Noah (20 page)

              
Noah

My cousin Isabella
didn’t like to be told what to do. A lot like her mother, my aunt, she thought she knew everything, and also what was best for everyone. Sometimes I valued her opinions, because I knew she’d tell it to me straight. This, however, was not one of those times.

My cousin was beaten badly, and it was taking every ounce of self-control to not find the bastard that did this to her and make him pay for what he’d done. Surely anyone in their right mind would want justice after seeing her in the condition she was in.

I slept for only a little while, having too much on my mind to be able to relax completely. Not only was I worried about my family, but there was a little woman out there in a big city, all alone because of me. I hated knowing that.

It occurred to me when I left New York that I should have retrieved her number off of my phone, to ensure that I could talk to her again.

Since I knew she was singing with the band again, I gathered that I could reach her at the restaurant later in the evening.

Bells woke up in pain, not that I was surprised. Her face looked even worse, if that was even possible. “Hey. How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours. You need your rest.” I ran the back of my hand over her cheek. “We need to talk, Bells.”

She got up and walked into the bathroom. “Yeah, I know. Just let me pee in peace first.”

I heard the toilet flush and her come back into the room. She sat at the little round table near the window and brought her knees to her chest. “What were you doin’ in New York. You don’t even like that city.”

“It was the last place they’d look, so I thought.”

She laughed. “Who found you?”

“Gram. Well, she didn’t call me. I called her to check in and she told me she knew where I was. That’s the shit that pisses me off the most. This family has their fuckin’ hands in everything. We get no privacy.”

“Bitch much. Jesus, Noah, you act like you were trying to wine and dine a woman and got cock-blocked.”

I lowered my head and wiped my face with my hands. The mere mention of Shalan and I was becoming unhinged.

Bells sat up. “Who was she? You better tell me. I tell you everything, so start talkin’.”

I fell back onto the bed and laughed. “It’s nothin’.”

Bells jumped off the chair and collided into me on the bed. She cuddled her head up next to my arm and gave me a sad face. “Please tell me. I need to hear about something hot and fun.”

I laughed, knowing Shalan was both of those things. “We met the night I left Kentucky. She was workin’ at some bar off of the beaten path a bit. She was my waitress, and I guess bartender too, since she was the only one there at the end. Anyway, first she took my keys, because I’d had too many shots. Then her car wouldn’t start, so we were stuck ridin’ together. Actually, let me rephrase that. She found my keys that she’d thrown into a field and proceeded to drive my truck. We’re halfway to where she needs to get dropped off and she sees her fuckin’ boyfriend and her best girlfriend gettin’ it on in a parking lot. This crazy cat jumps out of my truck and proceeds to steal his car, while he’s indisposed. Then she drives it into a pond and runs from the scene.”

Bells started to laugh. “I’m sure you’re leavin’ out details, but can I ask what this has to do with New York, or that smile you got on your face the moment I mentioned a woman.” She nestled herself up next to me and waited for my reply. I had to admit, knowing she was safe made me happy.

“Bells, she’s beautiful. I knew it even when she had a
ball cap on when I first laid eyes on her. She’s got real dark hair, that’s almost down to her ass. It curls up at the ends when it starts to dry.” I had to close my eyes for a second, because my mind went straight to being naked with her in the shower. Since I was hanging out with my cousin, I certainly didn’t want to get aroused. That would be disgusting and very weird.

“Anyway, she’s got these bright blue eyes that you can’t stop lookin’ at. Did I mention her body? She’s just a petite little thing, with curves in all the right places.”

Bells rolled over and stretched her arms above her head. “You’re describing your perfect woman, Noah. She sounds too good to be true, if you ask me. Are you sure the liquor wasn’t makin’ you see somethin’ that wasn’t there?”

Bells propped herself up on her elbow and watched me turn to face her. “She was real, cuz. That’s not even the best part.”

“Did you steal a horse and rescue her from an old time jail with a skeleton key that you stole from the sleeping deputy?” Her sarcasm was annoying, but creative.

“No. She never went to jail.”

“If I were her boyfriend, I would have pressed charges, even if I was a cheatin’ douche.”

“Well, we don’t know if he did, how’s that?”

“Don’t tell me you fled with a criminal.”

“She’s not a criminal. She’s a nice girl, who’s had it fuckin’ bad, Bells. Her mom died of cancer and -.”

She put her hands up. “Say no more. That right there is why you’re connected to her, and don’t try to deny it.”

I laughed. “It’s more than that. I know what you’re thinkin’ and you’re wrong. It’s not just the cancer thing. I like her. She’s a little spitfire, and her voice is the prettiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“So she has a sexy voice? You mean she talks sexy all the time?” My cousin would think that.

I flipped a strand of her blonde hair. “Such an airhead.”

“Shut up.”

“No, she doesn’t talk sexy to me. I meant she can sing. You should have heard her. She’s fuckin’ awesome.”

Bells smacked me hard on the chest. “Did she sing for you before or after you took her to New York and got her into bed?”

We both laughed. Okay, in my defense I didn’t have a good track record. I was too busy for relationships, and besides Perry, I’d only hooked up with women when I felt like having company. “Before and after, but not like you’re thinkin’. I didn’t know where I was headed, and she just wanted to get out of town. I let her tag along and things happened. It’s no big deal.”

“If it’s no big deal then why can’t you get that grin off of your face? It’s more and you know it. I’m pretty surprised, since you just dumped that chick Perry not even a week ago.”

She was right. Mentioning Perry, who I thought I cared
about, did nothing for me. Though just talking about Shalan got my blood boiling. I could picture every inch of her skin, the way she smelled, and even tasted. I had her lips memorized and the way she walked. “Fine. I like her. It doesn’t matter now. She’ll never talk to me again.”

“Because of me?” Bells put her head down and started to cry. “I’m sorry, Noah. I didn’t know.”

I reached for her and pulled her into a hug. “Nothin’ could have prevented me from coming to protect you, Bells. No matter what, you can always count on me.”

“I don’t want to ruin your life, because I’ve fucked mine up.”

“Our first night in New York we sang karaoke. The place we were at had this band that performed three nights a week. Anyway their singer had his tonsils removed and they asked us if we wanted to fill in.”

“No shit? For real?”

“Yeah. So for two nights we sang with a band in front of a real crowd. Anyway that isn’t even the best part. After the second night a producer and his wife came to eat at the restaurant and heard us. He set up an appointment for us to come in and talk about a contract.”

“What? Oh my God. When do you go?” She looked so happy for me, and it only reminded me of what I’d walked away from.

“I don’t.” I looked down at the bed and creased my brow out of frustration. “Dad called and gave me an ultimatum. I knew I couldn’t go from the beginnin’.”

“Noah, you have to go. This is huge. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get discovered like that? You weren’t even tryin’.”

“The meeting happened earlier today, Bells. It’s over.”

Her excitement diminished. “Because of me? You missed it because of me?”

“No. I told you why.”

“And she isn’t goin’ to talk to you again because you left. Oh my God, this is ALL my fault. I’m so sorry, Noah.”

I put my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Bells, it ain’t your fault. I was already leavin’ anyway. You just gave me a reason to do it sooner. My decision was mine to make.”

“Did she still go?”

I shrugged. “I hope so. She deserves it more than anyone I’ve ever heard sing.”

Bells stood up and walked over to the window. She peeked outside like she was worried someone was coming for her. “You should call her, Noah. Let her know you care.”

“I just met her.”

She turned around and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t make me steal your phone and call her myself.”

“I don’t have her number.”

She threw her hands up. “You’re hopeless.”

I pursed my lips together, feeling annoyed with her now knowing that I’d fucked up another chance with a nice woman.

“Now it’s your turn. Get your ass over here and tell me what happened, before I get in my truck and sight in my rifle on your ex’s ass.”

She crossed her arms and took in a deep breath. “It’s a long story.”

I motioned toward the chair. “We’ve got plenty of time.”

An hour later I’d been well informed of the situation, not that it helped with my feelings about the guy. I still wanted to kill him.

Apparently my cousin had taken it upon herself to catch her ex with the woman he’d been cheating on her with. She followed them to the chick’s house, and proceeded to climb through one of her windows. She’d cut her arm before she even made it inside.

She explained that she started to panic when she realized that she was breaking the law, so she darted for the door. Well, in that small amount of time the woman had grabbed a shovel out of the garage to defend herself. Apparently her ex was already in the shower, unaware of an intruder. Bells said she was hit with the shovel on the side of the face before she even saw the first blow coming. Then the chick hit her several more times until the guy came running out of the shower and turned on the lights. Bells said she got up and ran out of there as fast as she could, knowing he’d come after her. She said that he’d gotten into his car and started calling a few minutes later. That’s when she kept driving and called me. She told me that he said when he found her she was going to be sorry.

What was with women and cheating exes? Did they really feel it was necessary to break the law?

I didn’t get it.

We checked out of the hotel a little later on, and my cousin followed me back to Kentucky. She knew she’d be safe on the ranch, since you couldn’t enter without a code from the front gate. Besides, he knew he’d have to get through me to see her, and that wasn’t ever going to happen.

On top of having to worry about her, I still had to deal with my dad, and what happened at the party. Prank or not, I’d pissed him off enough to send him over the edge. I had no idea what I was driving back to, and had to consider that things weren’t going to smooth themselves over.

Lastly, I thought about Shalan. I wanted to know she was safe, and how the meeting went. I wanted to hear her voice again, not just to tell me off, but because when she spoke to me I felt like the only man on the planet.

It was going to take me a while to get over her, so it was a good thing that I had all the time in the world on my hands.