Snapdragon Way (Firefly Hollow Book 8)

by T. L. Haddix

  Even though Noah knew they couldn’t be seen from the house, he glanced over his shoulder. When he rounded the corner to find her standing next to the spot where an old tree stump used to be, he stopped as though he’d run into a brick wall.

  Sophie was watching him, her expression calm and resolved. “Well?”

  Seeing her there, in the spot they used to sneak away to for privacy, was a pointed reminder of what he’d lost that day so long ago. It added fuel to his already smoldering temper.

  “What’s your agenda? I know you have one.”

  “My agenda? Coming home, you mean?”

  He stepped a bit closer to her. “Yeah. That. Coming home. Why now?”

  She shrugged, glancing off into the woods as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “It was time.”

  “Why now?” he persisted. “Why not before now? Is it because Eli’s here?”

  “Yes,” she surprised him by saying. “There was no reason to come back before. Now that he’s here, I want to spend some time with him. And it was time for me to put some personal ghosts to rest, as well.”

  “He’s with Haley.”

  Sophie’s smile was sad and unless he was wrong, it was also disappointed. “I know he is. It’s written all over his face, in every move he makes. He’s in love with her.”

  “So you’re still reading people.”

  She’d told him about her ability not long before the world blew up. “I can see people’s emotions sometimes, like they’re spelled out across their faces, running down their arms, even. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s so wild when it does. I know you probably think I’m crazy for saying that.”

  Noah hadn’t. In fact, he’d thought it meant they were more alike than ever. And he’d told her then what he could do, something he’d regretted ever since.

  There was that shrug again, casual and a bit dismissive. “I see it now and then. Not so much now as when I was younger.”

  “Guess it comes in handy. You always were good at using it to your advantage.”

  She barked out a laugh. “Oh, yes. I was brilliant at that. It’s worked out so well for me. So are you still communing with the dead?” she shot back at him. “How’s Moira?”

  Noah stared at her, jaw clenched, as the tension between them built.

  After a minute, she sighed and looked away.

  “Is she a good person? Haley? She seemed really sweet and nice, and she seems to care about him. But that doesn’t mean she’s good. Is she?”

  Her voice was so soft, if the wind hadn’t been blowing in his direction, he doubted he would have heard her.

  “What you’re really asking me is whether she’s like Erica, isn’t it? Whether she’s like you.” He hated even saying Erica’s name, even though she’d been dead for four years.

  A flash of something crossed her face that he thought on any other person might be pain. “Yes. That’s what I mean.”

  Noah considered the question. “I think she’s real. And she… eases something in him. So yeah, I think she’s as good as anyone can be. They’re a good match. The rest of the family thinks so, too, as you might have noticed by the way they rallied around her today. Sorry if that disappoints you.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, Noah, blow the fucking chip off your shoulder already, would you?” She rolled her eyes and stomped away, heading for the far side of the barn and the sunlight. “Is it so far beyond your comprehension, the fact that I care for him? That I want to see him happy? That I think he deserves the life he never got to have before with someone who cherishes him and loves him and isn’t an evil bitch scraped out of Satan’s own bowels? Grow up, already.”

  Affronted, Noah followed her, intent on giving her a piece of his mind. And he opened his mouth to say one of a hundred things that had been building up for years now. To tell her how wrong she was about everything but most especially him. The nerve of her, to lecture him about being an adult. He wasn’t the one who’d practically made a life out of playing games.

  But instead of any of that, he ended up catching her when she turned and tripped on a branch that was sticking up out of the ground. Before he could even think, his body took over his mind. His hands went around her waist, pulling her to him as he stared down at her, emotions churning through him in waves of confusion.

  And instead of a lecture coming out of his mouth, he kissed her.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  As soon as he opened the door of his SUV, Eli heard the haunting sounds of a fiddle. Noah.

  He closed the door quietly, then stood there for a little bit listening. Since he’d moved in, he’d asked Noah to play for him, but his brother hadn’t quite felt comfortable enough yet to do it.

  There was a lonely quality to the sound of the music coming from the house that reached down and touched something painful in Eli. He was already feeling unsettled from everything that had happened earlier in the day with Haley. Hearing evidence of his brother’s emotions so clearly displayed in the musical notes he played felt like the scraping of a wound.

  Realizing he couldn’t stand there all night, he made his way on to the house. It was after seven, and it was fully dark. Clouds had moved in, and on them, the scent of rain.

  By the time he reached the door, the music had stopped. And when he stepped inside, Noah was putting the fiddle up in the case on top of the piano.

  “You don’t have to stop,” Eli said.

  “Yeah, I do. I’ve been playing for too long. Fig gets restless if I go much longer.” If the dark patches of sweat on his shirt were any indication, he’d been at it for quite a while.

  Eli tilted his head and studied his brother as Noah walked to the fridge and got out a beer. “You okay?”

  Noah paused for the barest of moments, then twisted off the top. “Sure. Long day. That’s all.”

  He thought about the texts he’d exchanged with Sophie after Haley’s nap, the one’s she’d sent assuring him that she was tired and needed to rest, and they’d see each other tomorrow.

  “Did something happen?”

  Noah scowled at him. “No. Why?”

  “No reason. What are your plans for the evening?”

  “Get cleaned up. Maybe go out and get some food. You? Did you get Haley settled in?”

  It was Eli’s turn to be evasive. “Yeah. She’s adjusting.” He could feel himself flushing despite his best efforts. “Go get a shower. I’ll buy your dinner if you’re interested.”

  Noah stopped beside him, studying him, then grinned. “Hmmm, okay. I’ll be down in a few. You’d better drive, though. These go to my head fast.” He lifted the beer.

  Eli waited until he was halfway up the stairs. “Noah?”

  “Yeah?”

  “If you want to talk, I’m here.”

  “Thank you.” Noah looked down at his feet. “I’ll be back.”

  After he heard the bathroom door close, Eli pulled his phone out and called Sophie. “Hey, I wanted to touch base with you and see what you want to do tomorrow.”

  “That’s entirely up to you. Spend time with you, pick your brain about your Haley,” she teased, her voice soft.

  He smiled and walked over to stand at the glass doors, parting the curtains to peer outside. “Color me shocked. What did you think about her?”

  “I thought she was adorable, sweet, and is lucky to have you in her corner. I liked her, Eli.” She yawned. “I’m sorry. The last couple of days are catching up with me.”

  She’d not flown in until late Friday evening, then had driven the two hours to Hazard from Lexington and checked into a hotel.

  “I’ll let you go,” he said. “But before I do… Did something happen between you and Noah?”

  There was a pregnant pause before she answered. “No. Why?”
>
  “Just wondering. I’ll see you tomorrow around eleven, okay?”

  “Okay. Night!”

  He stood there for several minutes after they’d hung up, staring out into the dark blindly, phone in hand. “Nothing happened, my ass,” he murmured to Fig, who was keeping vigil beside his feet.

  Whatever it was, it had disturbed them both. But as they were both adults and no one was bleeding—or admitting to any emotional wounds—there wasn’t a hell of a lot he could do about it.

  “I’ll just have to be there, Fig. That’s the only thing I know to do. Be there and hope they come to me or work things out.”

  He hated that he couldn’t do anything more than wait, but at least they weren’t ignoring each other anymore.

  “And that has to be progress, right?” he asked the cat.

  Fig meowed up at him, then head-butted his leg with a loud purr.

  “Exactly.” Eli picked her up, cradling her close like he would a baby. “That’s exactly what I thought.”

  And if he focused on Noah and Sophie, maybe he wouldn’t obsess over his day with Haley so much. At least for a little while. He knew as soon as he was alone, probably as soon as he was asleep, the time they’d spent in her bedroom would creep in to haunt him.

  “If I can postpone that a bit, Fig, I’ll be happy.”

  At this point, he’d be satisfied with a few hours’ reprieve. He simply didn’t expect it to happen.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  When Haley came out with her last patient Friday before lunch, Lou was chatting animatedly with Eli.

  “What are you doing here?” Haley asked as she handed Lou the file.

  He grinned at her. “Came to take you to lunch. A certain little birdie told me you didn’t have plans.” The wink he sent Lou told Haley exactly who the little bird was.

  “Lunch, huh?”

  “If you’re interested.” There was a hopeful expectancy on his face that made her think he might not be as confident as he was trying to appear.

  “I’ll get my coat and purse.”

  When she came back out, he steered her toward the back of the building instead of the front.

  “Where are we going?”

  Eli held his hand out. “I told you. Lunch.”

  With her hand clasped in his, Haley laughed and followed. “Okay.”

  “How’s your week been?” he asked as they walked to his SUV, which was parked over by the fence in the back corner of the lot that overlooked the businesses below.

  “Busy. I’ve played catch-up from being off, and not working Monday didn’t help. But everyone’s been great about helping. I finally went to the bank and opened the safe-deposit box.”

  “Yeah? And?”

  She knew curiosity had been riding him hard. Her as well, but she’d had so many other things on her plate since the funeral, she’d not had much time to think about it.

  “There were a lot of old family photographs, some letters including one from him that explained why he’d done the house transfer, and all his gold. He’d collected little bits of it here and there over the years. It’s not a lot, maybe three or four thousand dollars’ worth, but it’s a nice nest egg.” She swallowed hard against the emotions that rose up as she thought about that gift, the knowledge that he’d not abandoned her fully.

  “He actually gave Dudley the house to protect me because he knew they’d give me such a hard time after he was gone, I’d not see a minute’s peace. And they didn’t know about the gold. No one did.”

  Eli nodded. “I didn’t think he’d do something so rash and cold without good reason or a backup plan. I’m glad.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’m glad, too. So how’ve you been the last couple of days?”

  They’d last spoken Wednesday evening when they’d spent over two hours on the phone talking about everything and nothing. They hadn’t seen each other, however, since Saturday.

  He gave a little shrug as he stopped walking behind his SUV, a secretive smile playing around his lips. “I maybe have news.”

  There wasn’t much space between them, and Haley laid a hand on his chest, wanting the contact. “News?”

  “I have a job,” he said in a low voice as a wide, happy grin spread across his face. “What about that?”

  It took a minute for the words to sink in. When they did, Haley squealed and jumped up and down, then threw her arms around his neck in a laughing hug.

  “Really? With Noah?” she asked. “You finally talked to him?”

  He nodded and hugged her tight. “With Noah. I really think I can help him, Haley. And I like the work.”

  She pulled back to touch his cheeks, studying his face. “I’m glad. So tell me all about it.”

  “I will. But first, lunch.” He opened the hatch of the SUV, then lowered the tailgate. “I thought we’d have a picnic.”

  The rear seats were folded down, and a colorful quilt was spread out on the floor. Comfortable-looking pillows were propped up against the front row of seats, and a large basket sat in the center of the vehicle. There was even a vase of flowers.

  “If you don’t like this spot, we’ll find another,” he said. “Maybe the park?”

  She shook her head, touched that he’d gone to such lengths. “This is fine. It’s perfect, actually.”

  He gestured expansively. “After you, then.”

  As they broke into the basket, he told her about the job.

  “We were in the shop yesterday, he was having some material delivered, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing, and a potential client showed up out of the blue, thirty minutes earlier than he was expecting them. He about lost it on the spot. Not in any way that the delivery guy or the client knew, but I could see it.

  “I stepped in and handled the calls, the client, and a couple of other things that came up while he took care of the delivery and then stepped out for some air. After it all had calmed down, I laid it out. What I’d seen, what I thought. He didn’t believe me at first, that I really wanted to work with him.” He fell quiet as he looked down at the bowl of soup in his hands. “There’s still some distrust there, some hurt from all those years ago.”

  Haley touched his arm. “But you convinced him otherwise?”

  “I did, with some fast talking. And he agreed with me. We sat down and figured out the numbers last night, and as soon as Dad gets the accounting set up, I’ll be on the payroll.”

  She knew the fact that he’d not been “employed” had been weighing on him. “I’m so happy for you. Proud of you, even, if you want to know the truth.”

  Eli leaned over and kissed her softly. “Thank you.”

  “So did Sophie get on home safely?” she asked. She wasn’t quite sure yet what she thought about the stunningly gorgeous blonde though Sophie’d been nothing but nice to her.

  “She did, early Thursday.” Eli stretched his legs out and sighed. “I still think something happened between her and Noah, but neither of them is talking. She’ll be back in about three weeks, for good this time. It’s going to be interesting to have her here. She really liked you, by the way. Says you’re good for me.”

  Haley smiled. “I don’t know about that. And I liked her, too. She’s very pretty.”

  “That she is. Does it make me a hopeless romantic that I think she and my brother would make beautiful babies together? That I still hope they manage to find their way back to each other?”

  The wistfulness in his voice caused a sharp pang to pierce Haley’s chest as much as the words themselves. She shook her head. “You know that might not happen, right?” she asked softly.

  Eli picked her hand up and kissed the back. “I do. But I still have hope. Until they convince me otherwise, I’m clinging to it.”

  Too soon, her lunch hour was coming to
an end. “I hate to go back in,” she said as they got out of the vehicle. “This has been so nice. Thank you.”

  “I don’t want to let you go back in. Do you have plans for this evening?”

  “Jenna’s coming over, finally. But I’m free tomorrow.” They’d tentatively discussed doing something on the phone Wednesday, but they’d not set anything in stone. “I was thinking about making a big pot of chili. Maybe some brownies.”

  “I like chili,” he said, leaning against the SUV.

  She smiled up at him and stepped closer. “Do you, now?”

  Eli touched her hair, then her face. “Yes.”

  “Well, as it happens, I make an exceptionally good pot of the stuff when I put my mind to it. And chili’s something you shouldn’t eat alone, you know.”

  “What time do you want me there?” he asked softly. “And can I bring anything?”

  “How does six thirty sound? We could eat and then get a movie. My Internet’s working, finally.” She glanced at her watch with a grimace. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

  He kissed her briefly. “You’re fine. And I can hardly wait until tomorrow evening. See you then.”

  “Thanks for lunch.”

  As she hurried back inside, she felt so giddy she had to laugh. She had a date. A real date. And she wondered… just how far would things go?

  After the intimacy they’d shared Saturday, she’d worried that they were rushing into things, even though she knew logically they weren’t. And she was so conflicted. The part of her that had grown up under Fred’s roof, raised to believe sexual intimacy was sacred and something to be reserved at least for an engagement if not marriage, felt guilty for wanting Eli so much.

  But by the same token, being with Eli felt so right, like coming home, she couldn’t believe she’d be condemned for loving him and letting him love her. What they’d done had been sacred to Haley. She hadn’t gone into that bedroom with him lightly, not by any means. And she was an adult, responsible for her own choices and their consequences.