8
N
oah couldn’t wait to close up for the night. Once Baxter left, he’d gone to his store, conveniently located about ten yards from his front door, and tried to focus on work. Crank It Up had received a large shipment of mountain bikes, and he’d been training a new tech how to build them in the back while Amy handled the register. He loved tinkering with bikes almost as much as he loved riding them. He also loved to shoot the breeze with the fellow enthusiasts who were his employees and customers. Discussing the summer races and guessing what might happen when he hit the circuit next spring was pretty much the highlight of his off-season.
But today, quitting time couldn’t come soon enough. Nearly everyone who came into the store wanted to know more about how he’d found Milly’s granddaughter and his theories about why she’d been kidnapped, which kept his own curiosity front and center. He’d heard that Chief Stacy had discovered a knife in the bushes by her bedroom door and was looking for its owner. A weapon showed serious intent. Surely, now she’d stop protecting whoever had hurt her.
Noah wanted to talk to her, make certain. But after locking up for the night, he hesitated about going over to Milly’s. He wasn’t confident Adelaide would be glad to see him. She hadn’t acted as if she liked him very much—until he’d carried her to bed. Then she’d given him that sleepy, “I’ve got to have
something
you want.”
That
could’ve
been interpreted as flirting, couldn’t it?
Even if it wasn’t, he chose to take it as evidence that he could, with effort, win her over. After all, she’d found him attractive in high school, and he hadn’t changed that much.
Actually, that he hadn’t changed
more
sort of bothered him. He knew part of it was his profession. Riding bikes was almost too much fun to take seriously. But it wasn’t just that. So many of his friends seemed to be growing up ahead of him. In the past couple of years, Cheyenne, Gail and Callie had all married and settled down. Gail had a stepson and a baby, with another baby on the way. Sometimes he felt his friends were leaving him in the dust. Baxter wasn’t married, but he seemed older now, more like the others.
Isn’t that what you usually want to talk about? How hot your latest conquest was?
God, was he really that immature?
He didn’t want to answer that question, not honestly. He hadn’t shared what he’d shared with Baxter just to brag. He’d been trying to fend off the sneaking suspicion that his best friend had a thing for him. That justified his behavior, didn’t it? It wasn’t as if he talked about the women he dated with anyone else.
Just in case it would make a difference, he drove over to Nature’s Way, the closest grocery store, and bought Addy several magazines, along with some candy, crossword puzzles and a couple of five-dollar movies. She probably had all the sweets she could eat. She was living with Milly, after all, who made those decadent desserts for Just Like Mom’s. But if he showed up bearing gifts he might be able to convince Addy that he hadn’t meant to disappoint her fifteen years ago when he failed to notice she was even alive.
He’d certainly noticed her last night, in more ways than one. Maybe she’d been unremarkable in high school—shy and awkward—but he could tell, despite her injuries, that she’d improved a great deal since.
Fortunately, her grandmother answered his knock, so he knew he’d at least get inside the door. Milly loved him.
“Noah! How nice of you to come by!”
He cast a surreptitious glance over her gray head but couldn’t see Adelaide. “How is she?”
“Holding up. Slept most of the day. But her poor eye.” She adjusted her walker to allow the door to open wider. “The swelling’s going down but it’s all black-and-blue.”
“She in bed now?” The thought of being unable to see her disappointed him but Milly shook her head.
“No, she’s in my office, on the phone with Ed.”
“Ed?”
he repeated.
“Hamilton. Over at the paper.”
“Of course.”
“He’s going to print her story. Maybe it’ll prompt anyone who saw anything to come forward.”
“I hope it does.”
“Me, too.” She stepped back even farther. “Come in. She’ll be off in a minute.”
“I wouldn’t want to bother her if she’s too tired....”
She scowled at his words. “Don’t be silly. You’re her knight in shining armor. I’m sure she’d love to say hello.”
He doubted he could take Milly’s word for it, but he’d come this far....
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Why not? It won’t take me long to whip up a fresh pot.”
“Well, if you don’t mind...”
“Of course not.” The walker thunked and dragged, thunked and dragged as she left him sitting in the living room and made her way to the kitchen.
After she was gone, if he listened carefully, he could hear Adelaide’s voice, drifting out of a room down the hall. She told Ed she had no idea who her assailant was, that he’d been wearing a mask and gloves and, again, she insisted she hadn’t been raped. She even downplayed the threats she’d received and the beating. But she couldn’t come up with any good reason a man would break into her bedroom just to hit her a few times and drag her off to the Jepson mine. She admitted nothing had been stolen. That led Noah to believe the culprit had to be someone who hated her and was hoping to punish her for something.
His mind returned, once again, to her ex. She’d said it wasn’t him, but on those true-crime shows, it was always the husband.
Noah decided to see if he could get the name of the restaurant where she’d worked. Davis was an hour and a half away, but it would be worth the drive if he could meet her ex. Maybe the guy had scraped knuckles or showed some other evidence of having been in a scuffle. That wouldn’t be conclusive, but it would give Noah
some
indication whether Chief Stacy and his officers were wasting their time looking for the culprit in Whiskey Creek. And it would solve the mystery of her behavior, which had him baffled.
“Okay, Gran. I talked to Ed,” Addy called out after she hung up.
“Good.” Milly answered from the kitchen. “Did you mention the knife?”
“Didn’t have to. He’d already heard about it.”
“From who?”
“Who knows? I guess I’m the talk of the town.”
“Probably from Chief Stacy. He’s excited to have found it, says it shouldn’t be hard to figure out who such a special knife belongs to.”
Addy didn’t respond, but the floor creaked in the hall, suggesting she was on her way to the living room. Noah wished Milly would hurry and announce his presence.
She did—but it was about two seconds after Addy had seen him.
“Oh! Um, hello!” Eyes wide—even the one that was still swollen—she came to an abrupt stop. “I didn’t realize we had company.”
Noah couldn’t help noticing how much more obvious her bruises had become, especially those on her face. “How are you today?”
“Better. Fine.” She smoothed the T-shirt she wore with a pair of cutoff sweats. “Really, there’s no need for all the fuss. You shouldn’t have troubled yourself to come by. Everyone’s making too big a deal out of what happened.”
Too big a deal?
She could’ve been killed! “From what I’ve heard, the guy who assaulted you had a knife.”
“A knife was found in the bushes, but...that doesn’t mean he would’ve used it. I’m not even sure it belonged to him.”
“Putting you in the mine was bad enough, Addy. You know my brother died in there.”
The color drained from her face, creating a starker contrast between those bruises and her regular coloring. “I—I know. I’m sorry. Truly. I wish...”
He waited for her to finish.
“I wish that had never happened,” she said softly.
She seemed so sincere it was difficult to be annoyed with her, although he didn’t understand her obstinate refusal to deal with the man who’d attacked her. He bent his head to catch her eye, since she was no longer looking at him, and held out what he’d bought for her. “I thought some of this might come in handy while you recuperate.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What is it?”
He shrugged. “Just a few things to pass the time.”
She seemed reluctant to accept his offering but eventually took the bag and peeked inside. “This is...nice of you, really, but...completely unnecessary.”
He fended her off when she tried to give it back. “Consider it my apology.”
“For...”
“Being too self-absorbed in high school, I guess.” He grinned. “That’s what you hold against me, isn’t it? That I didn’t befriend you or—or remember you or something like that?”
“No! I don’t hold anything against you. I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I do.”
He clapped. “Great. Then we’re friends?”
She toyed with a pendant bearing the word
Courage
hanging from her neck. “Um, sure. Of course. But...I won’t be staying in Whiskey Creek for long, so...I’m not someone you’d want to invest any time in.”
This surprised him. “Milly’s agreed to sell?”
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure her grandmother was still in the kitchen and lowered her voice. “Not yet, but...I can’t imagine she’ll refuse.”
He scratched his head. “So you haven’t asked her yet?”
“I will. Soon.”
“Even if she says yes, it could take months to accomplish!” he said with an incredulous laugh.
She shifted uncomfortably. “Noah, I...I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that I appreciate what you did for me, and I don’t want to be rude, but...I’m not anyone you’d...
like.
”
What?
He hadn’t even decided he was interested in her, not in that way. “Aren’t you assuming too much?”
She flushed. “Maybe. I’m just saying...in case.”
“In case I planned to ask you out.”
“That’s right. I wanted to...to let you know up-front.”
“Wow. You don’t even want me to
ask.
That’s shutting me down pretty hard.”
“We wouldn’t be compatible.”
“How can you tell? I’m cutting my hair shorter than it was in high school or...I don’t have my baby face anymore?”
“This isn’t about looks.”
“It’s about personality, then? I’ve already flunked the personality test?”
“Don’t worry. There are a lot of other women in Whiskey Creek who’d be thrilled to—” she smoothed her shirt “—to gain your attention.”
Other
women. This was another first. Never had he had one woman refer him to others. “Just not you.”
She blanched when he stated it so baldly but didn’t correct him. “Surely that can’t disappoint you. You didn’t know who I was until yesterday.”
It shouldn’t have disappointed him, but somehow it did. He’d given her a sack of junk. How could that be considered coming on too strong? He’d been shooting for “thoughtful.” “Can you at least tell me what I’ve done wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her lips curved into a sympathetic smile, but that only made it worse. “You’re just...not my type.”
“Really? Because you don’t even know what type I am.” Suddenly suspicious, he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Wait a second...”
“What?”
“Is this your idea of revenge? Are you trying to get back at me for...for how I made you feel in high school? Because I haven’t met many seniors who’d bother with a sophomore, no matter how smart or pretty she is.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m not after revenge!”
“You were once interested in me.”
She hesitated as if she couldn’t decide whether to admit it. “Maybe I had a slight crush—”
“So
slight
that you came to every one of my baseball games and looked like you were about to hyperventilate the one time you dared to approach me?”
“
You remember—?
Never mind.” She raised a hand. “Don’t answer. It was embarrassing enough the first time. So I had a
big
crush on you. Okay. I’ll give you that. But it’s irrelevant. I’m over it, er,
you.
That’s ancient history, a stupid schoolgirl fantasy.”
“Maybe you think it was stupid now, but it tells me that you used to find me attractive.”
She seemed to be getting flustered. “
Everyone
finds you attractive, Noah. They’d have to be blind not to! But I didn’t
know
you, so it’s not as if...as if...it was
real.
”
“You still don’t know me. That’s my point. Is it that you’re embarrassed?”
Her forehead rumpled in confusion. “That I was attacked?”
“That I’ve seen your ass!”
“Excuse me?”
“I thought it was a nice ass, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
She almost smiled in spite of herself. “Quit trying to charm me.”
Apparently oblivious to their argument, Milly called out from the kitchen. “Coffee’s ready. But save me the trouble of bringing it out and come in here, will you?”
“I’m sorry,” Addy whispered. “I know you’re used to getting what you want, but...I—I’d appreciate it if you’d leave me alone from now on.”
He felt himself gape at her. He’d only stopped by to see if she was okay! “You don’t even want to be friends.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“No one rejects
friendship,
” he said. “It makes you look bad.”
She squared her shoulders. “Well, I just did so I’ll live with however it makes me look.”
“Addy, Noah, are you coming?”
Noah wanted to beg off and get the hell out of there. But he’d put Milly to the effort of making coffee and felt he had to drink it.
“Fine. If that’s how you’re going to act, I don’t want to be friends with you, either.” He realized how juvenile that sounded, but he felt younger than he had in a while, and certainly more vulnerable. Circumventing Addy, he strode to the kitchen. “Smells delicious.”
If his voice was too curt, Milly didn’t seem to notice. Fortunately, she was hard of hearing. Smiling brightly, she handed him a cup and all but shouted, “It’s nothing fancy like those fresh-roasted blends, but...”
“Thank you.”
“Addy?” she called. “You coming?”
Adelaide appeared in the doorway, looking miserable. “I’m here but...none for me, Gran.”