by T. L. Haddix
His stomach growled just at the thought. “What time do you want me there? I’d like to get showered first.”
“How does five thirty sound?”
He glanced at his watch. “That’s perfect. Do I need to bring anything?”
“Not a thing except yourself. See you in a bit, sweetie.”
After feeding Fig, he headed upstairs to take a long shower. The walk to the farmhouse would take all of five minutes, and his muscles were tired from weeks of hard work. They’d just finished up a kitchen remodel for a nice lady who’d been determined to get the updates ready to reveal before her family’s big Christmas party, and today was the first day in two weeks they hadn’t worked from eight in the morning until seven or eight at night including Saturdays.
As he let the water heat up, he sighed. He had a handful of things to do over the next couple of weeks, a few small projects that paid nicely enough but didn’t take up a lot of time, then he was off for the rest of the winter. He’d still take on a project here and there, just to keep some cash coming in, but the next few months were, for the most part, his to enjoy.
Eli had insisted he could find plenty to do without interfering with Noah’s woodworking plans. And because the business, Campbell’s Customs, had had several good months, what with production being up thanks to Eli’s help, Noah didn’t have to worry about finding the funds to pay his brother’s salary and pay for his own downtime.
After the shower, he pulled on a comfortable pair of jeans that had seen better days, a T-shirt, and a soft wool sweater Molly’d gotten him last year for Christmas. He checked on Fig’s water and food, then Noah locked the house and set out. The weather was still warm enough considering that it was December in Kentucky, but there was more than a little nip in the air, especially with the wind coming up over the top of the ridge. He hunkered down a bit in his coat.
Owen met him at the door with a wide smile. “There’s my boy. How was your day?”
Noah hung up his coat. “Good. Yours?”
“Excellent. Sophie and I got a lot done today.”
Just then, a burst of laughter sounded from the kitchen, and Noah froze. “She’s here?” He’d missed her car since he’d approached from slightly catty-corner to the spot where she usually parked.
Owen smoothed a hand over his smile. “She is. Come on back.”
“Grandpa…”
The look Owen shot him was full of smugly satisfied humor. “Noah…”
His grandparents had been trying to pair him off with someone for over a year, and the game of dodging their efforts was wearing thin.
Noah stepped up to Owen’s side, his voice low so as not to be overheard. “I’ve never seen the beat. You two… isn’t it enough that Eli’s on the verge of proposing and Sydney’s pregnant?”
Owen placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder, squeezing gently as he leaned in, a sparkle in his eyes. “No. Now come on, that roasted chicken won’t wait. I’m an old man, and I need my dinner.” He patted Noah’s head then cheerily led the way to the kitchen.
“Old man, my ass,” Noah muttered as he followed him down the hall.
Despite his exasperation, he didn’t protest too hard against their attempts at matchmaking tonight. He wasn’t ready to say he wanted to pursue Sophie again, but he wouldn’t turn away from her either. He’d let things develop—or not—naturally and as they saw fit to come together. He wouldn’t even admit to himself, not at this point anyhow, that he wanted a second chance with her. To do so would mean admitting he had something to lose again, and he wasn’t quite strong enough yet to do that.
Chapter Ten
Sophie didn’t fully realize she’d been set up until the meal was finished and they were lingering over after-dinner coffee and brownies.
“Did you know that the Geminid meteor shower is going on right now?” Owen asked Noah casually as he stirred cream into his cup. “Sophie and I were talking about that today.”
Noah, to his credit, took the remark in stride. “I didn’t know that, no.” He glanced at her. “Are you planning to watch it tonight?”
She shrugged, shifting in her chair. “I wasn’t, no.”
“The lights from town wash out the sky, she said,” Owen told him before turning to Sophie. “You should go to Noah’s. He has that little deck on the roof at his house. He built it just to watch the stars fall.”
Sophie shook her head slowly, admiring the way Owen had worked the event into the conversation so naturally even as she struggled with embarrassment. “I won’t impose.”
Sarah waved. “You wouldn’t be. Would she, Noah?”
“I don’t have anything planned.” He sat forward and took another brownie from the plate. “The moon’s new, and the sky’s clear. It’s not terribly cold. It would be good viewing.”
She was trapped, and she knew it. “Maybe for a little while then. The Geminids come up pretty early.” She glanced at her watch. It was just approaching seven.
“You’re quite the avid stargazer, if I understood correctly this afternoon,” Owen said. “It’s sad that you can’t see more from town. Did you have a good view in Texas?”
As conversation drifted from astronomy to other topics, she tried to ignore the anticipation growing in her belly. But it was there, and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t completely quell it.
By the time dinner was finished, it was well past seven. She and Noah made quick work of getting the dishes to the sink, and she loaded the dishwasher as Sarah commandeered Noah’s help putting the leftovers away.
Owen took a seat on the other side of the island and watched, winking at Sophie when she looked at him. “There have to be some privileges to being an octogenarian. Getting out of kitchen chores occasionally ranks right up there.”
She smiled. “You’re the youngest eighty-something I’ve ever met. You both are—young for your ages, that is.” It was true. If she hadn’t known from seeing their wedding certificate during her work that they were as old as they were, she’d have been hard-pressed to guess their ages.
Sarah gave her a quick hug around the waist. “Thank you, sweetheart. We keep each other young or try to. Now you two get on out of here. I’ll finish up the dishes.”
Noah stepped in and placed a kiss on her head. “Not a chance. Go sit down. Enjoy bossing us around.” He gently eased Sarah aside, taking the spot beside Sophie at the sink, and pointed at some pans. “These have to be hand-washed, right?”
“Well, I tried,” Sarah said with a shrug as she joined Owen. “And yes, they do.”
Noah grinned as he took a washed pan from Sophie to dry. “Well, there have to be some privileges to being the oldest grandchild, right?”
Sarah laughed and beamed, pure love and pride shining in her eyes as she looked at him. “My little Owen. You’re so much like this man,” she said, squeezing Owen’s arm. “I swear it’s like looking into a mirror of the past. You’re tempered just a bit by your mother’s sweetness, but the rest of you is pure Campbell.”
“They even sound alike,” Sophie said. “The cadence of their speech, their voice quality.”
“Yeah, well,” Noah said, giving an abashed shrug. “It’s weird how genes work. You’d think one of us would look more like Dad.”
“Molly does. She has your mother’s smile and general build, but John’s stamp is on her. A more feminine version, of course. She reminds me a lot of Eliza actually,” Owen said, referring to Sarah’s mother. “And Sarah looks like Eliza with John in turn looking like Sarah. But your personality is a lot like John’s, I think. I know it’s caused you two to butt heads a few times.”
Sophie was surprised. “You and John? Really?”
Noah nodded. “Nothing major like what happened with Eli, but we’ve tested each other a few times. He’s used to being in charge what with being the oldest
son.”
“Oh, and you aren’t the least bit stubborn or have a mind of your own,” Sophie said with a little smile. “I can see how that could get… grating, I suppose is the word.”
“You’re thinking of someone else entirely. There’s not a stubborn bone in my body.”
Sophie thought Sarah was going to cry she laughed so hard at that. Owen was almost as overcome, and if Noah’s wicked smile was any indication, he’d intended just that.
She gave him a gentle shove. “Last time I looked, ‘Campbell’ is in the thesaurus as an alternative to ‘stubborn.’”
“That’s a different set,” he told her with mock seriousness.
Owen coughed. “Sure it is.”
Sarah sighed. “I’ve always found it interesting how one child can look so much like one parent or another child can be an amalgamation of their parents. I think John is a good blend of us both, and so is Emma. Ben is clearly Owen’s genetic handiwork, Rachel’s my twin, and Amelia… well, she’s Mama all over again.”
Sophie had to look away when Owen placed a soft kiss on Sarah’s temple. “We did good, Sarah Jane. Now, if we can just get the young ones to start producing great-grandbabies…”
Noah groaned. “I hope Sydney has triplets. I swear I do. And Eli and Haley, they’d better do their part soon.”
Sophie didn’t bother hiding her amusement.
“Well, the oldest one of the bunch won’t cooperate in the least, the stubborn cuss,” Sarah told him with a huff. “And all your other cousins and your sister are simply too young still.”
He propped a hand on his hip and shook his head. “The oldest one… Grandma, I’ve adopted Fig. Isn’t she enough?”
The hint of desperation in his voice made Sophie laugh, which made Noah shoot her a dirty look. In response, she flicked some soap suds at him.
“She’s a very sweet cat. I know you love her dearly. And I love to pet her and cuddle her,” Sarah said. “But she’s not a baby I can kidnap and keep for a night or two here or there. A little sweet one who looks like her daddy and her mommy and is all toothless smiles and wonder.”
A pang of longing so sharp it nearly brought her to her knees went through Sophie, and she had to grasp the edge of the sink hard to keep from reacting. She could see that child. In her head, she could see that child, and it wasn’t just Noah’s. It was hers.
Noah sighed. “Maybe I can rent a kid somewhere. Would that be sufficient?”
Despite his teasing words, there was a quiet quality to his voice that made Sophie wonder if Sarah’s response hadn’t struck him as deeply as it had her.
It was after eight o’clock by the time they headed to Sophie’s car. They didn’t speak once they were inside, the silence feeling like a not-uncomfortable presence in the car. Two minutes later, she pulled up in front of his house. She put the car in park and let the engine idle.
“I’m sorry about the pressure,” she said quietly. “I’m not expecting to come in.”
He rubbed his fingers over the knee of his jeans. “You’d better. There’ll be a quiz, you know. I’d hate to disappoint them. Besides, from what Grandpa said earlier, you love to watch the sky.”
It was true. She did. But… “I feel like I’d be imposing.”
He watched her for a minute then looked away. “You wouldn’t be. I built that deck for the express purpose of watching the stars fall, as Grandpa put it. We can take some electric blankets up and get comfortable. You don’t even have to talk to me if you don’t want to.”
She noted he didn’t offer to stay inside and let her stargaze alone, and she was glad. She turned off the car. “Okay, then. I appreciate this. I’ve really missed seeing the night sky.”
“I can imagine. It’s a great view,” he said as they headed for the house. “Thanks to the way the land rolls away over the saddle just below us, you can see a lot of the valley. The deck is the highest point around, at least higher than most of the trees in front of the house and on this side.” He pointed toward the side where the woodshop sat as he unlocked the front door.
Fig jumped off the back of the couch when they stepped inside. She came toward them with stretches, then fell over when she was two feet away, rolling onto her back with a meow.
“You’re not a bit rotten, pretty girl,” Sophie told her softly as she crouched to scratch her chin. “She really is a sweet cat. How long have you had her?”
“Five years, ever since she was a kitten. I got her when she was three months old and more fur than anything.”
Sophie smiled at him. “I’ll bet she was something else to see.”
He smiled back. “She was. I have pictures here somewhere. Remind me sometime, and I’ll show you. I’ll get the woodstove stoked up then get the blankets out, and we can head up. Make yourself at home.”
Sophie watched as he put a log on the glowing coals then closed the glass door on the black cast-iron stove. “You heat with wood?”
“Yeah. Since Grandpa has over six hundred acres, there’s always deadfall that needs cleaned up. The house is pretty well insulated, and the stove keeps things plenty warm. I have central air and heat, but I don’t even know when I last used the furnace except to circulate the air. It doesn’t make sense to use it when I can heat for free with this.”
She stepped over to the stove, holding out her hands. “Oh, that’s so warm. I might bunk down here on the couch. I swear I don’t think I’ve been warm since I got here.” She glanced at him. “And yes, I know I’m a tenderfoot. Thin-skinned from living down South all those years.”
Noah laughed. “Layers are your friend. Do you need something else to keep you warm while we’re outside?”
She just barely caught herself from saying he could help with that, but he seemed to pick up on her thoughts regardless.
He cleared his throat. “I’ll get the blanket. I think it’s in Eli’s closet. Excuse me.”
After he’d disappeared into the bedroom, she sighed and cursed herself. If he hadn’t already committed himself to this outing and didn’t want to disappoint his grandparents, he probably would have thrown her out after that gaffe.
“At least we’re making progress,” she told Fig in a low voice as she sat on the edge of the couch and pulled the cat into her lap. “Right? A few weeks ago, just the hint at any sort of relationship would have had him cursing me and tossing me out on my ear.”
She was glad the animosity between them seemed to be fading, but she didn’t know how to react to this side of Noah. She was afraid to trust him, afraid he’d hurt her again. Maybe he was only playing, hoping to gain her confidence before he used that against her.
Well aware that she sounded paranoid, Sophie tried to force away her tension by burying her face in Fig’s soft fur. She envied the trusting girl she used to be all those years ago, the girl who had an unshakable belief in Noah and his kindness—at least until that belief had been shattered. Part of her wished she could go back to being that naïve girl. The rest of her knew better than to want that sort of blind faith as it only led to pain of the sort that tore a person apart.
She couldn’t be the same person she’d been. That Sophie didn’t exist anymore. She’d been shattered by too many betrayals.
As Noah came back in the room, she decided not to worry about intentions or results or impressions tonight. They were going to go to the deck high above the valley, watch the stars fall, and just be. It was more than she thought she’d have with Noah ever again, and she was grateful for it.
Chapter Eleven
Noah was incredibly self-conscious about having Sophie walk through his bedroom to get to the deck that led to the rooftop observatory, but there was no help for it. Yes, he could have led her outside and around to the back of the house where he had steps up to the deck, but that would have been ridiculous.
H
e’d had guests over who’d gone out to the observatory, but that was before he’d turned the loft into his bedroom. And none of those guests had been Sophie. Most had been related to him.
Electric blanket in hand, he gestured toward the stairs. “Shall we?”
“I’ll follow you.”
He flipped the light switch at the top of the stairs that turned on the lamps beside his bed, then he headed for the French door that led out onto the deck. He held the door for her, glancing at her face without meeting her eyes.
“Oh, wow. This is nice,” she said.
The deck wasn’t huge, and Noah had it illuminated with discreet lighting on the undersides of some of the trim. The result was a lot of atmosphere that had somehow never felt quite so intimate.
“Thanks. The deck was already here from when it was Aunt Rachel’s, but after I added the observation section, I wanted to make sure this wouldn’t interfere so much with night vision. Once we get up to the aerie, as Grandma calls it, I’ll turn the lights up there off.”
“Do you come here often?” Sophie said as they went around the corner to another set of steps.
Noah stopped, looking at her with a grin. “Every now and then. What’s next, asking me what my sign is?”
She gently shoved his arm. “Hush.”
He chuckled and started up the steps. “Come on.”
At the top, he stood back and watched her look around. In the faint light, he could see the awe on her face. It wasn’t a large space, only eight feet square. The sides were framed with solid planks to keep out the cold wind, and comfortable seating with thick cushions formed a U around three sides of the box.
“Noah… this is… wow.”
It was a stunning view, yes. But his focus was on her instead of the landscape that was spread out like a diamond-studded carpet at their feet.