Come Together by Marie Force

Chapter Eight

“Disappointment hurts more than pain.”

—American proverb

Noah couldn’t recall a day he enjoyed more than the one they spent stranded at the Pig’s Belly. They napped, used two more of the condoms, watched a Mission: Impossible movie and played pool downstairs, which was where they were when they got the word that the road to Butler had reopened.

He was almost sad to see their time at the tavern come to an end. The unexpected interlude had been fantastic. They returned to their room to retrieve their coats and other belongings before bundling up to head out into the frigid late afternoon. The sky was dark and gloomy, the snow hip-deep and the roads treated but still slippery.

Noah took his time on the winding highway that led back to Butler. About four miles from the Pig’s Belly, they came upon the scene of the accident. A new wooden guardrail marked the spot where the car had left the road the night before. “Don’t look down,” he said.

“Too late. I can’t imagine driving off that embankment.”

Noah noticed several trees had been knocked over, probably by the car or rescue teams. “I hope everyone is okay.”

“I may never drive in Vermont again after seeing that.”

“You just have to go slow.”

“Those drop-offs are terrifying.“

“Accidents happen, but we’re used to that up here. Our EMS is amazing. Two of my cousins are firefighter-paramedics, and they can tell you some stories. My cousin Lucas got hurt in the inn fire. His identical twin, Landon, rescued him and Amanda, the woman Landon is now engaged to.”

“Wow.”

“That was a crazy night, by all accounts.”

“Thank goodness Landon was able to rescue them both.”

“I know. I can’t imagine Landon or Lucas without the other one.”

“How identical are they?”

“I have to take a close look before I call either of them by name, except in the winter when Lucas grows a beard. There’re two sets of twins in that family. Hunter and Hannah are twins, too.”

“It wasn’t enough that she had ten kids. Your aunt had to have two sets of twins, too.”

“My aunt Molly is an overachiever.”

“I’d say so.”

They were back in Butler far too quickly for his liking. Would he drop her off, return home and only see her at work going forward? That thought immediately depressed him and ruined the first good mood he’d had in three years. Five minutes later, when he pulled his truck into her driveway, he was no closer to figuring out how to hold on to the upbeat feeling he’d found with her.

“Someone plowed your driveway.”

“My landlord sends someone to do it, but he buried my car, as usual.”

“I’ll help you dig it out.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind. It’ll take you hours to do it alone.”

“Believe me, I know. I’ve had to do it before.”

“Next time snow is forecast, park it at the end of the driveway facing out. That way he can push the snow to the back, and it won’t trap you.”

“Well, duh. Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re not a native Vermonter. We’re born knowing that stuff.” He got out of the truck and went around to give her a hand down. “Do you have an extra shovel?”

“Yeah, there are two of them in the garage. I’ll grab them. Thanks for the help.”

“No problem. I can’t leave you stranded.”

They worked together for more than an hour to dig her car out of the massive drift.

“Do you want to make sure it starts before I go?”

“Sure. Let me run inside to get my keys.”

While she was in the house, he used the scraper to clear the ice off her windshield.

She came out and unlocked the car, but the driver’s door wouldn’t open.

“It’s frozen.” Noah began chipping away at the ice around the doorframe.

“I never knew that could happen until I came up here.”

“Your door never froze in Boston?”

“I keep the car in a garage there.”

“Ah, okay.” He continued to work on the ice until he was able to open the door. “There you are.”

“Thank you so much, Noah. I appreciate the help.”

“No problem.”

Brianna got in the car and tried to start it. At first, it made a chugging noise, but then it started. “Phew. I’m not sure what that sound was.”

“It’s just cold. You should be good to go.”

She turned off the car and got out. “Thanks again.”

“Sure thing.” He wasn’t sure if he should kiss her or say, see you tomorrow, or how to leave things with her. Though they’d only left the tavern a little over an hour ago, it seemed like much longer now that they were back in Butler. “I, um, well… I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Do you want to come back for dinner?”

He replied before she finished asking. “Yeah, that sounds good. What time?”

“Around seven?”

“I’ll see you then.” Elated to know he’d see her again soon, he started to walk away but then turned back. “What can I bring?”

“Whatever you want to drink?”

“Sure. What can I get for you? Oh, wait. Vodka. I can do that.”

She smiled, which made her whole face light up. God, she was pretty, and yes, he’d known that from the first second he met her. But now, after spending the night wrapped up in her, he’d decided pretty wasn’t a good enough word to describe her. Stunning was a much better word.

He took a few steps back, so he was standing within kissing range, and leaned in, hoping she’d meet him halfway.

She didn’t disappoint him.

As her lips connected with his, all the agitation he’d been feeling only a minute ago disappeared in a matter of seconds.

Noah had to force himself to pull back from her, lest the goodbye kiss turn into something more, out in the open where anyone might see them. “I’ll, ah, just be going now. I’ll see you at seven.”

“Sounds good.”

“Go on inside before I leave.”

“Why? What’re you afraid of?”

“Nothing. Just want to make sure you’re safe.”

She surprised him when she gripped his coat and kissed him again. “Be careful, Noah Coleman. I might start to think you’re a nice guy.”

“Don’t you dare spread that rumor.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“Thanks,” he said, strangely moved by the words safe with me. They had all-new meaning to him these days. “Good to know. Now go on inside before I forget I was supposed to be going.”

Flashing a saucy grin, she turned and walked away from him.

He watched her go, noting the attractive sway of her backside encased in tight denim.

She went up the back stairs and into the house, flashing the light over the back door to let him know she was all set.

As Noah walked to the truck he’d parked in the street, he checked his watch to see how many hours it would be before he could come back. Two and a half. That seemed like a long time. “Jeez, get ahold of yourself, man. You’re acting like a fool after one night.”

It was a great night, the kind of night that makes a guy act like a fool if it means he can have more of her.

“Is that what you want?” Noah asked himself as he drove home. “You want more?” He thought about that for a second. “I don’t know what I want. All I know is I liked being with her, talking to her. I like everything with her, which is funny when I thought I couldn’t stand her before last night.”

He turned the heat up as high as it would go. “You didn’t know her before last night. Not really.” It pained him to realize he’d jumped to several unfair conclusions about her without taking the time to get to know her. Did he like being bossed around on a jobsite by an architect from Boston? No, but she was just doing her job, the same way he was, and he needed to be less of a dick in general.

Maybe Brianna was right, that it was time to tell his family what went down with Melinda so he could stop feeling like he needed to avoid them and their questions. What had seemed so complicated made perfect sense after Brianna had spelled it out for him. It had helped to talk to someone who understood how he felt, not that he’d wish that kind of pain on anyone. But it made him feel better to know that he wasn’t the only one who’d been taken for a ride by someone he loved.

After last night with Brianna, he had reason to wonder if it might be possible for him to feel again the way he once had for the woman he’d married. Not that he expected anything to come of whatever this was with Brianna, but she’d shown him a different path forward, one that wasn’t full of doom and gloom and lonely brooding about things he couldn’t change. That got old after a while.

He pulled onto his street and was surprised to see a line of cars in front of his mother’s house. His siblings’ cars. What the hell? What had he missed? And why were the lights on in his house? Noah parked behind Grayson’s SUV and got out of the truck. He’d no sooner walked into the mudroom at his mother’s house when he was descended upon by siblings.

“Thank God, Noah.” His youngest sister, Sarah, hugged him as tightly as she had in years. “You’re all right.”

“I’m fine. What’s going on? What’re you doing here anyway? And where’s Mom?”

Sarah, Henry, Jackson, Vanessa and Ally all lived in Boston and came home to Vermont only for holidays. They’d all just been there for Christmas, which only added to Noah’s concern.

“There was a huge accident last night,” Vanessa said.

“I heard about that.”

“It was Izzy, Noah,” Grayson said. “Her Jeep went off the road and crashed in a ravine. They had to use the jaws of life to get her out. She’s in the hospital.”

The news hit Noah like a punch to the gut. “Can we see her?”

“We’re waiting for Mom to call,” Henry said. “She was going to let us know as soon as she was stable.”

“Wait, so she’s not stable?” Noah asked, swallowing hard.

Izzy was one of his favorite people in the world, and before he’d shared his nightmare with Brianna, his sister had been the only other person who knew what went down with Melinda—and Miguel.

“They were working on her the last time Mom called,” Vanessa said. “They said she needs surgery, but not until she’s stable.”

“We were worried when we couldn’t find you,” Sarah said.

“Where were you?” Henry asked, sipping from a mug of coffee. At some point, Noah’s youngest brother had grown a full beard that made him look older than his twenty-four years.

“I went to dinner at the Pig’s Belly and got stuck there when they closed the road because of the accident,” Noah said. “I came home as soon as the road opened. I’m sorry you guys were worried about me.”

“We didn’t think you’d mind if a few of us crashed at your place,” Vanessa said, leaning into him.

He put his arm around his sister. “Of course I don’t mind. When did you guys get here?”

“Around five o’clock this morning,” Ally said. “After Gray called last night, the four of us jumped in Ally’s car and came up together.”

“Where’s Jack?” Noah asked.

“Skiing in Wyoming,” Sarah said. “We left a message for him.”

Emma came in the mudroom door with her daughter, Simone. They went straight to Grayson, who embraced them both. “Is there any news?” Emma asked her fiancé.

“Nothing since I last talked to you.”

“Can we go there?” Noah asked.

“Mom thought it might be better for us to wait here,” Henry said.

“Better for who?” Noah asked.

“Us, I guess?” Sarah said.

“Let’s go,” Noah said, glancing at Gray, who nodded in agreement.

“I can’t bear to sit around here any longer,” Gray said.

“Some of you guys come with me,” Noah said. “I’ll drive.”

They trooped out of their mother’s home and got into two vehicles to drive to the hospital.

Ally, Sarah and Vanessa came with him. Henry went with Gray, Emma and Simone.

“Did someone tell Cabot?” Noah asked.

“Oh, um, is that like a thing now?” Sarah asked.

“I think so.” It had primarily been a flirtation, but from what Izzy had told him about it, Noah had a feeling she’d want Cabot to know about the accident. “Do one of you have a number for Wade?” Izzy had met Cabot at their cousin Wade’s wedding to Cabot’s daughter, Mia, in Boston last June.

“I do,” Vanessa said.

“I’ll call him in the morning.” Noah pressed the accelerator to get them to the hospital. In the back of his mind was something he was supposed to do, but damned if he could think of anything other than getting to his sister as fast as he possibly could.

* * *

At eight,Brianna went around blowing out the candles she’d foolishly lit, thinking they’d started something special the night before that would continue now that they were back in Butler. After he’d left earlier, she’d ventured out to the grocery store to get what she needed for chicken Marsala, one of several dishes she could make reliably without much difficulty.

The Marsala was now a thick, gelatinous mess, the pasta had gone rubbery, and the too-familiar ache in her chest was back with a vengeance.

It was one thing to be a fool once. But when it happened repeatedly, that was on her and her piss-poor judgment when it came to men. She should’ve kept Noah in the pain-in-the-ass category, where he’d been before they left for the Pig’s Belly.

Standing in the living room window, she looked out at the snowy landscape and wondered why he’d said he’d come and then didn’t show.

You’d think she’d be used to being disappointed by men after what she’d been through, but alas, you’d be wrong. She hadn’t expected this from Noah. Despite how they’d begun as adversaries on the job, they’d connected on a deep, intense level last night, and to think he might’ve been playing her to get her into bed made her feel sick.

Moving away from the window, she went to the kitchen, flushed the ruined dinner down the garbage disposal and put the pots and pans in the dishwasher. After starting the dishwasher, she locked the doors and shut off the outside light she’d put on for a man who wasn’t coming.

She changed into her warmest pajamas and went to bed, pulling the covers over her head to form a cocoon.

Maybe he’d been in an accident, or his truck wouldn’t start. He didn’t have the number at the rental, so he couldn’t call her. She preferred the possibility of him being injured to him having stood her up out of callous disregard for her feelings.

After last night, Brianna wanted him to be different. She wanted him to be what he seemed and not some illusion that disappeared like a wisp of smoke up a chimney, never to be seen or heard from again.

It wasn’t as if he could avoid her when they still had at least two more months to go on the inn.

Her loud groan echoed through the bedroom. “This is why you don’t sleep with colleagues, Bri, because when they stand you up, you have to see them every day at work.”

God, this sucked so bad. She hated the awful feeling that came with this kind of disappointment. After the horrors that’d ended her marriage, she’d become accustomed to keeping crap like this to herself, but she needed to talk to someone. She came out from her blanket cave and reached for the portable phone on the bedside table.

Before she arrived in Butler, she hadn’t used a landline in years.

Her cousin, Dominique, answered on the third ring. “Hey, is this my cousin calling from Antarctica?”

“Not quite, but I think it’s colder here than it is there. Are your kids in bed?” Her cousin had gotten married two years before Brianna and had two kids, a four-year-old daughter and a son who was two.

“Out cold, and I just poured myself a glass of wine. I’m glad you called. I was thinking about you today and wondering how it’s going up there.”

“I was going to text you this week, but my Wi-Fi has been acting up.”

“I don’t know how you can stand not having cell service.”

“It’s been an adjustment.”

“I’d die,” Dom said with typical bluntness. “How’s the job going?”

“It’s okay. It’ll be better when we can move completely inside and get some heaters.”

“I also couldn’t do that. I hate being cold, and so do you.”

“It’s horrible. I have so many clothes on that I can barely move.”

“Better you than me, girl. I loved the latest pictures you sent, though. It’s going to be beautiful when it’s finished.”

“Yeah.”

“What’s wrong, Bri, and don’t say nothing, because I can hear it.”

“I did a bad, bad thing.”

“Do tell.”

“I slept with the contractor.”

“The bitchy guy you hate?”

“Yep.”

“Um, you’re gonna have to tell me how that happened.”

Brianna relayed the story of Mrs. Hendricks playing matchmaker and the evening she and Noah spent at the Pig’s Belly.

“It sounds like you had a blast.”

“We did.”

“And you finally got back on the horse. How was it?”

“Excellent. Not at all awkward, and I didn’t cry like I thought I would if I ever did it with someone other than Rem.”

Dom made a spitting noise. “Don’t even say his name to me. And PS, fuck him and the rail he rode in on. Tell me more about the cranky contractor.”

“His name is Noah Coleman.” She’d referred to him simply as The Jerk to Dom in prior conversations.

“Is he hot?”

“I had no idea how hot he is because he’s always wearing forty layers at work.”

“So, you had a great time and got stuck at a place called the Pig’s Belly overnight. Why do you sound like shit?”

“Because he was supposed to come for dinner tonight and pulled a no-show.”

Dom groaned. “Damn it. And here I was starting to like him.”

“Me, too.”

“And you have no idea where he is or what happened?”

“Nope.”

“Can you call him?”

“I’m not calling him. To hell with that.”

“If something came up, could he have called you?”

“I don’t think so. The landline in this house is in the name of the owner, who lives in New York, so Noah probably doesn’t know who owns the house.”

“Well, there you have it. Something happened, and he had no way to get in touch with you. Don’t think the worst until you know.”

“I’m kinda preprogrammed to think the worst.”

Dom made the spitting noise again. “You’re not saying his name, but you’re talking about him, and he is nothing to us. He’s less than nothing. He’s dogshit on the bottom of our oldest pair of shoes.”

Brianna giggled. “Tell me how you really feel.”

“I have, many times since he turned out to be an epic douchebag.”

She certainly had, but she’d also been by Brianna’s side during the worst of it, and there was no doubt she’d saved Brianna’s life with her unwavering support. At one point, Dominique had gone four days without seeing her own family while she stayed with Brianna through the darkest days of her life.

“I know it’s almost impossible for you not to, but don’t go to the worst-case scenario until you know what happened tonight, okay?”

“I’ll try not to.”

“He sounds like a nice guy.”

“He can be. He can also be an epic PITA. But I saw a whole new side of him last night, and I liked that side. I want to believe it’s real.”

“Until he shows you otherwise, you can believe it. I’m sure he’ll have a good explanation.”

“I love how you’re so sure, and you don’t even know him.”

“I know you, and there’s no way in hell you would’ve slept with him if you hadn’t felt a connection. Especially since it’s the first time you’ve been with anyone since the asshole.”

“I did feel a connection. Noah kind of endured a similar thing with his wife, who slept with his foreman and best friend.”

“Ugh, why do people do shit like that?”

“I don’t know, but we bonded over our shared experience with suck.”

“Give him a chance to explain himself, Bri. He might have a perfectly reasonable explanation for not showing up tonight. You’re living in a cell phone wasteland where misunderstandings go to fester.”

Brianna laughed at how she said that. “True. It’s just so hard to have faith in anyone anymore.”

“I get that, but you can’t blame him and every other man for what one fucking psycho did.”

“I’m working on that. Thanks for talking me off the cliff.”

“That’s what I’m here for. No matter what happens next with Noah, we need to celebrate that you blew the cobwebs out of the tunnel and got your groove on with someone new.”

Brianna nearly choked on a laugh. “There were no cobwebs in my tunnel.”

“If you say so.”

“Let’s talk about something other than my cobwebs. Tell me about my niece and nephew. What’s the latest?”

They talked for another half hour about the kids, Dom’s job as an insurance agent, her husband’s legal practice and the progress on the inn.

Brianna was yawning by the time they agreed to talk again soon so she could tell Dom why Noah hadn’t shown up for dinner.

“Give him the benefit of the doubt,” Dom said as they were ending the call.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And let me know what happens.”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

“Love you, girl,” Dom said. “I’m so happy you’re back in the saddle.”

“And I have the saddle sores to prove it.”

They were both laughing when they said their goodbyes.

Brianna felt a thousand times better after talking to the cousin who’d been her best friend her entire life. Dominique had helped put her back together after the shock had begun to recede and her new reality set in. Dom’s husband, Joe, had represented Brianna in the ugly and ongoing divorce proceedings. She credited Joe with saving not just her sanity, but also trying to rescue her from financial ruin. If Joe had his way, Rem would be the one ruined by his deceit, not Brianna.

She went to the kitchen to refill her water glass and noticed it was snowing—again. How did people who lived here all the time stand the endless snow for months on end? It would drive her crazy to deal with that kind of snow for so long.

Wherever Noah was tonight, she hoped he was okay and hadn’t ended up down the side of the mountain or something equally awful.