Noah (28 page)

“His daddy fell in love with his mother in less than a month. Don’t think it can’t happen. I’ve never seen two people more in love than I do when I see them together. That kind of love isn’t based on time. Just do me a favor and don’t hurt him. Okay?”

I nodded, afraid to say anything that would make her hate me. I surely didn’t want to tell the old woman that there was no way Noah could love me. He cared for me, but knew better than to give me his heart, when he knew our relationship was temporary.

“Go on and enjoy your night. Don’t keep him waiting.”

I found Noah sitting on the golf cart. He smiled as I climbed on. “I can’t get used to the fact that you’re here, but then my dick reminds me of what happened in the shower.”

I smacked him on the arm. “Noah, wait until we leave her house before you talk like that.”

“What did she want to tell you?”

“She asked me not to hurt you.”

He grabbed my hand and put it up to his lips. “So don’t.”

His comment made me rethink what the old woman had said. Was Noah in love with me? Had all of our time talking and being away from each other made what we had stronger? “Noah, I-.“

“Don’t ruin the moment, Shalan. You’re about to see something as beautiful as you are.” We came up over this hill and I knew right away what he was talking about. The sun was setting and the sky was different hues of red and orange. Noah pulled me closer to him and kissed the side of my head. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect.”

“Just like you. I knew you’d like it.”

Waves of anxiety overwhelmed me. This was a side of Noah that I wasn’t used to, and although it was even better than I ever could have imagined in my head, it reminded me that I had to leave it behind and go back to New York.

I watched the sun disappear in the horizon, and appreciated the arms that were around me. Every second I spent with Noah was making me wonder if the life I’d always wanted was as good as what he already had. He was so lucky, and I was sure that he didn’t even know it. There was nothing I wouldn’t have given for a family like his. In my eyes, he was the luckiest man I’d ever met.

“Thank you for inviting me here, Noah. I know I just arrived, but it’s wonderful.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“I may never want to leave.”

Noah turned his head and leaned forward to kiss me. When our lips met he held his over mine. After pulling away, he said something that I will never forget. “I may never let you.”

               Noah

Something was seriously
wrong with me. From the minute I saw her on my parent’s porch I’d started acting like a sap. Since it was so out of character I wasn’t sure how to approach Shalan about anything else. She and I both knew that even a label couldn’t stop the inevitable, yet every moment I spent with her made me want to keep her as close to me as possible.

Right now she was singing backup for artists that were on tour, but once she got her own opportunity to shine, a country boy like me would be the last thing she needed in her life.

Shalan was going to be famous. She had this gift that deserved to be shared with the world. As lucky as I was to meet her in that bar, I felt torn because I wished I’d never heard her sing. Who would have known that one night at a karaoke bar would change her life like it had?

As nervous as I knew she’d been, Shalan survived dinner with my parents. I’d never seen her scarf down food like she did when she tasted my mother’s cooking. Now I think she understood why I still ate there so much. After dinner we all sat around talking, and Shalan told my parents about her pending record deal. While she helped my mother do the dishes, I walked out on the porch with my dad, who had his own concerns about my girlfriend.

“Son, I’m not tryin’ to start with you, but have you considered the lifestyle that girl’s goin’ to be livin’ in? I don’t know if you were too young to remember, but the music industry ain’t all as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be.”

“I remember just fine. Look, I know you just met her. There’s a lot that you don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but her mother died of breast cancer when she was a kid.”

My dad looked away, seemingly still affected by that disease.

“Shalan’s dad became a drunk. There were nights when he thought she was his dead wife.” My dad turned toward me shocked. I held up my hands. “Nothin’ happened, but she knew she had to get out of the house, so after graduation she went to stay with her uncle who owned a bar. They treated her like she wasn’t a real part of the family. In the meantime she was datin’ this loser that cheated on her with pretty much her only friend. You see, when I met Shalan her whole world was crumblin’ at her
feet. You probably don’t understand this, but I felt like I had to save her.”

My dad cleared his throat, which he did when he was thinking of how to reply to something. “Son, I do understand. My concern is that now that she’s in a better place, what are you goin’ to do when she moves on and forgets all about you? I’m not sayin’ it’s goin’ to happen, but you need to prepare yourself. Shalan is a beautiful girl. If she can sing half as good as you’re tellin’ me then she’s got a real shot
at getting far in the industry. I don’t have a right to ask you this, because you’re a grown man who can make his own decisions, but please don’t get involved in that lifestyle. I don’t want to see you turn out like your uncle.”

I put my arm on his back. “You don’t need to worry about that. I turned down the offer to sing as partners when they first approached us.”

“What?” He turned to face me. “They wanted to sign you?”

I shrugged. “That’s what they said. I’m sure it was a ploy to get Shalan.”

“And you turned it down?”

“It’s kind of a long story, that has to do with Bells, and it doesn’t even matter. I don’t regret not goin’. I just regret not bein’ there for Shalan. She’s always been alone, and I hate knowin’ that.”

“You really care about this girl?” He leaned on the railing to the porch and looked out into the dark yard.

“Yeah, I really do.”

My dad looked over at the door to make sure nobody was coming. “Could she be the one?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never connected with anyone like I have her, that’s for sure. I mean, we talk all the time, and I miss her like crazy when we’re not together.”

“Could you see yourself with her in the future? Could you see her here?”

“Seriously, I don’t know. We haven’t been datin’ that long.”

“Noah, I’m goin’ to tell you a little story, and hopefully you’ll understand where I’m comin’ from.” He turned toward me and crossed his arms over his chest. “When your uncle Ty was injured in that car wreck, I went to go help out in North Carolina at their farm. Now I’d seen your mother through the years, but this time was different. She’d become a woman, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. The problem was that she was with your uncle Ty, and had been for some time. I tell ya, I did my best to ignore what I was feelin’ for her, but she was fragile, and something in my bones made me want to help her. I felt drawn to her in a way I’d never felt before. After only a short time things started happening between us that neither of us could stop. We started sneakin’ around, spendin’ all of our time together. Then your uncle woke up. I’ll give it to your mom for being a good person, because your uncle didn’t deserve her. The hardest thing I ever did was watch her with him. Did you know they were engaged?”

I shook my head. “No. You never told me that.”

“It was only for one night. He’d asked her in front of everyone they knew and she felt obligated to accept. During the party some things happened and she found me. I couldn’t watch them, so I’d taken a drink and went out to a combine in the field to be alone. I’d lost the girl, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, so I thought. Then she was there, standin’ in that field in the pourin’ rain. She told me she loved me, and I told her the same. In that moment time stopped, I swear it did.”

“So you brought her home and married her?”

“Nope. Your uncle Ty caught us the next night in his daddy’s truck. We started to roll around until your mother broke things up. I was fully prepared to take her home with me, but she was feelin’ guilty about Ty and I got the call that your granddaddy had fallen off the ladder. I rushed home to say goodbye and missed it by only a little bit of time. You see, Noah, at that point in my life I didn’t have my priorities straight. I thought I did, but there always felt like somethin’ was missin’. I pushed your mom away, but she came running right to me, and the rest is history.”

“I don’t get what this has to do with me.” The story was nice to hear, especially since my dad was always a hard-ass, but it had nothing to do with me or Shalan.

“That’s where you’re wrong. The way you look at her, the way you kept her a secret, that’s love. You can fight it all you want, but it’s for real, and it’s goin’ to rip out your heart if you let it.”

“I think I can handle my relationships.”

“Noah, I’m tellin’ you this because I’ve been in your shoes, son. This ranch ain’t for everyone to love. I get that. It takes a strong woman to want this kind of life, so if you think she’s worth it, and you’re willin’ to lose every fight from now until your last dyin’ day, you make sure she knows how you feel. Don’t let her slip away.”

“Why are you bein’ so nice to me? You don’t even know her.”

“Boy, how do you think my mother felt when I brought my cousin’s long-term girlfriend home with me to stay?”

I’d never even considered that she’d met my family before. “She probably thought you were hardheaded and that it was a terrible mistake.”

“Exactly. Does that remind you of someone?”

I smiled, finally understanding how alike we were. Though I hated to admit it, my dad had a point. My feelings weren’t about a time or a place. They didn’t have anything to do with how long we’d been seeing each other. There was something there that I’d never felt before, and if I didn’t make my move I could lose it forever.

I reached out for my dad’s hand. “Thanks for the talk.”

He placed both hands on mine. “Noah, I know I’m hard on you, but you’re my son and I just want you to have what I have. I’ve never regretted this life, and you kids. You’re the reason I wake up with a smile every day. Life means nothin’ to me if I don’t have my family, even the ones I’d love to trade in sometimes. Together we’re better.”

My dad walked back inside after our talk, and for the first time in as long as I could remember I felt closer to him. It felt like he really did know what I was going through.

Shalan came outside almost immediately after, and found me still standing on the porch. She put her hand into mine and leaned the other on the railing. Though I’d never seen her wearing the dress before, the white long flowing fabric looked beautiful against her naturally tanned skin. “It’s so quiet here, Noah.”

The sound of creatures was all that could be heard. Crickets sang in the background, while frogs were also very apparent. “I wouldn’t say it’s quiet.”

“I mean there’s no traffic horns, sirens, or people fighting in the streets. It’s peaceful.”

“So, you like it so far?”

“What’s not to like? It’s overwhelmingly huge, but still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

I chuckled. “I was talking about Kentucky, Shalan, not my dick.”

She slapped me. “You would say that. You’re so sick.”

“Now you’re rhyming.”

“I’m not going to talk to you if you keep it up.”

I rushed forward, throwing her over my shoulder. She kicked her feet and beat on my back, but I kept moving. Once she was on the golf cart, I drove us out by the old willow tree to show her something even more spectacular.

I didn’t have a blanket, so the grass was going to have
to suffice. Shalan took my hand and let me guide her to where I wanted to sit. “It’s so dark out here. Aren’t you scared something is going to get us?”

“Nah. I’m bigger.” I sat down and she sat between my legs  with her head rested on my thigh. “Look up, beautiful.”

The sky, so full of stars, was the most breathtaking view each night at our ranch. I knew that she couldn’t see them this good in New York. “This is amazing, Noah.”

“Yeah, so are you.”

Her attention turned to me. “You’re different here.”

“Maybe it’s you that’s makin’ me different.”

“What do you mean? Are you trying to impress me, because you don’t have to try, Noah, I like you no matter what.”

“You like me?” For once I was starting to hate the word.

“Of course I do.” Shalan sat up and straddled me. I held her there, making sure she was as close to me as possible. She smelled like my soap, only reminding me that I’d washed her earlier.

“I’m not real good at this, so forgive me for bein’ blunt, but I don’t want you to like me, Shalan. I don’t want that at all.”

Her smile, noticeable against the pale moonlight, turned into a frown. “I don’t understand. I thought we -.”

I had to kiss her so I had time to think about what I wanted to say. She pulled away, looking more concerned than ever. “Noah, I-“

I placed my finger over her lips and went for it. “I don’t want you to just like me, Shalan, I want you to love me.” Her eyes doubled in size as I released my finger from her lips. “Havin’ you here, feelin’ you close to me, I don’t want it to end.”

“Don’t do this right now, Noah. Please, I’m begging you. Just hold this conversation until I get things sorted out.”

Right then and there was when I knew she was going to break my heart, and what was about to come next would end it all.