Page 59 of Coming Home

“No,” She sighed and looked away. “I don’t want to upset them. They’ve been through enough.”

Because of me.A hard lump choked in her throat.

Noah guided their threaded fingers to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “But what about you? You’re upset…you’re hurt.”

“I’ll get over it. It will be fine. It’s just a bad day. I’m fine.”

“You’ve had a lot of bad days since coming home,” he murmured.

Nat twisted her gaze to him.

That charming smile was fixed in a firm line. Those blue eyes were shaded with a blend of sadness and anger. Not at her butforher.

“Your brightness is too special to be darkened by anyone, even by yourself in an effort to spare the feelings of others. It’s like when Evan died. When your mom broke down at the calling hours, you stood beside your dad greeting mourners. At the funeral, when Clayton trembled in his chair about giving the eulogy, you turned to me and mouthedhelp him. After the funeral, when grieving friends and family left, you cleaned everything up. I remember sitting on the back porch trying to get a stone-faced Clayton to talk and watching you through the window. Everyone else broke, but you smiled. Even though your heart was broken, it was still big enough to take care of everyone else.”

“Noah…” she cleared her throat, not sure of what to say.

He reached for her, scooping her up into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. The gesture seemed a little for him as much as for her. As if they both needed the closeness. Like her bad day was his.

“I just want you to remember that it’s okay for that big heart of yours to take care of yourself, not just everyone else.” The pads of his fingers glided up and down her spine.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, soaking in his supportive strength. “Okay.”

She wanted to say so much but couldn’t. All the reasons stacked up inside her, trapping the words.

Instead, she asked, “Noah, can we have sex and eat pizza?”

An unexpected laugh fell out of him. “In which order?”

“Sex first, please.” Twisting on his lap, she straddled him, sealing their mouths together. She wanted to feel him…to feeltheminstead of the ache in her chest.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Dear me, how happy and good we be, if we had no worries!”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

Hallelujah!Six days in a row of waking up sated and breathing in the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. It was the last morning of their undisturbed romantic bubble at the Little Red Barn. Elle and Clayton returned today. Now they’d have to figure out how to see each other when she lived on her brother’s property and Noah’s house was around the corner from her parents.

“Small towns.” Nat sloshed a breath, slipping out of bed.

“Good morning.” Noah greeted her with a cup of coffee and a kiss when she walked into the kitchen.

“I see you’ve been busy this morning.” She motioned to the bowl of freshly cut melon and plates of pancakes and vegan sausage on the counter.

Looping his arms around her middle, he pulled her in close. “I also replaced your expired yogurt with fresh ones and picked you up some salads for the week. I don’t want you starving without me here to cook for you.”

She pouted about that. Tomorrow when she woke, there’d be no Noah in her kitchen. He’d be in his kitchen, and she’d be here eating the yogurt he’d bought her.

“Hey.” He dipped his head, capturing her bottom lip in a reassuring kiss. “We’ll figure it out. Although, if you want to?—”

“Nope,” she interrupted, knowing what he was going to suggest. “I still want to keep this between us…for now.”

“Alright. We’ll work it out.” He leaned back, nibbling on his lips. The sudden arch of his eyebrow was reminiscent of a light bulb turning on. “Are you working at the clinic next Saturday?”

“No. It’s Dad’s week for Saturday clinic.”

“I have to go to Syracuse to speak at a rural business conference?—”

“What?” Her bounce-filled exclamation cut him off. “That’s amazing! You really are the Mark Cuban of Western New York. Will it be videoed? Can I see it?”

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