by Pandora Pine
"I have the words," Landon's voice was barely above a whisper.
Noble grinned. "I have the words too, words that I've been keeping a secret in case your words didn't match. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."
Landon sucked in a harsh breath. Those words stopped Landon short. Why would Noble's words hurt him?
"I didn't mean hurt like you're thinking. What if what I want to say shocks or scares you?" Noble sounded unsure of himself.
"Same boat." Landon snorted. It was ridiculous dancing around each other like this when all Landon had to do was open his mouth. "You're the first man I've ever felt this way about, Noble. I feel like Bambi when he went ice skating and all four legs slipped out from under him in different directions."
Noble laughed, pulling Landon into his arms. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Both!" Landon burst out laughing. He didn't know if he was coming or going.
"I feel that way too when I'm with you." Noble’s voice sounded a bit more confident.
Landon nodded against Noble's neck. "I-I" Landon felt like his heart was going to beat through his chest. "I want to be with you. I mean we are together. I meant that I want..." Jesus! Why was this so hard? They were just words, why couldn't he just say that he wanted to be Noble's boyfriend?
"I want to be with you too, Wordsmith. Like more than we are now. Best friends but also..." Noble held on tighter.
"Boyfriends!" Both men said at once.
Noble started laughing. Landon felt like he was going to cry. He wasn't usually one to have his own emotions overwhelm him, but this was new territory for him.
"Thank God, we agree, at least. It would have been pretty fucking awful if we'd said something totally opposite." Noble pressed a kiss to Landon's hair.
All Landon could do was nod. He knew if he tried to speak, the emotion in his voice would betray him. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of his first boyfriend.
"Oh!" Noble pulled back from Landon. "I've got something for you."
"I know! It's been digging into my hip since I laid down with you." Landon rolled his eyes, hoping that if he laughed, it would push his tears back.
"No! Not that." Noble laughed, reaching under his pillow and pulling out a square, brown box. "This!"
"What is it?"
"Open it and find out, silly!"
Noble sat up, handing the box to Landon.
Pulling off the lid, Landon saw a silver sand dollar. It was about the size of a half-dollar. "Oh my God! Noble this is gorgeous!" He'd never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
“It’s from Seaside Creations. They had them in the jewelry case at the checkout. It’s solid sterling silver. I thought that since the real things are too delicate for you to carry in your pocket, you could keep this with you.”
Landon felt the first tear slip down his cheek. This was too much. “I love it! I love that you gave it to me.” He sucked in a deep breath. “It means the world to me that you saw this and thought of me.”
Noble chuckled, swiping his thumb across Landon’s tears. “I wanted to buy out the whole store for you today. Now, you’ll always have a piece of me with you, where ever you go.”
Landon picked up the silver sand dollar. It was cold in his palm, but was quickly warming up. “Kiss it.” Landon held it out to Noble.
Noble kissed the present before pressing his lips to Landon’s. “I’m so glad you like it.”
“I love it!” Landon kissed Noble back to keep from telling his new boyfriend that he was in love with him.
22
When Landon came back in from walking Charlie, Noble was sitting in front of his computer watching the local weather forecast.
"Storm of the century," Noble mumbled. "I swear to God, the weather people use phrases like that so we keep watching their station."
“And to scare the shit out of us.” Landon usually agreed with Noble completely, but when it came to large snowstorms, it paid to be cautious, especially when the ocean was just outside the back door. "How much are they predicting?"
"At least thirty-six inches for the Cape. They're saying we're gonna get the jackpot here."
"Three feet of snow?" Landon felt light-headed just thinking about that much snow. He didn't think jackpot should apply to inches of snow. It applied to slot machines and the lottery.
“Here, see for yourself.” Noble hit the replay button and Landon listened with growing concern as the weatherman explained this storm could be one for the record books. His colleague took over to talk about wind and expected power loss. The Cape and Islands were expected to take the brunt of the storm with the highest amounts of snow and the strongest wind gusts. This was bad. Really bad.
Blizzard conditions occur when blowing snow reduces visibility to less than a quarter mile with sustained wind gusts at thirty-five miles an hour for a period of at least three hours. By the sound of the forecast, it seemed those conditions could last much longer. According to what Landon just heard, they had forty-eight hours until the storm was due to hit.
This was seriously bad. "Okay, what do we have to do to get the hotel ready for this storm?"
Noble looked shocked. "We?" He shook his head and paced toward the French doors.
Landon could see the ocean from where he was standing. At the moment it was calm, but from his time living on Plum Island, he knew it wasn't going to stay that way for long. The storm was roaring up the coast from the south and the ocean would start whipping up long before the first flake would fall. "Yeah, we. You plus me equals we, remember?"
"Of course I remember." Noble's voice was barely above a whisper. "You and Charlie aren't going to be here, Wordsmith." His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides.
Landon shot the back of Noble's head a confused look. "Where are we going to be, Noble?" He didn't like the sound of this at all.
"At my father's house. It's sixteen miles from the ocean. He has a generator for when the power goes out. You'll both be safe there." Noble sounded as if his pronouncement decided the matter.
Landon had absolutely no doubt he'd be safe with Nick Killington. "And where are you going to be?" He already knew what Noble's answer was going to be and that wasn’t going to be at his father’s house.
"Here, making sure the hotel makes it through the storm.” Noble didn’t bother to turn around.
"No," Landon said quietly.
Noble spun around, fear burning in his blue eyes. "No?"
"Either we all go or we all stay. It's that simple." There was no way on God's green earth that Landon was going to abandon Noble here, blizzard or not.
"Who the hell do you think you are dictating terms like that?" Noble’s voice was growing steadily angrier with each word.
Landon shrugged. "I'm the man who cares about you and Charlie." If he were being honest with himself, Landon would admit that he’d never cared for another man as much as he cared for Noble, not that he was ready to admit that to his boyfriend.
"Oh really?" Noble’s angry demeanor faltered a bit.
"Yes, really. I appreciate that you want me and Charlie out of the line of fire, but I'll be damned if I leave you here all alone." He’d leave the hotel and Noble over his dead body.
"And why is that?" Noble raised an eyebrow in challenge. His hands still balled into fists, he took a step forward.
"There's a lot of work to do to shore this old girl up so that she survives the storm. Secondly if you get hurt, there would be no one here to help you." Landon felt like he was making a little headway with Noble.
Noble cringed as if Landon had hit the nail on the head. "I'll be fine. You and Charlie need to go. Now!"
Landon knew exactly what this was all about. Noble hadn't been able to save Vincent and this was his way of saving Landon. "Look, you can't walk behind me with a pillow like I'm a toddler you’re waiting to catch before I land on my ass."
Noble snorted. "That's not what this is about."
"Yes it is. I know you care
about me, you stubborn bastard." Landon closed the distance between them cupping Noble's face in his hands.
As if to prove Landon's point, Noble pulled away from Landon's touch.
"I care about you too." Landon sighed, but stayed put. "Here's the way it's going to go, Noble. We're going to sit down and make a list of things we need to do to get the hotel ready for the storm and a second list for things we need to buy: provisions, supplies, whatever." Landon carded a hand through his hair. "Once we've bought everything, we're gonna have a big lunch and then we're gonna get to work."
Noble didn't say anything, he just stood staring at Landon.
Say something... Landon had no idea what to do if Noble pushed back again. The last thing he wanted to do was leave Noble alone here, but how could he stay if Noble was insisting he go?
"This isn't your fight, Wordsmith." Noble wore a pained look, as if the words he spoke cut him to the bone.
Noble’s voice was so low that Landon almost missed what he'd said. "What's not my fight?"
"Sand Dollar Shoal." Noble stalked toward the French doors. "This place is my last chance."
"I know." Landon came up behind his stubborn boyfriend, setting his chin on Noble's shoulder. "That's why we're gonna do whatever we have to do to keep her safe. I have just as much to lose as you do."
"What the fuck are you talking about?” Noble scoffed. “You can write anywhere. All you need is a computer and Wi-Fi." Noble sighed. "Fuck that, all you need is pen and paper."
"You're wrong, Noble." Landon needed more than just the basic necessities. Much more.
"Wrong?" Noble snorted. "I've seen you scribbling like mad in that ratty notebook."
Landon chuckled, pressing a kiss to the back of Noble's neck. "I needed this hotel to find my muse again. This place holds all of the best memories of my life. More important than the bricks, boards, and glass though, is you. I'd never be able to write another word again if I lost you."
Noble relaxed back against Landon. "You really mean that." It wasn't a question.
"Don't ask me to leave you here alone. I'd rather cut of my fingers than leave you to face the blizzard alone." Landon meant it.
"Fine." Noble sighed with a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "You work on the provision list. I'll work on the supply list." Noble pulled away from Landon, a determined look in his eyes. "You're buying lunch, Wordsmith."
XX
It was a complete madhouse. Noble was standing in the lumber yard of the Home Depot in Hyannis as dozens of frantic Cape residents prepared for the storm, buying plywood and other materials to keep their homes safe.
He'd sent Landon off in his Chevy to grocery shop, knowing once word of the storm got out, people would be going absolutely nuts, stocking up on bread and milk until the store shelves were bare. With the blizzard roaring up the east coast, heavy amounts of snow would paralyze the areas it hit, making it impossible for trucks to drive up the I-95 corridor to restock grocery stores with the essentials.
Noble watched while two young men in khakis and orange shirts set piece after piece of plywood into the bed of his truck. A lot of houses and hotels on the Cape had storm shutters, similar to the kind people used in Florida during hurricanes. Sand Dollar Shoal didn't have storm shutters of any kind. The only thing Noble could do now was to board up the windows and pray the storm wasn’t going to be as bad as predicted.
During the drive to the store, he'd called Griffin to tell him about the blizzard, but had only gotten his voicemail. He'd left a message to call him back, but without any detail. News like this was better delivered in person or as close to “in person” as Noble could get.
Shivering in the cold, Noble pulled his parka closer around him, just as his phone rang. Noble fished it out of his pocket and saw a familiar name on the caller ID. "Hey Griff!" Noble hated the forced cheer in his voice. Griffin may have told them all that they were going to share in the hotel equally, but it had been his money that had paid for the property. The last thing Noble wanted to do was tell his friend that his investment was in jeopardy.
"What's wrong?" Griff asked already sounding concerned.
"Why do you think there's something wrong?" Damn it, even after all these years, Griff could still read him like a book. He was kind of hoping Griff would just let him beat around the bush until he worked up the courage to tell him about the storm.
Griff snorted. "I know you, Noble. I can hear it in your voice. Now, stop biting your bottom lip and spill it."
Releasing his lip from his top teeth, Noble sighed. Griff knew him better than almost anyone. "There's a storm coming. A big one. I'm at Home Depot buying things to help shore up our girl."
"Cut the shit, man.” Griff snorted. “Tell me what's really going on."
"You talked to Presley." The four of them had never kept secrets from each other. Noble knew damn well that the minute Pres got off Skype with him, he was jumping on the phone with Gregor and Griff to tell them all of the juicy details about Landon.
"I didn't have to talk to Pres to know there's something up with you besides the blizzard of the century that seems hell bent on hitting our hotel."
Noble sighed. “His name is Landon.” There was no used hiding what his friend already knew.
“Tell me about him. Pres said he’s cute.” Griffin’s voice took on a dreamy quality.
Noble could swear he heard his friend sigh the way he used to do over Justin Timberlake. “Yeah.” Noble snorted. “He’s cute all right. Smart and funny too. He makes me happy to be me again.”
“If he breaks your heart, I’ll kick his ass.” Griff laughed.
“What’ll you do if I break his?” Noble didn’t want to think too hard about this, but it was a definite possibility.
Griff sighed across the miles. “You know, one of the reasons we all liked the idea of getting Charlie for you was because you had so much love to give and no one to give it to. What if Landon is your second chance at true love?”
“Vincent was the love of my life,” Noble said stubbornly.
“Who says you don’t get to have two loves of your life?” Griff challenged.
Noble could literally hear Griff dig in his heels. “I don’t know, Griff. I like Landon.” Noble liked him a lot, but he wasn’t ready to confess that to his friends yet. “He’s warm and funny and despite all of my faults, he likes me.”
“Of course he likes you! What’s not to like?”
“Uh, how about the fact that I’m a bitter, depressed, alcoholic widow?” Noble wasn’t laboring under any delusions that a couple of weeks with a handsome stranger had cured all of his ills.
“Yeah, you are all those things-”
“Gee, thanks.” Typical Griff, cutting right to the chase.
“If you’d let me finish, numbskull, I would have said that you are all the things you said, but you’re also warm and funny and sweet and would give someone the shirt off your back. If you want my opinion-”
“Do I have a choice?”
Griff snorted. “Nope! You’re stuck with me. As I was going to say, I don’t think you’re as bitter and depressed as you were before you left for rehab. What do you think?”
What did he think? He laughed a lot more for starters. Thinking about Vincent made him smile more than it made him cry and lastly, he wanted to get out of bed every morning and greet the day. Hell, he’d even broken his habit of needing to find a reason not to drink and had left that bottle of Jack Daniels in the fridge for the last week. “You might have a slight point,” Noble admitted grudgingly.
“Bullshit!” Griff laughed. “I’m right and you know it.”
“Yeah, well…”
“What’s going on with the blizzard and Sand Dollar Shoal? Are you evacuating?” Griffin’s voice had turned serious.
Talking about his relationship with Landon had been the easy part compared to what was to come. “The forecast is for about three feet of snow and high winds. I’m at Home Depot getting the supplies we’ll need to board up
the hotel.”
“The supplies we’ll need?” Griff’s voice had taken on an amused tone.
“Landon won’t leave me. I told him I wanted him to take Charlie and go stay with my father during the storm, but he put his foot down. He says if I stay, he stays.”
“Hmm, interesting.”
“What does that mean?” Noble wasn’t a stupid man, he knew exactly what Griff was humming over. It was clear to him that the reason Landon refused to leave his side had more to do with his feelings for Noble than his writer’s muse coming back to life at Sand Dollar Shoal.
“Gee, I don’t know, genius! The man doesn’t want to leave your side when a monster storm is hurtling toward you. I’d say that speaks to the kind of man he is and the kind of feelings you caused him to have.”
“What do you mean feelings I caused him to have?” What the hell was Griff saying? That he forced Landon to care about him?
Griffin laughed. “Let me rephrase. How about feelings you inspired him to have.”
“Inspired?” Noble was dumbfounded.