AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wow. No wonder Ava was a hot mess yesterday. I tried asking her at lunch and she bit my head off.” I pulled a bag of Sour Patch Kids from under the counter and opened it. “I just figured she was on her period.”
“You’re sharing way too much information today.” He shook his head and turned the bag of candy toward him to steal some. “All right. So your non-boyfriend is having dinner with us tonight, Leo and Ethan are coming home, and Ava is about to lose her shit. Is that about it?”
“Unless Halley has any new developments since she started feeding the raccoons a varied diet, yep.”
“Can’t wait,” he drawled. “Nothing can possibly go wrong in this town, can it?”
***
“So you’re a firefighter,” Aunt Bethel said, staring at Noah across the table.
This was a terrible idea. Preston had tried to warn me, but had I listened?
No. No, I had not.
I wanted Noah to spend time with my family. I wanted him to feel comfortable in Creek Falls and like he wasn’t alone anymore.
I probably shouldn’t have done that with Aunt Bethel around.
“Yes, ma’am,” Noah said.
“And you have all those things on your arm,” she continued, staring at his tattoos.
“Aunt Bethel,” Dad said. “Don’t be rude.”
She turned to him, pursing her bright red lips. “I’m not being rude. I was about to ask him what they were.”
“So where are we watching the game this weekend?” Preston interrupted before she could go any further. “You watched one at the bar yet?”
Noah shook his head. “I haven’t been out. I usually catch the game with a few guys from work or by myself.”
“You a Panthers fan?” Dad asked him.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then we have to go to the bar,” Dad continued, putting an end to it. “They’re pretty much the town team, and the owners are big fans, too. They show all the games. You’ll love it.”
Noah glanced at me, and I smiled. “He’s not wrong. I’ve watched a few there when I’ve been dragged along. Everyone gets drunk and coach-coaches the team.”
“All right. I get off work before the game starts, so that sounds good.”
“Perfect.” Mom beamed at everyone. “So, Noah, how did you end up in Creek Falls?”
He told the same story he’d told me, including how he’d acquired Poosh. “I think Poosh likes Reagan more than she ever liked me, though. She doesn’t listen to me when she’s around.”
I hid my smile behind my wine glass. “It’s not my fault.”
“Mmm.” He peered over at me with a smile playing on his lips.
Aunt Bethel cleared her throat. “So. Are you two banging?”
I choked on my wine. Noah froze, and Preston dropped his fork with a clatter. Mom’s jaw dropped open, but it was Dad who moved.
“You’re done.” His chair screeched against the wooden flooring in the dining room, and he walked to her and yanked her chair out. “Let’s go. You need a nap.”
“I most certainly do not need a nap!” Aunt Bethel protested.
Dad gave Preston a pointed look. My brother shot out of his seat like Mom had pinched him—and there was every chance she had.
“You were invited to this dinner on the proviso you behaved yourself. You’re not behaving yourself, so you’re uninvited.”
Noah opened his mouth, but I put my hand on his leg and shook his head. “Aunt Bethel is like a child,” I whispered, leaning right into him. “If you let her get away with it now, she’ll always be rude when she sees you.”
“Now I understand why Preston warned me about her.”
I laughed, sitting up straight as Dad and Preston all but dragged Aunt Bethel out of her chair.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyers!” she hollered as she was taken upstairs.
“No, we won’t,” Mom muttered. “We pay for the lawyer.”
I snorted wine up my nose, and even Noah stifled a laugh at that.
“I’m real sorry about her,” Mom said to Noah. “I think her age is catching up with her.”
“Nothing is catching up with her,” I replied. “She’s using her age as an excuse. She’s as sharp as a needle, that one.”
Preston huffed as he came back into the dining room. “This is the last time I come for dinner.”
“Don’t be so grumpy,” Mom said, picking up her wine. “She made it through the food part, at least.”
“Only because nobody let her talk,” I pointed out. “The second she saw an in, she took it.”
“It’s fine,” Noah said quickly. “Honestly, I’m used to old people without filters. You’d be surprised how many cats we rescue and then get asked why the hell it took us so long.”
Mom’s eyebrows raised. “Really? You climb a tree for their cats and they’re rude?”
Noah shrugged. “There are rude people everywhere, Mrs. Wright.”
“Joanna, please.”
Yep. Mom loved him. I’d once dated a guy for a year during college and he’d never been allowed to call her Joanna.
