32. Noah
32
M y arm is around my girlfriend as we sit in our booth at the Inn the next morning. We never made it back here for the rest of the celebration but from what I hear, Chase and Pepper didn't seem to notice since they disappeared shortly after arriving themselves.
Likely not for the same reason Charlie and I were…unavailable, since they had a guest last night.
They sent a mass text thanking us for the day and asked us to meet them here for breakfast with "Aunt Robin" before she left town again.
Levi and Jackson were already here when we walked in.
"Isn't it a little early for a chocolate milkshake?" I ask my nephew.
He shrugs and Levi answers for him. "Dad's backed up in the kitchen. Ethan is helping prep for the morning rush."
"Where's Tessa?" I ask.
Levi's brows perk as if to say "Good question".
"Ethan is working on the breakfast platter for you. What do you want to drink?" Dad asks, walking up to our table.
"You short one waitress?" I ask again.
Dad sighs. "I found out she's been staying in one of the guestrooms upstairs. She left a note yesterday with her uncashed paycheck. My guess is she skipped town again."
"You don't say…" Levi scoffs, keeping his reaction PG for the sake of the kid.
"Oh no, is she okay?" Charlie asks.
"I asked. Offered to help. Told her we could come up with an arrangement for her to stay here and that it may be beneficial having someone onsite."
"And?"
"And she thanked me for everything and said we could discuss it after the wedding. This morning, I found the place spotless and her check on the counter with a note."
"Sorry, Dad," Levi offers and it's almost genuine.
Dad grumbles and walks away.
I slide out of the booth. "I'll get our coffee."
After a long breakfast with our whole crew, Dad and Emma take Jackson to build his own ice cream sundae behind the bar.
"So you're sure you don't need our place in Denver?" Chase asks Charlie.
Charlie glances over at me and shakes her head. "No. And I'm turning down the job at the museum. It was a rash decision because I needed something. But it's not what I want."
"So what will you do?"
Charlie laughs, scrunching her nose. "I don't know yet. This is all kind of new…" She plays with my fingers around her shoulder and looks up at me in a way I've longed for her to. With love and trust in her eyes instead of regret.
I kiss the side of her head lightly, exchanging a glance with my older brother.
"Well, is there anything else we can do?" Pepper asks. "That was kind of our way of repaying you for helping with the wedding planning. And you won't take money from me, so what else can we do?"
"Oh, we'll be cashing in soon, don't worry," I say, aiming it at my brother.
Charlie nudges me. "No, we won't. We were happy to help."
Levi clears his throat and pulls out of the booth, leaving Jackson's backpack behind. "In the meantime, you newlyweds can help me and Dad in the kitchen. Let's go."
Pepper frowns. "Why am I being put to work?"
Chase stands, narrowing his eyes at me. "Not sure, but I can take a hint." Pepper follows Levi while Chase leans toward us. "By the way, if you two are going to 'fight' again, could you at least pick a room that's not directly above the bar?" He walks away with a smirk.
Charlie's cheeks turn bright red and she buries her head in her hands. "Oh my God."
I laugh and reach for Jackson's backpack. "Yeah, it's kind of why I told you not to bother confronting Beth. She was very much aware we made up."
Charlie groans. "I guess there's that."
"And…here's this." I pull out Charlie's folder with her plans for the children's wing at the library.
"What is this? What did you do to my plans?"
"Craig Builders owed me a favor for helping them out with a recent case against them and they reworked some of your plans."
"Are these…blueprints? Just based off my sketches?"
"It's preliminary since we don't have a location yet, but yes."
"Yet?" She looks up at me.
I flip to the storefront sketch. Which is a larger version of the mobile booth Levi and I built her. I started working on the bigger plans after I saw her in action that day at the street fair. This is her spark, her passion, her purpose. And no matter where it ended up, here in Hideaway Springs or anywhere else in the world, I was going to build it.
"Charlie's Web," she reads the gold letters over the storefront.
"That's what we'll call it."
"A bookstore? Noah. I don't have—"
"My brother and I are funding it. And we'll ask the hockey MVP to pitch in too. He's been trying to find a way to repay you for bringing Pepper back last year."
Her eyes mist. "I don't know what to say."
"You just have to agree to sell books. Not give them away." I laugh. "They'll be new, of course."
She looks over the plans. "It's everything I envisioned. What's this?" She points to another floorplan.
"The second level. For story hour, tutoring sessions, or just a place people can…escape for a while."
She shakes her head and covers her face briefly. "I suppose you're having the children in town paint it too?"
"At the soft opening, yes. But not the walls, we'll leave that to the pros. The reading circle on the second level." I point to it on the plan. "They can go nuts on that."
"Did you leave anything for me to do?" she laughs.
"Just say yes to it all. Say you'll stay."
She looks at me thoughtfully. "How could I say no?"
"Charlie, I spent most of my adult life afraid of losing a good thing. The yes is very necessary here."
"One condition. No two."
"Wow, ballsy."
She laughs. "Do you still have your camera?"
I slide over. "What did you have in mind?"
"I want to fill the store with all your photos. Not just from town but all our favorite places."
I watch her with undeniable desire. I love how relentless she is in keeping my passion alive. "That would be inappropriate."
"How?"
"Because my favorite place is between your legs."
She shakes her head. "I really do love this side of you."
"I love every side of you. Let's go home and I'll show you how much."
"Not until you agree."
I wave a hand like I don't love the idea. "Yes, fine. I'll snap some photos, it'll be just like old times. What's two?"
She bites her lip. "Two is…more of an honest question."
I kiss the side of her head. "Then I'll give you an honest answer."
"How long have you been taking care of me?"
"What?"
"The Inn. I know you sold your share last winter. The same time the hospital sent me a letter saying the balance was paid in full."
I grunt, sliding away.
"I'm not asking why you did it. I don't even want to know how you knew. It's probably best that I don't. I just want to know if there was anything else."
"I promised you an honest answer so here it is." I sigh. "Not long enough."
"Noah."
"I only found out about the medical debt when we were trying to figure out why Pepper wanted you to have the reward money. I swear I haven't been keeping tabs on your financials. But…"
"But what?"
"Well, you know we live in a small town."
"Yes."
"You know Pinehill Department Store doesn't get big shipments of purple cowboy boots."
She frowns. "I know. They usually only get one pa—" Her eyes widen.
I grin. "Lucky Linda had an elf."