by Ann, Natalie
“No. Now go to your room while I get the rest of the bags.”
He didn’t listen to her, but he did go to the living room and sit back on the couch to watch whatever he had on before she came in the door.
Once all the bags were in, she pulled out the few with decorations and tossed them on the couch. “Here, you can put these up.”
“Sweet,” he said, pulling out some garland and lights. “When are we getting our tree?”
“Next weekend,” she said. “I had too much to do this week and I hate having the pine needles all over the house.”
“If you watered it more it wouldn’t get so dry and shed like that.”
Something else she failed at like cooking and baking. She couldn’t keep a cactus alive. If it was in her possession she’d have it dead in a week and have no idea how it happened.
“You can crawl under the tree and water it too,” she said.
He was emptying the bag and at the bottom pulled the last thing out and started to laugh. “I’m a little old to believe in this.”
“I thought you might enjoy moving him around the house and surprising me with it,” she said. When she’d heard what Noah’s brother did, she knew right away Sebastian would get a kick out of it. Especially with his imagination.
“Am I going to get in trouble with it? I want to know going in what the rules are. I can already picture a few things I’d like to do.”
Her shoulders dropped, but she should have expected this. “You know right and wrong so try not to cross that line. And why didn’t you tell me your English teacher last year was Noah’s mother?”
“She is?” he said. “I had no idea.”
“It didn’t occur to you to think that two people with the last name Fierce might be related?”
“No. Should it have?”
Typical teen response, she supposed. “Well, they are.”
“So tell me what you did with Noah.”
“No,” she said.
“I hope you didn’t drag him through the mall with you. That’s the best way to make him not call you again.”
“How do you know what would make a man not call me back?” she asked and wondered if that was going to happen.
No, no way. She’d given Noah multiple opportunities to leave and he didn’t. He stayed by her, he carried her bags, they’d gotten chocolate chip cookies, and then when they were leaving, he walked her to her car.
She’d opened the trunk to dump the rest of the bags in, then when she shut it and turned, he had his hands in her hair and his mouth on hers. She held on and held on tight as his tongue slipped in and they started to tangle. A groan might even have escaped, but she was too far gone to worry about it.
Man oh man, he knew how to kiss and she’d been hoping he’d make that move.
She might have been giving him an out to end the date or not make another, but secretly this was exactly what she wanted.
Not just because he looked good, kissed like a dream, or was chivalrous but because he was the first guy who listened to her talk about her family and did not backpedal until he tripped over his own two feet to get away.
He didn’t look at her like she might have her own issues, he didn’t think anything about the fact she was a single parent at thirty years old, and he hadn’t judged her once on her failings she didn’t bother to hide.
If anything moved forward with the two of them, she wanted him to know right away what was in her life and what he could expect.
She’d laid it out and he followed by her side the whole time.
Some would think you couldn’t ask for more, but she knew that asking in life didn’t get her much.
“You did. You had him shopping with you,” Sebastian said with a wince big enough to make her almost mirror it.
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“Are you going out with him again?” he asked.
She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his business, but the truth was, they were a team and it kind of was his business.
“Yes, I am. Now what do you want for dinner?”
“Pizza,” he said. “There’s one in the freezer and I’m hungry. I don’t want to risk you trying to make something and not being able to eat it.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I can make grilled cheese and ham. You like that.”
“And you never burn that either. Deal.”
“As soon as I’m done wrapping your gifts.”
“Don’t you trust me not to sneak while you’re cooking?” he asked.
And because they were always honest with each other, she said, “No, I don’t.”
14
Play That Game
Noah was just pulling into the school parking lot when his cell phone went off. No one contacted him this early other than family.
When he looked down he saw it was his mother, so he called her rather than texting back. She’d rather talk anyway, he knew that. “What are you doing calling this early?” he asked.
Elementary school started much later than high school, but he was always here a solid hour before classes anyway. He liked getting work done before most even got in.
“Just having coffee with your father. I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner. I haven’t seen you since Thanksgiving.”
It’d been less than two weeks and he talked to her all the time, but she liked to see her kids more frequently. He knew that.
“You had Drake and Kara over yesterday, Wyatt on Sunday, and Jade last week,” he reminded her.
“That’s right. They aren’t you. It’s your turn.”
He smiled and got out of his car, grabbed his briefcase, and made his way to the side entrance in the back. His parents always went out of their way to have one on one time with each of them.
“I could always use a home-cooked meal that I don’t have to do myself. When did you want to do it?”
“If you’re free tonight we can, or another night. Your choice. I cook every night and you know that.”
“What are you making tonight?” he asked.
“So you want to play that game? You always did want to know what I was making before you agreed. Why don’t you tell me what you want and that’s what I’ll make.”
“Maybe you don’t have it in the house,” he said teasing her.
“That is what a grocery store is for,” she said back.
The banter they had going back and forth reminded him of Sebastian and Paige and though he thought she didn’t have that great of a childhood and Sebastian even worse, they had a pretty awesome family dynamic now.
“Surprise me,” he said.
“Oh no. You started this, you tell me what you want,” she said back to him. This time her voice was firm and he knew enough not to cross her. He’d only been teasing and she probably knew that, but like a mother she put her foot down when she needed to.
“BLTs sound good.”
“That’s not dinner,” she said. “You can make that yourself.”
“I can but I don’t. I don’t want to just cook a few slices of bacon and if I cooked a whole pound I’d eat it by myself and regret it,” he said.
He’d done that more than once. Besides, he didn’t want her to labor over a big dinner like she did for the other ones. He always tried to be the easy one of the group.
Many said he was the mama’s boy and it only pissed him off to hear it, but maybe there was a little bit of truth to it.
“Fine. I’ll bake some mac and cheese to go with it. Your father has been asking for it anyway.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you later tonight.”
He hung the phone up, turned down the hall to his office, unlocked the door, and flipped on the lights.
The minute he booted his computer up his phone went off again. This time it was from Drake asking if he had any ideas for their parents for a Christmas gift. He never had ideas. Jade always came up with them, or Drake. Wyatt and he just went along and handed over the money.
He replied back he
was clueless as always, knowing his twin would make a crack back.
He got up to start the coffee when his phone went off a third time. Family was being a pain in the butt today, but this time it was Paige and there was a picture attached.
He zoomed in to see the Elf on a Shelf lying on its stomach on the counter, it’s head over the edge, and what looked like a pile of brown gooey stuff on the floor. Next to the Elf were multiple empty chocolate wrappers. Oh my God, the Elf had a chocolate hangover.
He typed back. That’s a good one. Even Wyatt never thought of that. Where did he get the chocolate?
That’s my private stash that I thought was hidden well, she typed back. I thought wrong.
He sent an emoji back with chocolate bars on it and then wished he didn’t when a laughing one came back. Sometimes he spent too much time around kids and forgot he was talking with another adult.
One he was trying to impress.
Several hours later he was walking into the cafeteria to just scope things out like he normally did. If he was trying to see where Sebastian was, he wasn’t letting on.
After scanning the crowd and saying hi to several kids, talking football with plenty of others, he made his way out.
When he was walking back to his office he noticed a curly head and black backpack coming out of the boy’s bathroom. He was going to call out to Sebastian but figured he better not and let it play out.
Sebastian never turned to see him, he just kept walking with his head down so Noah followed but stayed back. He thought he might have been going to his locker, which was on the first floor, but he was nowhere to be found. He turned another corner and decided to circle back when he saw a pair of sneakers poking out behind the corner of a wall.
The closer he got he recognized them as Sebastian’s. The principal in him needed to know what was going on, the other man who was going on another date with his aunt didn’t want to push.
He was on the clock and he was the principal, so he moved forward.
There was Sebastian sitting on the ground with a notebook in his lap and his history book on the floor. Sebastian looked up and grinned, Noah shook his head and moved on.
At the end of the day, rather than go home and change, he went straight to his parents’ house. He never got to leave work on time anymore it seemed.
“I smell bacon,” he said when he walked in the door.
“That’s part of a BLT,” his mother said back, walking over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “How was work?”
He laughed. “You know, that’s kind of creepy. That is how you’ve always greeted Dad at the end of the day.”
She slapped his arm playfully. His mother very rarely got mad. She had a great sense of humor and he knew how lucky he was to be part of this family and raised by her and his father.
“You are turning into a fine man like your father,” she said.
“I thought everyone said I was more like you.”
“You are, but you don’t like it when people say that to you.”
He never did. Back to people always comparing him to his siblings. He didn’t like to be compared to his parents either. He just wanted to be his own man.
“Where’s Dad?” he asked.
“I’m here,” his father said, “And I need a beer.”
“Rough day?” he asked.
“Nope. Just in the mood for one.” His father pulled two out and poured them both a glass without asking. It was like his father read his mind.
He put his cousin Mason’s new Fierce Twins to his lips and took a long sip of the double IPA named in honor of Mason and Jessica’s twin boys, Jacob and Jeremy.
“Everything okay at work?” Noah asked. Of course Drake would tell him if anything was going on.
“It’s fine. How about you? The kids driving you insane before the holiday break?”
“They’ve got cabin fever worse than bears coming out of hibernation. They just had a few days off for Thanksgiving, but they know more are coming and it’s like ants on a hill racing to find that one corn kernel that was dropped.”
“You were like that once yourself,” his father said.
“Aren’t all kids?” he asked. “I was at the mall yesterday and the kids were nuts there. That’s why I avoid it at all costs.”
“What were you doing at the mall on the weekend?” his mother asked. “You can’t be Christmas shopping this early. And you never go to a store for it.”
Shit, he’d set himself up there. “I had to pick something up,” he said, knowing he had to change the subject. “I’ve been mentoring a kid though. You know how I get when I hear someone hates their history class.”
“Do you miss teaching?” his father said. “We always knew you’d never stay there long but you did love it.”
“I did. Last week one of the teachers had an emergency and I couldn’t get a sub in fast enough so I filled in and taught the class. I could tell most of the kids didn’t know what to do or what to expect.”
“What class was that?” his mother asked.
“Political Science. I don’t care for current politics but you know how I feel about how it shapes our lives, and it was fun to get the kids involved. I had two seniors stop me after class and say they learned more in that one class than all semester.”
“It was probably two girls who said it,” his father said, sitting down at the table. Everything was there now that his mother just pulled the mac and cheese out of the oven.
“It may have been,” he said and started to assemble his BLT.
“You need to find some nice girl,” his mother said. “Look how happy Drake is. Maybe Kara knows someone and you two could double date.”
He rolled his eyes. “We aren’t in high school and I don’t need to be set up by anyone. I can find my own woman and do all the time.”
“You haven’t dated anyone since Marie,” his father said. Normally his father didn’t get in the middle of these conversations. Actually his parents hardly ever brought up any of their dating lives.
“With reason,” he said, thinking of his ex that just wasn’t for him. She wanted him to be someone he wasn’t too. That person was the opposite of his family though. She wanted him to be a tree-loving minimalist.
Why the hell couldn’t he find someone who would just accept him for who he was?
“She was a nice girl, just not the girl for you,” his mother said.
“No, she wasn’t. Anyway, this is great. Hits the spot,” he said, filling his mouth with the sandwich. That should have given them the hint he didn’t want to talk about it.
* * *
“Did you see him stuff his face when I mentioned how Marie wasn’t the girl for him?” Carolyn asked Garrett the minute Noah was out the door.
“I did. I had all I could do not to bust a gut laughing. He always did that when he didn’t want to talk about something. Could he be any more obvious? I wonder what is going on with him.”
“I bet he’s seeing someone,” she said. “I need to find out who. This won’t work if that is the case.” How could she get him to talk to Paige if he was interested in someone else?
“Why would you think that?” Garrett asked.
“He went to the mall and he never does. And he went on the weekend. That smacks of doing something with a woman.”
“You could be right. Drake never said anything when he was here and if anyone would know if Noah is seeing someone it’s Drake.”
“That’s true,” she said, frowning now. “Those two never keep secrets from each other.”
“You could have just come out and asked him if he was seeing someone,” Garrett said. “You always want to beat around the bush.”
“I didn’t want to be too obvious. I’ve mentioned Sebastian’s name a few times to him and he hasn’t bitten. I’m not sure what else to do.”
“Maybe they haven’t crossed paths yet in school,” he argued.
“They have. He told me they did and I had such high hopes, but I can’t talk too
much about it either. I have to think on this one some more. I’m telling you she would be perfect for Noah.”
“Why do you think that? I’m a little nervous about this one. It sounds like she has a lot on her plate, most of it being baggage.”
“Noah likes kids. He likes to help kids. I’m telling you, Sebastian is special. I’ve read his short stories and what he says about his aunt and a family. What he wants and needs in his life.”
“And what is it that he wanted or needed when you read his homework?”
“A normal family. A male role model in his life. Someone to take care of his aunt. He didn’t use her name when he wrote, but I know he was talking about her. He’s protective and he’s caring and he’s not like the normal teen.”
“I’m still not so sure about this one.”
“Give it time,” she said. “I’ve got to think some more and see if I can come up with something. I just need to get those two together and then I’m positive the sparks are going to fly.”
“We’ll see about that,” he said.
“You think you know so much because you did well with Drake. This one is my turn and I’m going to prove it to you that I can do it.”
Garrett moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms. “I’d like you to show me what else you can do.”
She laughed. “Never change, Garrett. Never change.”
15
Changed The Dynamics
Having never dated a woman who had a child before, Noah was at a loss on how to proceed with Paige so he did the only thing he could think of. He went to talk to Drake.
Since they lived less than a mile from each other, he pulled his fleece on and decided to go for a walk. Walking always cleared his head, which was why he moved around the school so much too.
The minute he went to open the door of his brother’s house he stopped himself, knowing his brother probably wasn’t alone. It was close to six so that told him Kara was most likely there too. Or maybe the only one there since he couldn’t tell whose car might be in the garage.
