Authors: Eliza Freed
Something stirs in me, but I agree to the plan.
Noble drops me off at my house and takes my car to go change. I hop in the shower for a quick rinse and reapply the lotion and citrus perfume, again spraying it in the air and running through it like an imbecile as it falls. It seemed to work fine earlier; why screw with a good thing? I put on my favorite jeans and a teal V-neck shirt. Noble will be happy I’m wearing a bra. I let my hair down on both sides. I feel better without all the makeup and opt to only replace the lip gloss.
My phone rings and I pick it up. The number is familiar, but not in my new contacts. “Hello,” I answer.
“Charlotte? It’s Brian.” I can hear noise behind him and I assume he’s at the Barnyard Saloon already. “Charlotte? Can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can hear you.” I’m screaming into the phone, battling the background noise although my house is completely silent.
“Are you coming to the Barnyard tonight?”
“Yes, Noble’s bringing me out,” I answer instinctively.
Brian’s quiet and I wonder if he heard me or if he passed out.
“Oh, well, I need to talk to you.” I start thinking of ways to blow him off as Noble opens my back door and walks toward me. His smile fades as he sees I’m on the phone. “It’s important.” Brian’s voice is desperate and pulls on my heartstrings. I’ve never wished anything but the best for him, a stark 180 degrees from what I wish on Jason every day.
“Okay. Noble and I’ll be there soon.” I purposely say his name. This time for Noble’s benefit rather than Brian’s.
“Thanks,” he says, and hangs up.
“Who was that?” Noble asks, not hiding his irritation.
I take a deep breath. “Brian Matlin. He wants to talk to me at the Barnyard.” I end the sentence lightly. This isn’t a big deal.
“Well, he can’t.” Noble dismisses the subject and turns around, grabbing a beer from the fridge.
“What?”
“He can’t,” he reiterates.
“Who says?”
“I just did. Twice. I’m not going to stand around while Brian Matlin professes his love to you because he finally got drunk enough to do it. No way.”
I turn around, searching for something on my back.
“What are you doing?” he asks, watching me.
“I’m looking for the sold sign on my back. Or perhaps you have some shipping slip from when you mail-ordered me from Russia.”
He grabs my hand. “Oh, if it were only that easy with you.”
“Look, to avoid ruining our night with a long drawn-out conversation about my need for freedom and your lack of trust, I’ll tell you this. I broke up with Brian because even though he’s a great guy, he bored me. He bored me in the car, he bored me in the restaurant, he bored me on the phone, and God help me for saying this, he bored me in the bedroom.” Noble watches me, giving nothing away. “And if you think, after spending an hour in the backseat of my car with you tonight, that there are words that exist in this world”—I stress the next part—“that could draw me to Brian Matlin, then you are an idiot.”
Noble laughs.
“Oh, it’s funny. You
can’t
talk to him. You’re a barbarian.” I stress each syllable. “Now take me to the Barnyard, where I can speak to whomever I wish.” I walk to the back door.
“I always wondered why you were with Matlin,” he says, and opens the door for me. “He is kind of boring. Poor guy.”
* * *
Noble and I park about an acre from the bar. The entire town must be here. I’m shocked at the hundreds of cars.
“A lot of people who don’t go to the dance still come out and party afterward,” Noble explains.
“I can see that.” I look around for Jason’s truck.
Please, God, don’t let Jason be here…not tonight.
As we approach the bar, I see two guys hauling Brian Matlin out. His head is down and he can barely walk. They prop him up against a truck’s wheel and try to communicate with him.
“Looks like that’s not going to be an issue,” Noble says, smiling.
I smile back, relieved to not have to deal with any big conversations.
The bar’s absolutely packed. Noble opens the door for me and we can barely squeeze into the room. A bouncer leans down from his milk crate and says something in Noble’s ear. He nods and takes my hand, leading me toward the back door. We maneuver through the Barnyard’s back door and out to a pasture that’s been transformed into an extension of the bar. There’s a large dance floor and a fenced-in area with a mechanical bull. There’s room to move, but it’s still crowded. The mechanical bull is going and revelers line the fence surrounding it, cheering on the riders. To the right are the DJ and the dance floor, with about eighty people line-dancing. I’ve been spending so much time in New York that this scene reminds me a little too much of Oklahoma.
Out of nowhere, Sam comes running over and jumps on Noble, and we’re quickly engulfed by a dozen people we graduated with. There’s a lot of catching up to do. Everyone graciously avoids the subject of Jason and I feel myself relaxing.
I leave Noble to steady Sam and start to cross the dance floor to Nadine. I want to thank her again for all her hard work. I’m just about to the other side when Jason’s favorite song comes on and almost drops me to my knees. I turn around and see Noble watching me, only half paying attention to what Sam’s telling him. I blow him a kiss to keep him from worrying. I’ve got to find a way to get over this. I can’t have them both and Noble deserves better. Jason deserves nothing.
As I turn back around to complete my journey to Nadine, I run straight into Jack Reynolds.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” I say.
Jack grabs my arms and pulls me toward him. “You’re just who I was looking for, Charlotte.” His sneer is sinister and my fight-or-flight instinct is screaming at me to get the hell away from him. I’ve known of him for years but only hung out with him twice when he was in Oklahoma visiting Stephanie. Jack is three or four years older than Stephanie and always seemed to be an unlikely choice for her boyfriend, but they were together for at least two years.
I yank one arm loose and he tightens his grip on my other. “What? Don’t be like that. I just want to talk.” Jack is tall and solid, and his grip is hurting my arm. “We have something in common.”
“No, we don’t. Now get the hell off of me,” I say as I try to pry his hand loose.
“We need some privacy,” he says, and starts to pull me out of the bar. We’re lost in the crowd and I can’t break his grip. I dig in my heels as I try to yank his hand off me. Neither is working. He’s dragging me through the crowd by my bicep.
“Wait!” I scream at him. “What do you want?”
Jack stops and turns toward me. He bends over and brushes close to my face. His breath smells of tequila and his brow is covered in sweat. He moves his lips to my ear.
“An eye for an eye,” he says, backing up and staring at me with hatred filling his gaze. He tightens his grip on my arm and turns to pull me forward.
“Get your hands off her,” Noble says, just loud enough for the crowd immediately around us to hear. His eyes are savage and I cower away from him. I’ve only seen Noble angry once—after I found out about Stephanie’s baby—and it didn’t come close to the look in his eyes now.
“What do you care, Sinclair? It’s none of your business. Leer’s got Stephanie and the baby now.”
Noble steps closer to Jack, who’s still killing my arm, and the crowd starts to form a circle around us.
“This is the last time I’m going to tell you to let her go before I rip your fucking head off.”
Jack should let go. It’s pretty obvious Noble is going to kill him.
He releases my arm and takes a swing at Noble. Noble blocks it and lands a haymaker to the right side of Jack’s face. He dives on top of him and they both fall to the floor. Noble’s on top of Jack, punching him over and over again. I don’t even move, too stunned by what’s happening. Two guys pull Noble off and swing him around to the waiting punch of Jack’s brother, Jim. Clint and Sam are now involved and the scene quickly escalates to a complete brawl. I dodge two bodies and Noble grabs my hand and pulls me through the crowd. We pass the bouncers running toward the fight as we exit the bar.
“Charlotte, are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
I shake my head because I still can’t speak. I can hear the mayhem continuing inside as we walk away from the building. Noble leads me to the car and puts me in the passenger seat. We pull out of the Barnyard Saloon as the state troopers pull in.
* * *
We drive in silence as I hold Noble’s hand in my lap. “You know you can’t go around punching everyone who says something mean to me,” I say.
“You’re wrong,” he says as he squeezes my hand. “I plan on punching every single person who’s ever mean to you.” I move his hand to my lips and kiss it. “For the record, though, I think Jack was about to do more than speak meanly to you.” His words make me shiver. “I’d have killed him first.” Noble’s eyes are murderous again and I squeeze his hand to bring back my happy Noble.
Noble pulls the car directly into the garage and comes to my side to help me out. When he opens the door, the light shines on his cut and already bruising forehead.
“Noble, your head. Does it hurt?” I ask as I inspect the cut that’s beginning to swell above his eye.
“Yes. But it was worth it.”
I don’t like the look of his eye. “Come inside.”
“It’s not a big deal. A friend told me once that heads bleed a lot,” he says.
“You hang out with a bunch of fools, though.”
We make our way into the house. I turn on the lights and motion for him to sit on the stool next to the island. I pour us each a glass of whiskey, add some ice, and begin the search for the first-aid kit. I find it under the sink and vow to clean out the entire cabinet. It’s crammed with stuff my mother put in there a lifetime ago.
I turn to Noble and he’s smiling, his old self again. I begin by using the wound cleaner with a gauze pad, gently wiping the cut. “You know, you scared me at the bar,” I quietly admit, standing between his legs as I work.
“Why?” He touches my hand and stops my work. “You shouldn’t ever be afraid of me, Charlotte. I’ll never hurt you.”
“It wasn’t me I was afraid you were going to hurt,” I say, and look down. “I’ve never seen you like that before.”
With a finger to my chin, Noble raises my eyes to his. “I’ve never wanted to kill someone more than I wanted to kill Jack Reynolds tonight. I saw him come up behind you on the dance floor, but I couldn’t get through the crowd. I saw the look on his face and I knew he was drunk. By the time I got to you, I was ready to annihilate something.”
I hold Noble’s face in my hands and kiss him tenderly. I pull away and finish bandaging his head. “There. Good as new,” I say as I lean back, admiring my bandage. Noble pulls me close and kisses me again. He’s greedy and rough, and I feel my body responding as I wrap my arms around his neck. “Spend the night,” I beckon in his ear.
He pulls back and looks deeply into my eyes. “At the risk of saying something that will cause us to still have our clothes on in ten minutes,” Noble sighs, “I just don’t want a repeat of the last time we spent the night together.”
Aah, the blizzard
. Noble’s tortured face reminds me that for some inconceivable reason he loves me.
“Funny, because a repeat is exactly what I’m looking for.” I flash him a greedy smile. It’s impossible to comprehend why Noble’s willing to ignore his better judgment and take a chance on me. It’s a stupid gamble, but I’m happy with him, and I need him. I need him in every way I can imagine. I’ll trade his love to keep me alive in return for the promise I’ll never let Jason Leer come between us—that is, if he’s not already firmly perched there.
“Hey. What are you thinking about? You’re so serious. I lost you for a minute,” he says, his brow furrowed.
“Noble, I want you. I want you tonight and every night thereafter.” I lean into him. “I love you.” Then more playfully I say, “I want to be your girlfriend.”
Noble’s face registers complete exaltation as he picks me up and carries me to my bedroom.
* * *
I’m not sure if it was the heels, the fight, or spending the night with Noble, but I’m sore this morning. I pull my knees to my chest and try to stretch out in bed. Noble is asleep next to me, and besides the bandage above his left eye, he is perfect. I want to wake him up just to see him smile. Instead I opt for a hot shower.
In the bathroom I notice the bruise on my upper arm. I can make out four purple and gray fingers. What an ass. I hope that was all caused by alcohol. Did Jack really think that would piss off Stephanie? Of course, I barely know Stephanie and have no idea what would piss her off. I’m pretty sure it would incense Jason, and maybe that was his intention. I should take a picture of my arm and text it to him, letting him know that a full seven months later I’m still being abused for his mistake. Maybe he doesn’t see it as a mistake. Maybe Jason’s happy with Stephanie and the baby.
“Maybe you should stop thinking about assholes,” I say to myself in the mirror.
* * *
The hot water engulfs me. It heals the majority of my aches. Once I’m dry, I climb back into bed next to Noble and snuggle in beside him. He wraps his arm around me without opening his eyes. It can be like this for the rest of my life if I just keep it together. My phone dings and I reach over Noble to grab it off the nightstand on his side.
WTF HAPPENED LAST NIGHT? JACK
REYNOLDS IS SUCH AN ASSHOLE. HEARD
NOBLE BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM.
“Apparently the morning edition has hit Colorado.”
Noble opens his eyes. “Really?”
“Margo’s exceptional at knowing what’s going on,” I explain as Noble’s phone dings. I lie back down on his chest.
“Let’s see who else is in the loop.” He picks up his phone for both of us to read. The text is from Jason Leer.
HEARD WHAT YOU DID LAST NIGHT.
THANKS FOR LOOKING OUT FOR HER.
I close my eyes. Of course Jason would be here with us. Noble and I will never escape him, not in Salem County. Probably not anywhere.