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There was nothing he could do. Theresa had left the land to Noah, and had spelled it out very clearly in her will.
Brett gave a final, low noise of disapproval before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room. A few seconds later, they heard a door slam loudly.
It was as if that sound snapped some tension that had been hanging in the air. Instantly, chaos broke out around Noah.
People rushed forward, extending their hands to him to shake, clapping him on the shoulders, and pouring out words of congratulations and appreciation. Noah tried as hard as he could to answer everyone who spoke to him, to accept their gratitude with grace—but in truth, there was only one person he wanted to see.
As the throng of people around him finally started to ebb away, he turned around, his gaze landing on Mindy. She was still lingering exactly where he’d last seen her, her arms crossed over her chest, and for a moment he was worried that she was still mad.
But then Noah took in the expression on her face. There was a tentative smile tugging up the corner of her lips, and when he looked into her eyes, he found that they were glistening with tears.
Unable to hold himself back any longer, Noah strode toward her.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Mindy didn’t move as she watched Noah slip through the lingering crowd to get to her. Keeping her eyes fixed on him, she tried her best to steady her breathing and her clumsily beating heart in the seconds it took for him to cross the space.
She couldn’t believe everything that she’d just seen and heard.
In her wildest dreams, she never thought she would have seen the day where Noah Henderson stood up to his father—especially not like that. He hadn’t just told his father off. He had stood up for the town. Stood up forher.
And that meant more than she could ever express.
When he reached her, he took her hand, holding it gently as he looked into her eyes.
“Can we go talk?” he asked, his voice serious as he looked around and added, “Somewhere private?”
Mindy nodded, keeping her hand in his as she led him through the house. They made their way into the study where the boxes that had held all the decorations were being kept, knowing they’d be undisturbed in there. When the door shut behind them, the sound of the people in the rest of the house dimming to a dull background noise, she turned to face Noah.
“You’re staying?” she asked, her tone hesitant.
She was afraid of his answer, terrified that she was about to find out everything that had just happened had been a dream or that she’d misinterpreted it somehow. That the standoff had been a moment of madness, and now he might regret everything and tell her he’d be leaving tomorrow. But thankfully, Noah didn’t make her wait long before he put her fears to rest.
“I’m staying,” he said, nodding once.
“Why?” she whispered.
He took a step closer, releasing her hand so that he could cup her chin gently. “I thought it would have been obvious.”
Her heart thudded so hard against her ribs that she feared they would crack, a giddy rush of joy rising up in her.
“I knew it,” Mindy said, barely able to contain her laugh as butterflies took off in her stomach. “You’ve fallen in love with Rudolph and you’re moving here so you can drive the Zamboni.”
Noah’s eyes shone as he laughed too, shaking his head at her.
“I think I would be quite happy at the ice rink,” he joked back, and Mindy’s heart soared at the lightness in his tone. “But alas, Rudolph will have to find someone else to be his Zamboni driver. Edith, perhaps. Because my heart is already spoken for.”
His look grew serious as he stared deep into her eyes, and as he did, all the years that they spent together—all the arguments, the hurt, the love, the laughter, the good and the bad—fell away. Because in that moment, all Mindy could see was the green of his eyes and the brightness of the future that could be theirs for the taking.
“And who has spoken for it?” she asked, her voice cracking just a bit. “Who has claimed your heart?”
“You.”
The word was so simple, and yet it made a million emotions surge up in her chest.
“In the past few weeks, I’ve experienced the joy of falling in love with you all over again,” he explained, his voice sounding more open and honest than she’d ever heard it. “But it isn’t just you. It’s also this town. I want to live here, in the place that meant so much to me growing up. I want to start a business here in town, doing whatever it is that brings my heart happiness. I want to finally work for myself, to do all the things that make me proud, instead of working myself to the bone trying to impress someone who was never going to be impressed in the first place.”
Tears pooled in Mindy’s eyes, and she tried to blink them back, but they refused to recede. They fell down her cheeks, and with a gentle hand, Noah brushed them away.
