by Force, Marie
He couldn’t be dreaming about her. That was just ridiculous. A week ago, he’d wished he never had to see her again because she drove him so crazy. He’d wanted her even when they were constantly fighting. No, he hadn’t thought of her that way until their night at the Pig’s Belly.
That’s not true, a random voice from deep inside him shouted. You thought she was hot the first time you ever saw her.
That’s your voice, idiot, and it’s telling you the truth. You’ve thought she was hot from the get-go, and the only reason you were so antagonistic is because you were having trouble remembering why you had to keep your hands to yourself around her.
For once, he was out of bed before the second alarm went off, too agitated to put up the usual morning fight against the clocks. He turned off the other alarm and headed for the shower, hoping some cold water could put out the fire burning inside him for a woman who’d told him just last night that she didn’t want him that way.
How funny was that? For the first time in three years of hell, he’d halfway fallen for a woman who wasn’t available. He’d laugh at the irony if it didn’t make him feel so shitty to have to accept that he and Brianna were going to have only one incredible night together.
With the electricians starting today, he didn’t have time for distractions like this. They were rewiring the entire place to bring it up to the current code. He needed to be on his game to supervise the subcontractors he’d hired, not obsessing about getting the architect and project manager back in a bed with him as soon as possible.
He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist while he shaved.
“That’s not going to happen.” Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he ran a razor over his face. “Just keep it cool and do the damned job. She’ll be headed home to Boston soon enough, and you can get back to normal.”
“Uh, are you talking to yourself?” Nessa asked as she appeared in the open bathroom door.
Embarrassed to have been caught, he said, “Maybe a little.”
She thrust a mug at him. “I heard your alarm go off and thought you might want some coffee.”
“Thanks.” He took a sip of the coffee. “And I talk to myself because I’m usually here by myself.”
“All you need is a couple of cats, and you’ll officially be a crazy cat lady who talks to herself and her cats.”
“Very funny. You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Worried about Izzy and my job situation and a million other things.”
“Like what?”
“Such as who’s keeping an eye on the polar bears and penguins as the ice cap melts, and what we’re going to do about all the trash in the ocean.”
Noah went to her, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “I thought the anxiety had been better lately.”
“It had been until I had to quit my job and my sister nearly died in a car crash.”
“You still taking the meds?” he asked gently.
“Every day. Most days, they do the trick. Other days…” She shrugged. “You know how it goes.”
His father’s departure had affected them all in different ways. Nessa struggled with debilitating anxiety.
“I called the nurse’s station,” Vanessa said. “Izzy had a good night. Her ‘friend’ Cabot was with her all night.”
“Well, that’s an interesting development.”
“I knew something was going on there, even if she wouldn’t admit it.”
Noah was more worried about Vanessa after hearing the anxiety was bad again. “What can I do for you?”
“Being here with you guys helps.”
“Stay as long as you want, indefinitely if you want. My home is your home.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but I know how you like your space. I can stay at Mom’s after everyone else leaves.”
“Stay here. It’s fine.” He kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
“Can I say something else?”
“Can I stop you?”
She smiled. “It was nice to see you with Brianna last night. I can tell you like her.”
“I do, but she tells me it’s not happening.”
Nessa tilted her head to the side. “Why is that?”
“She went through some rough shit with her ex.”
“So did you. At least I assume you did.”
“I did.”
“That should make you two perfect for each other because you get it.”
“You’d think, but she says she’s not ready. She doesn’t trust herself or her judgment.” Even as he said the words, Noah acknowledged that talking to one of his siblings about his personal life was unprecedented. However, he needed someone else’s insight, and Nessa had always been good about keeping his secrets.
“He must’ve done a number on her.”
“It was pretty bad.” He wanted to tell her more, but he couldn’t betray Brianna’s confidences, even with his sister. “Brutal, in fact.”
Nessa shook her head and grimaced. “Why do people do that stuff to the people they supposedly love?”
The question was the story of their lives. “I wish I knew.”
“You’re going to have to prove yourself to her. That you’re exactly what you appear to be—a nice, decent, if often grumpy, guy who she can count on.”
He play-punched her chin, making her laugh. “Had to add the grumpy part, huh?”
“Am I wrong?”
“Nah, you’re not wrong.”
“Show up for her, Noah. Be there for her as a friend and colleague. That’ll matter to her, and maybe it’ll lead to what you want, too.”
“I’m not sure what I want. She lives in Boston. That’s a long way from here, and she hates how cold it is in Vermont. She’s not about to move here, and I can’t live anywhere else with my business and everything.”
When he finally stopped talking long enough to look at his sister, he found her giving him an odd look. “What?”
“You like this woman, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said on a deep exhale. “More than I should.”
“You want to know what the good news is?”
“There’s good news?”
Nessa nodded. “You like someone new. For a while, after you broke up with what’s-her-name, we worried you might never try again with anyone else, because you were so upset about whatever she did.”
“She slept with my best friend and foreman.”
Nessa’s eyes bugged. “She slept with Miguel? Is that why he doesn’t work for you anymore? Fuck, Noah.”
“Yes and yes.”
“God, I’m so sorry. What a bitch. I never liked her.”
“Really? I thought you did.”
“Nope. I never thought she was good enough for you. I usually like to be right, but in this case, I’m sorry I was right about her.”
He shrugged it off as if they weren’t talking about one of the most painful things to ever happen to him. “It was a long time ago. I’m over it.”
“No, you’re not. That’s something you never really get over. You just find a way to live with it.”
He gazed at his younger sister with all-new appreciation. “When did you get so wise?”
“I’ve always been wise. You’re just noticing it.”
Smiling, he hugged her. “Thanks for listening, and do me a favor and keep the details about what’s-her-name between us, okay?”
“No problem. Remember what I said about how to handle Brianna. Be her friend, her champion, her supporter. That’ll matter to her.”
“I’ll give it a whirl.”
“She’d be crazy not to give you a whirl.”
Noah laughed. “I’ll let her know you think so.”
She started to walk away, but looked over her shoulder and said, “You might want to keep that part to yourself for a while.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Never allow someone to be your priority while
allowing yourself to be their option.”
—Mark Twain
Feeling better after the chat with his sister, Noah got dressed in the layers necessary to survive working in the elements. He left the house ten minutes later and headed to the diner. As he parked in front, he was surprised to see his grandfather’s truck. He went inside and noticed Elmer sitting alone at the counter with a cup of coffee in front of him.
“Morning, Noah,” Megan said. “I’ll have your order ready in a few.”
“Could you please make it a double today? Hold the bacon on the second one.”
She gave him an odd look. “Sure.”
He never, ever, ever changed up his routine, so naturally, the people he saw every day would notice any minor difference.
Noah took a seat next to his grandfather. “Morning.”
“Who are you buying breakfast for?” Elmer asked with a mischievous grin that had Noah laughing.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Yes, I would.”
“Damn, I’ve got myself cornered by the expert.”
“If I had to guess, I’d think it was that gorgeous architect you’re working with on the inn.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“How was your night at the Pig’s Belly?” Elmer asked nonchalantly.
“What night at the Pig’s Belly?”
Elmer rolled his eyes. “The one you and Brianna had after Mrs. H sent you there with a coupon.”
“Did that coupon come from you? Tell me the truth.”
“Not until you answer the question.”
“I may or may not have gone to the Pig’s Belly with Brianna after Mrs. H—and you—gave me a coupon and an order to work things out with her.”
“And how’d that go?”
“Fine.”
Elmer released an exasperated sound. “You and your one-word answers. You’d drive a man to drink.”
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that in two days.”
“About driving someone to drink? Not surprised you hear that from people.”
“No, the part about the one-word answers.”
Noah loved any chance he got to spend time with his grandfather, even when the older man was trying to get information from him that Noah wasn’t inclined to give him. Not that he cared if Elmer knew what was going on with him. Stonewalling him was so much fun.
“Wasn’t that the night of the storm and Izzy’s accident?”
“It was.”
“How’d you get home with the road closed?”
“We didn’t.”
Elmer sat up straighter. “Is that right?”
“That’s right.”
“Heard they’ve got some guest rooms upstairs. Must’ve been filled to the rafters with the road closed.”
“I think they were. I didn’t ask about the occupancy.”
Megan put two to-go coffees on the counter.
“Thank you.” Noah fixed one the way he liked it and gave his grandfather the side-eye. “So, was that your coupon and your idea about the Pig’s Belly?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Noah snorted out a laugh. “And you wonder where I get it from.”
“I don’t wonder. I was a lot like you back in the day. I never liked having people up in my business. I get it.”
“But that doesn’t stop you from meddling in our lives.”
“What you call meddling, I call support. Did you have a good time with the pretty architect?”
Noah shrugged. “It was okay.”
“You are so full of shit.”
“Gramps! You’re swearing.”
“You drive me to it with your stonewalling. I’m an old man, Noah. Not going to live forever. Don’t you want me to go to my eternal reward knowing that each of my precious grandbabies is happily settled with someone who’ll care for them when I no longer can?”
Megan’s snort of laughter drew a smile from Noah.
“I think he actually believes that nonsense,” Noah said to her.
“His track record is quite impressive.”
“Yes, it is,” Elmer said. “You and your husband are one of my favorite success stories, my dear.”
“We are rather thankful for your meddling, Elmer,” Megan said as she put the bag containing Noah’s order on the counter.
“See?” he said to Noah. “She’s thankful. Her husband is thankful. You should consider yourself lucky to have someone with my skills interfering in your life.”
“At least you acknowledge that it’s interference,” Noah said, endlessly amused by his adorable grandfather.
Before Elmer could respond with yet another witty comeback, Megan gasped and reached for the countertop with one hand while placing the other on her hugely pregnant belly.
“What is it?” Elmer asked, jumping to his feet.
“Just a weird pain.”
“Noah, run across the street and get Hunter, will you, son?”
Elmer’s tone was dead serious, and Noah was out the door before he could ask his grandfather whether it would be quicker to call his cousin than to get him. He crossed Elm Street, entered the store through the back door and went right up the stairs to the executive offices, where the light was on only in Hunter’s office.
His cousin heard him coming. “What’s up, Noah?”
“Megan is having a weird pain. Gramps told me to come get you.”
Hunter was up and out of his seat before Noah finished talking. He ran out of the office without bothering with the coat that hung on a hook inside his office.
Noah grabbed it for him and followed his cousin across the street, where Elmer was standing over Megan, seated on one of the stools at the counter.
She looked pale and frightened.
Hunter went right to her. “Do we need to go?”
“I’m not sure we have time.”
“What do you mean?” Hunter asked with a hysterical edge to his voice.
“The baby. I don’t know. I think it’s coming.”
“How is that possible?”
“How should I know? I’ve never had one before!”
“Noah, call for the paramedics,” Elmer said, maintaining his post next to Megan, hand on her shoulder.
Noah went to make the call. In Butler, when you called for rescue, you called the local firehouse, so he wasn’t surprised when one of his cousins answered.
“Butler Fire Department, Lieutenant Abbott speaking.”
“This is Noah. I’m at the diner with Megan, and we think she might be in labor.”
“On our way.”
The phone line went dead.
“They’re coming.”
“Breathe, honey,” Hunter said, his voice higher than usual.
“I am breathing.”
“The way they taught us in the class.”
“Screw the class. This freaking hurts.”
Poor Hunter was wild-eyed and panic-stricken as he watched his wife writhe in pain. “Where the hell are they?”
“Any minute now, son,” Elmer said. “Stay calm for your wife. That’s what she needs.”
“I need a freaking epidural,” Megan said through gritted teeth.
Noah wanted to ask if it was customary for labor to come on this fast, but he wasn’t about to say or do anything to interfere.
A customer came through the door and stopped short at the sight of Megan surrounded by overwrought men.
“We’re closed today,” Elmer said. “Noah, flip the sign, will you?”
Thankful to have something to do, Noah went to the door and turned the sign from Open to Closed. There’d be a lot of disappointed patrons.
Megan was panting and making other sounds that had Noah wanting to grab his order and get the hell out of there, but he couldn’t do that until he was sure she was all right. She was his friend in addition to being his cousin’s wife, and he was deeply concerned for her and their baby.
Elmer continued to speak to Megan in a soft, reassuring voice that she seemed to cling to as the pains came f
ast and furious.
Hunter wasn’t much good to her as he was trying to keep from coming unglued.
Noah had always thought he might like to have kids someday. After witnessing this, he was probably all set.
The ambulance finally arrived a few minutes later. Noah’s cousin Lucas was the first one through the door. Two other firefighters followed, bringing a gurney with them.
Lucas crouched to speak to Megan. “Do we have time to get you to the hospital?”
She shook her head.
“Seriously?” Hunter cried.
To his teammates, Lucas said, “Let’s get her on the gurney and take a look.”
“Wait a minute! You’re not looking at my wife!”
“Elmer, do something with him, and hurry up about it,” Megan said, her voice more of a growl at this point.
Elmer took Hunter by the arm and hauled him off to the side so the paramedics could tend to Megan.
“This baby is coming,” Lucas declared after he examined Megan. “Right now.”
“I, um, I think I’ll get out of the way,” Noah said, grabbing his bag and the tray of coffees from the counter.
“Take Hunter with you,” Megan said through gritted teeth.
“He needs to be here with you. I’ll, ah, check on you later.” Noah hurried out the door before he could see something that couldn’t be unseen.
Holy shit, Megan was having her baby—at the diner!
* * *
This could not be happening. He and Megan had a plan, a plan that included a hospital and a doctor, not one of his idiot younger brothers face-first in Megan’s unmentionables. Hunter was having a full-on meltdown at the possibility of her giving birth in the freaking diner, of all places.
“Lucas, we need to get her to the hospital,” Hunter said.
“No time, bro. This is happening right now.” Lucas never looked up from what he was doing between Megan’s legs—dear God in heaven, Hunter wanted to kill him—as the other paramedics scurried about, getting him what he needed.