Keeping Guard

by Sandra Owens

  Still, she didn’t talk, but she handed him her cup. Why that simple gesture made his damn eyes burn, he didn’t know. He swallowed more of the whiskey-laced tea. Now that he’d started this, he had to get it all out.

  “I tried to stop him, but he was a big, mean son of a bitch. He knocked her across the room, and she hit her head on the doorframe wrong. Broke her neck. You know what he did?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, because of course she didn’t. “He fucking cried. ‘Baby, wake up,’ he said. When she didn’t, he got mad all over again, yelling that it was her fault while he went about destroying everything he could get his hands on. I called 911 and begged them to send an ambulance to save my mom.” Tears were falling down his cheeks now, and he swiped his hand over his face.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pair of dice, dropping them on the coffee table. “These were his so-called lucky dice.” He snorted. “They were about as lucky as throwing rocks in the wind.”

  “If they were his, why do you carry them?”

  The question finally breaking her silence was a good one. “To remind me to never be him.”

  “You could never be him, Noah. You know that, right?”

  “That’s one of the few things I know.” Even though his mother wasn’t here to see the man he’d become, he’d never dishonor her by being anything close to his father.

  “Where is he now?”

  “Prison. He tried to claim that it was an accident, that she tripped and fell, but I testified against him.” The scariest day of his life, facing his father in that courtroom. “Between my testimony and his extensive record, all the times the cops were called because he’d beat her, along with some other things he’d previously been arrested for, he got life.” Hearing that sentence was the first time he’d felt safe from his father.

  “Good. What was your mother’s name?”

  “Darcy.” He liked that she asked that, but he didn’t like the tears he saw pooling in her eyes. “Don’t cry.”

  “I can if I want to.”

  How did this woman make him smile when he least wanted to? And how did she keep surprising him, like now when she scooted across the sofa and settled on his lap?

  He looked down at her. “Hello there.”

  The little termite burrowed into him. “Hi.”

  “What are you doing?” Besides sending him dangerously close to stripping off their clothes and literally burrowing into her.

  “You needed a hug, and I’m giving you one.”

  “My mom loved hugs.” He’d forgotten that. “She’d say, ‘Here comes the hug bug.’ I pretended to hate it, but she knew I didn’t. She’d hug people that she knew in the grocery store.”

  “She sounds like she was a wonderful person. I’m sorry you lost her.”

  “Me, too. I have a brother...a half brother. We’re the same age. Turns out his mother was pregnant at the same time as my mother.” Someone had sliced open his brain and all his secrets were spilling out.

  “Are you close to him?”

  “I am now. I didn’t know about him, but he knew about me.” He trailed his hand over her back, liking touching her. “When he tracked me down, I didn’t want anything to do with him.” He chuckled. “Clint’s a stubborn one, though. Kept coming around until I got tired of trying to push him away.”

  “I’m glad you have him, that he’s a part of your life.”

  “So am I.” He wasn’t sure how she’d ended up straddling him, but she was going to feel his erection in about five seconds. “You need to get off me, princess.” Before he forgot she was off limits.

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “Do it anyway.”

  Peyton didn’t want to move. He’d finally opened up to her...not about everything, but more than he’d wanted to, she thought. If she pushed, she could probably get what she wanted, but he’d regret it, and she’d lose all the ground she’d won. He wasn’t ready for her. Not yet. She wasn’t normally a patient person, but he was worth waiting for.

  He’d asked her to get off him, though, so she would respect that. “I’m hungry,” she said as she moved away. “And I have just the thing. Don’t go anywhere.”

  While she put together the snack, she considered how she could get him to talk about why he was on leave from the navy. Whatever it was, keeping it bottled up wasn’t going to help him.

  Noah stared at the tray, and then lifted his gaze to hers. “This is a little more than a snack, princess.”

  “Told you I’m hungry.” She didn’t have a sweet tooth, but cheese? Sign her up. Along with slices of two kinds of cheese, she’d added tart green grapes, thin slices of prosciutto, and stoneground crackers. She picked up one of the two bottles of beer and handed it to him. “This is a dark lager, one of my own recipes. It’s darn good, if I do say so myself.”

  He took a sip of the beer, then another. “Damn good.”

  “Told ya.” Warmth spread through her at his simple praise.

  “Not Grandma’s Tea,” he said, reading the label. “You name this one?”

  “No, one of our bartenders came up with that one.” She picked up a slice of cheese and popped it in her mouth. “Gotta pee. Be right back.” She walked off to his chuckle.

  On the way back, as she passed his room, she glanced in, then stopped at seeing his guitar case leaning against the wall. On impulse, she got it and took with her it back to the living room.

  She set the case on the sofa next to him. “Will you play for me?”

  “No.” He picked up the guitar case and walked out of the room. Lucky scrambled up and trotted after him.

  She cringed when she heard his bedroom door close. What was his deal? She’d been stunned by how great he was when he’d played Joseph’s guitar. He’d lost himself in the music. The moment he’d finished and opened his eyes, though, it was as if he was in pain. Whatever was going on with him was tied to his guitar, which was puzzling.

  She’d wondered if something had gone wrong on a mission, but he wouldn’t have his guitar with him then, would he? The more he doubled down on keeping his secrets, the more she was determined to get him to talk. Her appetite gone, she carried the tray to the kitchen. After covering the tray with plastic wrap and putting it in the refrigerator, she headed to bed.

  Unable to fall asleep, she thought of and discarded ways to get Noah to open up to her. There was no easy answer, so she decided she’d just be his friend and hope that was enough.

  * * *

  The next morning, there was no Noah to be seen. His bedroom door was open, the bed made, and his duffel bag on the chair by the window. Where was his guitar? She took several steps toward the closet, then stopped. She’d invaded his privacy enough.

  So, breakfast, and then she needed to go see her father. Dalton had to be lying. Her dad wasn’t sick, but she needed to hear it from him. She made a pot of coffee, then decided the cheese, crackers, and grapes from last night would make a great breakfast.

  Noah returned with Lucky while she was eating. “Good morning.” She smiled but didn’t get one in return. He was grumpy again. Whatever. If he wanted to be a grumpball, not her problem. “I need to go see my father this morning. You don’t need to come with me. I’ll be fine.”

  After unclipping Lucky’s leash, he filled a dish with dog food. That done, he poured a cup of coffee. He was ignoring her, and that irritated her. “Look, I’m not sure what I did wrong last night, but I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, but you can at least—”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He sat across the table from her. “There are things I’m just not going to talk about, and why I won’t play my guitar is one of them, okay?”

  “But you play so beautifully, I don’t understand—”

  “Drop it, Peyton. There’s nothing for you to understand. As soon as you�
��re ready, we’ll go see your father, then I need to head to Jack’s. You’ll be coming with me.”

  “But...”

  Coffee cup in hand, he walked out.

  “...I need to find a job.” Only Lucky was still there to hear her, and he had nothing to say about that. “Your daddy is very bossy, you know that?” Lucky barked. “I take that as a yes.”

  She covered the tray, then put it back in the refrigerator. “Guess I better get dressed before bossy man decides to do it for me.” Although, she wouldn’t so much mind that. Better yet if he undressed her.

  Normally, she wore jeans to the brewery if it wasn’t a day for a client meeting or an event because she’d be brewing beer. But today, she needed to be strong and face her father with confidence. So, the power suit again it was.

  As she dressed, she couldn’t stop wondering why Noah wouldn’t touch his guitar when how much he loved playing was obvious.

  * * *

  “Here goes nothing,” she said.

  Noah leaned against the wall outside her father’s office. “I’ll be right here.”

  She purposely left the door open because she wanted him to know she wouldn’t keep secrets from him. Maybe he’d get the message, but probably not. Her father glanced up from the computer screen when she walked in.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “So you’ve finally come to your senses?”

  “In what way?” Why was her heart pounding so hard? This was her father, the man who’d raised her. She shouldn’t be so nervous that her knees had turned to jelly. Before her legs betrayed her and she face-planted to the floor, she lowered to the chair in front of his desk.

  “Did you know Eddie went on strike?”

  That wasn’t an answer to her question, but what? “Because?”

  “Said he wouldn’t come back to work until you did.”

  She laughed. God bless that old man. There had been times when he’d been more of a parent to her than her own father. With Eddie’s belief in her, and his taking a stand on her behalf, her nerves settled.

  “It’s not funny. He said he’s ready to retire, but you’re the only one he’ll turn over his brewery to. Like it’s his brewery and his decision.”

  “Well, without him, you’ve got no beer.” Or without her, but if her return was dependent on marrying Dalton, she definitely needed to continue her job search.

  “You need to come back, and then he’ll stop his foolishness.”

  “And you won’t expect me to marry Dalton?”

  By the expression on his face, one would think she’d just said she was going to dance naked through downtown Asheville. “Dalton loves you, Peyton. He’s worried about you. He said you have that man from the waterfall living with you. What in the world is going on with you?”

  If Dalton was in front of her right now, she’d punch him in the nose. She stood, dropped her hands to his desk, and looked her father in the eyes. “Dalton does not love me. All he wanted was control of Elk Antler.” That was what she’d decided, anyway. She’d thought about his behavior a lot since becoming a runaway bride, and why else was he so determined to get his hands on her shares?

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Why do you think I ran away from my own wedding? He told his best man he was marrying me for my shares of Elk Antler. And you know what else your precious Dalton did? He let himself into my home, and when I locked myself in the bathroom, he broke the door down. Told me we were going to Vegas and getting married whether I wanted to or not.” She banged a fist on his desk. “And then he lied and said you were dying, and me marrying him was your dying wish.”

  She waited for him to deny it, but he wouldn’t even look at her.

  “Dad?” Her knees buckled, and she sank down on the chair. “Oh, God. It’s true, isn’t it? When were you going to tell me?”

  “After you were married.” He finally met her eyes. “I wanted to see you happy and taken care of.”

  If she hadn’t just learned her father was dying, she would be angry. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But that’s not the important thing right now. Talk to me. What’s wrong, and what are we doing about it?” She was... She didn’t even know which emotion to grab hold of. Shocked? Afraid? Hurt that he hadn’t told her before now? Terrified he would die never having loved her? As long as he was still living, she had hope that the day would come when he’d learn to love her. Tears burned her eyes, threatening to run over. She willed them back. If ever her father needed her, needed her to be strong for him, it was now.

  He blew out a breath. “It’s lung cancer.”

  “But you don’t smoke.”

  “Lung cancer doesn’t always care if one smokes or not.”

  He couldn’t die. She wouldn’t let him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Noah had been surprised that Peyton had left the door open, and he shamelessly eavesdropped on their conversation as her father told her about his treatment. When her voice trembled, he pressed his feet to the floor to keep from going to her.

  A man came around the corner, and he stared into the face of her ex-boyfriend. The man was headed for the office, and Noah stepped in front of the open doorway. “You can’t go in there.”

  Dalton scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Making sure you stay away from Peyton.”

  “Get out of my way.”

  “No. You need to leave Peyton and her father alone right now.” He didn’t want to cause a scene, but if he had to physically carry the man away, he wouldn’t hesitate.

  “What’s going on here?”

  Noah glanced back at Peyton’s father. “Your daughter doesn’t want this man near her, so I’m making sure he stays away from her.”

  “Gerald, this man threatened me. You need to call the police if he doesn’t leave,” Dalton said.

  Her father stepped around him. “You’re the man from the waterfall.”

  “Yes, sir. Noah Alba.” He held out his hand, not expecting her father to take it, but he did.

  “I’m Gerald Sutton. Explain what’s going on.”

  “What’s going on is this man—”

  “I’m asking him,” Sutton said, shooting a glare at Dalton.

  “As Peyton told you, she doesn’t want to marry him, but he’s harassing her, so she asked me to be her bodyguard for a few days.” Her person.

  “That’s a lie,” Dalton said.

  “So you didn’t break down her bathroom door when she locked herself in because she was afraid of you? You didn’t threaten to force her to marry you? You didn’t grab her so hard that you left a bruise on her arm?”

  “This is ridiculous. Don’t listen to this man, Gerald.”

  Noah opened his phone and brought up one of the photos he’d taken of her arm. He handed Sutton his phone. “I tried to get her to call the police, but all she wants is to be left alone.”

  Sutton lifted his gaze from the phone and stared hard at Dalton. “You did this to my daughter?”

  “I would never hurt her. I love her. He probably put that bruise on her.”

  “Dad, everything Noah said is true.” Peyton pushed her way past him, coming to a stop in front of Dalton.

  Noah was hard pressed not to scoop her up and carry her away from the bastard. He managed to resist, but as soon as he could get her out of this damn place, he’d take her to Jack’s and turn her over to the puppies. Then she’d smile again.

  “How dare you blame Noah for something you did.” She poked Dalton in the chest. “For the last time, I am not going to marry you.”

  Sutton put his arm around his daughter and pulled her back. “You’re fired, Dalton. Effective immediately.”

  Noah decided he might like her father after all.

  “You can’t be serious,” Dalton said. “This is all just a misunderstan
ding.”

  “I couldn’t be more serious. And putting a bruise on my daughter’s arm is not a misunderstanding. Collect your personal effects and then leave the building. Now.” He lifted a chin at Noah. “Go with him and make sure he doesn’t take anything that doesn’t belong to him.”

  “Yes, sir.” And he’d do it with pleasure.

  “You’re going to regret this, Gerald.”

  “I have regrets, but this isn’t one of them.” He put his hand on Peyton’s back and ushered her into his office, closing the door behind them.

  Dalton glared at him. “This is your fault.”

  “Whatever.” The man would blame everyone but himself for what just happened, and Noah had no inclination to set him straight. “You heard the man. He wants you gone. You have ten minutes to walk out the door before I physically carry you out.”

  “You’re going to be sorry you messed with me.”

  Doubtful. “Nine minutes now.” He followed Dalton to an office down the hall. Positioning himself just inside the door, he watched the man pile personal items on the desk. When he unplugged a laptop, Noah took a wild guess. “That’s not yours.” That got him a death glare, but Dalton dropped the cord. When he opened a filing cabinet, Noah shook his head. “Nice try, but any folders in there belong to the company.”

  Noah noticed a box pushed up against the wall with beer bottles in it. Samples maybe? He walked over, removed all but one of the bottles, then dropped the box on the desk. “Put your junk in here. And to show that I’m a nice guy, you can keep the beer. I figure you could use it after losing your job and the girl.” He almost snorted at the nice guy comment.

  “Fuck you.”

  Noah glanced at his watch. “Two minutes if you want to walk out of here on your own.”

  Dalton snatched up the box. “You think you can just waltz in and take away everything I’ve worked for? Not gonna happen, pal.”

  “I see you anywhere near Peyton, and you’ll regret it. That’s not a threat, pal. It’s a promise.” He had a bad feeling that the man was desperate, and desperate men got stupid.