminded him that it’s okay to have bad days, but it’s also okay to have good days too.
And that no matter which one of those days he was having, she would love him anyway.
“I’m glad you’re happy, man,” I tell him, hoping he can hear the sincerity in my voice.
Grayson smiles. “Thanks.”
“Just don’t pull that shit again. Last thing I want is to be on another wife’s shit list. I’m barely off Daisy’s.”
He chuckles, resuming his painting. “I don’t think you’ll be off any of their shit lists until you’re off Bella’s.”
I scoff. “I don’t even know what I did to get on that list.”
I say I don’t know. What I really mean is I don’t know what I did this time. There is likely a long list of reasons why I deserve to be on her shit list. The first one being Halloween night eight years ago but I’m not about to admit that to anyone.
I’ve done a handful of things in my twenty-six years of life that I regret but the events of the morning after that night will always be the biggest one.
“Have you seen her lately?” Grayson asks, the quiet concern in his tone snapping me back into reality.
I shake my head, lining up another nail with the wooden changing table I’ve been tasked with assembling. “Nah. She avoids me these days.”
I might not know why I’m on her shit list, but I know why she avoids me. It has nothing to do with anything I’ve done and everything to do with the asshole she’s been dating for the last two years.
I’ve never gotten along with Justin Thompson, nor his brother Sam. But my dislike for the former has only grown in the years he’s been with Bella.
There’s something sleezy about the guy. I’ve known it from the beginning. I just can’t prove it.
“She hasn’t been hanging out with the girls’ as often as she used to,” Grayson says, swapping out his roller brush for a paintbrush.
“I’ve noticed.”
She also moved out of the house she once shared with Liv and Daisy to move in with Justin. Although Liv and my other sister in-law Savannah still own the place, Jaxon, Killian and Daisy’s eighteen-year-old adopted son, lives there now with a few of his friends.
“Has Killian mentioned anything about her?” Grayson questions and I pause my task to look at him, frustration building inside of me.
“What’s with all the questions about Bella, man?”
He lets out a long breath. “Liv is worried. She asked me to find out if you’d spoken to her.”
“Well, I haven’t. Liv would have more luck finding out information from Bella herself than from me. Like I said, she’s avoiding me.”
He holds his hands up in surrender, paintbrush still clutched between his fingers. “Okay, man. I won’t ask any more questions.”
“Good,” I huff, turning away from him.
It’s really fucking hot in this house. Add that in with the annoyance coursing through me and I’m about ready to throw in the towel and leave my brother to deal with this shit himself.
I’d love nothing more than to kick my feet up on my porch with a cold beer and watch the sunset. Or maybe take myself to The Boot and find a cute little tourist to go home with. But no. I had to go and be the nice guy and offer to help him decorate and furnish the nursery on my only day off.
“Why couldn’t Hunter help you with this? He’s the daddy of the group.”
“He’s elbow deep in wedding planning with Savannah. It’s bad enough that I have to listen to him talk about cake flavours all day at work, I don’t wanna hear about it on our day off as well.”
I chuckle. “Fair. It’s gonna be one hell of a wedding, though.”
“Sure is. Mom’s having a field day.”
“Have you and Liv set a date yet?” I ask, thankful that we’ve moved on from the topic of Bella.
“We don’t have one set in stone, but we’re thinking the winter.”
“Hundred bucks says you’ll be the one talking about cake flavours come Thanksgiving,” I say, chuckling.
“Hundred bucks says I fucking won’t.”
I place down my hammer and step toward him, my hand outstretched and ready for him to shake. His eyes look from my hand to my face and back again before he shakes his head with a chuckle and takes my bet.
***
Using my hand to shield my eyes from the glaring sun, I watch as Grayson leads the unruly mare around the private training paddock next to his house. With her head flying left and right, she angrily attempts to fight the bit in her mouth.
The chocolate-brown beauty has been on the ranch for almost three weeks now and so far, the only person she’s allowed within arm’s reach of her is Gray. Hunter and I both attempted to bond with the mare but no dice.
I’ve always been curious as to what it is about my older brother that attracts the more unfriendly horses to him. They seem to trust him more than any of us. Or it could be that the fucker never shows fear.
“Think she’ll be suitable to ride soon?” I ask Grayson as he makes another lap past me.
He clicks his tongue. “Not for a while. I don’t know what happened to her, man, but it couldn’t have been good. She’s one of the most skittish I’ve seen.”
My eyebrows fly up at that. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” He sighs. “Doc sent over her X-ray results last week. I counted at least five previous bone breaks that were left untreated over the years.”
I shake my head, my stomach turning as I look up into the mare’s eyes. Horses are such innocent animals. When raised right, they can be the most loyal, hardworking companion a person could have. But when they’re raised how this one has been, they can also be the most cruel and unpredictable.
“I don’t understand how someone can do that shit. It makes me fucking sick.”
Gray dips his chin in agreement. “Tell me about it. I’d pay good money for five minutes alone with the prick.”
“Hmm,” I hum thoughtfully, imagining all the sadistic ways he’d make the person suffer. “I’d pay good money to watch.”
I clasp my hands around the top panel of the white fence and lean back. “How’re you finding dad life?” I ask, changing the subject.
The cold, hard exterior melts away from his face, replaced with awe. “It’s hands down the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“That good, huh?”
“Honestly, I didn’t think I could love someone more than I love Liv until Rueben was born,” he says, his eyes taking on a sappy look. It’s unsettling coming from Grayson.
“It looks good on you.”
“Fatherhood?” He asks.
“Happiness,” I clarify. And I mean it.
“Thanks, man.” Grayson claps me on the back before leading the mare away, ending the conversation.
I take that as my cue, shooting him a wave and climbing into my truck.
I’m halfway into the five-minute drive to my parent’s house when a familiar car comes towards me and I squint my eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of the blonde in the driver’s seat.
I slow down, hoping that she’ll pull to a stop and finally talk to me, but she keeps driving, her eyes never leaving the dirt road in front of her as though she doesn’t even see me.
I frown as I watch her pass. I don’t know what the fuck I did to piss her off this time, but it seems that’s all I ever do these days.
Ever since I found out Bella was going on a date with Justin and made my feelings known about him, our friendship hasn’t been the same.
She started keeping her distance from me from the beginning and any time we did happen to find ourselves in each other’s company, it would inevitably end up in a fight.
But recently, it’s not just me she’s been keeping her distance from, so even though she just completely ignored my presence, it’s a relief to see her on the ranch again.
I shake off the annoyance and pick up speed again, heading for the main house. Considering its only spring, it’s unseasonably hot today and I’ve been thinking about my mom’s fresh lemonade all day.
Spring has always been my favourite season for two reasons: it’s the beginning of longer days and tourist season.
The sun rises earlier and sets later meaning I can get all the gruelling jobs done in the early morning and spend the rest of the day drinking and shooting the shit at The Boot with the ranch hands or on the rare occasion, my brothers and Killian.
It’s been a while since the last time we all went out together. Now that they’re all practically married off, I’ve become the forgotten friend. The seventh wheel.
As I round the main barn, I eye Killian’s work truck parked off to the side and hook a left, pulling in beside him.
Once my truck is in park, I climb out and trudge toward the barn, the sound of whinnies and snorts greeting me as I step inside. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the stark difference in lighting, and I breathe a sigh of relief at the much-needed shade the barn offers.
“Kill?” I call out, dipping my head into each stall I pass in search of my best friend.
No response comes but a rustling followed by a muttered shit spills out of the tack room and I bite back a laugh as Killian comes tumbling out, fastening his jeans.
My eyes widen. “Were you just fucking in my tack room?” I ask, barely holding in the laugh that’s dying to break free.
Killian runs a hand through his hair, his cheeks flushed. “Not fucking, no.”
He doesn’t need to explain what was happening. My head drops back, the booming laugh finally escaping. “Is this what you do on your lunch break?” I ask between laughs.
“You’d do the same fucking thing if you were married,” Killian defends, trying to fight his own laugh.
Daisy comes out of the tack room, a lot less dishevelled than my friend here and moves to stand beside him. She’s the image of cool, calm and collected when she says, “Hey, Noah.”
I dip my head in acknowledgement, the corners of my mouth twitching. “Dais’.”
“What’s up?” Killian asks, pulling his wife into his side. I watch as Daisy’s body goes lax against him, completely relaxing into his hold and I’m suddenly hit with an unexpected pang of envy.
“I saw your truck parked out front; thought I’d come and say hello.” I turn my attention to Daisy. “I just saw Bella heading for Grayson and Liv’s house.”
“Bella’s here? She didn’t mention that she’d be coming to the ranch today.”
I shrug. “Her car just passed me on my way over, but I didn’t get the chance to speak to her.”
Bella and Daisy have been best friends for as long as I can remember. The pair were inseparable when we were kids and once Kilian started dating Daisy, the two of them would tag along with us everywhere we went.
It bothered me at first, having them follow us around all the time. I felt like I was losing my friend. Like he was replacing me with his girlfriend. But after a while, Bella and I built a friendship that made having them around a whole lot more enjoyable.
I’ve always felt protective of Bella, in some way.
At first, I looked at her as more of a sister figure but as our friendship grew over the years, it evolved into something more than that.
Something entirely opposite to brotherly.
And I’m pretty sure Killian noticed too, because eventually he pulled me to one side and made me promise that I would never, under any circumstances, go near his sister.
What he doesn’t know is that I broke that promise years ago.
I’m not proud of the fact that I betrayed my friends trust and slept with his sister. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have changed anything from that night, but I would change everything about the morning after.
I hadn’t realised the gravity of the mistake I’d made until I’d dropped Bella home and returned to my bedroom. When I pulled my comforter off the bed to change the sheets and found the blood spot in the centre of the grey sheet, I knew I had royally fucked up.
I had no idea that Bella was a virgin that night. If I had known, I don’t think it would have stopped me. But I would have been gentler. I’d have taken my time and made it as special as she deserved it to be. I wouldn’t have pretended not to remember like a fucking pussy.
Daisy nods thoughtfully, the movement pulling me back into the present and reminding me that I’m standing in front of the very person I’m keeping so much from.
“I’ll finish up here and go over there.” She leans up on her tiptoes and kisses Killian softly before turning and disappearing back inside the tack room.
I look back at Killian. “I need a boy’s night, man.”