by MJ Fredrick
“Yeah, but I didn't have enough information. I don't know when exactly it went missing, only the last time I used it.”
“A lot of roughnecks liked to party. Could have been any of them.”
“Or anyone selling to them.”
“So what’s the sheriff’s department doing?”
“They’re looking into the background of my techs.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “You don't even trust your employees?”
“There was no sign of a break-in. It had to be an inside job.”
Ben shook his head in disbelief at Noah’s assumption.
“Look, I can’t just let this go. People use it as a party drug, but it can be dangerous. I don't want it to be traced back to me and I would have done nothing. I want to know who risked their job and profited off of my investment.”
“Who do you think it is?”
Noah didn't want to name names. “Why, you dating one of my girls, too?”
Ben lifted a shoulder.
Noah frowned, unsure of which of his techs were married. He thought Kayla was, and maybe Lisa. Janie, he knew, was single. But Ben hadn't specified if he was just dating single women. He wouldn't put it past his brother to date married ones, too, though that would be hard to keep secret in Evansville.
When the brothers walked out of the Coyote, Noah saw that Miranda’s car was parked in front of the antique store, so she must be in her office upstairs. He’d forgotten she’d asked him to ask Ben to help her put it together.
He slapped his brother’s arm with the back of his hand and nodded toward Miranda’s car. “You got any tools with you? She needed some help putting together some of her furniture for her office.”
Ben gave him a look.
“What, are you busy?”
“Nah, not busy. And yeah, I have some stuff in my truck.” He crossed the street to his parking slot, opened the toolbox in the back of his truck and pulled out a smaller toolbox. “Let’s go see what she needs.”
Noah led the way up the stairs and to the office. Her door was open, even though the day was cool, but he could smell the paint fumes even out on the stairs.
“Miranda?” he called, sticking his head in the door, but he didn't see her. She must be in the inner office.
A moment later she poked her head out the door. “Noah? What are you doing here?”
“I brought Ben to help you put your furniture together. Still need help?”
She leaned against the door and gave him a smile that shot straight to his groin, and reminded him how she had felt in his arms last night. He straightened, feeling like the king of the world for earning that smile.
“You don't know how relieved I am to hear it, because I’m losing my mind here, with all the pieces.” She looked past him and her smile adjusted. “Hey, Ben. How’s it going?”
“It’s going. What have you got in there?”
She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “A chair that was supposed to have like six pieces but actually has about a couple dozen and I don't know where everything goes.”
Ben pushed past Noah to enter the office, holding his tool box ahead of him. He passed her, leaving Noah and Miranda alone long enough for him to greet her with a soft kiss.
“I saw that,” Ben said from the other room.
Noah grunted. “You need any help? I mean, other than Ben’s?”
She shook her head. “Don’t you have to work today?”
“I have an hour or so before my next appointment.”
“We could go in there and watch Ben work,” she said over her shoulder.
He liked how she teased his brother, how Ben responded in kind. He sensed his brother relaxing, and he did, too.
The office looked different with the furniture in it, more crowded. She had a rolled up carpet leaning against the window, and a box with presumably the other chair leaning against the wall. The desk in the reception area, along with the two upholstered chairs, were assembled. He looked into the inner office, and saw an even bigger desk, with a laptop open on it. He glimpsed the screen’s reflection in the mirror behind her and saw she had it open to a schematic for a chair. That was one thing he really admired about her, her determination to get things done on her own.
“So my timing was good.” He inclined his head toward the computer.
“There was a very strong possibility you might have had to step over the busted pieces to get up the stairs.”
He chuckled and crouched beside his brother. Together they got the chair assembled in about fifteen minutes, then laid out the pieces for the other before Noah had to leave to go to his next appointment.
“Coming by later?” she asked, walking him out onto the top of the steps.
“Sure. You want me to bring anything?”
She scowled. “I’m going to cook. I can get it this time. And it will be better if we eat first, you know.”
“Will your roommates be there?”
“Probably. I don't know about Jolie, but Riley will probably be there.” She leaned back, folding her arms over her chest. “Is that a problem?”
“No, I guess. I haven't had to worry about that before, though.”
She unfolded her arms and stepped forward to touch his face. “Afraid you can’t be quiet?”
“Not me I’m worried about.” He bent his head and kissed her, soft and deep, then turned and left.
“Not sure what you see in him,” Ben said when she walked back into the office.
“Sorry?”
“He’s cranky and always serious and possibly the bossiest person I’ve ever met.”
“He had to grow up fast. But when we were young, we knew how to have fun. I’m hoping maybe we can get back there again.” She hefted herself on the desk and crossed her legs to watch him work. “He’s the best man I’ve ever known, Ben. He had a lot of responsibility put on him at a young age, and he rose to the challenge.”
“He looked for himself first. He went off to college.”
“But he made sure you and Selena had a home, and he came back here so you could have the stability, without leaving the home you’ve known. He’s just…gone inside himself lately, and it might take some effort to get him to come out again.”
“I imagine if anyone can get him to come out, you can.”
“I appreciate that vote of confidence,” she said with a laugh.
“He was happiest with you.”
“Not with Jacinta?”
Ben stopped working and looked up at her. “He told you about her?”
“Not details, just that they were pretty serious before she moved away, and he didn't go with her.”
“I guess he was happy then, but she didn't come around too much, so we didn't know her as well. Seemed like you were at the house a lot.”
“I don’t really remember.” She did, though. She remembered Noah bringing her reluctantly, and her not wanting to be there. Either his father was pissed, or overly charming, and both versions made her skin crawl.
“Doesn’t really matter anymore, I guess. He’s saying he’s going to bring Selena into town, find a house for the two of them.”
“Is he.” If Ben had told her Noah was getting married to Vonda at the Coyote Moon, she wouldn't have been more surprised. “He loved the ranch when he was a kid. He loved being able to have all the animals there where he could look after them.”
“I guess he’s not home that much anyway. And he’s been too busy to keep the place up. We both have.”
“He said you were working in the oilfields. What are you doing now?”
“I’m a hunting guide, then I guess I’ll go work on a ranch, if I can get the work. Not what I really wanted to do.”
“So you’ll stay in Evansville?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“I don't know. Maybe you’d have more options someplace else.”
“Maybe. But I don't see myself as a big city guy, working in an office or something.”
“That’s not necessarily what I mean.�
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“Plus I’m not paying any rent.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “That’s important.”
“I suppose it is.” She unfolded her legs and went into the other office to start unpacking boxes and putting the books on the shelf.
Chapter Fifteen
Miranda had to admit that dinner was pretty good. She’d worked out the timing a little better and got everything on the table at the same time. A roast, this time, with baked potatoes and salad. Not as much of a challenge. But Riley joined them for dinner, and having an extra person at the table took some getting used to, especially for Noah, who wasn't particularly talkative in the best of times. And Miranda didn't know Riley all that well. Riley recognized that, apparently, because she carried the bulk of the conversation, talking about her new recipes and her customers, and how so many in Evansville didn't want to try anything new. They wanted what they wanted, and they expected her to have the same treats all the time, so she had to make sure to integrate her new recipes with her stand-bys.
“Perils of living in a small town,” Noah said.
“Yeah, well, they keep coming back. And I have some people who are more adventurous than others. Your sister for one,” she said to Miranda. “And yours, too, come to think of it,” she added to Noah.
Noah smiled. “I would have thought Selena would be more in the wants-what-she-wants camp.”
“Sometimes she only wants her glazed doughnut, but she can be talked into trying something new every once in a while. She loves my new Mexican chocolate cookies.” She smiled across the table at Miranda. “If you’d told me you were having Noah over, I would have brought some home. At the very least, some rolls.” She stood and picked up her plate. “Thanks for letting me intrude on your dinner.”
“Any time.”
Miranda poured another glass of tea as Riley left the room and headed upstairs. Miranda sipped and wondered how awkward it would be to take Noah upstairs with Riley next door. She looked across the table at him.
“Let’s go for a drive. I want something sweet now,” he said, rising and loading his own dishes into the dishwasher.
They ended up at the drive-in place up by the highway, and got some shakes, then drove around. She thought they might go out to the reservoir again, but he drove past that road. It was only after they turned down the road that led to Garcia’s, after circling the square, that Miranda realized what Noah was doing.
“Checking to see if your dad is there?”
He looked over sharply. “And Ben. I didn't tell you that they came home together the other night, drunk out of their minds.”
“Ben told me.”
Noah swerved a bit. “He did?”
“Yeah, he was half-pissed at you and half-pissed at himself for spending so much time with your dad.”
“He told you that?”
“Well, not in those words. He was mostly just cursing himself. Is that what you’re worried about? That he went out with your dad again?”
“Maybe. I don't know. I was so pissed. I couldn't believe they’d both risk going to jail just to get drunk, you know? And I was so pissed that after all the hell that Ben’s been giving me, that he would go be all chummy with Dad. He didn't want him to come home, didn't want him to live here, and then he goes drinking with him?”
“From what he told me, it wasn't intentional.”
“What bothers me is why do they have to share the worst trait each other has? And then celebrate it?”
“That has to be frustrating.”
He grunted, but then didn't seem to want to say more.
“Ben also said you were looking to move to town with Selena.”
He ground his teeth. “Ben has a big mouth.”
“Was it a secret?”
“I guess I didn't want the word out yet. My fault for telling him.”
“I thought you loved the ranch.”
“I did, when it was mine. But I didn't have time for it, not to give it the attention it needed. It’s in pretty bad shape. I guess you saw that the other day when you were there.”
“I saw it could use some work, but I figured that it was a matter of you not having time. But you will, won’t you?”
“I don’t want to live there with him. It’s his house.”
“It’s your house now. It has been for years.”
He shook his head. “I have options. He doesn’t. So it’s his house. Probably best for me to leave. Best for Ben if he could, too, but not until he gets a steady job again.”
“Do you think your dad is going to work on the ranch, then? Fix it up?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I really don't care at this point.”
“Yes, you do,” she said as he turned onto her street.
*****
“Are you sure about this?” Allison Bonner folded her arms over her smart-looking blue suit, and frowned up at him.
Noah looked around the small ranch house that wasn't exactly everything he wanted—the rooms were too small and the ceiling was a bit lower than he liked. He wasn't a particular fan of paneling, and he’d want to take out the carpet, he was pretty sure. But the roof was good, and the plumbing was good, the appliances were included, and the price was right.
“This is the one,” he replied.
“Noah, you’ve looked at three houses.”
They had. Sadly, not many were in his price range. There was the one by the cemetery, which he thought would creep Selena out. The one out in the new neighborhood by the reservoir was almost as isolated as the ranch had been, since the building had stopped out there. Not what he was looking for.
“And there aren't that many more to look at, right? One is closer to town, and another is, what, another twenty thousand dollars?”
“But they might be more suited. Or that new one. I know you said you didn’t like being so far out, but everything is brand new.”
And a little more than he wanted to spend, for a fraction of the property. “No, this is the one. It needs some updating, but I’m okay with that.” He’d put time into this one, he swore. With the lower purchase price, he could even afford to have someone do the work for him. And, bonus, this one was available right away.
“Don’t you want to talk it over with Miranda first?”
He pivoted on Miranda’s sister. “This is my house.”
“You two have been spending a lot of time with each other. I would imagine she’d be spending a lot of time here.”
He could only hope, but he wasn't going to discuss it with her sister.
“I’m just saying, this is pretty…simple for Miranda. I’d hate for you to put all your energy and money into this place and she doesn't like it.”
He was fairly certain it wouldn't be a deal breaker. But Allison’s words made him uneasy.
“Do you have another option you think she might like better?”
“I don’t, really, not yet. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.”
“I don’t really have time, Allison. This one will do.”
“Are you going to marry her?” Allison asked as she closed up her portfolio and set it upright on the table.
Even though the idea was in his head, hearing the words aloud gave him a jolt. He hadn't even let himself go into too much thought about it. He wasn't going to talk about it with Allison.
“It’s a little early to think about that.”
“But you love her.”
Something in her voice sounded so sweet, so vulnerable. He gave her a smile.
“Yes. I love her.”
*****
Noah spent a lot of time at Miranda’s house the next week or so, as he waited for his offer on the house to be accepted, for the closing to be scheduled. He was already making a plan of what he wanted to do with the house when they got in, after Christmas, it looked like. No one wanted to do anything over the holidays. So he threw himself into helping Miranda decorate her house, even helping string Christmas lights on the porch and going to pick up a Christmas tree in his truck. He he
lped them set it up and helped with the lights and felt guilty because he couldn't remember the last time they’d had a tree at the house. Selena would enjoy this so much. He loved being at this place these women were making into a home, and hated to leave to go to the ranch, where there was so much discord. Rey and Ben were fighting again, and Noah hated Selena being in the middle of it. Ben could remove himself if he chose. But Selena didn't have that option, not for a few more weeks. And honestly, the closer he got to having his own place, the more intolerant he became of his father and brother’s behavior.
“Do you mind if I bring Selena over to watch you decorate the tree?” he asked the women. “I mean, I know it’s your tree, but she’d get a kick out of it.”
Miranda stopped opening the box of ornaments they’d bought and looked at him. “Of course she can help. Go get her.”
She hadn't even asked her roommates, but neither seemed to mind. He headed to the diner to pick up his sister. When he returned with her, the three women couldn't have been more welcoming, more willing to let his sister help them decorate their tree.
Noah didn't stay that night, but when he left, he drew Miranda aside.
“You don't know what that meant for her.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was for her,” he said, and kissed her.
He didn't want to tell her, yet, that he’d found a place he was interested in, and he wanted to move his sister there as soon as possible. He wanted to move Miranda there, too, but he didn't know how to broach the subject. It was too early in their relationship, anyway.
He needed to tell Rey and Ben first, in any case. He was going to move after the first of the year, and he needed to start packing.
Damn, he dreaded bringing up the drama.
He wanted to go to Miranda’s the following night, but he needed to tell his family first, get this off his chest.
“I’m moving to town at the first of the month,” he announced over the dinner table.
“You moving in with that little lawyer you’ve been sleeping with?” his father asked.
Noah battled back the temper that rose. “None of your business what I’m doing and with whom,” he said through his teeth. “But I’m taking Selena with me. It’s better for her to be in town, anyway. She can be more independent in town.”