Come Together by Marie Force
Chapter Nine
“What if the worst thing that happened to you turns out to be the best thing that has ever happened to you?”
—Joe Dispenza
Noah finally got to see Izzy at almost seven o’clock in the morning and almost wished he hadn’t been allowed in. She was so bruised and swollen, she barely resembled herself and was attached to beeping machines that freaked him out.
His mom was leaning over the bed rail, stroking Izzy’s long hair and speaking softly to her daughter.
“Mom.” Noah whispered so he wouldn’t startle her. “How is she?”
“She was awake a minute ago,” Hannah said. “She doesn’t remember the accident.”
“I suppose that’s a good thing.”
“I’m glad to see you. We were worried you’d crashed, too, when we couldn’t find you.”
“Sorry you were worried. I went to the Pig’s Belly, and when the accident shut down the road, I just stayed put there rather than try to drive around the mountain in the snow.”
“What took you over there?”
“Long story.” He glanced at his sister again and then looked away, not able to bear the sight of her so banged up. “Should I call Wade and ask him to get in touch with Cabot? The others weren’t sure if it was a good idea.”
“They’ve spent some time together. Cabot would probably want to know she’s hurt.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Will you ask Emma to call Ray, too? He must be wondering how we are. Tell him he can come here if he wants to.”
“I’m sure he’ll want to be with you, Mom.”
Hannah shrugged. “If he wants to.”
“Don’t be so used to doing everything on your own that you can’t lean on him when you need the support.”
“I’m almost afraid to rely on him.”
“I get that, but he seems like a solid kind of guy.”
“Your father did, too, until he wasn’t.”
“Are we under any obligation to call him about Izzy?”
“I suppose we probably should.”
“I’ll take care of that.”
“Thanks, Noah.” She glanced up at him, and he noted how exhausted she looked after the sleepless night. “Were you at the Pig’s Belly by yourself?”
Usually, he’d hold out on her, but he wanted to tell her something that would make her happy. “Nope.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Nope.” Right in that second, he remembered he’d made plans to have dinner at Brianna’s house and had completely forgotten after he arrived home to the news about Izzy. “Ah, shit.”
“What?”
“I had plans last night and forgot after I heard about Izzy.”
“I’m sure you’ll be forgiven when your friend finds out where you were.”
“I hope so.” He hated that he’d disappointed her after how her ex-husband had treated her. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the phone number at the house she rented, so he couldn’t call her.
Fuck.
Noah was sure the whole town probably knew by now who’d driven off the road. He hoped she’d forgive him when she heard it was his sister. “I’d better go make those calls. Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
“I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.”
“I’ll be here.”
Noah went to the waiting room and asked to borrow a cell phone from one of his siblings who had Wade’s number.
“Emma, Mom was wondering if you could call your dad and tell him he’s welcome here if he’d like to come.”
“I’ll do that. I’m sure he’s waiting to hear something.”
Ally gave Noah her phone after putting through the call to their cousin.
Noah walked out of the ICU so he wouldn’t bother anyone.
Wade answered on the third ring. “Hey, Al,” Wade said. “How’s Izzy?”
“It’s Noah, and she’s hanging in there.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“We thought Cabot might want to know.”
“Mia called him last night after we heard the news about Izzy. Somehow, he already knew about it. He’s coming up today from a meeting he was at in New Jersey.”
“Okay, thanks for letting him know. We weren’t sure whether we should call him or what’s up with them besides being friends. You know how Izzy plays it all close to the vest.”
“I do, and we weren’t sure we should call him either, but Mia said we should tell him and let him decide what to do, so that’s what we did.”
“Good call. Thanks, Wade.”
“We’re all praying for Izzy.”
“Thank you.” Noah had a lump in his throat when he ended the call with Wade and put through another to Carlo, dialing his employee’s number from memory.
When Carlo answered, he sounded hesitant, probably because he didn’t recognize the number.
“It’s Noah. I’m calling on my sister’s cell.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“I won’t be at the site today. One of my sisters was in a bad accident the night before last, and I’m with my family at the hospital.”
“Oh, damn, was she the one who went off the mountain road?”
“Yeah.”
“Sorry to hear it, Noah. Is she going to be okay?”
“Eventually. Do me a favor, will you? Ask Brianna to call me on this number?” He had a phone he kept in his truck for emergencies outside of Butler, but since he was working in town now, it wasn’t charged.
“Yep, will do. I’m on the way into Butler, and I’ll pass along the message. Anything else?”
“Keep everything moving at the inn. I’m not sure when I’ll be back to work.”
“Take care of your family, man. I got you covered.”
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch. Call me on this number or at home if you need me.”
“Copy.”
Noah ended the call, hating himself for missing Miguel. Carlo was a good dude, but Noah didn’t have the same confidence in him that he’d had in Miguel. That two-faced son of a wife-fucking bitch. All this time later, Noah still didn’t know when the two of them had become more than friends or how long they’d been going at it before Noah caught them.
He’d shut down any conversation with them after the dreadful day when he’d returned home from an overnight search and rescue with his cousins to find his foreman sleeping naked in his bed with Noah’s wife. What did it matter to him how it started or how long it had gone on?
His two-year marriage had ended in the split second that Noah realized his wife had another man in their bed. And not just any other man, but Noah’s closest friend and most trusted employee.
Why was he even thinking about this shit? Talking about Melinda with his mother and then Brianna had stirred it all up again. He wished he could stuff it into a trash bag and toss it into an incinerator, so he’d never have to think about either of them again.
He was about to rejoin his siblings in the ICU waiting room when Ally’s phone rang with a call from a local number. Hoping it was Brianna, he took the call.
“Hey, it’s Brianna. I heard about your sister, and I’m so sorry. How is she?”
“She’s in rough shape, but they say she’s going to be okay eventually.”
“That’s a relief. How are you?”
“I’m very, very sorry I didn’t show up last night. I had no way to call you, and to be completely honest, the minute I heard about Izzy, I forgot everything else. I feel terrible about it.”
“Please don’t. I understand.”
“Were you upset about me not showing?”
“Of course not.”
“Are you lying?”
She chuckled softly. “Maybe a little. I hate that something so awful happened to your sister, but I’m glad you didn’t just blow me off for no good reason.”
“I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that to you. I swear.”
“I believe you. What can I do for you?”
“Keep things moving at the site. I’ll be back to work in a day or two.”
“Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll take care of everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Can I check on you later to see how your sister is?”
“Sure. That’d be nice.”
“Give me your number, and I’ll call you tonight.”
Noah recited the digits to his home number. “I’ll try to be home by nine.”
“If you are, you are. If not, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll let you get back to your family, and I’ll pray for your sister.”
“Thanks. Hey, Brianna?”
“Yes?”
“I had a great time with you the other night. I never would’ve blown you off.”
“I had a great time, too, and that’s good to know.”
“I’ll talk to you tonight.”
“Okay.”
He didn’t want to end the call and got the feeling she didn’t either. “Go to work, Brianna.”
“Go to your family, Noah.”
Laughing, he pushed the button to end the call and looked up to find his brother Grayson watching him with a strange expression on his face.
“What?”
“You were laughing. I haven’t seen that in so long I wondered if you still could.”
“Now you know.”
“It was nice to see.”
Noah honestly hadn’t given much thought to how his reclusive behavior had affected the rest of his family. He’d been trying to move past the nightmare with Melinda and Miguel and had no time to be worried about anyone else.
“So, what were you laughing at?”
“Nothing, just something from work.”
“How’s the inn coming?”
“Right on schedule.”
“Heard you’re locking horns with the architect.”
“Is everyone talking about that, or does it just seem that way?”
“It’s winter in Butler, Noah. What else is there to talk about?”
Noah rolled his eyes at his brother. “You think you’re so funny.”
Grayson grinned. “I know I am, but I also know it’s great to see you smile. It’s been too long.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. You went through some rough shit. Or, well, I assume it was rough.”
“It was.”
“I hope whatever it was is in the past for you now.”
“I think it might be.” And he had Brianna to thank for that, in part. The evening he’d spent with her had been a realization of sorts that while his last relationship had blown up spectacularly, that didn’t mean he wasn’t capable of maybe trying again with someone else.
Even having that thought was a huge deal for Noah, because when the shit first went down, he’d been sure that part of his life, the part in which he willingly gave someone else the power to hurt him, was over for good. That wasn’t to say he was ready to jump all-in to something new, but the door to that possibility had cracked open ever so slightly.
“I was going to call you today to ask if you could stop by when you get a minute,” Gray said.
“What for?”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Okay…”
“Emma and I are getting married in June.”
“Oh, cool. I hadn’t heard you’d set a date.”
“That’s a recent development. I was wondering if you might be my best man.”
Noah stared at Grayson, wondering if he’d heard him right. “I, uh…”
“I know you’re probably not a big fan of marriage, but I’m so happy with Emma, and I can’t wait to take this next step with her and Simone.” The rush of words was unusual for his brother, but anyone could see the happiness in him since Emma had come into his life. “Did you hear I’m adopting her?”
“No, I hadn’t. That’s awesome, Gray. I’m happy for you on all counts, and of course I’ll be your best man. I’m honored you asked me—and surprised.”
“Why’re you surprised? Didn’t we grow up together and go through all the shit together?”
“We did.”
“Then who else would I ask but you?”
“Thanks for asking.” Noah was strangely emotional to know his older brother wouldn’t have asked anyone but him to be his best man. He and Melinda had eloped, so he hadn’t had a best man, but Gray would’ve been his first choice, too.
“We’ve both been around the block a few times, had some highs and lows.”
“Ain’t that the truth?”
“The one thing that never changes is this.” Gray gestured between the two of them and then toward the waiting room where most of their siblings had gathered. “I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that.”
“Yeah, for sure.” His siblings were always right there if he needed them, not that Noah needed them often. They’d been through a lot together and shared a bond none of them would ever have with anyone else. Gray was right. There was comfort in that.
“Mom wants us to call Dad about Izzy.”
“I’ll do it,” Gray said.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”
“It’s fine.”
Their aunt Molly and uncle Linc came through the doors to the ICU, stopping short when they saw Gray and Noah in the hallway.
“How is she?” Molly asked warily.
“Still holding her own.” Gray hugged them both. “She had a pretty good night.”
“That’s a relief,” Molly said. “And how’s your mother?”
“Hanging in there.”
The door swung open again with a loud bang as Ray came in. “Could I please see your mother?” he asked Gray.
“Sure, I’ll take you to her.”
Ray nodded to Molly and Linc as he followed Grayson into the unit.
“I’m thrilled to see you, too, young man,” Molly said to Noah. “We had a long day yesterday wondering if you were all right.”
Touched by her concern, Noah hugged his aunt. “I’m just fine.”
“Thank God for that,” Molly said.
* * *
Hannah heardhim before she saw him. She smiled when she heard him tell Grayson to take him to her right away. Since Izzy was sleeping after a restless hour, Hannah left her post by Izzy’s bed to meet Ray in the hallway.
He came right to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tightly that Hannah almost couldn’t breathe. Not that she was complaining.
“I would’ve stayed with you here last night.”
“No sense in both of us going without sleep.”
“No sense in you going through this alone.”
He’d been with her when she got the call about Izzy’s accident, but Hannah had sent him home to get some rest late last night.
“I’m glad you’re back.”
“I didn’t want to leave in the first place.”
Hannah leaned into his solid chest, taking comfort from a man for the first time since her husband left so many years ago. It’d become her habit to go it alone, but Ray had shown her she didn’t need to do it that way anymore.
“Your sister and brother-in-law are here.”
“I’ll see them in a minute.” She tightened her hold on Ray. “Could I have a little more of this first?”
“You can have as much of this as you want for as long as you want.”
“Might be a while.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world for you, sweet Hannah.”
She pressed her face against his flannel shirt and breathed in the scents of soap and fabric softener that she associated with him. They’d become the scents of comfort in recent months. She’d thought that part of her life was over and done until he came along to show her otherwise, and now she felt like a giddy teenager in the throes of first love when he was around.
“Whatever you and your daughter need,” he said gruffly, “I’m here for you, Hannah. I hope you know that.”
“I do. Thank you.”
He kissed her right there in the busy ICU. “Sorry,” he said when he seemed to realize what he’d done. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
She smiled up at him. “I’m glad you did.”
