Page 30 of The Forever Formula
If Mom learned what Austen had done earlier today, or what we’d been planning, she’d blow a gasket. She had always been very protective of Rachel ... rightly so, I guess. She was the daughter my mother had always wanted but never had.
“For now,” Rachel joked.
At least, I hoped that she was kidding.
As we all took our seats, Dottie frowned. “Where’s Austen? Shish kebabs are his favorite dinner.”
Rachel and I exchanged a glance.
Mom caught my eye then. “Where is that brother of yours?”
I shrugged, fixing the most innocent look on my face that I could muster. “Beats me. I’m not his keeper.”
“I saw him today,” Rachel said with an impassive expression. “He came by with a proposal to buy my land.”
The whole table went silent, and everyone froze. Logan mid-bite, Gran mid-sip of wine ... then everyone looked in Mom’s direction.
“Did he, now?” Her glare fell on me an instant, a frown fixed on her face. “Noah, did you know about this?”
I wondered then if Rachel knew what she was doing. If this was her payback. Maybe not, though. She probably just wanted answers, and we owed her that much.
“I, uh, well ...” I tried to come up with the right way to explain myself, but it was proving difficult.
“You knew?” Mom asked.
My mouth formed a tight defensive line. “Well, yeah.”
Mom turned suddenly to Rachel. “My dear, I hope you turned these fools down.”
“I did.” She smiled proudly, sliding grilled veggies from a skewer.
“Good girl,” Mom said proudly. “Well, thank you for still talking to any of us. Honestly, Noah. How rude. Don’t worry, Rachel. I’ll be having a stern talk with Austen when I see him.”
Rachel nodded. She was being kind. After what Austen told me he’d said to her, that she wouldn’t be able to manage the property on her own, I would have held a grudge. He had been an ass today.
“For the record, Rach,” I turned to her, “I know you’ve got it under control. But remember we’re all here to help you however you need it.”
“Especially Austen,” Mom said.
Rachel snorted out a laugh at that and popped a bite of pineapple in her mouth. “I appreciate that.”
“Good neighbors that you can count on out here is essential,” Dottie said, and we all nodded in agreement.
Soon after, the conversation turned to Logan, and Rachel asked him a bunch of questions about playing football and his plans for after high school.
Then Rachel’s brow scrunched. “Wait. Who all still lives at home?”
Mom passed the steak to Rachel, urging her to take more. “Just Logan now. Austen has his own cabin on the back acreage, and Noah built himself a cabin just down the hill. Noah, you have to show her after supper.”
“You did?” Rachel asked me, looking surprised. “That’s awesome.”
I nodded, a proud grin on my face. “Oh yeah, about four years ago. I’d love to show you.”
I didn’t mean the words to sound so flirty, but they did. Everyone at the table, especially Dottie, raised their eyebrows at me, and Rachel blushed.
“Uh, sure. Yeah. Sometime.”
I hoped it would be tonight. In fact, I was grateful dinner was soon over.
