Devotion (Indecision Duet Book 2)

by Brittany Fuller

  “I don’t care if your freelancer dropped the ball, that is why we pay you to stay on top of these things. It’s your job to have something to go in that slot if his falls through.” Mary says sternly into the receiver. The man at her desk looks over at me as I make my way forward into the office. I smile at him, but it is not returned.

  “Fine!” Mary yells. “We will just pull what we had saved for tomorrow’s section and run it today. Oh, and Stacey, you can forget the other half of your two week’s notice. Your final check will be waiting for you at central office tomorrow.” With that, she harshly hangs up the phone and I can’t help but jump back a little.

  “So?” The man standing at her desk asks.

  “She has nothing! Pull the story on the Rebels and put it B1. Sorry, Harry, you’ll be taking on a little more work until I can get her replacement hired.” Mary hands Harry the daily proofs and I watch as he stalks off irate.

  She runs her fingers through her hair momentarily before letting out a deep breath and turning to look at me. Standing up a little straighter, she smiles a weary smile before walking closer. “Too bad you're just here for a meeting or I might have just had the nerve to throw you into the fire.”

  “Nothing I love more than when someone falls through on a front-page story last minute to make me remember why I love my job,” I joke. “What happened?”

  “Our sports reporter is useless! Can’t ever get it together. Gave her freelancers and she still comes up with nothing. Oh well, say la vie. Makes us all have to pick up a little more slack but its what we live for, right?”

  I smile knowingly. There is no other profession I could ever see myself doing, and I know that without a doubt. Gesturing towards a conference room, I start to walk beside her as I glance around the newsroom and take it all in. I notice as she grabs a folder from a nearby desk before walking into the room. I follow and take a seat across from her at the small conference table.

  “So, I am not going to lie, I took the time to look you up after our meeting yesterday and before this place went to hell today. I got to say, I am very impressed, but you are still only just a reporter at a small town newspaper in Northern California?”

  “Well, I had a job interview at the L.A. Times a few months ago,” I say, not really sure where to go next. “But, I turned it down.”

  Her eyes go wide, as she stares at me for several moments before leaning back in her chair and looking at the folder in her hands. “Not many people in life would do something like that. There has to be a reason?” I look out across the street through the window in the conference room and see Noah with Rex, laughing and carrying on like two little school boys and smile. “I see,” I hear Mary say.

  Glancing down at my lap a little embarrassed, I take a moment before I speak. “You know, all I ever wanted to do was be a journalist. Ever since I could remember. Climb the ladder and land myself at a huge hub somewhere.” I look up and notice she smiles back at me like only a fellow newspaper person could. “But, life happens you know. After a few things change, pretty soon that dream doesn’t seem so important anymore.”

  She taps her fingers on the folder and smiles before leaning forward again in her seat. “I worked a few years at the Washington Post. It isn’t all that glamorous as you would think. So, why the move to Kentucky then, or do we need to take another look out the window?”

  I nervously laugh. “No, I’m good,” I say. “I don’t know. Sometimes you just got to follow your heart, right? If something feels like home, you got to go for it, and never let it go.”

  “Would you be moving to Bardstown?” She asks.

  I nod, not fully able to speak because I haven’t actually made up my mind if I am moving or not. But the way this conversation is going, my future looks like it is deciding itself before I even get a chance to make up my own mind.

  ‘Well,” she says. “We are looking for an editor for this daily. You work at a daily, so I don’t need to tell you the workload. How many pages did you run in Nevada City?”

  “We were 16 Monday through Friday and 20 on Saturday for the weekend.” I respond, straightening up in my chair and thankful that the subject changed to something else besides the man standing just across the street.

  “Good, well then we are pretty close. Listen, not too many journalists can live with themselves after turning down a job at a huge hub and be happier for it. The way I see it, if the Times wanted a piece of you, you’re more than qualified for us.”

  Sliding the folder across the table at me, I pick it up in my hands and glance up at her. “This is what I can offer you,” she says. “It's not a crazy salary, but I think it’s enough. After all, this is Kentucky not California. The cost of living isn’t even comparable, so remember that when you are looking through the numbers. You would need to do a drug test and background check, and there would be a few forms that I would need you to sign.”

  I don’t open the folder, I just sit with it instead. Feeling the weight of the decision inside and knowing it could change my whole world if I let it. Not looking up to meet her stare, I ask, “When would you want me to start?”

  “As soon as you can.”

  Noah

  A breeze blows through the night sky as I sit on my mother’s front porch and watch the clouds roll by. One by one, they help mask the night and open briefly for a moment to give way to the countless stars in the sky. Fireflies dance in the distance as I start to make out the sound of tires coming down the road. Headlights appear as I watch Evelyn’s car come to a stop in front of the house. I watch as she gets out and straightens herself not knowing I’m sitting watching her. Turning my way, she startles to see me in the shadows.

  “What on earth,” she says. “Why are you sitting out here like that?’

  I gesture to the house and the loud noises coming from inside. Rex, Gwen, Jolene and Cash are busy running the place while Momma and Anna May are making cookies in the kitchen. I watch as she listens and then smiles knowingly. Patting the seat beside me, I wait as she climbs the steps and ache with every slow step she takes until she is seated right beside me.

  “Hi,” I say.

  “Hi.” She smiles.

  “How was your day, gorgeous?” I ask, coming in for a kiss which she willingly gives. “I got to say, I don’t mind waiting for your pretty self coming home to me. This is something I plan on getting used to.”

  Smiling, she looks out across the field. I still don’t know why I saw her going into the newspaper office yesterday, but she has not been willing to offer up that information either so I figure it is best to let it be.

  “My day was good,” she starts to say. “Hey, I thought you said this was a private party once you got off shift. What is all of this about?”

  I roll my eyes. “Well this,” I start to say, “Is all Rex’s doing.”

  She laughs. “I should have known, it smells like something Rex would fix up.”

  Grabbing her hand, I lift it to my mouth and give it a kiss. Slowly I turn it over and kiss her wrist, before moving up her arm. “But, we can take another drive if you’d rather?”

  She laughs as she leans in closer. “Not a bad idea,” she begins in a whisper, arousal taking over her as my mouth moves sucking and kissing my way up to her lips. “But, I should at least say hi to your momma,” she says. “I don’t want to be rude.”

  I kiss her lips once and then pull back to meet her eyes. “Well of course not, we can’t have that now can we?” I tease. She swats at me playful before I grab her arm and pull her in for another kiss.

  Pulling away before I get the satisfaction, she pulls me to standing and drags me towards the front door. “Besides, I got a little gift for Anna May when I was out today and I can’t wait to see her little face smile.”

  Opening the screen door, we step inside and hear all the noise coming from the kitchen. Heading down the hallway, I swing her around and pull her close to me for one last kiss which she doesn’t fight this time. Slowly, she opens up as my tongu
e caresses hers in a seductive dance. She grabs my shirt and pulls me closer. I breathe her in as my lips brush against her own, not wanting to let go, and wanting only to take it further as I force her body against my own and she takes my breath away only the way she can. Running her fingers through my hair, I back her up against the wall and almost tip over a vase. The noise at the far end of the hall grows quiet and we stop knowing we have been caught. Pulling away, she smiles at me.

  “Easy tiger,” she says. “Don’t worry, I’ve got plenty of where that came from saved up for later tonight.” Turning she starts off towards the kitchen. I smack her ass just as she walks into the room making her jump a little. Smiling, I wonder off towards Rex already standing at the fridge and open it up handing him a beer and taking one for myself as well. I lift one in Cash’s direction, who is sitting at the table with my sister. He shakes his head no, and motions he’s alright for now.

  “Evelyn,” I hear my mother say. “Can you help me with this baby?”

  I watch as Evelyn hurries over to my mother’s side and helps her reach for a bag of flour for the cookies she’s making with Anna May. I lean back against the counter and watch as my world unfolds before me knowing I could not be happier in life than I am right now. The only thing that would make me happier is if I was watching Evelyn in the kitchen with our own kids.

  This is it for me. She is the forever I have been waiting for. And unlike my father who cashed out on us when we were younger, I would never ever leave my children to raise themselves. How could I? Especially when they would hopefully have Evelyn as their mother. My world which seemed shattered just a few days before suddenly feels right again. And damn if I’m not the luckiest man on earth watching it all finally come back together before my eyes.

  I am brought back to reality when I hear Jolene say, “So tell me, Gwen, what is the deal with you and Rex?”

  Rex spews beer out of his mouth next to me, and I pat him a few times on the back as he breaks into a coughing fit. When he has finally gathered himself, we all wait for a response to the big elephant which has been in the room for longer than some of us might want to admit.

  Like a deer in headlights, Gwen stands motionless at the kitchen counter mid scoop into a bag of sugar. Although the rest of us are rather amused by the situation, she stiffens and her defenses are up immediately. “I don’t know what you're getting at Jolene.” She says as she quickly returns to the task in front of her. “There is no deal, past or present.”

  I see Rex roll his eyes and mutter something as he walks out of the room, and I can’t help but laugh at the two transparent fools. If they didn’t want to let on, they sure did have a lousy way of showing it.

  “Riiighhht,” comes my sister's response.

  I hear the doorbell ring, and hear Rex holler from the front that he will get it. Evelyn eyes me from across the room and strides over with a look in her eyes that would melt any man’s heart. Oh, I’m all hers alright. And there is nothing in the world that could change that. Setting my beer down, I wrap my arms around her tightly and kiss the top of her head.

  “Do you think we put in enough of an appearance,” I hear her whisper into my chest.

  “It’s good seeing you so happy son.” I hear my momma say. “It has been a long time since we have seen you smile so much.”

  “Uncle Noah, are you gonna get married and have babies?” Anna May says, making the room start to snicker. “I like babies. Maybe you can have a little girl like me and she can be my friend.”

  I laugh as Rex comes around the corner. “Sure thing baby girl. You’d make a great best friend to any cousin.”

  “Ummm, Noah, you got some company,” Rex says a little nervous.

  “Tell them I’m not home.” I joke, pulling Evelyn tighter and kissing the side of her neck. When Rex doesn’t budge I say, “Who is it?”

  He looks at me and then looks at Evelyn. A troubled stare comes across his face as he is unwilling to answer. Evelyn backs away from me slightly as I straighten up a little taller waiting for a response.

  “You might just want to come and see for yourself.”

  I look at Evelyn and see concern lacing her face. Even though his response makes me a little nervous myself, I shoot her a little smile trying to ease her troubled mind. Kissing her cheek, I whisper in her ear, “Don’t go nowhere, we are out of here as soon as I get back.”

  Following Rex into the front room, I’m completely puzzled when I come around the corner and face to face with the one person I was not expecting to see. I look at Rex and he shrugs his shoulders in defeat. A look of apology on his face.

  “I told him it was a matter of life and death, Noah,” Becky says. “I have to talk to you and you keep brushing me off. First, the other day in downtown when I didn’t even know you had moved back. Then, the bar the other night.”

  I cross my arms and lean against the wall behind me. “I guess I just figure we don’t have much to say to one another, Becky. But even you can’t break my good mood on a night like tonight. So, what is it?”

  Evelyn and Jolene have come around the corner and into the front room. I watch as Evelyn makes her way over to me, and I pull her close making known to Becky that there is no room here for her, nor will there ever be. Never one to care at all for Becky, my sister walks forward and stands off to the side between the two of us.

  “I don’t think you want to do this here,” Becky says nervously, looking from Jolene, to Rex, to Evelyn and me again.

  Gwen walks into the room completely lost in the scene unfolding in front of her. “What’s going on in here?” She asks, coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of the room. “Who is this?”

  “This,” I say, “Is my past, and it was just leaving.” I turn to walk out of the room, Evelyn’s hand in my own.

  “Noah, I have to talk to you!” Becky insists loudly, making me stop in my tracks. “You can’t just keep brushing me off.”

  “You have something you want to say?” I ask, turning back around and keeping Evelyn behind me. “Then say it. There is nothing you have to say to me that other people in this room can not hear.”

  I watch as she swallows hard. Looking at Jolene, I see her stiffen as my sister gives her a look that dares her to screw with me. Standing up tall, I am entirely unprepared to deal with what she is about to say.

  “It’s about our baby,” she says.

  “Your baby,” I correct her. “The one you had with your father’s partner. The one that wouldn’t leave his wife for you so you made me believe it was mine. Your baby, Becky.”

  “No,” she says, as the room becomes still and my heart begins to race. “Our baby. Yours and mine.” She laughs nervously before continuing. “I was so sure it was Eddies. That’s the only reason why I told you that. After he was born, and I learned the truth, you were already gone and no one would tell me how to find you.”

  The air is sucked out of the room and everything begins spinning. Evelyn drops my hand at my side, and when I turn to look at her, her hands are clasped over her mouth and she has tears in her eyes. My sister takes a few steps forward, and I have to stop her from going too far.

  “Jolene,” I force out. She comes to a stop and looks at me the only way a protective sister could.

  “What do you mean ‘our’ baby,” I plead. “You told me it was Eddies?”

  “I know!” She says, starting to pace the room. “But, after he was born I tried to force the issue and Eddie demanded a paternity test, and well, it turns out I was wrong. There is no one else it could be.”

  “I find that hard to believe!” Jolene says, which earns her a glare from Becky.

  Standing tall, Becky walks a few steps forward and comes to a stop in front of me. Sticking out her chest and standing her ground she presses the issue. “Like it or not, you’re the father, Noah. Don’t you even care about your son?”

  I feel sick to my stomach. Not because of the child, but because if this is true, then that would make Becky the mother. It would
tie me to her forever, and that is one tie I thought I set fire to a long time ago.

  “I don’t believe you,” I say. “How could it be? You know as well as I do…”

  “Think whatever you want, Noah,” she says. “But he is yours. And I have every intention of making sure my son has a happy normal family life.” She glances at Evelyn for the first time since she walked into the room. “Oh, I’m sorry. Bless your heart! Did you really think you were going to have a future with him, sweetheart? Looks like you can’t compete with his past!”

  Gwen lunges for Becky and Rex grabs her back. “That’s enough,” I yell. “Becky, get out!”

  “But we have so much to talk about, darlin’,” she says making me cringe. “You’ve been gone so long and there is so much to catch up on if you're going to be in his life. And you will be in his life, Noah. That is not a request!”

  “In his, maybe, if this isn’t all some sort of sick joke,” I say taking a step towards her. “In yours, Becky? I think that ship sailed a long time ago.”

  “If you think I’m going to let some showy West Coast in and out of town tramp come and go from our son’s life, you’ve got another thing coming!” She exclaims coming a few steps closer to me and Evelyn. I’ve never hit a woman, but in this moment I wouldn’t stop Jolene or Gwen from tearing her apart. I welcome the thought actually, and silently wish one of them would make good on the threat.

  “That’s enough!” I hear my mother say behind us. “Becky, dear. I think it is time you leave.”

  Becky stands there for a moment and then turns to my mother. “Yes, Mrs. Stewart. You know I won’t be disrespecting you.” Walking past me, she stops briefly enough to say, “This isn’t over,” before walking out the door and letting it slam behind her.

  With it, my world slams to the floor and everything that my future held just a few short minutes ago. I stand staring at the wall for seconds that turn into minutes as one by one the people who were just there to witness my life come crashing to a stop exit the room. Soon, it’s only Evelyn by my side. Though I don’t turn to meet her stare right away. I stand still, still enough to hopefully make the earth stop shaking under my feet and change the course my life just took in a matter of mere minutes.