Devotion (Indecision Duet Book 2)

by Brittany Fuller

  Reaching in my pocket, I pull out my phone and contact an Uber. Slipping into a nearby booth, I wait in the corner for my ride and start the torture of wrestling with my own demons that won’t let me fight for a woman I know I can’t live without.

  Evelyn

  Swirling my spoon in the coffee cup in front of me, the chatter of the cafe is nothing compared to the constant battle going on inside my mind. Fueled with conflict, I was unable to sleep a wink last night. Remembering that Jolene was opening up the diner this morning, I slipped out of my hotel room around 5 a.m. to meet her here. And here I have sat, for the past two hours, trying to wrap my brain around any sort of way I might be able to work this out. Because when all is said and done, I’ve already come this far and I am not leaving until he tells me it’s really over. If last night was any indication, it is far from over. If he won’t fight for us, it’s a good thing I’m fueled and driven with every intention of winning.

  I hear Jolene laugh across the counter with one of the locals. No doubt a regular on her shift. She takes their order and then hangs it up in the window for the kitchen. Turning, she meets my eye with a sympathetic look before grabbing the nearby coffee pot and making her way over to the booth I’ve been sulking in.

  “Need a warm up, honey?” She asks, though doesn’t wait for a response and goes ahead and fills my cup. Setting the pot on the table, she sits down slightly in the seat across from me and waits for me to look up. “He can really be a stubborn ass, I can tell ya that,” Jolene says when I finally glance her way. “Even with all that baggage, I would have thought he’d have somewhat given in by now.”

  Remembering our exchange in the dark alley, I blush as I look away over the street not wanting to give myself away. Oh, he gave in, for a brief second to let me know there just might be a chance after all. But is that a chance he is willing to take? That still needs to be settled.

  “I think seeing the two of you in one place last night was a little more than he could handle honey, that’s all.” She tries to assure me, but I just shake my head.

  “What exactly happened to him, Jolene?” I ask. “I mean, if I’m going to fight for us, I need to know. I need to be able to understand what I am up against. Why this all seems so important for him to distance himself.”

  She looks at me, and for a second I swear she just might tell me. Shaking her head, she looks away. “He needs to be the one to tell you that.”

  “And what if he never does? What if, all of this is for nothing? I never said Goodbye. He did. He left without a word and sent me a damn note. Who does that?”

  “A man who is running from a past you don’t understand.”

  “Exactly! So, help me.” I plead.

  “Noah was engaged before. Did you know that?” Jolene asks. Shock fills my features, and she doesn’t need me to answer to know that I didn’t. “Yeah, the ultimate choice right? Who you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. Til death do you part and all that sort of thing.”

  I nod, as she rises from the booth and walks a few feet back around the counter across the room to set the coffee pot back on its warmer. She grabs a plate of food from the open window and delivers it to the person a few seats down. Walking back over, she takes a seat again in front of me.

  “He’s a very private man, I’m not surprised he never told you. When daddy died, Noah took over the family farm. Going to school, working and helping momma was no easy task, but he never complained. When he got a scholarship to college, he was so excited to make something of himself, you know? Not have to grow old in the family business of trying to sell enough tobacco to pay the bills every year and hoping for a good crop so you can actually afford more.” Jolene shrugs, and I watch as she frowns remembering the past.

  “There was one catch. Becky. Oh boy, did she run him worse than he would ever care to admit. And little Miss Becky was not too excited about Noah’s scholarship. You see, she liked having the attention all on herself. Couldn’t have her boyfriend off two states away, she wouldn't have it. Putting a call into daddy, well she connived a plan to keep him here you see.”

  More and more, a picture of the man I thought I knew begins to make sense the more Jolene talks. It was as if I was finally beginning to scratch the service of what I had been fighting against for months. “So, he didn’t go?”

  “He did at first,” Jolene admits. “Driving back and forth. Checking in on momma and me. Trying to keep up with studies. With baseball. With Becky.” Jolene shakes her head and pauses for a moment before continuing. “But all that wears on you, ya know? Eventually, Becky’s plan won, and Noah gave up his scholarship to work for her daddy’s company. You see, Becky comes from money. There isn’t a person in this town that doesn’t know the last name, Brown.” Jolene says with a laugh.

  She stands again and makes her way to the front counter to help a customer cash out. I sit with the information she has just given me and try to wrap my brain around it all, but something is still not adding up. So, he left his scholarship. They were engaged. He went to work for her father. That must be the nine to five he told me about. But then what happened between the two of them.

  When she returns, it doesn’t take her long to know what I am thinking. “There is more to this story, Evelyn. Trust me, I know you need to hear it. I just can’t be the one to tell you.”

  Just as I’m about to argue her point, a lady approaches my table who Jolene must know because she embraces her in a big hug. After hellos are exchanged, she turns her attention to me. “Mary, this is Evelyn Monroe,” Jolene says as she introduces us. “Evelyn, this is Mary Thacker. She’s actually the publisher of the town newspaper. This must be kismet if you ask me, Mary, because Evelyn here is a journalist herself. Visiting from California.”

  Mary’s eyes light up as she reaches out to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you,” I say to her and she replies the same.

  “I didn't know your family knew anyone on the West Coast, Jolene. What brings you all the way out here from California, Evelyn?”

  “Actually,” Jolene buts in. “She’s looking for a job.” I shoot her a look as she slides behind Mary’s back, and gives me a wink. Not knowing what she is up to, I smile back at Mary in front of me and don’t even have the nerve to respond.

  “Is that so?” Mary asks before she starts looking at me in a different way. “When are you looking to move? I actually need a new editor. Is that something you’d be interested in? The job wouldn’t start for a month or so, but I’d be willing to meet with you and talk about it. See your work history, that kind of stuff if you are interested? What type of work did you do in California?”

  “I was just a reporter,” I answer, slightly embarrassed and not sure if that would immediately count me out for the position. A position I didn’t even know existed and had no plan on applying for but now all of a sudden I am slightly intrigued by.

  “Well, we all start somewhere don’t we?” Mary smiles as she slips her card across the table at me. I pick it up and examine it. Flipping it over in my hand, like the weight of what it offers is too heavy to even begin to process.

  “Come by my office Wednesday.” Mary sternly suggests. “Let's talk. Jolene, it was excellent as always. I will see you next week. It was nice meeting you, Evelyn.” Mary heads towards the exit and I can hardly comprehend what all just happened in just a few short minutes time.

  “What was that about?” I ask Jolene as we watch Mary walk across the parking lot. “Why did you tell her that?”

  She shrugs and smiles a sly smile as she walks back towards the kitchen. “I heard they were hiring from one of my regulars earlier. Never know, maybe you are looking for a job and you just don’t know it. Best to keep your options open.”

  She pushes through the doors and into the kitchen and I turn my attention back to the card in front of me. I can’t meet with her. That would be insane. Or, would it? Could I actually do this? What if she wanted to hire me? Would I actually say yes? Move to Kentucky? What on earth a
m I thinking, I can’t move to Kentucky! Can I?

  “Hey!” I hear Gwen say, as she rushes into the restaurant and plops down in the seat across from me. “Sorry I slept in. What did I miss?

  I look up at her in shock. She looks down at my hands, still holding the business card, and then back up at my face completely lost.

  “I think I just got offered a job,” I say, shock and amusement lacing my tone. I laugh a little before looking up to meet her stare. Her eyes wide, she doesn’t even notice when Jolene walks over and sets a cup in front of her. Gwen looks up at her in disbelief.

  “Coffee?” Jolene smiles, as she starts to fill her cup.

  Evelyn

  After breakfast, Gwen and I decided to walk the stores downtown for a while before she headed back to the hotel for a while to lay down. The effects of last night obviously too much for her this afternoon. While she slept off a little bit more of last night’s shenanigans, I took my laptop and stopped into a local coffee shop to check up on some emails from back home. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also look at the local newspaper’s stats and prices around the area to live.

  Still not convinced at all that a move to the other side of the United States would be a good thing, it struck my interest enough to at least Google a few things and go from there. That is if I ever really did want to take that jump. Something about it thrills me and scares me at the same time. I have been in a slump back home, struggling to move forward in a career and still feeling like I can’t get anywhere. Maybe this is the break I need. Or, maybe I’m just fantasizing way too hard about a future that could never exist, especially after the way Noah treated me last night.

  It didn’t take long to email, research and get way too deep into my thoughts about everything that had transpired in my life in such a short period of time. So shutting down my laptop, I grabbed a coffee to go, put my work in the car and I drove into downtown where I once again found myself walking the streets window shopping. Hopeful maybe the fresh air will take all my troubles away on the heavy breeze that is blowing after a thunder system just passed through town, I leisurely look in the windows of the adorably perfect boutique shops.

  Life out here sure is more peaceful, I will give it that. Everyone smiles at you when you walk into a local business. No one is rushing around bumping into everyone, late for an appointment or mad at the world for God only knows what reason. Cell phones aren’t glued to everyone’s faces, and people actually talk to one another. Talk a lot to one another. It's like they almost don’t care how long it takes to actually be civil to each other and polite. They’d rather do that and be a few minutes late then rude. Imagining a world like this compared to the one I grew up in is so hard, but yet it exists - and slowly I am finding myself falling in love with it the more I settle into this little town and the thought of a southern life.

  Stopping to look in the window of a shop full of the kind of southern knick-knacks only a woman could love, I take a sip of my coffee and admire all the items on display. A car door shuts behind me and I hear an all too familiar voice talking on the phone.

  “What time?” Noah asks, and I have to remind myself to breathe as I secretly wish I could also disappear, vanish into thin air and escape the possibly awkward moment that might be coming next. “I have to pick up a few things for momma, but I should be able to make it.”

  I debate turning and walking the other way. I debate standing still and hoping like mad he doesn’t see me, like there is really any chance in that. Then, I debate taking off in a fast run, hopeful to make it out of this uncomfortable situation and putting as much distance between us as possible. If that wouldn’t just be the most ridiculous thing ever. Instead, slowly I turn. Instinctively, his eyes meet mine as he’s taking the few short steps up the curb and towards the store I am standing in front of. His eyes grow a little wide with shock, and I try to smile a friendly welcoming sort of smile and hope my nerves aren’t showing too much through my clenched lips. I must have failed, because he gives me a look I used to see when he was on to me and could see right through my act, like only he has ever been able to in my life.

  With a sly smirk, he stops in front of me and listens to the conversation on the other side of the phone. I go to leave, but he grabs my arm lightly and pulls me back to my spot. Shaking his head at me all the while smiling that panty-dropping smile of his, he holds his finger up and mouths to me, “one second.”

  “We can talk about that later. I’ll be there tonight, I got to go though. Something, or rather someone, just came up.” He says smiling at me, gaining him a nervous smile back as I look around him for a possible escape if this goes bad. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Alright, catch ya later.”

  Ending his call and putting his phone back in his pocket, he looks up at me with an inquisitive smile and doesn’t speak. My smile matches his own, as I cock my head to the side and question his silence right alongside him. He laughs, and my heart instinctively melts as I feel an ease to our meeting begin to settle in. One that I have not felt in way too long, and one that I have missed terribly.

  “You know, one of these days, we are going to have to stop this whole ‘lost for words, you speak first’ chance meetings,” Noah says coming a step closer.

  Smiling, I cross my arms in front of me and take a playful stance. “Is that so?”

  “Mmhmm.” He sexily insists. The sound of his voice is a seductive rumble as he comes a little closer. “You see darlin’, you're in my neck of the woods now. I’m not the one with any explaining to do.”

  His closeness makes my knees a little weak remembering last night and the way he held me up against the wall. How he made me lose all my senses and almost agree to do something I never thought I would in that dark alley. His smell wraps around me, engulfing me. There is a playfulness about him. The cold shoulder I’ve received since being in Kentucky is gone, and I can't put my finger on what has changed. But I am not about to ask now. I am just sure glad whatever has changed seems to be working in my favor and I have no problem going with it to see where it might take us.

  “Your neck of the woods, huh?” I ask a little too boldly, as my grin widens. He only nods and steps closer once more. Arousal hits me out of nowhere. The hold only Noah can have on me. “Well, I was just uh..” I stutter trying to find words to speak, but feeling at a loss for words the closer he gets. “I was out walking, you see Gwen is tired and..”

  He smiles and glances down at the coffee cup in my hand. Figuring it was almost gone anyways, I throw it into the trash container to my right by the front of the shop that I was looking in. “A little tired, I mean. Didn’t sleep too well after last night and all.” I mumble a little, looking down towards the floor before glancing up to meet his stare. A look of acknowledgment is there, as a slight sadness fills his eyes.

  “I know the feeling,” Noah admits coming to a stop in front of me. Inches away from my grasp, our shirts slightly touch as both of our breathing quickens. Time slows, and just when I’m about to say some sort of excuse to break up the tension and leave the way I came, Noah says, “You ever been down a Kentucky back road at sunset?”

  Excitement fills me instantly. Trying not to read too much into it, and the promise that I hope is behind his statement, I just shake my head no. He smiles, then grabs my arm and laces it around his as he leads me back to his truck.

  “Well, what kind of a southern gentleman would I be if I didn’t show you one of God’s most beautiful masterpieces, Darlin’.” Noah looks back at me once and winks as we round the side of his truck. When he does, my heart bursts and all I want to do is melt into him. Wrap my arms around him and hold on, because right here, right now, I finally feel like I am home.

  “I thought you needed to get something?” I ask in a teasing way as we get to the passenger door. He stops, and my back hits the truck as he takes a step closer.

  “Oh that, yeah I’ll send Jolene. She’s picking up Ana May in about an hour anyway.” Noah’s smokey voice wraps around me as he re
aches behind my waist and opens the car door. Grinning at what he has to know I am thinking, he ushers me up inside and lets his hands linger on my waist. Closing the door, he stops for a minute at the rolled down window and takes his phone out of his pocket, sending a text no doubt to his sister. When he’s done, he glances back up at me, hesitation in his eyes. Blinking a few times, I see him swallow back whatever is trying to stop him.

  “You ready to go for a ride?” He asks, and I can sense the nervousness in his question.

  “If you're the one driving, you can take me anywhere, Mr. Stewart.” I tease, which makes him laugh as he rounds the side of his truck and jumps in the driver's side. Pausing for a moment, he looks over at me in the passenger seat and stares.

  “What?” I ask, nervous as hell. I look down at myself and smooth out my shirt as if that is going to help the situation at all. Looking back up, his stare, although sad, has the smallest hint of happiness and it makes me want to understand him more. Understand all of this. The words Jolene said to me this morning. The running away and only writing a note. The battle that has been raging between us for far too long for two people obviously still attached to one another.

  “Just never thought I’d see you here in my truck, Ev.” His admission makes my heart break a little, although I am not sure why. “Kinda throws me a little. Still hard to believe.”

  “I never thought I’d be here either,” I confess as I search his eyes, hopeful that accepting a ride off into the sunset isn’t such a bad idea. From the sound of it, we’d be a long way from town and I am not so sure I could find my way back if I had to walk. “But I am sure glad I am.”

  He smiles at me putting the car in drive. “That makes the two of us, darlin’. Buckle up. It’s time I showed you my world.”