Noah's Journey (Sawyer Brothers #3) (5 page)

Chapter Eight

Noah

“Do you wanna stay for dinner?” Stacey asked as she leaned over, pretending to adjust her shoe. I knew she was trying to give me a view down the front of her shirt, but I wasn’t falling for it. I kept my eyes on hers instead.

“No, I’m planning on getting Austin tomorrow. I got the day off, and I’m gonna take him to the ranch again. Tonight I have somewhere to be, though.”

I stepped back and turned to walk down her parent’s porch steps.

“Oh, well, I just thought since your friend wasn’t available, you would want to stay and have dinner with us.” Stacey’s voice was sugary-sweet, yet laced with contempt. “Austin would love to have you stay.”

It was a low blow, but that was the kind of person Stacey was.

“I already talked to Austin, and like I said, I have plans.” I opened my truck door, paused, and looked back over my shoulder. “You do understand there ain’t a chance for you and me, right? Because I’m sensing you think this is all a game.”

“I’m just trying to keep the peace, Noah. For Austin. It’s good for him to see us getting along.”

She shrugged innocently, but I could see right through it. I chose to ignore it, though, because fighting with her would solve nothing. Until I could get an attorney to check into my options and make the chances of Stacey skipping town with Austin impossible, I had to maintain the peace.

“I’ll pick him up around ten in the morning,” I said as I climbed into my truck and shut the door, giving her no chance to argue.

I knew she would try to wheedle her way into our day tomorrow, but it would only be Austin and me. Stacey would have to entertain herself.

***

It was dark as I drove down Main Street, but the lights that were still on in the store across the street highlighted the road. Most places were closed by this time, but I knew Alena was in the process of getting her new shop ready. Ryan and Amber had filled me in on the details after she left the bakery earlier.

I’d be lying if I said her brush-off didn’t hit me low in the stomach. But she had every right to push me away. I hadn’t been the kind of guy she deserves lately. But I was hoping after we got the chance to talk, I may be able to change her mind about that.

I slowed to a stop in front of the store and smiled up at the bright teal sign still lit up just above the door. Sassy Ladies seemed fitting.

I sat in the darkness of my truck and watched through the front windows as Amber, Bailey, and some guy with jet-black hair unloaded boxes and placed the contents throughout the store. When Alena stepped up to the guy’s side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, my stomach dropped. I knew he was a friend of hers from Chicago and he was in town helping her get the store ready to open, but I knew nothing more. But when he leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, I was reaching for my door handle without a second thought. I had gotten out of my truck and was pushing through the front entrance before I had time to think about it.

All heads turned in my direction, but the guy just smirked at me. The hair I thought was jet-black was actually blond with black tips. He wore the tightest pair of shiny, black pants I had ever seen.

“Well, you must be the asshole that doesn’t know a good thing when it’s dry-humping him against the side of his truck,” the guy said with a smirk. I just looked back at him and blinked. I knew in that moment I had absolutely no reason to feel threatened by his closeness with Alena.

“Hayden,” Alena said as she gave him a glare and shoved him.

“What? This is Noah, right? Because I’ve met Jackson and Ryan already, and he looks a lot like those Sawyer brothers. So I’m just assuming he’s the guy that’s responsible for your moodiness.”

Alena hung her head, trying her best to hide her embarrassment. Amber and Bailey both just smiled at Hayden. They were obviously amused by his attitude toward me. But he was right. I was that asshole.

“Yeah, I’m Noah. And I’m also the asshole that’s here to beg for five minutes of Alena’s time,” I offered as my gaze connected with Alena as she looked up at me.

“Five minutes,” Hayden humphed. “That’s all it takes. Well, it’s hardly worth the time.”

I looked up just in time to catch the look of discomfort on his face when Alena pinched his side. “Stop it,” she growled.

Bailey laughed and then covered her mouth a second too late, making it turn into a snort. Suddenly, everyone else was giggling while Alena and I just stared at each other. Her expression was unreadable.

“Please?” I asked, and she stood just a little taller. She was attempting to show that confidence she always tried to portray. There was still so much I didn’t know about Alena, but I knew she was not as unbreakable as she tried to appear. She had a fearful side that made her want to hold back, and I was only making things worse by allowing Stacey to hold Austin over my head. I had to find a way to show my ex that she no longer held the winning hand.

“I guess I have a few minutes, but I still have a lot to do here.” Alena stepped toward me.

“Take your time, really, we got this,” Amber yelled after us as we began to walk outside. I couldn’t help smiling on the inside as Alena shot her a death glare. I suddenly was even more aware of why my brother was so in love her.

Once Alena and I were outside and finally alone, I had no idea what I should say. One look at her and I was at a loss. I wanted to kiss her, yet I knew at this point that would only get me slapped.

“So should I start the five minute countdown now, or…?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. She was sassy and damn cute. “You really gonna hold me to that five minutes?” I asked.

Alena shrugged. “Don’t know. Depends on where this conversation is heading. I mean, if you’ve shown up here tonight to tell me all about the rekindled love you found with Stacey, I may have to cut the five minutes a little shorter.”

If she’d chosen to punch me, I’m sure it would have hurt less than what she’d just said. I just shook my head in disbelief. “Why the hell do people keep saying shit like that?” I said as I took a step closer to her. “There is not now, nor will there ever be a rekindled anything between Stacey and me.”

She arched an eyebrow at me, and I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. When she looked up at me, it was almost impossible not to lean forward and kiss her. “I know I sorta flaked out on you. But never once have I considered letting go of what we started to build. I just got shit to figure out when it comes to Austin. Stacey could just pick up and head back to L.A., or anywhere else for that matter, and I would lose him again.” My throat felt like it was on fire as I said the words.

“I got a lawyer working on everything, but I have to be careful not to give her a reason to make this harder. Right now, she’s letting me see him anytime I want. And, Alena, I ain’t a dumb man. I know part of the reason is because in her warped mind, she thinks her and I have a future.”

She instantly averted her eyes from mine and focused on my chest instead.

“That ain’t gonna happen. I’m telling you that in true honesty. I just can’t lose him after I just got him.” I felt raw, and tears filled my eyes at just the idea of Austin not being here with me.

I closed my eyes the moment Alena’s fingers touched my jaw, silently praying she would understand the shit-storm my life had been the last couple weeks. “I never intended to make you think I didn’t want anything with you. I just don’t know how to balance it all out yet.” I opened my eyes and found her looking up at me with a different expression than the hurt one she wore less than five minutes ago. “I’m sorry, Alena. This was not what I envisioned happening after I decided I could no longer stay away from you. I had all kinds of other things rolling through my mind, but never did one of those thoughts entail me apologizing for spending too little time with you.”

“It’s okay. I can’t imagine feeling the kind of fear you are,” Alena’s whispered, looking down as she toyed with the hem of my shirt. I don’t even know if she realized she was doing it, but it actually had a calming effect on me. “But just know that I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

When I didn’t answer, she tilted her head upward and our line of vision collided. Without a second thought, I lowered my head and placed my lips against hers, and she instantly melted against me.

I had missed kissing her, and I could feel myself getting carried away as I turned her toward the building and pressed her against the wall. Molding my body against hers, I swiped my tongue across her lower lip, and she gasped. I took it as my chance to go further and licked along the tip of her tongue, then sucked on her lower lip as I pulled back.

“I want more than just a friend I can talk to. I want it all. I just need a little more time to assure Stacey can’t take him from me.” I grazed her lower lip with my thumb. “I promise to be better about the communication side of things, though. There really is no excuse for that.”

Alena nodded as she placed a soft kiss against my thumb. “Okay,” she whispered, and just like that, the tension I’d held in my body since I saw Hayden kiss her forehead slowly faded away.

“I know you have a lot to do here to get things ready, but do you care if I hang out too?” I added a slight pout to my words, and it appeared to be quite effective.

“Sure.” She shrugged as she took my hand in hers and dragged me off toward the front entrance.

Three not-so-sneaky people scrambled away from the opened front door as we walked inside. They had obviously been eavesdropping on my apology.

“You get to provide dinner, though.” Alena looked over her shoulder at me and winked, a big smile covering her sweet lips. “Pizza sounds good to me.” Looking back toward the spies that were trying to appear innocent and miserably failing, she asked, “What do you all think? Noah should get us pizza, right?”

A couple yeses and one hell yeah were offered, and I chuckled as I pulled out my phone to get dinner ordered.

Chapter Nine

Alena

Hayden had stuck around for opening day, which was turning out to be amazing. I had never expected such support from the townspeople; it was humbling. Women I had never met before were offering me congratulatory hugs before they gathered their purchases and walked toward the door.

Sassy Ladies was a hit.

Close to closing time, the bell above the door jingled, announcing a new customer. I turned around with a huge smile on my face only to feel my chest seize with hate.

Stacey entered the store with an older woman at her side. I assumed the woman was her mother, seeing that I had heard most ladies in town disliked Stacey.

“Well, isn’t this place cute,” the older woman said as her gaze roamed over the store.

Cute
, really?

I looked back over my shoulder and found Hayden looking at me in confusion.

“Stacey,” I mouthed, and his face lit up with recognition.

Leave it to Hayden to add his own dramatic touch to Stacey’s. There was no way he would just sit back and allow her to take a stab at me. He wasn’t that type of friend. “Well, thank the heavens, because cute is exactly the feel we were shooting for.”

I snickered and instantly bit down on my lower lip to stop it.

“Welcome, ladies, feel free to look around, and if there’s anything we can help you with, don’t hesitate to ask,” I said trying to defuse the tension.

Stacey’s stare connected with mine, and I knew she was weighing her competition. In her eyes, I was sure that’s exactly how she viewed me.

My phone buzzed on the back counter, and I rounded the end to get it just as Hayden lifted it and looked down at the screen. “Well, isn’t that just adorable.”

I snatched the phone from him and looked at the display. It was a message from Noah with a picture attached.

Noah: Little man has found his new best friend.

In the picture, Austin was sitting atop Storm, one of Noah’s father’s prize horses, with a huge smile on his face while Jackson stood at his side. Since the night Noah showed up at my shop, things were different between us. Not a day passed that we didn’t talk, and the sweet, random text messages he sent throughout the day always put a smile on my face.

Things were still a little stressful when it came to Austin, though. Stacey has been throwing around hints about Livingston being boring and suffocating, which in turn made Noah panic and feel as if he had to spend every free moment with her in close range.

I looked up from my phone with a big grin and found that Hayden was watching Stacey and her mother. They were moving around from rack to rack, checking over the clothing. As Stacey continued to look down at her phone, I couldn’t help but wonder if Noah was texting her too.

When her phone rang, she quickly swiped the screen and lifted it toward her ear. I tried to remain discreet as I watched her face morph from neutral to what I assumed was her “pissed off at the world” expression.

“What do you mean papers? What papers?” she demanded in a tone that made me jump. “No, Daddy, we’ll be right there. Don’t you dare let him leave without me talking to him first.”

When she looked up and her glare connected with mine, she held it for a few moments before gripping her mother’s elbow and dragging her toward the door.

“What on earth has gotten into you?” her mom said as they passed the counter.

“Daddy said there’s a lawyer at the house. Apparently to serve me papers,” she whispered, but not very quietly.

My stomach clenched as I busied my hands to keep from staring at them. I knew exactly what papers she must be talking about. Noah’s attorney had informed him that she would be served this week.

I guess that day had come.

Before the door closed behind them, she took one more chance to shoot me a look. And If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead that very instant. Apparently I was now high on her enemy list.

“Damn, she is a bitchy one, isn’t she?” Hayden exclaimed as the bell on the door jangled from the impact of her abrupt exit. “I think even her mother wanted to smack her.”

“I have to call Noah,” I said as I quickly dialed my phone.

His deep chuckle filled the other end of the line as he hollered out, telling someone to give him a minute. I assume he was speaking to Jackson or Austin. I could hear muffled voices hollering back just before he spoke into the phone.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said in a husky tone.

“Hey, um…” I paused as I thought about how I would tell him to prepare for DEFCON five. I was sure shit was about to hit the fan. “I thought I should call and give you a little heads-up. Stacey got the papers.”

“How do you know?” he asked, his voice suddenly sounding more serious than before.

“Well, she was in the store with her mom.”

“They served her while she was at your shop?” he asked, sounding panicked.

“No. Actually, she got a phone call from her dad. I just overheard her talking with him, and then she told her mother they had to go. I just assume the papers she mentioned are those your lawyer was serving. Unless she’s pissed someone else off, that is.” I stepped toward the back of the store for some privacy as a couple more customers entered. It was almost closing time, but I would let Hayden take care of it. I had something else to deal with right now.

“Well, dropping off Austin should be interesting.” He chuckled. “But she can’t leave town now, and after we go to court, that will be cemented. Unless she decides to settle this outside of court and give me joint custody. That would save a whole lot of trouble.”

“But we both know she’ll drag this out—you know, for the dramatic effect,” I added, and he laughed.

“I got another hour before I got to take him back. What are you doing for dinner?”

“Hayden leaves tonight around six thirty to drive to the airport. He flies out at nine. After that, I’m free.” Excitement set in at the idea of spending some time with Noah. Maybe now that Stacey couldn’t just pick up and leave, things could be different.

“I’ll call ya after I drop Austin off. Maybe I’ll grab something and we can hang out at your place.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his suggestion. “Okay.”

“I’ll call ya soon,” he said just before saying good-bye and ending the call.

“Girl, you better get home and shave.”

I turned around and found Hayden hovering in the doorway just behind me. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said when I cocked an eyebrow at him in confusion. “Last night, watching
The Voice
,
those damn legs of yours felt like porcupines. If Noah is coming over, then you are in desperate need of a shave.”

“Why?” I said with a smirk.

“Please, if you don’t jump him, you are insane. Even I can barely contain the heat within me when he walks into the room. Tonight it will just be the two of you, and honey, you are so getting some.”

Heat rose in my cheeks as a smile spread out over my lips. God, I hoped he was right.