“You’ll be at Snapper’s tomorrow to help out, won’t you?” Carly asked.
“Of course.”
“Around ten o’clock?”
“Yes, looking forward to it.”
She turned to the others, said her goodbyes, and grabbed Oscar’s leash. She glanced over at Noah, who was still standing by the open door, staring out into the darkness. Emily, unsure of what to do, left him alone and walked out the door.
Chapter Eighteen
“Emily, can you come see for a minute?” Carly shouted from the bar.
Emily wiped her hands on the towel in her back pocket. It was a habit she’d already picked up from Joey. She went through the swinging doors into the bar. Carly was hustling, arms filled with beer. The bar was loud and noisy, filled to capacity with bodies. Voices competed with the Southern rock playing on the jukebox. The oilfield company’s function was underway, and businessmen from all over Louisiana had descended upon them. It was a direct contrast to the day before. This was their first day officially open, and everyone was pitching in to help. Emily was helping in the kitchen. Emily stopped and scanned the bar for familiar faces. She didn’t see many.
“What do you need, Carly?” Emily asked.
“Text Noah SOS. I need help.”
“Gotcha.”
Emily grabbed the phone and started the text. She froze upon hearing a shrill voice.
Oh God. It was Justice Theriot. Justice was the wife of Eddie’s best friend from college. Justice and Jeremy must have come here for the oilfield function. Was Eddie here with them? He couldn’t be. He would already have caused a scene.
She had never liked those two. The feeling was mutual. They had never thought she was good enough for Eddie. Emily had overheard Justice call her “isle trash” on more than one occasion. Notorious for creating drama, Emily knew this could get ugly. Justice had always done whatever she could to make others’ lives miserable. And especially Emily’s.
Emily’s hands started to shake so bad she could barely type in the text. She kept her head down, body turned away from where they were sitting. She prayed that she had not been noticed. She finished the text message and escaped back into the kitchen.
Luckily, Joey put her to work washing dishes. It was mindless work, and she couldn’t help with food prep. She did not need a knife in her hand. Not the way her hands were shaking. Maybe that horrid woman hadn’t seen Emily. Surely she would’ve said something. That woman couldn’t keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it.
Soon, the back door to the kitchen opened and Noah’s tall form filled the doorway. Emily cast a glance at him, then back to the sink. He gave Joey a cursory greeting, then she felt Noah’s presence.
“You okay?”
Emily was glad that he had whispered. She didn’t want Joey or Carly alerted to her distress. Definitely not Carly.
She nodded, unwilling to speak. Afraid her voice would give her away.
“No, you aren’t.”
She nodded again.
“I’ll be back. Let me see what Carly needs and I’ll be back.” He put a finger under her chin and pulled her face up gently. He looked into her eyes. “You got this. Whatever it is.”
She smiled shakily and nodded again. He walked off, calling Carly’s name.
***
Noah
Noah stepped into the smoky bar and instantly felt overwhelmed by the noise and people. He took a deep breath and looked around for Carly.
“Noah!” Carly said. “Thank God you’re here. Can you stock some beer in those spare coolers? We’re running low.”
“Sure thing.”
Noah grabbed the rolling coolers and started shoveling ice from the ice machine into them. He had one about filled when he heard Carly calling his name again.
“What?” he yelled back, still scooping ice.
“There’s someone here to see you.”
Noah dried his hands on a bar towel and turned around.
His breathing stopped. It was Staff Sergeant Douglas.
Noah was slammed back into the past. He was a soldier again. His spine stiffened. He forced his face to smile. Not now, he thought, feeling the walls begin to close in.
He walked across the bar and shook Douglas’ hand. “How are you?”
“I’m good. I just got settled in over at the inn. I tried to call, but you weren’t answering. It looks like you’re busy. We can catch up later,” Douglas said.
“Yes. Definitely.”
“I will call you later.”
Noah gave him a nod and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels. He poured himself a shot, downed it, and walked out through the kitchen, the nearest exit. He needed air.
***
Emily
Emily dropped the pot into the water and lifted her head up, inhaling a deep breath. Noah was right. She could do this.
Justice hated Emily from the beginning. But then again, Justice didn’t even like herself, so how could she like anyone else? She was always condescending and judgmental; Emily had never seen an unhappier person than Justice Theriot. Justice was more than happy to share her unhappiness with others. Justice had sabotaged her and Eddie from the beginning, always making snide comments to Eddie about Emily. Justice played on Eddie’s insecurities by implying that Emily had had more than one affair.
Affair? Emily thought, and snickered. Like she’d had time for that. Her sex life was as nonexistent as a snow day in Louisiana.
Emily dried the last dish and looked at Joey, who was still busy at the grill.
“Hey, Joey?” she called.
“Yes?” he said, not even stopping to turn around.
“Need anything?”
“I’m good for now.”
“I’m going outside for a minute. Need fresh air.”
“Gotcha. I’ll yell if I need anything. Don’t go far though.”
Emily escaped outside. She was glad there was a back entrance. She really didn’t want to face anyone right now. She exhaled a shaky breath and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. Damn it! Things were going so well. Maybe Justice hadn’t seen her. Maybe all this worrying was for nothing. Emily would just stay out of the way for now.
The door opened quietly, and she heard footsteps on the wooden porch.
“Em, you okay?” It was Noah.
She started to nod, to reassure him that everything was okay, that she was just taking a break, but instead found herself shaking her head.
She rested her head on his shoulder when he wrapped his arms around her.
He released his hold so he could look at her face. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles under them. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His palm touched her cheek. Even with what he was going through, he still wanted to comfort her.
“You’re going to be okay. Have a little faith in yourself, Em.”
“I will, Noah.”
“You will be fine. Trust me. We both will.”
“You sure?” She looked up into his brown eyes, looking for reassurance. When her eyes met his, his eyes darkened. Emily chewed her bottom lip nervously, but found herself unable to look away. His other palm came up to touch her other cheek, framing her face.
“Positive,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers.
Tiny shock waves of pleasure rolled through Emily’s body as his lips made contact. His lips were warm and tasted like the whiskey he’d been drinking earlier. Slowly, his lips glided over hers.
He retreated. His hands still caressing her face, he leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be here all night if you need me.”
He enveloped her in another hug, then walked back into the bar.
Emily watched him walk away. She brought her fingers to her lips, remembering his kiss. Whiskey, she thought. There had been whiskey on his breath. She frowned; Noah only drank whiskey when he was stressed.
***
Later, the crowd thinned. Most of the drunks had stumbled to their cabins to rest up for the big spaghetti cook-off th
e next day. Emily was finishing up in the kitchen, wiping her hands when Carly called to her again from the bar.
“Yeah, Carly?”
Carly was grinning. It was a tired grin, but a grin. She nodded to the customers in the corner. “These two say they know you. Said they’d seen you earlier, but it was busy so they didn’t want to bother you.”
Her heart stopped. It was Justice and Jeremy. This was not going to end well. Emily’s eyes opened like a deer caught in the headlights. The beating of her heart echoed in her head and drowned out all sound in the bar.
She saw Justice fix her face into what Justice thought probably looked like a sincere smile. Too bad the smile didn’t match the viciousness in her eyes. She stared down her long snout of a nose at Emily.
“Emily! How good it is to see you!” Justice said.
Oh, really, Emily thought, but said, “And you too, Justice.” Emily pasted on a smile that was just as fake as Justice’s. It was a routine they went through every time they had met for dinner, at social functions, or even at the grocery store.
“You know, we ran into Eddie the other day.”
“You did?”
“Yes, he didn’t say much, but he did say that you had left him.” Emily imagined Justice salivating over this information like a dog drooling over a bone.
“Is that right?” Emily responded.
“Yes. And I can see why. I saw that man with you earlier. And when did you meet him, Emily? No wonder you snuck off like you did. A hunk of a man like that. Is that what’s his name? Ryder, I think Eddie said? But then you always liked to sneak around, didn’t you?”
Justice let out a bark of laughter.
Emily’s eyes darted to Carly as her stomach churned. Emily saw Carly’s eyes narrow. Carly did not like Justice’s insinuation. Although Carly said nothing, her toe tapped on the wooden floor.
Emily refused to respond. Denial would only give more fuel. And a response, which was just what she wanted. Justice could feed off a response. And Emily would not give her that satisfaction.
“You know what else Eddie said?”
Emily’s stomach turned again, but she said nothing.
“That he was looking for a new place to live. Poor guy, getting surprised like that. After all he’d done.”
After all he’d done? He? Eddie? Fury flashed through her, leaving her speechless. She went ramrod still. She heard the swinging doors to the kitchen open, but did not turn to see who it was.
Justice turned to Jeremy. Her voice slurred, “Oh, look honey, it’s Emily’s new friend. We should introduce ourselves.” She held out a manicured hand that had probably never seen a day’s worth of work.
Emily turned to look at Noah. His face was impassive. Noah glanced at Justice and dismissed her. “Carly, I think it’s about closing time, don’t you think?”
Carly nodded. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was thinking. It’s five minutes to two. I’ll go ahead and close your tab.”
“But…” Justice started. She was not used to being dismissed.
“But what?” Carly interrupted.
Justice started to open her mouth to say something else, but after looking at Carly’s face, closed it.
“We should be going anyway,” Jeremy said, and turned to Emily. “Again, it was so good to see you. I’ll tell Eddie we ran into you.”
He signed the receipt, and they left without another word.
Emily bounced from angry shakes to nervous nausea, then back again. “Carly? Do you need me for anything else?” she asked.
Carly’s eyes softened. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Uh huh. Whatever. Get over there and sit your butt down.” Carly pointed to a bar stool.
“No really, I’m fine. I’m just going to head home,” Emily protested.
“Emily. You get your ass over there and sit down. You’re not going home.” Carly raised her eyebrows at Emily, daring her to argue.
Emily glanced at Noah, hoping for help, but he nodded with a smile. “Have a seat, Em.”
As she sat down, Noah sat beside her. He reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder, kneading the knotted tension out of tight muscles. Carly poured ice in three glasses. Two Jacks and a Crown. She made them doubles and sat them down in front of each of them. Emily raised hers with a shaky hand. She took a long drink, setting it down with a long breath.
“Man, they make me mad!” Emily said.
“Some friends you got there, Em,” Noah said.
“They’re not my friends. Those are Eddie’s friends.”
“I’m starting to really see why you came back. Other than ’cause you missed us, of course. I’d leave there too if I had to put up with those people,” Carly said.
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Exactly.”
“Well, whatever brought you back here, we’re glad. You were a lifesaver today,” Carly said.
“Thanks, I enjoyed it actually. Well, except for that last part.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t worry too much about them. Seemed like two unhappy people who relish making others as unhappy as they are,” Carly said.
“Yeah, that’s just about right. She’s been that way as long as I’ve known her. If I were like that, I’d probably shoot myself and put myself out of misery. I’d consider it a community service,” Emily said.
Carly laughed. “Yeah, thank God we’re not all like that.” She raised her glass and the three of them clinked them together.
“To happiness!”
Emily wished she could agree. She knew that life was about to get much more complicated.
Emily said, “They’re going to be here for the weekend. They’re going to be drunk and aggravating.”
“Oh, and we don’t know how to deal with drunk people, do we?” Carly asked Noah.
Noah laughed, the circles were under his eyes still, but he had retained that sense of humor. “No, not here. What do you think this is? A bar?” He winked at Emily, then looked at Carly. “She thinks this is a bar or something.”
Emily grinned. “I just don’t want them causing you guys any drama. This is my mess.”
“Actually, it’s not,” Noah said. “You’re a part of our family. What did I tell you about that?”
“That everyone takes care of each other.”
“You’re damn right. You should know better than that, we’re The Boonies” Carly said. “Besides, this could be fun.” She grinned that mischievous grin.
Emily still wasn’t convinced, but she wasn’t going to say anything. She already knew these two would be hard to convince otherwise. They were both so stubborn. You could tell they were related. She leaned back on the stool, resisting the urge to close her eyes. The day had been exhausting, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She fought a yawn, and drained the rest of the glass.
“Another one?” Carly asked.
“I’m good. I’m heading home. It’s been a long day,” Emily replied.
“Here, I’m on my way home too. I’ll walk you home,” Noah said.
“You don’t have to do that. And besides, Carly would be here by herself.”
“I’ll be just fine for the few minutes it takes him to walk you home. I’m a big girl, you know,” Carly said with a grin.
Noah stood as Emily did, and scooted both their stools in. “I’ll be right back to help you finish up and lock up.”
“I’m good. Take your time.” Carly smiled again. “I’m gonna lock the door though. Knock when you get back.”
“No prob.”
Noah opened the door for Emily and followed as she walked outside.
“You really don’t have to walk me home. It’s not that far.”
“Maybe I want to walk you home,” he said.
They were silent on the walk to the cabin.
He smiled at her slightly as they got to the door and softly kissed her on the lips. “Good night, Emily. See you in the morning. I have a spaghetti cook-off to win.”
She smiled. “Good night,
Noah. See you tomorrow. Just so you know, I’ll be the one winning the cook-off.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll just see about that, won’t we?”
Chapter Nineteen
Emily was sitting in the bar. It was crowded. Loud music blared over the sound of voices. Emily was sipping a drink. She was uncomfortable. The music was too loud. There was too much smoke, and too many people.
“Hey, sister,” Eddie said, appearing out of the crowd and at her side. She smelled his stale beer breath before she saw him.
“What do you want, Eddie?”
“You know what I want.”
“No, Eddie. I don’t.”
“I want you to realize that I’m the best you’re ever going to have.”
Emily’s stomach knotted up. Her head throbbed.
“Emily, are you okay?” Emily looked over to see Noah standing on her other side.
“I’m okay,” she told him.
“I love you,” Noah said.
Eddie started his hyena-sounding laugh. “Yeah right, believe that.”
Emily turned to Noah, but he walked away.
“Told ya, didn’t I?” Eddie laughed again.
Emily felt the blood pound in her head. “You know what, Eddie? Go away. Leave me alone. Shut the hell up!”
Emily pushed away from him to push through the crowd to find Noah. She had to tell him. She had to find him. She made her way through the crowd to the outside of the bar. She looked around for Noah, but he was gone.
***
Oscar whined, waking Emily up. She looked over to see his big head resting on the bed. Emily groaned and stretched. She padded through the house and let him out the door. He had finally calmed down enough to let him go without a leash. Yawning, she set the coffee pot then went outside. Today’s cook-off was going to be rough without a nap.
She propped bare feet up on the wooden porch railing. Leaning back on the Adirondack chair, she gazed up at the sky. The morning air was crisp. The air was cool on her bare toes and smelled of saltwater. She might light a fire in the fire pit later that night, if she felt like moving that much. She would have to see how the day played out. After having to face Justice again and the cook-off, she might just want to crawl into bed.
Tangled Up In You (Fleur de Lis Book 1) Page 15
