Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
N oelle would have spent the next few days sobbing in her pillow if Sheryl Ann hadn’t caught the flu and asked her to run Nothin’ But Muffins until she was feeling better. With Christmas being only a couple weeks away, the little café was hopping. So Noelle didn’t have time for tears . . . until at night when she was tucked in bed, then she had a regular weep-fest—interspersed with cussing rage fits.
But during the day, she put on a bright smile and tried to act like everything was just peachy. She had always been good at acting. Or so she thought until all her sisters showed up at Nothin’ But Muffins one afternoon.
“What happened?” Noelle asked. “Is Daddy okay? Mama? Mimi?”
“Don’t overreact,” Hallie said. “We’re just having a Secret—” She cut off and glanced at Coach Denny, who was sitting at a nearby table eating a Sugarplum Fairy muffin. He stopped when he noticed all the sisters looking at him and quickly lowered the muffin and jumped to his feet.
“I should be going. Jace mentioned wanting to go over some game film for next season and I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.”
After he left, Belle flipped the front sign to closed.
Noelle’s eyes widened. “What are you doing, Belly? I can’t close for another three hours.”
“We’re having a quick Secret Sisterhood meeting. It won’t take long because Sweetie and Cloe have to get back to those sweet babies.”
“You mean Sweetie has to get back to her sweet baby.” Hallie pulled out a chair and flopped down. “Autumn Grace isn’t what I’d call sweet.” She grinned. “She’s more like her Auntie Hal.”
Cloe took a chair at the table with Hallie. “Autumn Grace is too sweet . . . sometimes.” She looked exhausted and Noelle felt badly she hadn’t been able to help her sister the last few days. Not only because she was taking over for Sheryl Ann, but also because she couldn’t chance seeing Casey. If she did, she didn’t know if she’d start crying or take a rolling pin to his head.
Probably the rolling pin.
Liberty moved over to the muffin display case. “Nothing wrong with a female letting her needs be known.” She pointed at the case. “Can you get me two Sugarplum Fairy muffins, Elle?”
Noelle took the muffins from the case and placed them in a box, along with a selection of other muffins she knew were her sisters’ favorites. “So what is this meeting about?” She almost dropped the box when everyone spoke at the same time.
“You.”
She glanced around. “Me? What about me?”
As president of their club, Sweetie fielded the question. “Mama told us that you’ve turned down the job offer of assistant pastry chef in Dallas.”
“So?”
“So why would you do that?” Cloe asked. “We all thought you wanted to live in a big city and work under an experienced French pastry chef.”
“Please don’t tell us you’ve changed your mind again, Elle,” Hallie said. “What do you want to be this time? An Olympic figure skater? An opera singer?”
Noelle scowled. “Very funny. No, I still want to bake. And just for the record, I’ve never wanted to live in a big city and work under an experienced pastry chef. I only applied because I thought it was the only way to get what I do want—my own bakery. But now I’ve decided to come up with another way to achieve that dream.”
“Why?” Belle asked. “There must be a reason you want to stay here, Elle.”
Liberty sighed. “Quit beating around the bush, Belly.” She shot a glance at Noelle. “We want to know if your decision has something to do with Casey?”
Before Noelle could reply, Hallie did. “Talk about beating around the bush, Libby.” She turned to Noelle. “We don’t want to know anything. We already know that you went and did exactly what we feared you would. You’ve fallen for Casey just like you fell for all the other guys you’ve dated. And we all know that’s why you turned down the job at that hotel and why you’ve been acting so weird lately. You’ve gotten it in that romantic head of yours that you and Casey are going to get married and live happily ever after. Well, wake up, Elle! Casey Remington is not the marrying kind.”
Cloe smiled sadly. “I’m afraid she’s right, Elle. I love Casey, but he has some relationship issues due to his mama leaving him.” She hesitated. “And it’s even worse now that he found out about Mama and Sam.”
“Mama and Sam?” Hallie stared at Cloe. “What about Mama and Sam?”
Cloe glanced around at her sisters. “I guess Mama and Sam dated at one time. Which explains the feud between Daddy and Sam.”
Noelle blinked. So that was what Casey had been talking about the other night at the Hellhole. “Mama and Sam dated? Like they were in love?”
Instead of Cloe answering, Sweetie did. “Mama thought she was in love with Sam, but then she fell for Daddy.”
“You knew about it too?” Liberty spoke around a bite of muffin. “Why were the rest of us kept in the dark? Remember the entire sisters-don’t-keep-secrets-from-sisters rule?”
Sweetie shrugged. “I’m sorry, but Mama asked me not to tell.”
“But that was something that should have been shared,” Hallie said. “It would have explained a lot about Daddy and Sam’s feud. No wonder they don’t like each other. They’re both in love with the same woman.”
“Having me marry Rome and move into his house must have been extremely hard for poor Sam,” Cloe said.
Hallie snorted. “And now his other son has seduced Noelle. Obviously, Remingtons have a thing for Holidays.”
Noelle finally snapped out of the stunned daze she’d been in. “Casey didn’t seduce me! I’m the one who wanted to have sex with him.” She looked at Cloe. “When did he find out about Sam and Mama?”
“The night Sweetie went into labor.”
No wonder he’d been so cruel at the Hellhole. He’d been reeling from what he’d found out. Noelle knew how she would feel if she found out her daddy was in love with another woman. She’d be angry and want to place blame. Not only on her father, but the woman he’d been in love with . . . and her entire family.
“It doesn’t matter who seduced who, Elle,” Belle said. “Nor does it matter what happened between Sam and Mama decades ago. What matters is the present moment. We’re here because we don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Too late. Noelle was already hurt and her sisters’ lack of confidence in her was making her feel even more so.
Hallie jumped back in. “It’s time to stop living in the fantasy world of social media and start living in the real world. In the real world, you were just offered a great job. So take it and quit mooning over a man who isn’t—”
The door opened and Sunny swept in. “Hey, y’all! Sorry, I’m late, but I had a little bit of a run-in with Reid Mitchell.”
“A run-in?” Belle asked.
Sunny unwound the red scarf from around her neck and hung it on the coatrack by the door. “I wasn’t looking where I was going and ran smack dab into him on my way down the street. And all I can say is the man is like a wall of pure muscle. Anyway, what did I miss? Fill me—” She cut off when her gaze shifted to the corner table next to the Christmas tree. “Hey, Ms. Stokes. I didn’t realize you were part of the Secret Sisterhood.”
All the sisters turned to find Mrs. Stokes sitting at the table, casually sipping herbal tea. Noelle had sold her that tea and a Sugarplum Fairy muffin, but that had been over an hour ago and she’d thought Mrs. Stokes had left. Probably because her ratty mink stole was decorated with so many Christmas broaches and pins, she looked like part of the tree. Noelle wondered how much of the conversation she’d overheard.
She didn’t have long to wonder.
Ms. Stokes set her cup down. “No, I’m not part of the Secret Sisterhood, but I’ll be happy to fill you in on the meeting. I believe the Holiday sisters were browbeating Noelle because she falls in love easily and has decided to turn down the job offer to work as a pastry chef in an overcrowded and polluted big city. They’re worried she’s going to get hurt by the dastardly playboy Casey Remington if she continues to stay here in Wilder.” She looked at Sweetie. “Isn’t that it in a nutshell, Madam President?”
Sweetie shot her sisters a stunned look before she cleared her throat and answered Mrs. Stokes. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Then it’s probably a good thing I’m not part of this club. Because if I were and you were getting into my business as much as you seem to be getting into Noelle’s, I would have to tell y’all to go to hell in a handcart.” She glanced at Noelle. “Because I’m a grown woman who can decide what job I want, what man I date, and where I choose to live. Because no one can live my life better than I can.” She glanced around at all the sisters. “Which is why your mama didn’t tell you about dating Sam. It was none of y’all’s business.” Her gaze returned to Noelle. “Love isn’t always a choice. Usually it just sneaks up on you and grabs your heart before you even know it’s happening. Sometimes, it works out—like your mama and daddy. And sometimes, it doesn’t—like your mama and Sam. But that shouldn’t stop anyone from trying to hold on to it with both hands. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a bank to run.” She opened her purse and placed a ten-dollar tip on the table before heading for the door.
Sunny quickly held it open for her. “Nice to see you again, Ms. Stokes.”
Mrs. Stokes snorted. “Tell that brother of yours that I’ve done what he asked so now he has to do what I asked. A bet is a bet.” Then she swept out the door and was gone.
All the sisters released a groan. All the sisters, but Sunny and Noelle. Sunny looked thrilled Mrs. Stokes had been an honorary member of their club for a short time while Noelle was mulling over what the older woman had said. When her words finally sunk in, she realized Mrs. Stokes was one hundred percent right.
Noelle had spent all her life trying to win her sisters’ respect, but now she realized in order to do that, she needed to stand her ground and live her life the way she saw fit.
She took a deep breath before she spoke. “I know y’all came here today because you love me and don’t want to see me get hurt. But as Mrs. Stokes so eloquently pointed out, it’s my life to live. Not yours. If I fall in love with Casey Remington and get my heart broken, that’s my choice. I didn’t try to stop you from falling for Jace, Hal. Even though he was Sweetie’s ex and we had a Secret Sisterhood rule about dating exes. Or keep you from getting into an arranged marriage with Rome, Cloe. Or throw a fit when you hopped in bed with the villains taking our parents’ ranch, Libby and Belly.”
Her sisters all exchanged guilty looks as she continued. “I get I’m your baby sister. I’ll always be your baby sister. But I’m also an adult. An adult who graduated top of my culinary school and has over fifty thousand social media followers—not just because I’m dating a cowboy hero, but because I’m a damn good baker. Yes, I might be dramatic and emotional and fall in love at the drop of a hat, but there’s not a damn thing wrong with that. Nor is there a damn thing wrong with me changing my mind about taking the job in Dallas. I don’t want to live in Dallas. I want to live here with my annoying big sisters who always want to tell me what to do and what to think and what big mistakes I’m making.”
She strode over and flipped the closed sign to open. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have muffins to make.” She turned around and headed into the kitchen. As she started another batch of Sugarplum Fairy muffins, she could hear her sisters’ whispered arguing. A few minutes later, they all filed into the kitchen.
“We’re sorry,” Sweetie said. “You’re right. You are an adult who can make her own choices.” She smiled. “And you should tell your sisters to go to hell in a handcart when they need to be reminded of that. But you will always be our baby sister and we’ll always want to protect you . . . even if you don’t need protecting.”
Noelle sighed. “I know, but sometimes I’d like to know that I’m not just a silly kid sister who keeps screwing things up.”
“Keeps screwing things up?” Belle stared at her. “How have you screwed up?”
“Boys. Careers. You name it.”
“You didn’t screw up,” Sweetie said. “You just keep trying things until you figure out what you want. Which is better than me. I wasted years of my life because I stubbornly refused to give up on becoming a country singer even when I hated it.”
“And once you figured out what you wanted to do, Elle,” Liberty said. “You stuck with it and become a social media baking influencer.”
Noelle glanced at Hallie. “Which some people still think is stupid.”
Hallie sighed. “Okay, so I don’t get it, but that doesn’t mean it’s stupid, Elle. I watched some of your posts and . . . well, I can see why people follow you. You’re not just a great baker, you’re also good at making people feel comfortable and loved. You always have been good at that. And maybe I’m a little jealous. You give of yourself so freely and I’ve never been able to do that.”
“It’s true, Elle,” Sunny said. “People love you because you give love. You’ve certainly made me feel loved and part of the family.”
“You are a giver,” Cloe agreed. “What you’ve done for me and all the Remingtons in the last few weeks is a perfect example. You filled our home with Noelle cheer.”
“Noelle cheer.” Belle smiled. “That’s the perfect way to describe you, Elle. You bring cheer to everyone. Your family. Your followers. And everyone you meet. If we made you feel less than, we’re sorry.”
She couldn’t stop the tears welling up in her eyes. “Y’all” was all she got out before her sisters surrounded her in a sister huddle hug. When she noticed Sunny holding back, she waved her over. “Get in here. You’re part of this now.” Sunny smiled brightly and quickly joined the huddle. There were tears and smiles and lots of sisterly loving looks. Being cocooned in that much love made the truth pop right out of Noelle’s mouth.
“I love Casey Remington!”
Hallie’s eyes bugged out and she opened her mouth to say something—no doubt “I knew it!”—but Sweetie cut her off.
“Elle’s a big girl, Hal. She can deal with it.” She gave Noelle a hug. “Now I’m going to get my sweet angel from Mama.”
“I need to get back to my sweet angel too.” Cloe smiled. “Or my sweet hellion.” She gave Noelle a hug. “For what it’s worth, Casey hasn’t been acting like himself the last few days. So maybe . . .”
Noelle shook her head. “He doesn’t, but thanks for trying to make me feel better. And Sweetie’s right. I’ll deal with it.”
“Of course you will.” Liberty hugged her. “You’re a Holiday.”
“If you need us,” Belle said as she pulled her close. “We’re here for you.”
“Always.” Hallie roughly thumped her back.
Once everyone left, Noelle blew her nose, washed her hands, and got back to work. Customers kept arriving and she was exhausted by closing time, but there was one more thing she needed to do before she went home.
It didn’t take her long to set up for her post. She put on her favorite holly apron and her crimson-red lip stain and matching gloss. She wished she had some eye drops for her bloodshot eyes, but maybe it was a good thing she didn’t. Maybe her followers needed to know Noelle Holiday cries sometimes.
She also fibs.
If her followers couldn’t deal with that, then they were welcome to unfollow her. She was who she was and people could like her or not. She liked herself and that was all that mattered.
“Hey, y’all.” She didn’t give her usual smile because this wasn’t a smiling kind of post. “So I have a confession to make.” Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she thought she might be having a heart attack. She took a deep breath and powered through. “You see . . . well, the night that Casey showed up and saved me. It wasn’t exactly how it seemed. He did save me. That part is true. And we have known each other since kindergarten. That’s true too.”
The bell on the front door rang.
Darn it! She’d forgotten to lock up again. But maybe a customer was a blessing in disguise. Now she would have to cut the post short and wouldn’t have time for a lot of painful questions.
“As you heard, that was a customer. So I can’t talk long. But I just needed to tell you that I lied. Casey never brought me flowers or took me on a date or did any of the romantic things I said he did. Because he wasn’t ever my real—”
“Sorry I’m late, Sugar Muffin.”
Noelle whirled around to see Casey standing in the doorway, holding the biggest bouquet of red roses she’d ever seen in her life. There had to be a hundred. He strode over and handed her the huge bouquet before he leaned down and kissed her right on the lips. And it wasn’t a little kiss. It was a long, breath-taking, body-frying, panty-sizzling kiss that left Noelle feeling like a pool of perfectly tempered chocolate . . . for all of two seconds.
Once the two seconds were up, she jumped to her feet and clocked him right over the head with the huge bouquet, sending red petals raining.
“Just what do you think you’re doing, Casey Remington? You can’t walk in here and kiss me as if nothing has happened. As if you haven’t been the biggest jerk to ever walk the face of the earth!”
He pulled off his hat that was covered in red petals. His blue eyes held regret . . . along with plenty of fear.
“I know. I shouldn’t have kissed you. You just looked so beautiful sitting there in my favorite apron with my favorite lipstick on my favorite lips. And I’ve just missed you so much that I couldn’t help myself. And you’re right. I am the biggest jerk to walk the face of the earth . . . although I would say I was more of an insecure, terrified idiot. You’re also right that a man who doesn’t believe in himself doesn’t deserve you. Which is why I spent so many years acting like you weren’t the girl I’ve always wanted—because I didn’t think I was good enough for you. But dammit, Ellie, I’m done pretending. You’re the only girl I want. You’ll always be the only girl I want. And maybe I’m not good enough for you right now. But I’m gonna be. I’m gonna work my butt off proving to you that I’m worthy of your love. I’m gonna bring you loads of red roses and ask you out on dates and bake sugar cookies with you, until you finally realize I’m the man for you. No one else, Ellie.”
He slapped his chest with his hat. “Me. I’m your cowboy hero. I promise you I’m gonna be the best damn cowboy hero you could ever want or need. And if you have a problem with that, well, I’m sorry. Just like I couldn’t stop teasing you, I’m not gonna stop loving you. Not now and not ever. So you just need to come to terms with the fact that you’re stuck with me. You can beat me with roses or a rolling pin and tell me to go straight to hell, but I’m not going anywhere. And when you’re ready to stop being mad at me and forgive me, I’m going to get down on one knee and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me.” He smiled and his dimple winked. “Because Ellie Holiday and Casey Remington belong together and always have.”
Noelle tried. She really tried. But she had never been good at keeping her emotions inside.
She burst into tears.
Casey pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist. Because he was her cowboy hero and always would be. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry.”
She socked his chest. “Just so you know, I’ll never stop crying. I cry when I’m sad and I cry when I’m mad and I cry when I’m happy.”
“And which one are you now?”
She smiled against his hard chest. “Happy. About as happy as a girl can get.” She drew back and sniffed. “But that doesn’t mean you’re forgiven. You have a lot of kissing up to do before I will even think about accepting your marriage proposal. And just like with the other agreements we’ve made, there will need to be some rules. Firstly, when I am ready for that marriage proposal, I’ll expect the works. Candlelight dinner, maybe a string quartet playing our song—which we’ll need to figure out—and the perfect engagement ring I’ll help you pick out because you don’t know a thing about what a woman wants.”
He looked down at her with his pretty sea-blue eyes twinkling. “Oh, I think I know what a woman wants and I’ll be happy to give it to you. But first I’d like to add a few rules to this agreement.” He drew her closer. “There will be plenty of cuddling. Not just for one night, but for all the rest of our nights.” He kissed her, a sweet, sultry kiss that ended much too soon. She went to chase his lips, but he shook his head. “There’s one more rule. No posting on our time.” He released her and leaned down to her phone so his handsome face filled the screen. “Sorry, folks, but some things that are cookin’ in the Holiday Kitchen are private.” He winked before he tapped the button to end the post.
He straightened and pulled her back into his arms. “Now where were we?”
She unsnapped a snap of his western shirt. “I believe you were about to give me what a woman wants.”
He did.