Page 13 of Won’t Let You Get Away

My mom guides me to one of the kitchen chairs and makes me sit down.

I sigh. “Sorry about your bowl… I didn’t even realize it had slipped.”

“It’s just a bowl,” she brushes off with a wave of her hand. “No one was hurt and now I have an excuse to go shopping.”

Pa groans from across the room. “That’s code for ‘hide my wallet.’”

My heart drops as I watch him welcome my hallucination and take a bottle of from his hands.

“Ma?” I whisper in disbelief, unable to tear my eyes away from Pa’s friendly greeting towards Noah and the bottle of brown liquid he takes from him.

“Connor! Noah!” she exclaims, practically skipping over to them.

My heart sinks as I watch my mother pull both men down into a hug. It would almost be funny to see my five-foot-two mother trying to embrace two six-foot men if the circumstances weren’t so painful.

Yet, I can’t bring myself to laugh.

Of all the ways I had imagined reuniting with Noah, seeing him in my mother’s kitchen after driving since two in the morning was not one of them. Hell, my eyes are probably still swollen from crying happy tears with Ma after telling her about the baby.

The baby.

This can’t be happening. Not like this.

“Sabrina, are you okay?” Tommy asks from across the room. He’s kept his distance since making me sick earlier. “You look a little pale.”

Everyone’s focus shifts back to me.

I force a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Get your sister a glass of water,” Ma orders, crossing the room to sit beside me again. She smiles brightly and gathers my hands in hers while turning her attention to the two men standing just outside the kitchen.

“Boys, this is my oldest daughter, Sabrina.” She motions toward my sister. “And this is my middle child, Addison. They’ve been living in New York City for the past eight years! But Sabrina is finally coming home because?—”

I squeeze her hand as a warning and shake my head. That news being shared with Noah needs to happen in private.

She glances at me in confusion before continuing.

“Well, anyway, now we just need to convince Addison to come back.”

My sister, who has been watching me with narrowed eyes, finally breaks and snorts while rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, it would take something really major to get me to come back to small-town living.” She smiles sweetly at Noah and the other guy. “I am definitely a city girl.”

Noah remains a statue while the man with him moves to stand at the island beside my sister.

“Totally get it. Moving back here after college life was a hell of a shell shock.” He tells her with a quiet laugh.

“You grew up here?” Addison asks, probably trying to piece together why we’ve never seen them around before. I never asked Noah how old he was when we were on vacation, but this other guy looks like he can’t be much younger than me.

“Yup, Noah and I grew up on the farm behind your parents’ vineyard,” he smiles, laugh lines wrinkling at the corners ofhis shining hazel eyes. As if hearing the unspoken question, he continues with a wink. “We were homeschooled.”

Addison nods. “That explains it. I definitely would have noticed you in high school.”

Tucker slams the pantry door, putting the broom away. When he turns back to the room, a rare frown distorts his face as he makes eye contact with me.

I raise a single brow in question.

He shakes his head and smiles again.

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