The Gambler (37 page)

They rode to the airport in silence. Tortoise sat quietly by Libby’s side in the backseat of Megan’s old Explorer, eyeing the crate in the back with suspicion. He wasn’t very happy about getting inside the box when they checked him in at the airport, but Libby rubbed and kissed his head. “I’ll see you in no time,” she cooed. “And then we’ll go see Noah. He’ll be so happy to see you.”

She only hoped he’d be happy to see her too.

Megan and Blair walked her to security and they shared a moment of awkward silence.

Megan handed her a slip of paper and a key chain. “This is the key to my car. The lot where it’s parked is written on this paper. Take my car from the airport and I’ll pick it up later when I get home. The address is where you can find Noah. He’s not at his apartment.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s at his grandfather’s house on Bainbridge Island. My mother-in-law sent him out there to inventory the house and his granddad’s workshop. Something to keep him busy.” She paused. “She also said he used to love it there when he was a kid. I think she was desperate to do something to make him feel better. I saw him there yesterday, so I know he’s still there.”

“Thank you.” She stuffed the paper and the key in a pocket inside her purse.

“Oh!” Megan’s face lit up. “Have you heard from Gram?”

“No. Why?”

“She got married in Vegas.”

“She what?”

Megan grinned. “A hot yoga instructor from some class she took out there. Nana Ruby had to fly home without her. Knickers is fit to be tied.”

Libby laughed. She could only imagine. But it reminded her of her own situation. “I don’t even know if we’re still married. I don’t know what happened to the marriage license.”

A soft smile lit up Blair’s face. “You are. I called Melissa while you were in the shower. She just texted a few minutes ago that she’d gotten ahold of the owners and they mailed it in. Also they’re sending your dress and some wedding photos to my office.”

The wedding photos. Libby laughed. “If you look at them keep an open mind, okay?”

Shaking her head with a grin, Blair reached into her bag and pulled out a picture frame, then quietly said, “One more thing. I forgot to give you this.”

Libby’s throat burned when she realized what it was—a photo of the three of them at the carnival on the day they’d been cursed by the fortune teller. The three of them were hamming it up for the camera. They were happy and carefree and sure they’d have each other forever. She was with her two best friends, the only two people who had made her feel truly loved until Noah. It was so perfectly
them.

Blair wiped a tear from her cheek. “The day this whole curse nonsense was born. I should have never doubted you, Libby, but you believed enough for all of us. Thank you for that.”

“We used to be inseparable,” Libby said, regret in her voice.

“We can be again,” Megan said through her tears. “Living in different states doesn’t have to change that.”

“We can Skype,” Blair said. “I do it for business. We can conference call.”

Libby nodded, then the brunt of her fear hit her full force. “What if I get there and he doesn’t want to see me?”

Blair smiled through her tears. “There’s only one way to find out. Go to him. But no matter where you go or what you do, know that we will
always
love you. We will always be your second home.”

“You need to hurry,” Megan said, pulling her into a hug. “They’re about to board your flight.”

She hugged them both again, then went through the small security line, ready to break down into tears again. She didn’t think she’d ever been so scared. Her entire life was about to be decided in a few hours and she wasn’t sure she was ready to face it.

She took a deep breath and smiled to herself. She’d figure out a way to make him forgive her. She’d camp out on his doorstep if that was what it took.

They were meant to be together. She only hoped he believed that too.

Noah stood in his grandfather’s workshop, turning a piece of hickory wood over in his hand. When he was a kid, he used to spend weeks at a time here with his granddad. It was one of the only things that always set his hyperactive mind at ease. He knew that’s why his mother had sent him here. Her busy-work for him was a flimsy excuse. Not that he was complaining.

The peace this place usually instilled in him was elusive, but at least he felt a sense of belonging here. At the moment he’d take any kind of relief from his demons he could get. They were back in full force. The sense of worthlessness. The belief that he deserved all this pain and more. He knew Josh was concerned, but Megan’s visit the previous morning had caught him off guard. She’d shown up out of the blue with a bag of groceries and a six-pack of his favorite beer.

After setting the groceries on the kitchen counter, Megan had popped the top off one of the bottles and handed it to him.

“A little early for beer, don’t you think?” he’d asked as he took it from her.

“Never too early for a good beer. Besides, it’s nearly noon.” And she took out a bottle for herself too.

They ended up sitting on the back porch for about ten minutes, drinking their beers in silence.

He waited until he opened a second beer to ask, “Is this a peace offering?”

She turned the bottle in her hand, then set it on the arm of her Adirondack chair. “I screwed up, Noah. But I intend to make it right.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Don’t. Just don’t.”

“She won’t take my calls. Or Blair’s. She’s alone and miserable. Go to her.”

He lifted the bottle to his mouth and didn’t set it down until he knew he could swallow past the lump in his throat. “She left me, Megan. She believes the worst of me.”

“She was just scared, Noah. You have to know that. She’s terrified you’ll break her heart.”

“I know. All the more reason to leave her alone. I’ll just hurt her again. It’s what I do.” He took another swig then, drinking down a large gulp.

“I don’t believe that.”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done.”

“So how long are you going to stay out here?”

“I don’t know. It’s quiet. Lets me think.”

“About going back to work with Josh? Or about Libby?”

“Both.” Libby was an easy choice. He couldn’t have her, so it really wasn’t any choice at all. But the business was another matter. He couldn’t deny that he’d found a sense of accomplishment over the last few months, but he wasn’t in any shape to go back to work yet. He still needed more time to nurse his wounds. And he sure couldn’t handle going back to Kansas City, knowing Libby was there. He’d consider opening his own firm, but he would never want to be in direct competition with his brother, which left him where he was. Jobless.

“Josh and I are moving to Kansas City in a few weeks and I’d really like him to spend most of his time at home,” she said quietly. “Which means he needs someone to run Seattle. He wouldn’t be back much. The entire thing would be yours. Like it was supposed to be from the start.”

He turned to look at her.

She gave him a weak smile. “I’m not above begging. I want you to be happy, Noah, but I think working for the business
does
make you happy. It’s Josh’s micromanagement that drives you crazy.” She laughed and took a sip of her beer. “Yes, I know my husband very well.”

He grinned.

“So what I’m saying is, we can both get what we want. Josh will stay home with me in Kansas City with occasional trips to Seattle, and you can run the Seattle office with no interference. It’s a win/win, don’t you think?”

He sucked in a breath and blew it out. “I don’t think I can handle it.”

“Bullshit,” she said with a grin. “You handled it until Josh graduated from college. You just let him take over because you didn’t believe in yourself. But you
are
capable and we both know it. And I know someone else who believes in you too.”

His grin fell. “I don’t want to talk about Libby.”

“Fair enough, but tell me this: Do you love her?”

Tears filled his eyes, which pissed him off. He’d never been a crier before the last week. How did he answer that question? It was like she’d asked if he needed air to breathe, or water to survive. The answer was so obvious, yet a simple yes seemed so inadequate.

Megan stood. “Let me make you lunch.”

She made them sandwiches and helped him clean up the kitchen before she left. She pulled him into a hug after he walked her out to the car. “Don’t give up on yourself, Noah. And please don’t give up on Libby. She misses you just as much as you miss her.”

He’d spent nearly every minute after she left thinking about Libby and fighting his desire to run to her. The knowledge that he might never see her again was more than he could bear.

In addition to the stockpile of food Megan had left him, there was a bottle of champagne with a sticky note on it.

Save this for when you know it’s time to open it.

Fat chance of that.

Now here he was, a day later, still just as bereft, holding a piece of wood in his hands that begged to be shaped into something useful. It struck him that he had something in common with the block. This was how he’d been before meeting Libby—unformed. From the very beginning, she’d helped him determine what type of man he wanted to be. It might be too late for him, but he could shape the wood into something functional and beautiful.

He set the piece of hickory on his grandfather’s workshop table and examined the grain in the block. The day before he’d used the lathe to make a spindle out of a piece of pine. When he examined the piece of hickory, he could see the promise of a candlestick.

Then it hit him.

He could make the candlestick and give it to Libby as a peace offering. On the surface, it seemed lame, no contesting that, but if anyone would appreciate a handmade gift, it was Libby. And if he told her his analogy . . . maybe it would work. Besides, now he could tell her in person that he’d just gotten the results of his tests, and they had come back clean. Maybe that was reason enough to go to her.

At least it gave him the ghost of a plan.

He worked on it all afternoon and into the evening, fumbling a couple of times, but altering the shape enough to accommodate his mistakes. When he took it off the lathe, he decided it wasn’t half bad. He squared off the ends with a band saw and then sat in his grandfather’s chair. He was sanding the piece when he heard a dog bark.

He hadn’t seen or heard any dogs at the neighbor’s house, but he supposed it could be a visiting dog. He didn’t think much of it, until a large animal burst through the partially open workshop door.

He jumped in surprise and gasped. “Tortoise?”

The dog spun in circles with happiness, then put his front legs on Noah’s lap, begging for attention.

“How . . . ?” If Tortoise was here, then Libby . . .

She stood in the doorway, more beautiful than he remembered her. Her long hair was loose and wavy, skimming over the top of her breasts. She wore a green sweater paired with dark jeans that clung to her hips, and a pair of brown boots. He couldn’t believe she was there. How?

Megan.

He still sat in the chair, Tortoise excitedly licking his face. Without thinking, Noah nudged the dog down and stood.

Libby stayed perfectly still in the open door, worry in her eyes. “Noah, I’m so sor—”

He didn’t let her finish. He scooped her into his arms and kissed her hard. This had to be a dream.

When he lifted his head, tears streaked down her cheeks and fear filled his chest. “Lib, what’s wrong?”

“You still love me. I was so scared you’d hate me.” 

He shook his head in disbelief. “Oh God, Lib. I could never hate you. Never in a million years.”

“I was so wrong. I should have trusted you.”

“Shh.” He kissed her into silence, his tongue seeking hers. Her arms tightened around his neck as he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her across the yard and in through the back door, Tortoise following on his heels. He took her to the master bedroom and set her on her feet, cupping her face in his hands. “I never thought I’d see you again, much less touch you.”

“I was miserable without you, Noah. I need you.”

“I need you too.” He pulled her sweater over her head, then paused. “I got my test results today. I’m clean.”

“So no condoms?” she asked hopefully, giving him a sly look.

“No condoms. Thank God. I don’t have any here.”

They undressed each other, then made love in a combination of passion and reverence. Afterward, he held her in his arms.

“You were right,” she whispered.

His hold on her tightened. “Those are my second three favorite words,” he teased.

She laughed. “And your first three?”

“Hearing you say I love you.” He gave her a long leisurely kiss. “But what was I right about?”

“You said I was looking for an excuse to leave you first. My dad’s words were ringing in my head, and I wasn’t thinking straight.” She looked up at him. “I saw him when I was twelve. I never told anyone.” Then she told him about the horrible visit that left her more scarred than she’d realized.