Page 43 of Love is a Drum Beat
Most people were awake at nine AM, but Noah Clarke was not most people. “Let me guess, Melanie and Stella are already dressed for the day and making plans while you languish in bed.”
“Not true.”
She could hear the lie in his voice, and it made her laugh. “So, you don’t want to help me in my quest for sweet things?”
“Will it be as bad as your quest for pickles?”
“No.” Sweet stuff wasn’t usually in glass containers.
“Should you be out of bed?”
“You try being on bedrest for the last month and tell me if you like it.”
“Joey.”
She sighed. “I was in bed all day. Happy now?”
“I’d be happier if I was there to take care of you.”
When Noah first said he wasn’t coming back for a while, she’d been upset, but that was before Dax took her in, before she had other people in her corner. “I don’t need you here. Besides, you need to be with your family. Hey, how are the songs coming for our new album?” Even while on vacation, Noah was supposed to be writing up a storm. The label promised they wouldn’t have to tour for a while after the baby came, but they would need to get into the recording studio.
Noah’s silence said it all.
“How many do you have?” Jo pulled open the pantry and peeked in. Fancy crackers galore, but she didn’t want crackers.
“Four. But they need some work.”
“Send them to me. It’s not like I have anything else to do.” She searched the refrigerator. Still, no luck. As a last-ditch effort, she pulled the freezer open. “Jackpot.”
“What?”
“I found Dax’s ice cream stash.” He had to have eight different flavors here. A thought struck her. “Hold on, Noah.” She looked down at her phone as she typed Blake’s name into Google to pull up images from his fight with Dax.
She tried to make out what was in Dax’s basket, but all she could tell was it wasn’t ice cream.
“I don’t think Dax eats ice cream.”
Jo pulled a pint of cookies and cream out before retrieving a spoon. She dug in, moaning when she shoved the spoon in her mouth.
“Are you eating the ice cream right now?” Noah’s voice was incredulous. “In front of me?”
“Technically, I’m not in front of you.”
“Does that matter? I have to sneak ice cream into our freezer or Melanie will throw it out.”
“You know she probably knows you’re doing that, right?” Jo laughed. Melanie knew everything.
“Yes.” He released a fake sigh. “But how else am I supposed to teach Stella to lie?”
“Uh… maybe teach her not to.”
“You’re no fun.”
She knew Noah would never teach Stella to lie or sneak. If he could raise a kid, maybe there was hope for Jo.
She ate another bite and turned, noticing a light spilling out from Dax’s studio. What was he doing in there this late? “Noah, I’m hanging up on you.”
“The disrespect!”
