Noble Love (The Nobles of Sweet Rapids #1)

by Té Russ

  Rather than outright charge to see the film, the family had instead requested donations for entry. The funds raised would go to one of Isaac Noble's favorite charities.

  The sound of footsteps behind him caused him to turn around.

  Tessa was walking toward him with an excited and proud smile on her face.

  "Full house," she said, reaching up to adjust his tie.

  He nodded and she reached up to stroke his cheek.

  "Are you okay?"

  He wrapped his hand around her wrist and turned his face to plant a kiss on her palm.

  "As good as I'm gonna get tonight."

  "I'm going to go and take my seat, I'll see you after your introduction."

  "Okay."

  She took his hand in hers and gave it a firm squeeze. "Everyone is going to love it," she assured him, then headed back out front.

  He took another minute to gather himself, blew out a deep, fortifying breath, and then stepped through the curtains.

  The audience instantly began to applaud and he gave a brief smile and nod. His eyes fell to the front row, where his mother, siblings and the woman he was crazy about sat, smiling at him.

  He held his hand up to quiet the crowd.

  "Thank you for coming tonight. Before we begin, I just wanted to say a few words. First, on behalf of my family and myself, I'd like to say thank you. Losing of Isaac Noble wasn't just felt within my family, but within this entire community. You've all been so supportive towards us and your love and sympathy has been felt. It's one of the things that helped us continue moving forward with this documentary. That, and the fact that we all know that Pop would have been disappointed if we never completed it. I wish he would have been here to not only see the finished product of this film, but also the end results of the plans we've set in to motion for Noble Naturals to help the company continue to grow and flourish. But I hope he's looking down on us with pride. Without further ado, I present to you Forever Noble: The Rise and Success of Noble Naturals."

  The applause began again as Isaiah exited to the side of the stage and went down the stairs to the front row where he found his seat in between his mother and Tessa.

  The curtain opened, lights dimmed and the film began, the opening scene was his parents sitting on the couch just a few short months ago. The audience laughed when they saw Isaac Noble, shifting uncomfortably as Isaiah, from offscreen, insisted that his father relax because he sounded like a robot. Isaiah had decided to keep the candid shot in the film.

  The screen suddenly clipped to a second take, and this time Isaac and Irene began talking; reminiscing on the way they met in college. Two hours later, the film faded to black and a dedication appeared on the screen.

  For Isaac Noble.

  Isaiah had tried to think of something profound to say, but he decided keeping things simple would have just as strong of an impact. He looked in his mother's direction when he felt her hand grip his. She had tears streaming down her face, but she was also smiling.

  Once the dedication on the screen went away, the credits began to roll and the crowd burst into raucous applause. Everyone rushed to their feet in a standing ovation and the applause continued on for several minutes.

  Irene wrapped her arms around Isaiah, and his siblings joined her.

  "He would be so proud," his mother said, though he almost didn't hear her over the audience. He finally pulled away from the group hug of his family and turned to find Tessa standing behind them, smiling brightly, her own eyes damp.

  After the film, they were all going out to eat, but he would have much rather preferred to go home with her instead.

  

  "Tess, you didn't have to come with me today."

  Tessa waved her hand as she entered the building of Noble Naturals.

  "It's Sunday, the bakery's closed. I'd much rather be here with you, than alone in bed all day."

  Isaiah smiled as they boarded the elevator and rode it up to the executive suites.

  They were quiet on the way to the office that his parents had shared for the last twenty-five years. Tessa noticed that his hand actually trembled slightly when he touched the doorknob, but he cleared his throat, steeled his spine and pushed the door open.

  He took one step into the room and froze.

  Tessa couldn't even imagine the emotions rolling through Isaiah at that moment. A masculine scent hit her nostrils and it was obvious that it was his father's old cologne lingering in the air.

  She lifted her hand to his back to gently rub it.

  "If you're not ready–"

  "I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. Lifting the box he was holding, he added. "Mom doesn't have a lot of stuff. This won't take long."

  They headed over to the large executive partners desk and Isaiah sat the box down on the center table. They worked together emptying Irene's side of the desk.

  "IT is going to come in tomorrow and move her computer..."

  Tessa looked up when Isaiah's voice drifted off.

  "Isaiah?"

  She watched as he slowly moved around to his father's side of the desk. He picked up a photo of Isaac, Irene and all four of their kids together.

  "I remember this picture. It was the day our parents bought this building," Isaiah said, quietly. "After they signed the papers, they decided to let us celebrate with them and they took us to a water park. We spent the entire day there."

  He sat down in his father's chair and his face twisted in confusion. Bending down, he murmured, "What's this?"

  When he sat back up, he had a large box in his hands. He stood and placed it on the desk and pulled the top off.

  Isaiah's face filled with shock as he pulled out a CD case.

  "What is it?" Tessa asked.

  "It's...it's the first CD I ever produced." He began going through the box and he shook his head. "It's every CD I've ever produced."

  He continued pulling items out of the box.

  "There are articles in here about me and my siblings. Every episode of the cooking show Ian was on and won, every one of Ivy's vlogs and videos of fashion shows Izzy helped with."

  "There's so much stuff in here," Tessa said, looking in the box with Isaiah.

  "I can't believe he chronicled...everything."

  Isaiah dropped down in the chair again, covering his face with his hands. When his shoulders began to shake, Tessa rushed to him and hugged him tightly. His arms wrapped her around her waist and he held her tightly, clearly overcome with emotions.

  Since the passing of his father, Tessa hadn't seen Isaiah truly mourn the loss of his father. She had a feeling that the weeks after Isaac's death, when they were apart, Isaiah was too focused on everyone else's wellbeing to be concerned with his own. And then he dove in to finishing the documentary.

  When he pulled away, he wiped the wetness from beneath his eyes with the back of his hand. His voice was rough as he said, "The last thing he said to us was that he was proud of us."

  "Everyone knew how proud your father was of the four of you. You couldn't run in to Isaac Noble in town without him bragging on his four kids; that he made by his damn self."

  Isaiah let out a broken laugh at Tessa's comment.

  "Don't get me wrong, I believed him when he told us that. But to see all of this–"

  "Puts it in a whole new perspective?"

  Isaiah nodded. "Yeah...it does."

  After taking a moment to collect himself, Isaiah finally stood and began to put all of the items he'd pulled out of his father's box back. He covered it with the top and then slid it back under the desk.

  "I think it's time to go home," Tessa said, grabbing the box with Irene's things.

  Isaiah took the box from Tessa and then leaned down to kiss her lips. It was a sweet, lingering kiss and she could feel him thanking her for being there with him. There wasn't anywhere she would have rather been.

  "We'll drop this off at my mother's new office, and then we'll head home."

  There was something different abo
ut Isaiah as they left Noble Naturals. A weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

  Tessa believed he was beginning to truly heal.

  Chapter 28

  Isaiah's eyes slowly slid open and his gaze went to his window where he noticed the sun was beginning to rise. And that's when he realized he'd actually slept through the night for the first time, probably since his father had died.

  Sleep had become elusive since then. He hadn't even been able to find it after incredibly amazing sex with Tessa. He would toss and turn, maybe drift off for an hour or two; but real rest missed him nearly every night.

  Until last night.

  After leaving Noble Naturals, Isaiah was still in awe over the box of mementos his father had kept of Isaiah and his brother and sisters. Oddly enough, that discovery had given him a bit of peace.

  When they returned home, the previous evening, Tessa had led him straight to the bedroom, where she stripped him out of his clothes, and made him lie on the bed while she tenderly massaged his entire body. That was when, he now realized, the tension from his body first began to ebb away.

  Eventually, he got her out of her clothes and on to her back, where he took his time making love to her for the rest of the night. He remembered the way he worshiped her body, and told her over and over that he loved her; and she reverently reciprocated.

  After that, he'd pulled her into his arms where he fell asleep. He assumed because of his pattern, as of late, that he would awake soon after Tessa fell into a deep sleep. But, much to his surprise, he was just now waking up, hours later.

  Isaiah sat up in the bed and looked around the room, realizing Tessa was no longer in the bed.

  She's probably jogging around the lake, he thought to himself.

  Every morning, she got up and went for her morning jog. He doubted this morning was any different.

  He looked up when the bedroom door crept open. Tessa quietly backed into the room and when she turned to face him, her face lit up in that bright smile that made his heart beat for her and her alone.

  "You're awake!" she exclaimed, walking over to him with a large tray filled with food on it. "I was so glad you actually slept last night."

  "You knew I hadn't been sleeping?"

  "Honey, I've been sleeping here more than I've been sleeping at my own place over the last few months. With the exception of those three weeks, I know you haven't been sleeping well since..."

  "Yeah."

  "But you did last night."

  "I did."

  "How are you feeling this morning?"

  He sat back against the headboard and thought about her question. "You know, I feel pretty damn good today."

  Her smile grew wider. "Wonderful, I hope you're hungry as well," she said, sliding the tray on his lap.

  "Wow, you've been busy this morning," Isaiah said, looking at the large spread.

  "Yeah," Tessa said, with a shrug. "I went out, did my morning run, came home and showered and you were still asleep. Figured I'd make you some breakfast."

  She'd made all of his favorites: a steak, scrambled cheese eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon, fruit salad and hot cup of coffee. There was also a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice.

  "Everything looks delicious," he said, rubbing his hands together. Tessa climbed in the bed next to Isaiah and reached for her own plate that was sitting on the tray. Hers only had pancakes, bacon and fruit. Once they'd been eating for a while, Isaiah asked, "Are you getting ready for work soon?"

  She said she'd showered after she returned from her run, but he noticed instead of her putting her work clothes on, she was simply wearing one of his shirts. That was his favorite thing to see her wearing, besides nothing at all.

  Tessa shook her head as she bit into her bacon. "I'm taking the day off."

  "Really?" he asked surprised. "Why?"

  "Because I want to stay home with you."

  Something about her saying she wanted to stay home with him, that she considered his place just as much of a home as hers...warmed him inside.

  "What about your sister and the bakery?" he asked.

  "Dana can handle the place just fine without me. She does it all the time. And with the new employees, things will be a breeze," she said, waving her hand. "I'd much rather stay right here with you all day."

  Isaiah slowly finished chewing the food in his mouth and swallowed. He'd been so busy the last few months, a day of doing absolutely nothing actually sounded like a good idea.

  "Okay," he said. "We'll spend the day right here."

  

  Isaiah stood with his siblings at the airport. They were all getting ready to leave Sweet Rapids; off to their separate destination. Isabella was catching a flight back to Paris, and Ivy was heading off to Brazil where she'd meet with her camera crew to start her vlog back. Ian was heading back to Vegas. Isaiah was going to miss them, but he knew their time apart wouldn't be as long this time around.

  "You text me or call me when you get there, so I'll know you made it safely," he ordered.

  "We will," Ivy and Isabella said.

  Smiling, he pulled both sisters into his arms.

  "Love you," he said, before kissing them both on the cheek.

  "Love you too," they said, as both women grew teary eyed.

  "And you call us when you need us," Isabella ordered. "We'll be on the first plane home."

  Ivy nodded her head, agreeing. She could always do the Noble Naturals videos from anywhere, but he knew she'd come home without hesitation.

  Isaiah gave them one last tight hug, then stepped aside so Ian could hug them as well. Their flights were first, Ian would be heading out soon after.

  Isaiah and Ian stood watching as their sisters disappeared through the security section of the airport.

  "You good man?"

  Isaiah turned to Ian, who was still looking straight ahead after his question.

  "Yeah," Isaiah said. "I'm good."

  Ian gave a short nod. "You've been trying to so hard to hold everyone else up all this time..."

  "It's my job."

  "Says who?" Ian asked turning toward Isaiah. "Your birth certificate, because you were the first one they pulled out of Mom's stomach?"

  Isaiah smiled and shrugged at his brother's teasing. "You know this is just how I've always been."

  "Which is why Pop wanted you to run the company."

  "Hey," Isaiah said. "How do you feel about that? Do you think the girls are okay about it?"

  "Everyone is fine," Ian assured Isaiah. "We all know what our rolls will be when the time comes with Noble Naturals. Yours is leader."

  Isaiah nodded, feeling more at ease. He wasn't taking over quite yet, but he would be assisting his mother with running the business and continuing to help oversee the revamping of the company.

  "My flight's gonna be boarding soon," Ian said, quietly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Because if you need me, I can stay."

  "No, man. I told you, I'm good."

  When Ian raised an eyebrow, Isaiah blew out a breath and held up his hands. "I'm getting better. Tess has been a great."

  Ian nodded, satisfied with Isaiah's amended answer. "Tessa is a good woman. Don't fuck that up."

  Isaiah chuckled and pulled his brother into a strong hug.

  "I love you man."

  "Love you too," Ian said, before pulling away and picking up his carry on.

  "Call me–"

  "When I get back to Vegas. I will." Ian said, and then headed for the security gate.

  Once Ian disappeared into the busy crowd of the airport, Isaiah shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to head for the parking lot.

  Despite the circumstances, he enjoyed being around his siblings for the last few weeks.

  He got to his car, started it and sat there for a moment, trying to figure out what he wanted to do next, where he wanted to go.

  His mouth began to water, and suddenly he was craving the taste of his Tess.

  Chapter 29

 
; "Sooo," Tessa said in a singsong voice, as she stirred some batter for a batch of honey cookies they were testing. Isaiah had come through with his connection to Abe Nilon's Honey. "You and Aiden are going on your first da–"

  "It's not a date," Dana quickly corrected her sister. "It's an outing to a show of an artist, we both happen to enjoy. Since we live next to each other, it just saves money for us to ride together."

  "So it has nothing to do with the fact that you two have still been screwing each others' brains out for the last month or so?"

  It seemed during Isaac Noble's death and afterward, Dana and Aiden had somehow grown closer, though they still argued like crazy. According to Dana, angry sex was just as hot as make up sex. Tessa would have to take her sister's word for that.

  "I know you're not talking. Miss Get-Busy-At-Work. Nasty heifer."

  Tessa's eyes grew wide and she tried to shush Dana, who was laughing loudly.

  "Okay," Tessa conceded. "You win that one. But come on Dana, what's really going on between you and Aiden?"

  Dana paused from icing the batch of cupcakes she was working on and looked up at Tessa.

  "Aiden is crude and a jerk and when I push him, he pushes back," she said. Then her face softened. "But he's also considerate and caring and he can be incredibly tender."

  Her last words came out on a sigh and she shook her head and got back to work.

  "So, is it safe to say he's no longer the worst neighbor in the history of neighbors?"

  "Oh, he's still that. And an arrogant ass." Her head popped up and her lip tilted up as she added, "But he's my arrogant ass."

  The ringing of Dana's cellphone broke the silence Tessa and Dana had fallen in to while they worked on their desserts. She wiped her hands clean, pulled her phone out and smiled. "It's Daddy, he's video calling."

  Tessa dropped her utensils and rushed over to stand next to Dana as she answered the call. Their parents had been gone for nearly two weeks on their cruise and they'd only gotten an occasional text to let the girls know they were doing okay.