Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
The lobby is no longer dark. All the lights are on, and there are sleeping bags everywhere. It’s a circle of sleeping bags and right in the middle is Noah. He’s sitting on the carpet, staring up at me with a soft expression.
“What are you doing here?” I ask him as my heart skips a beat. There are people in these sleeping bags. I glance around, recognizing Noah’s brothers and his mom. His sister and her husband are here. Even Walt is in his own sleeping bag. Why are they all here?
Noah gazes up at me, his face filled with the same tenderness as it always is. His deep voice is a rumble when he says, “You have a family, and family sticks together.”
I blink, trying desperately not to cry. This can’t be happening. “You’re crazy. You can’t want me. I left you.”
He stands, getting to his feet. He crosses the library floor with slow, even strides. The fluorescent lights reflect off his bald head.
“You are never leaving me,” he says, swearing quietly with conviction. “Even if you run a million times, I will come for you. Your family will come for you. This,” he gestures around the room, “is what family does. It shows up on our darkest nights.”
“Noah,” I whisper his name as the tears I’ve been battling finally start to fall.
He continues, “I’m not asking you to overcome a lifetime of fears and insecurities in a single night. I am asking you to let me love you through it.”
I cry harder, the tears coming even faster. I can’t believe he came all this way, that he’s really standing in front of me.
“With every breath in my body, I want you forever.” Noah finally reaches out and touches me, his hand cupping my face.
“Forever scares me,” I admit with a sniffle. “Can we take it one night at a time?”
He chuckles. “We can take it as slow as you need.”
I throw myself into his arms, unable to hold back any longer. The moment I do, our friends and family break out in applause. All of them are here. They’ve come to bring me back to Courage County, where I belong.
I look up at Noah. “Can we go back to your house now?”
“Our house,” he gently corrects as he kisses me again.
On the drive, Noah holds my hand the entire time. He doesn’t fuss at me or berate me. He doesn’t even seem mad at me. If anything, he just seems relieved and happy that I’m here with him.
For the first time, I find myself wondering if maybe love can be simple. Maybe it can be people that care about you, wanting to be with you.
He parks his truck in the driveway. I gaze at his house with new eyes. He called it our house. It’s mine. I have a hot cowboy who loves me, a family that searched for me, and a house now.
“Let me show you something,” Noah says softly, tugging me up the walk.
There are no lights on in the windows, the place is completely dark as we step into the living room. But the sight that greets me has me choking back another sob. There are green, glow-in-the-dark stickers on every inch of the ceiling.
Noah puts his arm around me and whispers, “Welcome home.”
Chapter 15
Lizzy
“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay late and help you close up?” I ask Walt as he straightens a display of mystery novels at the front of the store. He’s been fussing over it for the past half an hour.
It’s been six weeks since that night at the library. Every day, I grow a little more confident in Noah’s love for me. I still have doubts and fears. But when I get scared, I bring them to him. We talk about the things that make me want to run, and he reminds me that I don’t have to.
I spend all of my nights at Noah’s house, but I haven’t officially moved in with him yet. Most of my stuff is still at Walt’s place. Despite all the time I spend with Noah, Walt doesn’t seem as lonely as I’d expected him to be.
He waves me off. “I have everything under control. You go have fun with your friends.”
I watch him for a moment to see if he squirms or gives any indication that he’s hiding something from me. As usual, Walt has an excellent poker face. But I’ve still sensed he’s not telling me something.
I worried it was his health, so I snooped through his things. The steamy text messages on his phone were completely unexpected. But also, it’s kind of sweet to know he has a girlfriend. “Is that what you’ll be doing? Will you be having fun with your friends?”
He grunts. “I’m an old man. I don’t like to go out.”