3
Noah
IN HINDSIGHT, I should’ve waited for Ryan to return before deciding to throw myself into Chamberlin’s overly enthusiastic gossip mill. But hindsight was 20/20, and as I stood there in the doorway of the winery’s tasting room, I suddenly felt like the latest attraction at the zoo.
You could all but hear a pin drop, and when it seemed no one in the place was about to speak up, I cleared my throat and asked, “Could someone please point me in the direction of my mom, Emily?”
Frantic whispers flowed around the room as inquisitive eyes gave me a thorough once-over. I’d expected this kind of reaction. It’d been years, and I looked different. But it wasn’t as though I was unrecognizable.
“Noah?” At the sound of my name, I turned to see Miss Betty, who owned the local bakery, with her arms outstretched. “My gosh, it is you.”
“Miss Betty,” I said, returning her embrace. “I was looking for my mom.”
“Of course, of course you were. I’m so sorry about your father.”
“Thank you.” Was that even the right thing to say? I had no idea.
“My, my, didn’t you grow up into a handsome thing? How long has it been?”
I gave my most charming smile under the circumstances. “Too long. But you don’t look a day older than the last time I saw you.”
“Oh, you.” She giggled like a high schooler. “You always were the charmer of the bunch.”
“Was I?”
“Yes. Why else do you think I snuck you those free donuts before school?”
I looked around the room, still trying to spot my mom. “You snuck free donuts to every kid that was smart enough to come and ask for one. I bet you still do.”
“Hush now. Nobody needs to know that.”
Everyone knew that. Betty was known for two things: gossip and supplying the children with their morning sugar rush. Both were done out of love…for the most part. “Sorry. It’ll be our little secret.”
“Good. Very good.” She looked over her shoulder to the curious eyes still aimed at us. “So, you’re looking for…Emily?”
Not sure who else she thought I’d be trying to find, I nodded. “Yes. Have you seen her?”
“I think she just slipped upstairs for a few. It’s been a tough day for her. A tough week, really.”
“I can imagine.” Harry had been a royal bastard to everyone within his orbit. But Emily Chamberlin had been the sun at the center of his universe.
“Would you like me to go and let her know you’re here?”
And deprive me of the chance to escape? No way. “That’s okay. I think I might just go and check in on her.”
“I think that’s a great idea.”
So did I, and just as I was about to head back into the hall, a woman out on the back deck caught my eye. She was seated on one of the wraparound benches and the afternoon sun was catching the golden strands of her hair like a halo.
She looked like some kind of angel. But who was I kidding? An angel wasn’t about to show up for anything related to Harry.
“Noah? Ah! I knew it was you!” Brianna, my sister, threw her arms around my neck and pulled me in tight. So tight I was at real risk of suffocation as she squealed in my ear. “I knew you would be here. Everyone else said there was no way. But I knew. I knew.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her waist. I hadn’t seen her since last summer, when her and Mom had come for one of their many visits, and for the first time since I’d driven back onto this property, I felt a sense of happiness. Something I hadn’t expect to feel here ever again.
“You always were the smartest one out of the four of us,” I said. “That’s why you’re at that fancy school of yours.”
“Liar. I’m at that fancy school because Mom didn’t know what else to do with me.”
That was probably true. Brianna was a wild one. I ran my hand down the back of her long, wavy hair and grinned. “Nooo.”
“Yesss. But only for six more months. Then I’m free.”
“God help us all.”
“Indeed.” She gave an impish shrug, and when her black wrap slipped down her arm, I gently lifted it back in place.
“You look good, Bree. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine. I mean, it’s not like I was really close with Harry or anything.”
“No one was close with Harry.”
“Yeah.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, and I tugged her in under one of mine as we walked down the hall. “Have you seen Justin and Ryan yet?”
“Ryan, on the way in. Said he’d be over in a few. Justin, no. Is he here?”
Brianna shook her head. “Not yet. He was going to stop by Gallagher’s for a drink before heading here.”
That sounded like Justin. If something was hard or unpleasant, he avoided it. If it was fun and easy, he was your guy.
“I’d kill for a drink right now,” she said.
I looked down at my sister with a frown. “You are underage.”
“Trust me, I know. Laurel booze-blocked me at every turn.”
“Laurel?” I stopped dead in my tracks, and when my arm slipped off Bree’s shoulder, she turned to look at me. “As in Laurel Anderson? She’s still here?”
Well, that was a definite twist. Up until now, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Laurel—the girl who haunted my dreams—would be exactly where I’d left her. I’d always imagined her leaving Chamberlin and heading to a big city, the way we’d always talked about. To hear she was still close by, well, that suddenly made this trip a whole lot more interesting.
Brianna frowned. “Of course she’s here. She manages the place. Oh shit, Mom didn’t tell you?”
No. No she did not.
“I’m sure she was going to,” Brianna said, trying to cover. “Maybe she wanted to do it in person?”
Highly doubtful. Laurel had been the driving force in Harry sending me away. If I had to
