Stolen Kisses

by Annie Rains

  “I don’t know what I did to have you as my best friend all these years, and now so much more, but I don’t want to mess this up.”

  And those words had punch, too. “So don’t,” she said.

  The corner of his mouth twitched. He reached for her hand and took it in his own. “Looks like all the guests are venturing off. Care to walk along the waterfront with me?”

  She stood, keeping his hand. “After that huge meal, I think a walk is definitely in order.”

  They strolled along the shoreline, up to the Blushing Bay pier and walked along, weaving between kids and couples, older folks with baseball hats shielding their eyes. They didn’t let go of each other’s hands until Noah stopped in front of their favorite ice cream shop.

  “You have got to be kidding me.” Krista looked at him in disbelief. “No. We just had a pre-Thanksgiving meal—kind of. There is no way you are talking me into stuffing my belly with ice cream, too.”

  “Hot chocolate?” he asked.

  “It’s not that cold outside.” She placed her hands on her hips. “But, I guess a peanut butter smoothie would hit the spot.”

  “That’s my girl.” Noah reached for her hand and tugged her in the storefront. As he did, she went to reach for the fishing hook charm on her necklace out of habit. Her feet rooted to the pavement.

  “Oh, no.”

  Noah turned back. “What’s wrong?”

  “My necklace.” Krista spun around searching the ground, hoping she’d spot it. She pulled the front of her top out to look down her shirt. No sign of the golden fishhook that Noah had given her when they were mere kids.

  Noah mimicked her actions, retreating several steps and searching the path that they’d just walked. “Maybe you lost it at the office. Once we start cleaning up, we’ll probably find it.”

  Krista nodded, trying to stay calm. The necklace was one of her favorite things. She couldn’t lose it now. It was a part of her in some way. “Let’s go back now. I need to find it.”

  “Sure.” Noah grabbed her hand again and pulled her along, retracing their steps. When they got back to the office, Krista rushed inside and started tearing the place apart, searching.

  “What’s wrong?” Abby asked, hoisting a tub of dirty dishes to take back to The Landing.

  Noah lifted the tub from her hands. “I’ll take these to your catering van.”

  “Thanks.” Abby looked at Krista again. “Did you lose something?”

  “My charm. The lucky fishing hook that Noah gave me when I was in the hospital as a kid. I need it.” Tears threatened behind her eyes.

  “I’ll help you.”

  Together, the three of them searched the entire office, twice, to no avail. Giving up, Krista finally plopped down in one of the chairs.

  “I’ll give you another fishing hook,” Noah promised. “I have about a million of ’em, you know.”

  The disappointment was thick. The loss felt foreboding somehow. “It won’t be the same.”

  “Maybe that’s a good thing.” He reached for her hand and pulled her up against him. “Because you and I aren’t the same anymore. Our relationship has changed from friends to friends with benefits.”

  Krista’s jaw dropped.

  “And more.” He ran his index finger over her chin. “How about I take you back out for that peanut butter smoothie now?”

  She hesitated. She didn’t want a smoothie anymore. All she wanted was her lucky charm back. “Okay.” She pulled in a breath, missing the weight of the hook on her chest and fearing it was lost forever. She was sentimental with a lot of things. This was one of them. “Or…”

  “Or?” He looked at her questioningly.

  “Or you could take me back to your place. What I really want right now is to be held.”

  She didn’t miss the fact that he hesitated. He’d pulled away from her physically ever since the condom had broken. It’d only been a few days, but she’d noticed and it hurt. Maybe she’d lost more than her lucky charm this week.

  Chapter 18

  “A whole new hot water heater?” Noah asked the repairman on Monday afternoon.

  The repairman, a nice guy in his fifties who Noah had used often and trusted, nodded. “Yep. I wish I had better news for you, buddy. And with Thanksgiving on Thursday, I won’t be able to change it out for you until this weekend. Maybe next week.”

  This weekend was when Grace and Jack were getting hitched. They’d be heading to the Sawyer cabin and Noah supposed that Jack wouldn’t mind him staying at his house. He didn’t like cold showers and he didn’t like his home falling apart one thing at a time. A couple months ago he’d had to have the kitchen area rewired.

  “Okay. Well, thanks for trying. And I’d appreciate you getting it done as soon as your schedule allows.”

  The repairman pulled a little book out of his front pocket, scrawled something on the paper, tore it off and handed it to Noah. “That’s the cost from today.” He pointed at the first number. “And that’s only the approximate cost if I replace your system.” He pointed at a much higher number. “Could be more depending on the hours I put in. Houseboats aren’t as easy as houses.”

  Noah stared at the numbers. Geez. He just needed to cut a hole in the boat and start leaking a portion of all the money he made out the back. This place was slowly becoming a money pit. “I understand.”

  He walked the repair guy to the door, then grabbed his keys and wallet to go for a drive. Krista was staying late at work today to help with a caregiver support group that met at the hospital. Adam’s mom was one of the attendees. Krista had told him she’d talked a few more of her patients into going as well. He admired the heck out of that about her. That wasn’t part of her job, but caring for people was what she did best. All he did was catch fish so someone down the line could eat them.

  He had no idea where he was driving as he circled around town. Then he found himself turning into several of Blushing Bay’s neighborhoods and looking at the houses. Even though he’d grown up in a very nice house that some might describe as a mansion, he’d always viewed houses as little jail cells that kept people tied down. His houseboat was becoming a jail of sorts, too, though. He couldn’t even take a hot shower right now or move around without banging his knee on a windowsill.

  He circled cul-de-sacs and then pulled to a stop in front of a house that piqued his interest. It had a FOR SALE sign in the front yard beside the mailbox. The house was different from a lot of houses. In a way, it was very similar to the Sawyer cabin. It was wood-sided and came to a peak at the front center. There was a large front porch with a swing that he immediately envisioned Krista sitting on. With him.

  Noah stepped out of his Jeep and walked up the driveway, then headed around to the back of the house. The yard was shaded by pine trees and led down to a narrow creek that he knew ran into the Neuse River, then dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. He jogged back to his Jeep, got a fishing pole out of the back and took it back behind the house that didn’t appear to be occupied. He had a childlike yearning to fish this creek and see what he could pull out. There was an old, rusty chair at the end of the small wooden pier that jutted over the creek. The pier looked in need of repair, but it was nothing his brother Jack couldn’t fix with his new coastal building business.

  Noah sat in the chair and dropped his line in the murky water. Yeah, he guessed he was trespassing a little bit. Hopefully the seller wouldn’t mind. There was a familiarity to this place that he wanted to explore, and it seemed like a good spot to catch his thoughts, which had been all over the place lately. He had no idea what the next step with Krista was. At the same time, he was terrified that they’d effectively skipped a whole bunch of steps the other day when the condom had broken.

  He closed his eyes and attempted to shake the thought away. He absolutely did not want the old Noah poking his squirrelly head. He also didn’t trust himself not to let that happen. Not completely, at least. And that was what terrified him most.

  —


  Krista was filling in for the regular facilitator of the caregiver support group tonight. She wasn’t a licensed therapist, but she’d taken classes to help with mental health and group therapy in nursing school. There was a circle of nine women and one man seated around her in the large downstairs conference room. Some had children they supported. Others had older parents, grandparents, and relatives they were caregivers for at home.

  Krista had run to purchase coffee and doughnuts from the Blushing Bay Café before the group started. She wanted everyone to feel comfortable, and sugar and caffeine had a way of loosening people up. “All right,” she said, smiling brightly. “I’m Krista for those of you who don’t know me. I’m a nurse on the pediatric floor. I’ve been here at Blushing Bay Memorial for going on ten years now and I’ve witnessed a lot of caregivers who are afraid to take time for themselves.”

  “I’m not afraid,” the man in the group said. He was probably in his early twenties. A single father. “Truthfully, I’m a little angry.”

  Krista’s heart picked up pace. “Why are you angry?”

  He wrapped his hands around a cup of coffee, his eyes darting from one person to the next in the group. “Because my wife died and left me with twin daughters to raise. I’m only twenty-three and I have no idea what I’m doing. I have no family support. It’s just me, and honestly I’m a little pissed about it. And that makes me feel like a bit of a jerk. I didn’t sign up for this, though.” He shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. I love my daughters, but parenthood’s hard. And I’m losing myself. I don’t have time for any of the things that used to make me me anymore.” His whole body was rigid in his seat.

  The older woman next to him placed a hand on his forearm. “It’s okay to be angry.”

  Others in the group agreed with vocalizations and nods of their heads.

  “And you came here. So you must know what you’re doing. Talking things out tempers the anger,” Krista said.

  The man relaxed a little. “I’ve been here twice now and I usually do feel better when I leave. I don’t want to resent my kids or my wife, God rest her soul.”

  Krista’s heart ached for him. She’d never been a caregiver for a loved one, but she carried the burdens of her patients and their families with her. She suffered caregiver burnout, too, and it was good to hear the stories of others. It felt good to offer advice or just an ear to those who needed it.

  Over the next hour, everyone who wanted to talk was able to. Krista felt light and airy as she closed up the session and said goodbye to the group. “Please take some doughnuts home with you,” she told the man as she cleaned up. “Your girls will love them.”

  “Could serve as breakfast in the morning.”

  Krista bit her tongue. Doughnuts weren’t a nutritional breakfast, but that was the nurse in her objecting. Tonight she was just someone’s sounding board and she truly thought this father was doing the best he could.

  “Thanks for being here tonight,” he added, taking a napkin with a handful of doughnuts with him. “Hope to see you here next time, too.”

  Krista shrugged. If the facilitator needed her to, she wouldn’t hesitate to fill in. She’d enjoyed facilitating the group tonight. “We’ll see.”

  When everyone had gone, she headed home, exhausted. She hated that she couldn’t see Noah tonight. She crawled into her bed and pulled out her cellphone to text him good night.

  I miss you.

  His response came immediately. You, too. We’ll make up for it tomorrow night. Castaways for drinks? Then maybe my place for appetizers?

  A winking emoji followed the text. She smiled at the innuendo, wanting to believe the implications of that comment. Hoping the sudden cooling of their sex life was just her imagination.

  —

  Thanksgiving Day in Blushing Bay came with all the traditional foods and seafood. Being a fishing town, some sort of fish was usually served right alongside the turkey. Or in place of the turkey in some cases. Krista and Joey woke up on Thursday and started cooking at daybreak. They usually went to their parents’ home in town and met up with aunts, uncles, and cousins that they hadn’t seen all year.

  And today, for the first time in forever, Krista was bringing a man home with her. Most of her family knew Noah, but they didn’t know him as her boyfriend. Taking Noah home to “meet” the family in his new role was a step forward for them.

  The timer on the oven beeped and Krista slid her hands into her charred oven mitts. She opened the oven and leaned back as a blast of heat met her face.

  “I’ll do it.” Joey bullied her to the side and grabbed a dish towel. Then he pulled the large turkey out effortlessly and laid it on the table. “Since when did you start cooking the family turkey anyway?”

  “Since Mom’s arthritis flared up. She doesn’t need to be doing this kind of stuff anymore.”

  “You know she’s probably been up since earlier than both of us doing all kinds of other stuff anyway.”

  Krista shook her head. “Well, at least this is one less thing for her to do.” Krista dipped to grab the aluminum foil from a lower cabinet and started wrapping things up to take to her parents’ home. “There. I’ve got to go get ready. Noah is picking me up in an hour.”

  “You know Dad is going to grill him, right?”

  Krista removed her apron and hung it on a hook inside the pantry door. “I’ve already warned Noah. Now that we’re dating, Dad will probably give him the whole speech about opening doors for me and not using curse words in front of me because I’m a woman.”

  Joey snickered under his breath.

  “You laugh, but he did that to my old boyfriend. And toward the end of the list of no-no’s, he’ll throw in not having sex before marriage and not getting married without asking him for my hand first.”

  “Good grief. I’m glad I was born a son. I never got any of that. Dad’s speech to me was ‘always use condoms and don’t brag to your buddies about any of the details.’ ”

  Krista wondered if there was any talk in that speech about making sure the condom didn’t break, and what to do if it did. Noah’s response seemed to be to freak out and then ignore it. “So unfair.”

  Rolling her eyes, she headed down the hall to go change into a pair of brown, stretchy pants—so that she could eat as much as she wanted today—and a wine-colored long-sleeved shirt. She draped a silver necklace around her neck, regretful that she’d never found the golden fishing hook that Noah had given her so long ago. She guessed it was gone for good. It’d been five days and no one had found it. Or they had, but they were keeping it as their own lucky charm. She hoped it brought them as much joy as it had her over the years.

  The doorbell rang and Krista scurried down the hall in front of Joey to open the door. She was so excited to see Noah, she could hardly contain herself.

  “Hey,” she said, slightly out of breath from her race to meet him.

  “Hey yourself.” He gestured at his attire. “Is this what you meant when you said dress nice?”

  She surveyed his dark rinse jeans and tan-colored sweater, deciding that she had never seen a man look so sexy in a sweater. “You look terrific.”

  He bent to kiss her cheek. “And you look delicious,” he whispered next to her ear.

  “Supersonic hearing, remember?” Joey called from the kitchen.

  “You did not just hear that, Joey,” Krista argued. She turned back to Noah. “He’s joking.”

  “My sister is not on the Thanksgiving menu,” Joey said, proving her wrong.

  Krista cringed and returned her gaze to Noah. “Did you get your water heater fixed?” she asked, trying to be casual.

  He sighed. “No.”

  “That’s okay. I showered this morning.” A grin ran through her lips. “Not that you’re inviting me to stay tonight.”

  “I want you to stay,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “I need you to stay,” he whispered to avoid Joey’s supersonic hearing. “I’ll pack up the food for your parents. You go p
ack an overnight bag for afterward.”

  She landed a quick kiss on his mouth, a tiny thrill moving through her. Maybe she’d be getting lucky tonight even without her lucky fishing hook.

  —

  Noah was used to feeling comfortable wherever he was. He’d been to the Nelson house many times before and he was usually right at home. Today, however, he was getting nervous looks from Krista’s mom and steely ones from her dad. Krista’s aunts and uncles seemed more curious about him, as if they were weighing whether or not he’d fit into their crew if it came to it.

  “You okay?” Krista leaned in beside him at the dinner table.

  Bowls and dishes were in the process of being passed around. “Oh, yeah. Sure. Right at home,” he lied. Because his home, the one he’d grown up in, was a house full of males. They laughed heartily, didn’t ask to be excused if they needed to go to the restroom at dinner, and they didn’t take small servings when they passed the dishes. Grace was in the Sawyer clan now, but Noah was used to her. He wasn’t used to this. Everyone in Krista’s family was dressed nice and the table was dressed even nicer.

  Krista’s cousin Samantha passed a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes to him. He took a small spoonful and handed it to Krista. She gave him a funny look as if to ponder why he was acting so strangely. He wasn’t sure. He was out of his element here, though.

  When everyone’s plate was full, Krista’s father said the blessing and they dug in.

  “So, Noah,” Mr. Nelson began, “how’s the season treating you?”

  Noah looked up, relieved by the topic. Fishing talk was his element. Krista’s father was a fisherman, too, although he’d retired from the career in his early fifties.

  “Good, sir. Joey and I might make it a record year.”

  Joey nodded, shoveling large spoonfuls of beans into his mouth. He was the only Nelson in the group that knew how to eat a good meal. “Might even catch Mitsy.” Joey grinned, chewing and talking at the same time, which was a stark contrast to the others.