by T. L. Haddix
Sophie’s smile was a little sad. “I’m glad you’ve accepted yourself.”
“Me too.”
She inhaled sharply then sighed. “Where’s Miss Fig?”
“Upstairs probably. Asleep. Or on Eli’s bed.”
“So she’s not a kitchen hound?”
He shook his head. “Nah. She’s not much of a people-food per… cat. I have to remember to call her a cat around other humans.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. “Oh, God. She’s a shape-shifter too?”
Laughing would get him into big trouble. Big, big trouble. But he couldn’t help it. He had to hold on to the counter as he bent double from laughing so hard. Even when she smacked him with the dish towel, he couldn’t stop.
“Oh, geez, Sophie,” he sputtered. “Man, I wish I’d had a camera.”
In response, she flipped him off. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“Oh, yes, it was. I promise you it was,” he said as he finally straightened up.
“So if she’s not a shifter, what did you mean by calling her a person?”
He felt his cheeks heat with a flush that had nothing to do with the laughing spell. “She’s such a personable cat, you know? She talks a lot, she’s very intuitive with emotions, and I guess… maybe I’m showing my reclusiveness a bit. I kind of think of her as a little furry person.”
“Does she see the spirits you see?” she asked as she put the first tray of bread slices in the preheated oven and set the timer.
Noah’s heart jittered as he thought about the sprite. “Sometimes.”
“What does she think about them?” She sneaked a piece of carrot off the tray.
He shrugged. “They’re okay. Sometimes they interest her, other times not so much. If she comes into contact with one though, you’ll know it. She turns into a walking ball of fluff with a floaty tail.” He gave a little smirk. “Does it make me a bad fur-parent to say I find that hilarious?”
“Only if you haven’t taken a picture of her in that state.”
His grin turned wicked. “Oh, I have a few.”
“And you’re going to share those as well as the recipe for the tapenade, right?”
“Maybe. You have a smudge. Hang on.” He lifted his hand to her face, gently rubbing off a spot of sauce she’d somehow managed to get on her cheek.
Sophie froze.
So did Noah. He’d touched her without thinking, his aim simply to get the sauce off her cheek. But once his hand was on her face, cupping her soft skin, he couldn’t move it away. If he hadn’t heard the ATV pull up outside, he might have done something truly reckless like kiss her.
“Sorry,” he said as he jerked his hand down. “I didn’t mean… sorry.”
Her cheeks were rosy as she brought her hands up to cover them. “It’s fine. I should go check that. Excuse me.”
Noah closed his eyes with a muttered curse as she hurried from the room. He had a handful of seconds before Eli and Haley came in, and he needed every one of those seconds to pull himself together.
By the time the door opened, letting them in with a gust of cold air, he’d composed himself. “Hey, hey. There you two are.”
“Hey, back,” Haley said, shrugging out of her coat. “Where’s Sophie?”
“Restroom. So what games did you bring?”
As she told him, Sophie came out. He was relieved she didn’t appear upset. He was also relieved that Eli and Haley had interrupted them. If not, then he might truly have made an ass of himself, and that wasn’t part of the plan to help Sophie reintegrate into the family. That sure as hell wouldn’t happen if he rushed things and scared her off. The strength of his need to touch her, to kiss her, had surprised him. From her reaction, that slight touch had startled her just as much. He’d have to fight to remember that because forgetting it would cost too high a price.
Chapter Sixteen
Sophie’d had to splash cold water on her face four times before she started to calm down. Still, she could feel the warmth of Noah’s touch, and as she stared herself down in the mirror over the bathroom sink, she couldn’t help running her fingers over her cheek.
If Eli and Haley hadn’t arrived, she’d have kissed him, no doubt in her mind. She’d not made it to twenty-eight years old, nearly twenty-nine, without learning how to read when a man was interested in her. And Noah, to her everlasting surprise, was interested. Judging by the heat in his gaze as he’d stared at her, very interested.
God help her, she was interested back. She’d almost melted into a puddle just from a look and a brief touch.
“You’re an idiot, Sophie,” she told herself as she dried her hands. “Didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?”
But thanks to Eli’s meddling from the day before and Owen confiding the family secrets, what normally would have felt like a “run for the hills” warning from her instincts didn’t carry the same punch.
Steeling herself, she opened the door and went into the living room with a smile. For now, she’d have to suck it up and pretend as if nothing had happened while she puzzled out what in the hell to do.
Four hours later, Sophie was exhausted from having laughed so hard. She couldn’t remember when she’d had a more fun-filled evening. Noah was still shaking his head over one of the games.
“That’s an evil game, Haley. I really expected better of you,” he said as he stacked the dishes in the kitchen. “I mean, to make a man walk around in his own home, wearing a metal bowl on his head as he beats the bowl with a spoon, all the while calling out for help from someone named Bobby? That’s cruel.”
Haley’s grin could only be described as cheeky and smug. “Yeah, and I got it on video too. That’s going viral.”
“You bet it is,” Eli said as he brought more dirty dishes into the kitchen.
Noah glowered at her then captured Eli in a headlock. “We’ll see about that, now won’t we?” He ruffled Eli’s hair and planted a smacking kiss on his temple before turning him loose with a laugh and a quick sidestep to avoid Eli’s retaliation.
Sophie wiped her eyes, not for the first time that evening. “Remind me not to wear mascara next time,” she told Haley. “I’ve cried so much from laughing it’s all been washed away. And my sides are truly sore. Oh, my.”
Haley wrinkled her nose. “Wasn’t it great?”
“Absolutely. It feels good to have fun again.” She ran water in the sink for the dishes that had to be hand-washed. “And that we did this without alcohol… well. That was nice.”
Too many of the parties she’d attended with her mother’s family had involved excessive drinking. Sophie, who nearly couldn’t tolerate the stuff for a couple of reasons, had started avoiding the gatherings toward the end of her relationship with Marcy. A few things had happened at those parties that still made her uncomfortable to think about.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Noah said from behind her as she dipped the first pan into the soapy water. “You’re a guest.”
“That didn’t stop me from having to help you cook,” she told him saucily. She winked at Haley, who was watching from the other side of the island.
He huffed. “Yeah, well…”
Haley yawned. “I’m so sorry. The week’s caught up to me, I’m afraid.” She leaned into Eli when he rubbed her shoulders.
“Since Noah has a helper, why don’t we go ahead and get started down the hill?” Eli asked.
“Won’t you freeze on that ATV?” Sophie asked.
Eli shook his head. “Nah, we have Grandpa’s, and it’s covered. It’s like a car, just smaller.”
“Since they won’t be here for a few days, he borrowed it,” Noah said as he loaded the dishwasher. “Speaking of, what are you doing for the next week while they’re away?”
“Transcribing three di
aries. I’ll be working at home on my laptop.”
“That sounds like fun,” Haley said.
Sophie smiled. “It is. I’m really enjoying the work. It hardly feels like a job.”
“Since all the adults are away, we should do something else Sunday,” Eli said as he got their coats.
Haley laughed around another yawn. “So we’re not adults? Is that what you’re saying?”
He shrugged. “Not exactly. Sophie, you have plans?”
“No. I do need to get some more Christmas shopping done though. Where’s a good place?”
“Pikeville,” Haley answered. “Why don’t we make it a day? The four of us.”
Sophie couldn’t see the least bit of impatience or reluctance in the other woman’s face, even though she was obviously exhausted. “That’d be nice.”
“Sure,” Noah said. “I have a few things to get still too.”
“Then we’ll set a time sometime tomorrow,” Eli said. “But for right now, I’m going to get this young lady home.” He kissed Haley’s temple.
Seeing them so openly affectionate with each other felt like a benediction to Sophie. Maybe all the ugliness from the past was finally fading away, and knowing that felt healing somehow. She was afraid to trust the burgeoning happiness too much as far as her involvement in the family went, but at least if things went sour for her at some later date, she’d know Eli’d gotten the happily ever after he deserved.
After they’d gone, she and Noah worked in companionable silence. When the last of the dishes were taken care of, he dried his hands and folded the dishtowel on the counter.
“So are you looking forward to Christmas?” he asked.
She stiffened just a bit. “You mean in Lexington?”
“Yeah.”
With a loose shrug, she leaned against the counter on the other leg of the L-shaped island, catty-corner from where he stood. “I figured I’d just stay here.”
Noah straightened slowly, staring at her with patent disbelief. “Sophie… you’re not going? You can’t be serious.”
She tightened her arms over her midsection. “Why not?”
He shook his head, baffled. “Because. It’s Christmas. A big, fancy, noisy, crazy Campbell Christmas. You have to go. Half your presents are already in Lexington. Mom and Dad took them down.”
Dismayed, she stared at him. “My what?”
“Your presents. Gifts. Things people put in boxes and wrap up in pretty paper and make you open in front of everyone?” He moved so that only a foot of space separated them. “You and Haley and Lee are the new kids in the family. Everyone wants to dote on you. You have to go, or you’ll miss Rachel and Lee’s wedding and seeing Eli dressed in that ridiculous elf costume.”
She couldn’t meet his eyes as she tried to ignore the way his closeness was affecting her pulse. “I’d feel like a sore thumb, sticking out and all.”
He braced his hands on his hips. “Why? Because you’re not ‘family’ or some such nonsense? Do you know how disappointed several people would be if you weren’t there?”
With a sigh, she licked her lips. “Look, these family get-togethers are one thing when it’s a casual holiday or Sunday dinner, but for Christmas? Noah, that’s already a tough time of year for me. I do better when I just shut the door for a few days and pretend the twenty-fifth doesn’t exist.”
“Why is it so hard?” His face was somber as he waited for her response.
She looked away. “Because it reminds me of everything I don’t have and won’t ever have, okay?”
She felt his sigh more than she heard it, then a solid, warm hand came to rest on her shoulder. She looked at him just as he touched her cheek.
“Do you think Eli would put you in any situation where you’d have the potential to get hurt badly? Forget the rest of us, okay? I know you have trust issues, and they’re not without merit. But you do trust him, right?”
All she could do was nod.
“Then why don’t you trust him on this? He wants you there, and so do the rest of us.”
She swallowed hard and looked straight at him. “All of you?”
He didn’t answer right away, and she could see him struggling.
“Yes. All of us. I want you there,” he said roughly.
If he was lying, he was giving her an Oscar-worthy performance.
Closing her eyes, Sophie listened to her gut. She was very aware of his proximity to her. But none of the gut-churning anxiety she’d learned to associate with liars was rising up.
“Are you sure?” she whispered, slowly opening her eyes to stare at the red Henley he wore under a soft, gray plaid flannel shirt.
Noah rested his cheek against hers. “Yes.” Moving slowly, he folded her in a tight hug. “I swear to you, no ulterior motives. We’re not trying to use you. We’re not looking at you like you’re an employee we have to appease by including. We want you, Sophie the person, there.”
She let herself rest against him, curling into his solid warmth. “Eli told you about my mother.”
“Yeah, at Thanksgiving after I upset you so much. I’m sorry, Sophie. Truly, deeply sorry you had to go through that.”
“Thanks.” She sighed and tried not to overthink the fact that Noah was holding her so tenderly, so close. “I’ve not heard from her in two years, you know. It’s like I don’t exist in her world anymore. Maybe I never did.”
When the lights flickered then went out with a low hum, she caught her breath. Noah pulled back, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he looked around. The house was quiet, the only sound the faint crackling of the fire in the woodstove. A soft thumping sounded then Fig’s gentle “meow” as she came downstairs.
“Well, crap. Hang on, I’ll get a flashlight.” Within seconds, he had opened a drawer and pulled one out, switching it on to light his path to a bookshelf beside the woodstove. “I’ll get a couple of lanterns going.”
“Does this happen often?” she asked, coming around the counter to the stool where Fig was perched, purring. “Hey, pretty girl. I missed seeing you earlier.”
“She’s a weird cat sometimes. Gets anti-social. And yeah, it happens often enough,” he said, coming back and setting two LED lanterns on the counter. “It used to happen a lot. That’s one of the main reasons I got the woodstove, so I wouldn’t freeze to death. I had to spend several nights at the farmhouse that first year.”
She smiled. “And I’m sure that just annoyed the dickens out of your grandparents.”
He gave a sheepish shrug and grinned. “They like me okay. So… Christmas?”
Sophie sighed. “You’re not going to give in, are you?”
“Nope. You’ve never experienced a real Campbell Christmas. At least try it once. Come on. As many of us as there are, you might not get another chance to see Eli in an elf costume. We rotate, you know. How can you pass that up?”
“I can’t, I guess.”
He breathed a sigh of pure relief. “Good.”
“But if it goes wrong, I’m holding you responsible.”
Noah held up both hands. “Fine. I will fully accept that responsibility.”
She shook her head, laughing at him. “I should go. It’s late, and… well.”
“Tonight was fun,” he said as he walked her to the door. “I’ll get your dishes back to you on Sunday.”
“Okay. And it was fun. Maybe next time I can host? Though having all three of you living right here is convenient.”
“You could always spend the night,” he said, leaning against the door as she got her coat on. “Plenty of beds to choose from, and I’m sure Haley’d let you stay with her if you wanted.”
There was just enough wickedness in his expression to tell her he’d deliberately baited her. Deciding to not give him the satisfacti
on of a response, she patted his chest. “See you Sunday.”
He followed her onto the porch, where the walkway was illuminated by solar landscape lights. “Sophie? Let me know you made it home?”
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” she teased gently.
“It’s in my DNA,” he said. “Promise you’ll call or text?”
“I promise. Good night.” She hurried to her car, shivering against the cold. Tonight had given her a lot to think about for sure.
But when she got to the foot of the hill, where the driveway joined the main road that wound around the mountain, her route was blocked. An enormous old pine tree had fallen across the highway about fifty yards down from the driveway. Cables and wires were tangled up in its branches.
“That would be why the power is out,” she said. “Well, shit.”
No matter how hard she stared at the tree, it didn’t move. Not that she’d expected it to.
She knew from talking with Owen that the road going the other way went clear into another county, heading farther and farther away from Hazard. She could have taken that route, but getting home would be a two-hour trip. And Sophie was already tired, too tired to drive for much longer. She had enough energy to get home safely, get a hot bath or shower, and that was about it.
“You don’t have a choice. You have to go back. And someone needs to call this in.” She groaned. Thankfully, this portion of the road wasn’t heavily traveled, and the tree was down in a long, straight stretch where it was clearly visible.
Cursing fate, she turned her car around and started back up the driveway.
“I just hope his offer of a bed was sincere, or else this could be a very cold night,” she muttered. She ruthlessly tamped down the little voice in her head that taunted her with notions of the pleasures she might find by spending the night in Noah’s bed.