The Cinnamon Bun Book Store (Dream Harbor, #2)(68)

He didn’t want to think that last one was true.

The walk home was over a mile but he was glad he’d left his car at the marina. He needed the walk, the fresh air, the chance to clear his mind. He tried to organize his thoughts as he went, sorting through what still needed to be done. The list was long and didn’t do much to ease his anxiety. Not to mention he didn’t know how he would feel being home after so long.

But when he got closer to the water, the salt air filling his lungs, he felt better. Even more so when he saw the little shacks on the beach, especially the one he’d fixed up. It looked damn good. If he could just get this bureaucratic stuff taken care of, maybe he could actually pull this off.

His phone rang as soon as he was in the house.

He answered, expecting to see his nieces’ faces filling the screen. He did not expect to be ambushed by his parents and his sisters. Panic shot through him. The baby.

‘Uh ... hi? Is everyone okay?’

‘Rachel mentioned you might come home to help out for a while,’ his mom said, diving right in. Her voice was filled with more hope than he deserved.

‘Uh ... yeah. I was thinking about it.’

‘I told you. Pay up.’ Rachel held her hand out and Kristen slapped a bill into it.

‘You bet on it?!’ Noah said.

‘Of course. No one believed me.’

‘How much?’

‘Twenty.’

‘Kristen, you bet I wouldn’t actually do it?’

His sister shrugged. ‘This was just over whether or not you even said it. Higher stakes for if you actually come home or not.’

‘Girls, that’s terrible,’ their mother admonished.

His sisters rolled their eyes in sync with each other.

‘Don’t bet on your brother not coming home. He would never let his nieces who adore him down. Or his big sister who needs him. Or his mother for that matter. Right, Noah?’

‘Wow, Mom. Really laying it on thick,’ Kristen said.

‘By whatever means necessary,’ their mother said, and Rachel laughed.

‘Jesus, Mom,’ Noah muttered.

‘Don’t take the Lord’s name, Noah James.’

He huffed. ‘Sorry.’

‘We just shouldn’t take these years for granted. We don’t know how long your father and I will be here...’

‘Mom!’ Kristen’s face was filled with mock horror. ‘Too far.’

‘Really underhanded move,’ Rachel agreed.

‘Well, he hasn’t been home in so long...’

The three women were talking to each other now, each offering ideas on exactly how much guilt should be leveraged to get Noah home, completely ignoring the fact that he was still on the line. His father sat quietly, his gaze on Noah.

‘Hey, Dad.’ He’d only spoken to his dad a few times since he left home. Not for much more than obligatory check-ins his mother orchestrated. And every conversation had felt crowded with all the things they’d never said to each other, all the disappointment Noah was sure his father harbored against him.

‘Hey, Noah. How are things?’

Noah shrugged but then straightened. He wasn’t seventeen anymore. He wasn’t a kid telling his parents he was quitting school. He wasn’t twenty calling them off the coast of Virginia telling them he wasn’t coming back.

‘Things are good. The tours did well this summer. A lot of good word-of-mouth sent groups my way.’

The older man nodded. ‘That’s good.’

‘Yeah, it is.’ The papers were heavy in his hand. He wanted to tell his father more. He wanted to tell him all about his new plans. Maybe even ask for the old man’s help on all this damn paperwork. But he didn’t get the chance.

‘I’m proud of you,’ his father blurted out and all three women were shocked into silence.

‘Uh ... for what?’ Noah dropped into his only chair, laying the paperwork in his lap.

His father cleared his throat. ‘You know, for you ... just because ... I’m just proud of you. You know, the man you’ve become. And all that.’ He cleared his throat again. His father was never cruel to them as children or overly harsh, but this many words strung together about his feelings was ... unusual to say the least.

Noah swallowed.

‘Uh, thank you.’

‘I just wanted you to know. In case you were ... uncertain on that.’

Noah nodded because that was all he could manage at the moment. How was it that even at this age, his father’s approval could still mean so much? He didn’t know but it really did.

‘Oh. Yeah. I ... uh ... maybe I was uncertain on that.’ Noah cleared his throat. ‘So ... uh ... thanks for clearing that up.’

His father nodded again but his mother’s eyes were filled with tears. ‘See!’ she said, her hands clasped in front of her. ‘Was that so hard?’

‘What about me, Dad?’ Kristen wrapped her arms around their dad’s shoulders from where she sat perched behind him. ‘Are you proud of me, too?’ she teased.

‘Yeah, I don't think you’ve told me that lately either.’ Rachel nudged him from the other side and their dad harrumphed good naturedly.

‘I’m proud of all my pain-in-the-ass offspring. There. How’s that?’