What was Sylvia thinking? Didn’t she know how nosy her grandson is? I really didn’t know what I was going to do about him. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I’d lie, but I couldn’t think of one to make up. The truth was, I did run from Sam, and now I’d have to avoid him, which was going to be hard because I really liked his wife, and I hoped we could be friends. After spending time with people I liked and enjoyed being around, I couldn’t go back to being a recluse as planned. I craved human contact too much.
I sat in the window seat watching the fireworks. I was tempted to go out on the patio and watch them, but I was afraid of running into Noah. I was not in the mood to be interrogated again tonight. He was right, though, the fireworks show was beautiful; they went all out for such a small town. Despite the beauty, I couldn’t help flash to a fireworks show so long ago at Disney World with my parents. It was their first trip as a couple and they had taken us. The park ended every night with an amazing fireworks show. My mood threatened to plummet at the thought of my mother. I missed her so much, my chest ached and tears flooded my eyes.
Since it was late when it ended, I decided to go to bed before Noah got home.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Arrangement
The smell of bacon broke through the grogginess of my mind. The urge to ignore the tempting aroma was strong. I was tired and needed to hold on the inky blackness of sleep that helped me forget…something. Something that caused me pain. Maybe the bruise on my left thigh Nick gave me because I didn’t wash his uniform correctly. No, that wasn’t it. It was something that made my heart hurt, when I thought of…something. I needed to stop these thoughts and go back to sleep where there was no pain. But the smell was so strong, it pulled me further from the peaceful darkness.
Who would make me bacon? Nick never cooked unless he felt guilty, and that wasn’t very often. Maybe he felt bad about the sprained wrist he gave me. Yeah, and bacon would make me forgive him—in his mind maybe. Too bad, I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I rolled around on the soft mattress, getting comfortable, not the least bit interested in easing his conscience, if in fact he had one.
My eyes snapped open as I sat up suddenly.
I was wide awake now and realized the smell of bacon was not a dream. Reality was coming back to me in a wave of overwhelming ache. The something that I wanted to forget was that I was here in Shimmer Lake, and not with my family. Knowing I couldn’t see them was what was causing my heart to hurt. Except I wasn’t alone like I was supposed to be; someone was in the cottage cooking. Nick had found me, but why would he be cooking?
I slowly climbed out of bed, pulled on my robe, and grabbed the baseball bat out of my closet. The wood was smooth in my hand. It was the closest thing to a weapon I could find. I still didn’t have the courage to get the gun I told myself to buy.
With the bat raised above my head, I tiptoed out of the room. My heart was racing with panic. The floorboards creaked under my feet, making my racing heart jump into my throat. I froze, listening for danger. But the only sounds I could hear were the odd clink of silverware and the low hum of the radio.
As I moved closer, new smells added to the bacon—melted butter and coffee. Someone was definitely here, the question was…who? When I peeked out of the doorway, I saw Noah standing in front of the stove, flipping bacon. There was music playing softly, and he hummed along to the tune. I hid the bat behind the door, then pulling my robe tighter, I sauntered out into the kitchen. “What are you doing?”
He turned his head, flashing a grin before adding eggs to an empty pan. “I’m making breakfast. How do you like your eggs?” he asked, ignoring my words.
Feeling dumbstruck by the fact that he just let himself in, making himself at home, I gaped at him, and the fear I felt turned to shock. “Noah, you can’t just barge in here. How did you get in?”
He pulled a few pieces of paper towel from the roll and placed them on a plate, then glanced at me, his face showing a hint of amusement. “With my key. I had something to ask you, so I thought I’d make you breakfast. I remember that you like to sleep in so I didn’t want to knock. Tell me how you like your eggs or I’ll scramble them whether you like it or not.”
A sigh of exasperation snuck out of me. I felt like I was dealing with a child. The vow I made to make friends did not include Noah coming into the cottage whenever he wanted. But what could I do? He had a key, and if he was determined to use it, he would. I had only known him for a month, and I was starting to realize that he took his promise to his grandmother to protect me a little too far. “Over easy.” I gave up for now, too tired to fight with him. I was happy to say I no longer felt fear around him, just nervousness.
He smiled again, this time showing a dimple on his right cheek. “Coming right up. You want to make the toast?” He gestured with the spatula over his shoulder to the toaster.
I sighed again, reaching into the bread box. I put four slices in the toaster and pushed down on the lever. “What are you doing here, really? Don’t you have a home?” The frustration over his stubbornness was clear in my voice.
“Wow, you are so welcoming. I’ve never had such a friendly neighbor before, you’re making me blush.” He took a bite of bacon that was now lying on the paper towel, and stared at me. “I’m here because I don’t have any bacon or eggs and I had a craving.” He flipped a couple of eggs and took two plates down from the cupboard. “Plus, I told my grandmother that I would look out for you, so I am. And by doing what she wants, I get what I want, which is eggs. And I was thinking, since you were beginning to branch out, we can keep each other company. We both live alone, there’s no one else around here until next month. What do you say? I hate eating by myself.”
My mind went blank, confused by his words. “What, you want to eat together every day?”
“Well, not every day, but whenever one of us feels like making a big meal and wants company, why not?” He slid the eggs onto a plate and handed it to me. I took it, and then buttered the toast that I pulled from the toaster. We moved over to the table for our second meal together, or was it our third?
I waited for the fear to come, and I was thankful that it didn’t. I was afraid that my trust in this man would be short-lived. But despite my annoyance of him, I felt comfortable. Over the last month Noah had managed to chip at the wall I had built. I was still nervous, but that was okay, it was better than heart-stopping fear. I almost felt normal again. “Well, I don’t cook, so it won’t be me making any big meals.” I dipped my toast into my egg yolk. “Unless you consider grilled cheese and canned soup a big meal?”
He laughed. “No, I don’t. I love to cook, and I’m always making way too much for myself, so whenever you want some good food, you’re welcome anytime.”
He was a good cook. The few times he brought me food reminded me of my mom’s home-cooked meals. I knew if I declined him he’d still bring me food, but all he was asking for was company. For a good meal, I could do that. “You just want to cook for me so I’ll tell you my secret.”
His eyes widened. “Ha…you just admitted you had a secret.” He pointed his fork at me.
I smiled, the urge to laugh bubbling inside me. “No, I meant that you think I have a secret, and you’re only cooking for me so I’ll tell you. But you’re wasting your time. There isn’t one.”
“We’ll see,” he replied, taking a drink of his coffee. He looked up and winked at me. His words were playful, not at all threatening as I had once thought over a month ago.
I hated that I was enjoying his company. Talking to him was so much better than listening to the hum of the refrigerator or the drone of the TV. I was lonely, and it had nothing to do with his voice being so damn sexy, or the fact that his eyes were so bright, I could stare at them for days. Shaking those unwanted thoughts away, I leaned forward. “Well, cook all you want, you’re good at it. Maybe I’ll make up a secret just to eat like this every day.”
He laughed, shrugging his shoulders as he scraped a piece o
f egg on top of his toast. “Whatever, I know you’re hiding something, you can’t fool me. But we don’t need to talk about that right now, we have to finish eating so we can get to the barn before ten. Wade likes the horses out early.”
My hands gripped my coffee mug, warmth seeping into my palms. Did I miss something? “What are you talking about?”
“I help Wade Barker take his horses out for exercise on Sundays, and since I’m looking out for you, you’re coming with me.”
“I don’t need you to look out for me. I’m fine. I told you there is nothing going on. I don’t know why your grandmother said that. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”
He never looked up from his food, just kept shoving eggs and bacon into his mouth. He swallowed and then picked up a piece of toast, staring at it as if he was inspecting my ability to spread butter. “Is that why you keep a bat in your bedroom?”
“How do you know I keep a bat in the bedroom? Are you spying on me?” My eyes narrowed at him as fear threatened yet again. “Are you some kind of pervert?”
Now he looked up, tossing the toast back onto his plate. “No, but you were carrying a bat with you when you came out of your room, so I assumed you kept it in there.”
My mouth was open about to yell, but his words silenced me. “Oh.”
“And besides, when I went back to watch the fireworks, Cindy was all over me trying to convince me to dump you.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “I kind of made it sound like we were dating. If you come with me, I can watch out for you and Cindy will stay off my back.” When I opened my mouth to protest he held his hand out to silence me. “And if you do this for me I’ll make you an amazing dinner tonight. I make a great T-bone steak.”
All my fears and nervousness washed away. There were just no words to express how silly he sounded. “You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend to make some woman leave you alone?” I asked him, shocked that this was happening at our age. He nodded. “Well, I do have gym in a few minutes, but I guess I could go out with you after school.” I couldn’t help my grin that threatened to become a full on giggle.
“Okay, joke all you want, but you don’t know Cindy, she’s very persistent. I’ve told her over and over, and she never listens. Except for yesterday when you were there, she didn’t come near me. As soon as you were gone she was like a fly on shit.” He blinked. “And yes, I’m aware that I just called myself shit. But come on, she won’t leave me alone.” His voice was so whiny it made me laugh. He was scared of a persistent woman. I couldn’t help compare him to the monster. What would Nick do in Noah’s situation? Hit her, or even worse. I cringed at where my thoughts were heading. I pushed him out of my mind and focused on the man in front of me, allowing myself to enjoy this. Besides, this could be fun to watch and it wasn’t like I had anything else to do. And like he said, I’d get a good meal out of it. T-bone steak sounded much better than the frozen dinner I would have cooked. “Here’s the deal, if I pretend to be your girlfriend, you cook dinner for me three times a week. And you have to back off the secret thing.”
He narrowed his eyes at me while he thought over my proposal. “Deal, but you may have to kiss me and hold my hand or something like that to convince her.”
I hadn’t thought of that. I tried to find the fear that should have been lurking, instead of the nervous buzz that was coursing through my body. “Holding hands is fine, but no kissing.”
“Peck on the lips and the odd hug,” he countered, pointing at me.
“Peck on the check, and arm around the shoulder.”
Once again, he considered. “Deal.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Midnight
I wasn’t sure what to wear to go riding since I’d never been on a horse in my life, so I settled on a blue T-shirt and jeans. I’d seen people wear jeans in movies when they worked with horses. I left my hair down, tucked behind an ear.
I must have guessed right because when I went out to meet Noah, he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt as well. Only his was black with a gray eagle spread along his right shoulder. On his head he was wearing a red baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He was holding another cap in his hand; this one was blue.
“Here,” he said, handing it to me. “The sun’s going to be bright today, and it can get kind of dusty on the trails.” I took it from him and placed it on my head, threading my hair through the hole in the back. He slapped the brim of my cap and then climbed into his Jeep. “Come on,” he called when I hesitated. The urge to turn away and lock myself in the cottage was strong, but I fought it, telling myself I had made a deal with Noah, and I needed to keep up my part of the bargain.
The drive to the farm was peaceful, the scenery, like the rest of Shimmer Lake, beautiful. Wade lived outside of town on a farm that seemed to spread for miles. Noah pulled into a lane, driving down a long driveway that led to a large red brick farmhouse.
The barn was to the left of the house about fifty feet away. We met Wade inside where he was brushing a brown horse that had a white spot in between its eyes. Wade wore the standard uniform, jeans and a white T-shirt, but on his head was a cowboy hat, on his feet were work boots. He had black hair and ocean-blue eyes. “It’s about time you got here,” he said to Noah.
“She’s not really an early riser.” Noah nodded to me.
“You must be Anna. Noah told me you’d be helping this morning. You ever ride a horse before?”
“Ah…no.” Just the thought of hopping on such a massive animal that could stomp me to death scared the crap out of me.
“Well, I just took Singer here out, and there’s only two more that need to go. I’ve got some work out back to do.”
“Sounds good, go ahead, we can handle the rest,” Noah said as he took a saddle off the wall. Wade led Singer to the stalls and let him in, and then he gave us a salute before heading out of the barn. We were left alone with the horses. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear shuffling sounds coming from the back. The floor of the barn was cement but a lot of it was covered in hay. There were strands of it already sticking to the bottom of my shoes, and it was all you could smell.
“Okay, come on, the horses are down here.” He led me down a row of doors and stopped at the second from the last. He pushed it open to reveal a large shiny black horse. “This is Midnight. He’s a good old boy who will be safe enough for you.” He placed the saddle on the horse and buckled him in. “Can you go out and get me a harness for him? They’re hanging on the wall in the tack room.”
I froze. Did I admit that I didn’t have a clue what that was, or should I pretend to know and get the wrong thing? He took the choice away from me. “It’s the thing that goes over their head and has the straps.”
I scrunched up my face. “I know what it means.”
He turned away and stroked the horse’s head. “Sure you do.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, but it didn’t really count since he didn’t see me. As I headed to the back room I remembered my hat, which I had taken off in the car. I went out to retrieve it and put it on, and then went back inside to the tack room. On the wall were hundreds of horse thingies that, frankly, intimidated me. Lots of metal and leather hung from hooks. I located what I was looking for in the right back corner and stretched up on my tip toes to pull it from the peg. The strap was made out of brown soft leather that was wrinkled from continuous use; the metal was cold.
When I headed back to the stall, I heard voices. Wade must have forgotten something. I was about to walk into the stall when I heard the tinkle of a woman’s laugh. “Come on, Noah, dump her, you know we could have fun together.” I peeked through the crack in the door and saw Cindy rubbing Noah’s shoulder and leaning in, trying to kiss him. He pushed her away, stepping to the other side of the horse. Midnight swatted his tail and huffed. He didn’t like her either.
“Cindy, I told you, I’m dating Anna now, please stop this.”
She followed, tiptoeing lightly through the hay, and leaned up agains
t him, rubbing his chest. “Come on, Noah, you can handle two women, can’t you?”
I was enjoying myself watching Noah squirm, but now I was annoyed. What kind of woman would throw herself at a guy like this, and then willingly encourage cheating?
“Cindy, I’m not like that. I would never cheat on Anna or anyone I was with.”
“You always were a great guy. But really, Noah, how much could you like this girl, you haven’t known her long.”
Now I understood why Noah wanted my help. The women wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Actually, we met quite a while ago while he was visiting his grandmother,” I said, walking into the stall and taking Noah’s hand. He squeezed mine hard, obviously grateful I had intervened. I cringed, thinking back to the time when I tried to escape Nick, and he squeezed my hand in the car. I shook the memory away before worse ones appeared.
Cindy backed up against the wall and scowled at me. “You never told me you were seeing someone.”
“We met last year. Remember when I went to visit my mom? My grandmother brought her to the house and we’ve been emailing and talking on the phone ever since. It wasn’t serious until a few months ago when she decided to move down here.” Letting go of my hand, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
I swear Cindy turned green. “Well, let me know when you change your mind,” she huffed, storming out of the barn, slamming the stall door. It smacked against the wooden frame with a loud crack.
He breathed a sigh of relief, removing his arm from my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve never seen a woman so desperate in my life. I thought you were exaggerating. You were right, you do need my help.”
Finding Abigail Page 18
