Page 56 of Fall From Grace

Janet set down her fork. “Yeah, you made it hard on all of us, dear.”

“Me?” I blinked.

“Janet,” Noah groaned, covering his face.

“All we heard from him was about how much he needed to get back to you. He tried his hardest at first to make himself look like a bad kid.” She paused to laugh. “And we’d catch him crying and at first, we thought it was because of his situation and the fact that he was living with strangers… but it was because he was missing you.”

I smiled over at Noah who was still covering his face up. “Did you cry over me, Noah?” I asked him playfully but I was trying to keep the tears at bay as well. “I cried for you every day, for a long time too.” I grabbed his hand and he finally moved his other hand to reveal his reddened cheeks.

“That Mom of yours, I felt like calling her up myself when Noah told me what she said,” Janet muttered.

“Janet,” Noah said again.

“I know,” I found myself agreeing.

Janet nodded as if she knew I understood. “But, Noah talked good of her and if he was willing to do as she said, then I wasn’t going to stop him. Calling her did help, though. It was then when he allowed us to get to know him.”

“Yeah,” Dean agreed. “He’s a good boy, he is.”

I lifted my face and smirked. “That’s something I’ve always known.” They both smiled at me.

“Do you have Facebook?” Janet asked and I nodded. “I would like to add you so we can keep in touch.”

I couldn’t help but turn and glare at Noah. “Really? Everyone has Facebook and you don’t?” He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and Janet laughed.

“I don’t know anything about the Internet, but Janet likes to have that ole’ Facebook so that we can keep up with the boys… We have a granddaughter on the way.”

“Congratulations,” I told them. “Well, she’s gonna be very lucky to have grandparents like y’all.”

“Yes, hear that, Noah, we’ll make really good grandparents in the future as well,” Janet said it like she was hinting around, now I was blushing like Noah. Elderly people were so different than the rest of the world, they didn’t care to pair you up when you were just a teen.

After we finished eating, Noah showed me to his room upstairs. Once the door was closed, I grinned and said, “I feel like they’re the type of people that end up with a lot of grandkids for letting the opposite gender share a room.”

He laughed. “They’re very laid back.”

“I like them, they’re very easy to be around.”

I looked around the room and saw some of his woodworks in the corner. He turned around and grabbed a bag off the TV stand. “Come here,” he said as sat down on the bed. I joined him on the bed and he placed the bag in my lap.

“What is it?”

“Just open it,” he urged me. I stuck my hand in the bag and immediately recognized what was inside. I pulled out the one top. A sticker was placed on it that said: 16.

“Happy late birthdays,” he smiled and it made stomach my clench up. “Next month, I want to be with you on your birthday.”

It was an owl, and it was so beautiful. “You still made them every year?” I asked a bit emotionally.

He nodded. “Look at the rest.” I pulled out an Indian head that had 15 on it, then an eagle with 14. “When I brought you over that first crappy piece of work and handed it over to you for your seventh birthday and saw the way you looked at it like it was the best thing ever, and the way your mom praised me for it, I don’t know… I guess it just made me feel like I could do anything if it meant getting to see you smile.”

“Where’s the one for my birthday coming up?”

He arched a brow. “I don’t think so, I’ll give it to you on your birthday, besides, I’m still working on it.”

I studied the rims of his blue eyes. “How is it you are so good all the time?”

“I’m not good,” he muttered. “Even as a kid, I’ve had this thing for you that’s run so deep and for so long that I’m afraid of what I might become now that I have you.”

I pressed my thighs together and cupped his face with my palms. “You’re never going to be one of the bad boys but when it comes to me, I hope you want to dobadthings. Dirty things.”

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