Page 42 of Keeping Guard
Jack snorted, letting Noah know he was aware of where Noah’s mind had gone.
“I can. So, what can you do?”
“He can sing the alphabet backwards,” Jack said when Noah didn’t answer.
Peyton clapped her hands. “Do it.”
Only because he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her, he started singing. It was a trick he’d won money on every time someone bet he couldn’t do it. When he finished, she clapped again. “That was cool.”
It was a silly thing, but making her happy made him...well, happy. He wasn’t sure he was okay with that, this good feeling, but he’d examine that later. For tonight—and only tonight—he’d lock his demons away and enjoy the company.
“The weird thing is,” Jack said, “he can’t speak the alphabet backwards.”
No one believed him, so he had to prove it. Then the others tried, and Peyton got so tripped up on the letters that she dissolved in giggles, laughing so hard that she had the rest of them laughing at her.
For the rest of the night, he allowed himself to have a good time without feeling guilty. It was a gift he wasn’t expecting.
“I love your friends,” Peyton told Noah when they returned to her loft. She wanted to tell him that she’d also loved seeing him enjoy himself. His smiles and laughter tonight had been a beautiful thing to see.
“They’re good people.”
She smiled. “Yeah, they are.” Lucky was bouncing around them, excited they were home. She kneeled, giving him a hug and chin scratch.
“I need to take him out.”
She glanced up at Noah. “I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.” Already, he was reverting to gloomy Noah, and she wanted to beg him to please stay happy. She wanted to know what had put that haunted look in his eyes, but he wouldn’t tell her, so she didn’t ask. What she could do was be a friend, and everyone needed a friend, even when they pretended they didn’t.
“You never told me where in Maine you’re from,” she said when they reached the sidewalk. That seemed a safe enough question, and she was curious to know everything about him. With each passing minute, he was retreating into himself while she was growing more desperate to keep him from shutting her out.
“No place you would have heard of.”
“What’s the closest town I’d recognize?”
“Bar Harbor.”
“That’s on my bucket list. If I ever get to go there, I’m going to eat lobster for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” When he didn’t respond, her nerves kicked in. “With lots of butter. You can’t get a really good lobster here in the mountains, so I don’t bother. I did go to a restaurant in Charleston once that had Maine lobster on the menu. I had a two-pound one and ate the whole thing. Can you believe that? They put one of those bibs on me, and I had butter all over my hands and face. Dalton said I was embarrassing him. He—”
Yes! He was kissing her. His hand was behind her neck again, and he caressed her skin with his thumb. He hadn’t done that before, and talk about tingles. That circular motion he was making with his thumb sent goose bumps down her back.
If he could do something new, then so could she. She slid her hands around his neck, praying he wouldn’t push her away. He didn’t. He circled her back with an arm, pulling her against him. There was no place she’d rather be. When he deepened the kiss, her body hummed in response. How did he do this to her? Make her hum, tingle, and get goose bumps? It was too much. It wasn’t enough. If she could ever get him in her bed, she might not survive it, but she’d sure like to find out.
“What was that?” Noah said, breaking the kiss. He scanned the area around them.
She wanted to drag his mouth back to hers. “What?” Then she heard it. A woman was crying, begging someone not to hurt her.
Noah handed her Lucky’s leash, then strode away. Pulling at the leash, Lucky whined, and Peyton let the dog tug her along. A narrow alley ran between two buildings, and Noah disappeared around the corner. When she came to the entrance to the alley, Noah glanced back at her.
“Stay there.”
“Okay.” Lucky wanted to go with Noah, so she held tight to the leash.
Halfway down the alley, a man stood over the crying woman. “You think you can walk away from me, bitch? I say when it’s over.”
Peyton gasped when the man hit her. He was so intent on yelling at the woman, that he didn’t notice Noah coming up behind him. The man was big and mean looking. Afraid Noah was going to get hurt, Peyton wanted to call him back.
