Chapter 28
NOELLE
The clinking sounds and murmur of a restaurant surrounded us after we left Channing’s office.
It seemed ironic that we’d drive over an hour to only meet with him for ten minutes, but I was grateful to have met him in person, and for his swift and certain execution.
Not to mention an opportunity to get out of the house and see these old mountain bulwarks again.
The break from our renovation monotony was welcome, anyway, and Lily had been excited with all the new noises. Snow threatened to spill from scudding clouds overhead. In an hour, darkness would settle, but we’d be almost home by then.
Across the table, Cade’s stare bore into me. I felt the questions he didn’t ask, but I wasn’t sure how to answer them.
I feel scared.
Livid.
My quieting inner coach replied, But you’re not alone this time, Noelle, and that made all the difference.
I used the side of my fork to cut into the steaming pile of mashed potatoes on my plate, and finally lifted my eyes to him. He elevated an eyebrow. A heap of meatloaf and broccoli swam in gravy on his plate.
“Well?” he asked.
“After meeting Channing? I feel better. Scared, but better. Angry,” I added, my shoulders drooping. “Livid that Sarah and Thomas would try something so ridiculous after we opened the house to them in goodwill. But surprised? Not necessarily. Everyone is seeking some kind of atonement, aren’t they?”
Cade scoffed and speared a broccoli floret. His lack of reply was answer enough. I pushed my plate away and peered beneath Lily’s blanket. She had fallen asleep, oblivious to the battle for her life. Such an easy baby.
I asked Cade, “What about you?”
“Not sure what to think, but I liked Channing. He had it together.”
“We’re lucky to have him.”
“You deserve him.”
His immediate reply warmed me through, but still couldn’t permeate the haze of disbelief that I lived in these days.
How could this be my life? I escaped my ridiculous family, faced my niece’s birth and my sister’s death, and adopted my niece, only to find a supportive family with open arms, willing to pay attorney retainers?
It stunned me if I thought too hard about it, and I was too tired to think hard about anything.
Quietly, I asked, “Do you think we’ll win?”
Cade met my eyes.
“Yes.”
His belief, so simple, yet profound, went a long way in soothing some of my rattled nerves. I reached across the table, put my hand on top of his.
“It meant a lot to have you in there with me today. I could have done it on my own, but I’m glad that I didn’t have to.”
He flipped his hand over, sealed our palms together, and said, “I’m not going anywhere, Noelle.”
The buzz of my phone interrupted a soul-deep exchange, where I felt like pieces of me transferred to him and back. I startled, saw Aunt Marsha’s name, and swiped to refuse it. I sent a text that said, I’ll call you later, and tucked the phone away.
I didn’t want to think about family members, attorneys, or issues.
Right now, I just wanted me, Lily, and Cade.
Slush sprayed beneath the truck as we rumbled up the driveway. Snow twirled from a cold, slate sky, whipping past the windshield and gliding beyond. I yawned, my stomach still heavy from our late lunch.
The boys were supposed to finish hanging drywall in the bathroom today, and I would need to watch online tutorials for how to tape and mud the walls while they worked on other chores. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard physical labor at this stage, but it did require brain function to even attempt it.
I pondered a cup of coffee.
Cade muttered, “What in the H.E. double hockey sticks . . .”
My head snapped up to find an unknown Jeep in the driveway, idling. Smoke chugged from the chimney above the ranch house, setting a cozy winter landscape. Two people appeared to be in the car, but I couldn’t be certain. My stomach dropped as a man stepped out of the driver’s seat.
I reached over, put my hand on Cade’s arm, and whispered, “It’s my dad.”
“I’ll handle this.”
My statement shattered the tense air.
Cade locked a long, hard stare on my dad. Dad held an arm above his head and tilted to the side, leaning into a stretch that made it seem like he had been driving for a significant amount of time. Cade appeared only mildly curious, and I would have believed it if his jaw hadn’t ticked.
“I don’t know what they’re doing here,” I added, but suddenly Marsha’s call made sense. If Marsha was calling to warn me, then whatever followed wouldn’t be good. Mentally backtracking, I counted the number of days since I left Chicago.
Twenty-eight.
Yeah, that tracked.
Combined with the four weeks before coming to Iron Creek ranch, when I was figuring out life with Lily and burying my sister and just trying to wake up every day, it totaled almost two months.
Long enough for Dad to really feel my absence as Clinical Trials Coordinator at his company, since my leaving was harried and unexpected. Two months was almost long enough for Dad to feel the loss of my compliance reports, tracking site deviations, and preparations for the looming FDA audit.
He would be angry.
Very angry.
I hadn’t mentioned to Cade that leaving my job had not only won me a fast-track out of my Dad’s good graces, if he had good graces, but firmly out of my career.
And by my choice. Dad would have done almost anything to keep me working, but stuffing Lily into a daycare and continuing life as if Naomi hadn’t died wasn’t an option.
I couldn’t do it; grief made me too wobbly for that kind of finely detailed work where errors could have serious consequences. Dad’s cool green eyes latched onto mine as we pulled into the driveway, silently promising that he hadn’t come to check in on Lily.
Cade stopped the truck, pushed it into park, and set his hands in his lap.
The other body stirred and moved out of Dad’s car.
Mom. She wore a long coat that was broad through the shoulders, something more fitting for a corporate office than a Wyoming ranch house.
I almost laughed; they were corporate comical out here.
While I reached for the door handle, I asked Cade, “Can you take Lily inside?”
“Sure.”
A blast of chilly air slammed into me when I pushed the door open, letting it swing wide. Dad shuffled, snow crunching beneath his shoes. Vaguely aware of Cade moving in the background, I shut my door, pushed my hands into my pockets.
“Hey, Dad. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He squinted. “Thought we’d stop by, see what you’ve done with the place. Marsha said something about renovating.” There was nothing but cold, hard business in his tone.
I cleared my throat.
“Yeah, there is some updating that needs to be done.”
A million questions lurked in those eyes. How long had it been since he last set foot on this land? A dozen or so years? The split between him and his parents occurred sometime in my tweens. I still didn’t understand why Dad cut Grandma and Grandpa out of our lives, but it had been swift and total.
He cleared his throat as Mom walked around the back of the car and approached with open arms. She was stiff, her smile kind, but not full. We hadn’t parted well; I couldn’t believe she showed up. Even after losing her daughter, Mom only went where Dad led.
She quietly asked, “How are you, Noelle?”
I returned her kiss on the cheek, unsurprised when she retreated to Dad’s side with little else to say. She’d long been a helpless waif by nature. Naomi had been a lot like her. Unfortunately, I resembled my father. More bulldog than butterfly.
“I’m good.” I cleared my throat nervously again. “Thank you.”
Cade gave a nod to Mom and Dad as he carried Lily’s car seat toward the house, murmuring a quick, “Hello,” as he strode up the stairs. Dad didn’t take his eyes off of me, but Mom’s gaze trailed the car seat.
Dad let out a breath, hands folded in front of him. I should invite them inside. Should ask if they wanted something to drink, or where they were staying, but my throat didn’t work. I could only stand there, taking in a sight I never expected to see again.
My parents.
Without Cade available to overhear, Dad shifted to business.
“Well, Noelle. How has it been?”
“Wonderful.”
He acted like he hadn’t heard. “You’ve come to the mountains, had a look around, stayed a few weeks. Is it everything you wanted, living here in a desperate house and in an isolated area, jobless, prospectless, and friendless?”
I laughed; I couldn’t help it. He spoke so horribly about the dreamlike world that I never wanted to leave.
“You assume I’m friendless?”
“I can’t imagine who you’d meet out here,” he muttered.
“It’s everything I wanted and more,” I replied easily. “Did you come to lord over me with your self-satisfaction, or is regulatory compliance already starting to break down without me?”
His upper lip almost curled, but he reined it in at the last second. Dad usually put the knife into the center and got right to the point. He hated pre-empting, which gave me a momentary footing.
He said, “Things at work are . . . settling.”
“How is the approval process going?”
He sucked on his front teeth. “Well, that’s part of why I’m here.”
Mom shivered, but I ignored it. I could invite them in, but until I had a clearer picture of intent, I wouldn’t.
They didn’t deserve winter warmth when their sole reason for showing up was to beg me to return, all for the sake of Dad’s bottom line.
He ran a tight ship. Without me there, I imagined it was a little less tight.
If I weren’t overseeing compliance and signing off on the reporting package personally, the others would have to do it.
But they probably weren’t, which meant that the upcoming FDA audit could become a serious problem. If the submission timeline started slipping toward noncompliance, Dad would get squeamish. Squeamish enough to come find me here, in Wyoming, at the last place he wanted to be.
He’d come sniveling to Wyoming for the wrong reason. That part of my life was over.