Chapter Sixteen
NOAH
It’s been one week since Katie and I opened up to one another.
Though I was nervous, I’m happy I gave her a glimpse of what I went through and how I felt.
I think we’ve found common ground, and it feels nice for the truth to be out in the open.
Understanding where her head and heart have been has opened my eyes.
Her feelings are valid, and I should’ve never ignored her while I was in prison.
The elephant that’s been sitting on my chest, smothering me for the past decade, is finally gone. I can finally breathe again, even if I’m not sure what our future holds. If all we can be is friends, I’ll take it, although it’s not what I want.
After Katie showed me all the ideas she had from her Pinterest boards, I started working on the pantry. It’s been five days, and she hasn’t noticed, so I’ll be excited to surprise her when it’s finished.
After I saw what she envisioned for the kitchen and how excited she was about completing it, I plan to focus on that next. Katie has a lot of tools, but she’s missing key things like a circular saw. Dad brought his tools over, and I salvaged some old wood and supplies I found in Katie’s garage.
After I sanded and stained the wood, I measured and cut the boards, then got to work building her dream pantry. It took four long days to finish, and my dad’s coming over this morning to look at it before I show her. He has an eye for these things, and I want his opinion.
Dad calls to let me know he’s on his way.
“Hey, stranger,” he says when he walks in, then looks around. “I’ve always loved this house. It has character.”
I lead him to the kitchen. When he sees what I’ve been able to accomplish in such little time, his face lights up.
“I removed the cabinetry here and rebuilt the shelving. And look…” I reach forward, showing him the slide-out drawer I added at the bottom for storing pots and pans.
“Noah, this is incredible.” Dad flashes a cheeky grin. “You did an amazing job. And this blue color, it looks good.”
“Katie already had it picked out. She’s still deciding if she wants to keep the countertop or replace it.”
My dad runs his hand across the old linoleum that has a weird yellow tint to it. “I bet she upgrades.”
“Eventually, I’m sure. But at least now, she won’t have to pay someone thousands to build this,” I say, taking a step back to admire my work.
“It’s gonna hold a ton of food and storage. You could start a business doing this, son. Not everyone can whip up a pantry in less than a week with limited supplies.”
“I was highly motivated,” I admit, appreciating his genuine words. “I know how much it means to Katie to have this, and now she won’t have to pay anyone to do it.”
“Well, you’ll be glad to know there haven’t been any more threats. I got the red spray paint off your truck, and it’s waiting for you at the house. You should come home and go back to work. I’m sure Tyler could use your help. Plus, I miss seeing you,” he admits.
I feel guilty he’s barely seen me since I’ve been released.
“Thanks for doing that, Dad. And you’re right.
It’s been long enough, I suppose. I’ll let Katie know after I show her this that tonight will be my last night.
Hopefully, she’ll like it so I can continue to help her on my days off.
She could hate it, though, considering I didn’t exactly tell her my plans. ”
“She’s gonna love it,” he reassures me with soft eyes. “And I’m sure she’s happy to have your experience. She’s been working on this house for a while.”
“I hope you’re right.” I try to shake off the nerves of the anticipation.
Dad’s phone rings, and when he pulls it out of his pocket, Belinda’s name appears on the screen.
He answers it, softens his tone, and walks through the living room.
I hesitantly follow him onto the front porch and look around outside.
I’ve been inside for two weeks, but I’m still nervous that someone's after me.
When he’s off the phone, he smiles. Seeing him this happy after all this time gives me hope for my own future. “She wants me to have lunch with her today.”
“You gonna propose soon?” I ask, giving him a nudge.
Dad laughs as we walk to his truck. “You can meet us at the deli at noon if you’re hungry.”
“Appreciate it, but I wanna do some finishing touches before tonight.”
“Alrighty. See you soon, right?” He pops a brow.
“Yep. Probably late tonight.” I wave goodbye as he cranks his truck, then reverses out of the driveway.
When I go inside the house, I clean up around the place. I sweep up the sawdust and get rid of the scrap wood. At some point, I take a break to eat and call Gemma.
“Hey!” she says in a high-pitched voice after the first ring.
“You can’t be that excited to talk to me,” I tease.
“Of course I am. You’re my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother,” I remind her.
“Oh yeah, almost forgot,” she says with a laugh. “What’s goin’ on? Hold on.” Gemma pulls the phone away from her ear and yells Tyler’s name. “It’s Noah!”
There’s shuffling in the background.
“Am I on speakerphone?”
“Yes,” Tyler says loud and clear.
I roll my eyes. “Well, since you’re both here, just thought I’d let you know I’d like to come back to work on Monday. I mean, if you still want me around,” I offer, giving Tyler a pass, especially after the window incident.
“Of course we do. You can come in today if you’re free,” Tyler tells me.
It makes me laugh. “Thanks, man. I’m busy today but looking forward to returning. You two should see what I built for Katie.”
“Uhh,” Gemma hesitates nervously.
“Don’t worry. We discussed it, and she was okay with me helping. Now, I did kinda take it upon myself to build her a pantry, but she showed me pictures of what she wanted,” I explain. “And I nailed it based on her Pinterest board.”
“And if you didn’t…say goodbye to your balls,” Gemma warns.
Tyler laughs. “Yeah, I wouldn't wanna cross her, especially since she’s learned how to use power tools and hammers. I bet she has a helluva swing.”
I snort. “I’ll send you a picture, and you two can be the judge of it.”
“Has she seen it yet?” Gemma asks.
“Not yet. I’m showing her today after she gets off work.” I run my fingers through my hair, hoping she doesn’t kill me.
“I’m sure she’ll like it,” Tyler encourages. “Send over that pic.”
“I will. And if I disappear after today, you know Katie did it,” I joke. “Dad said things have been quiet, so I’ll probably be home later tonight. I’m excited to work again and help y’all finish the gym.”
“Hell yeah,” Tyler says.
“Anyway, I’ll let y’all go. See you sooner than later,” I say, not wanting to linger on this call much longer.
After I hang up, I send them some pictures. Gemma replies instantly, telling me she loves it and wants one in their future house. I go to the bedroom and pack up my belongings.
After I undo the stopper in the air mattress, I fold the blankets, then stack the pillows. Letting out a breath, I realize how much I’m gonna miss being here. It wasn’t ideal, but it gave me the opportunity to see and speak with Katie every day.
Things will probably change after I leave, but hopefully, we won’t take two steps back from how far we’ve come.
I keep myself busy until I decide to hop in the shower.
Just as I’m putting on some clean clothes, Katie’s car pulls into the driveway, and my nerves get the best of me.
Though I’m confident I made it as perfect as I could for what she wanted, I’m still worried she’ll be upset.
Though the house has a chill, I feel as if I’m sweating.
Moments later, the front door swings open, and Katie enters with Owen trailing her. As soon as he sees me, his face lights up with excitement.
“Noah! You have to see my writing project!” He pulls something out of his backpack.
“Yeah, buddy. Let me see,” I say, grabbing the notebook he hands me. He’s bouncing on his feet as I flip through the hand-drawn comic book pages. “Whoa! You did all of this by yourself?”
“Yeah! I love superheroes but wanted to write one with a kid my age.”
“I’m impressed,” I say honestly. “The detail is really good. You’ve got some mad skills, Owen.”
“You really think so?”
“Dude, I’d never lie about something like this. You’re talented,” I say, reading through the pages until I hit the end. “Wow. I guess it’s true that not all superheroes wear capes.”
“It’s based on a true story.” Owen puffs out his little chest.
Katie pats his back. “Enough tall tales.”
“Mom! What if I were a superhero and could save people from the bad guys? If my dad would’ve had someone to save him…”
The mood changes, and it feels like all the air has been sucked from the room. Based on Katie’s reaction, I’m not alone. She clears her throat, keeping her smile locked in place. “You’re right. Now let’s eat dinner. Go set the table,” she urges.
As Owen’s busy, I stop Katie. “Real quick, I have something to tell you.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I think so. I mean, it might not be after you see what I did. Close your eyes.”
She furrows her brows, but she doesn’t argue. I carefully lead her into the kitchen while she covers her face.
“Ready?” I whisper close in her ear, and she shivers.
She nods, and I open the door. I tell her to look, and she blinks hard.
“Noah,” she whispers, opening the door wider and peeking inside.
“It’s exactly how I imagined. How did—” Before she finishes her sentence, Katie wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.
Her breasts press against my chest, and her mouth is so close to mine as she thanks me, I’m tempted to kiss her again.
Her eyes flutter closed, and I can almost taste her lips again.
“Mom?” Owen calls, and his feet shuffle across the wood floors. Katie puts space between us, but her breasts continue to rise and fall as her pulse throbs in her neck.
“Yeah?” Katie walks toward him as he enters the kitchen.
“I think we left the food in the car,” he says, then grins at me.
“You’re right. I’ll go grab it,” she says. Owen walks out, and when Katie turns, her gaze nearly pierces through me.
She wraps her arms around me, and when I pull her close, her hot breath on my neck makes me shiver. We’re so damn close.
“Thank you so much for building this. I love it. You really didn’t have to do any of this. It seems like so much, almost too much.”
Heat rushes through my body, and as if she noticed our closeness, she puts space between us. I hate the loss of her warmth and body pressed against mine.
“I wanted to do this for you. And I wanna keep helping you, if you’ll let me.”
She flashes a sexy smirk and nods before walking away. I’m thankful for the separation because I need a moment to catch my breath and readjust myself. I head to the table, and as soon as she returns, I smell the fried chicken.
After Owen passes out the napkins, we fill our plates, then dig in.
So many stolen glances are shared between Katie and me that the sexual tension is almost unbearable.
Though we’re keeping up with small talk, all I can imagine is kissing her again, having her melt into me once more, and it makes me wonder if we’ll ever have a real chance of being together.
Once we’re done eating, I help clean up. Katie goes back to the kitchen, and I follow her while Owen plays with his tablet. As she looks over everything again, I lean against the counter and watch her run her hand across the freshly painted wood.
“You were right. The paint color looks nice,” I admit.
“I still can’t believe you did this. It’s too much.”
The way her face lights up as she looks around makes it all worth it.
“It’s not enough.” I lower my voice. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about, Katie. I’m going back home tonight. It’s time.”
She nods and gives me a small smile. “I figured it was coming.”
“I can’t stay hidden forever, or whoever is doing this wins. I served my time already and can’t continue being a prisoner. The police still have an open investigation, and my dad said nothing else has happened.”
“You’re right,” she tells me. “You deserve to get back to normal.”
I step forward and take her soft hand. “I still wanna help you on the weekends, if you’ll let me. Getting this house finished before the end of the year is doable with a little elbow grease.”
She grins. “I’d like that.”
I kiss her knuckles, and she tucks her bottom lip into her mouth.
“You’re amazing. I don’t deserve you,” I say, meeting her eyes.
“Why would you think that?”
“Because you let me be a part of your life again after everything I did and how badly I hurt you.”
She sucks in a shallow breath, and we stare at each other as the tension between us rises. A thump sounds in the next room, and we rush toward it, only to see Owen picking up his tablet from the floor.
“Whoops.”
“Did it break?” Katie asks.
“Nope!” he says with a grin, flipping the screen around.
“Oh, before I forget, I have a girls’ day planned with Gemma and Everleigh tomorrow. Owen’s going to my parents.”
“Do I have to?” he groans.
I smile, getting an idea. “You can hang out with me tomorrow. I mean, if your mom says it’s okay.”
Katie tilts her head as if she’s unsure.
“Yeah, we’re related, so it should be fine!” Owen tries harder to convince Katie. “Pretty, pretty please, Mom!”
“Are you sure?” She glances at me.
“Absolutely. Just drop him off in the morning and enjoy your girls’ day.”
A wide smile sweeps across her perfect lips. “Okay, deal. I’ll call my mom and let her know.”
Owen’s over the moon.
“Do you want a ride home so you don’t have to carry everything back?” Katie asks.
“Sure, that’d be awesome.”
Owen follows me to the bedroom and helps me grab my stuff.
“Tomorrow is gonna be so much more fun now,” he tells me. “You like Marvel movies?”
“Love them. Which is your favorite?” I ask.
“I love the Avengers!”
He’s so excited that all I can do is laugh even though I have no idea what that is, considering I’ve been locked up. We’ll have a good time, and I’m actually looking forward to hanging out with him. Seeing what it’s like to entertain a ten-year-old all day will be interesting.
“Go take that stuff out to the car, then buckle in,” Katie tells Owen. I grab the rest of my things and head out while Katie locks the door.
Within minutes, we turn into my dad’s driveway.
“Thanks again for everything,” I say.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for my dream pantry.”
Turning, I look at Owen in the back seat. If he wasn’t in the car, I know I’d press my lips against hers. The moonlight casts a bright glow across his face.
“See you tomorrow,” I say to him.
I offer him a high five, and he returns it. “Yes!”
It’s not lost on me how big of a step it is for her to leave Owen with me all day. I also realize how much is at risk, and I’m determined not to fuck this up.
A smile touches my lips as I walk inside because she loved the pantry, and I got to keep my balls after all.