Page 71 of Feels Like Home

Later that night, I replay the events of the day. I go over my lists, amazed that between Noble and I—and Ruby making some calls and placing some rush orders—we successfully replaced almost everything that was damaged.

What seemed like an impossible mess was fixed, handily, in one afternoon.

All because Noble showed up on a horse. Even though Jensen isn’t white, the imagery isn’t lost on me.

I try to turn my attention to the clean-up we’ve still got left to do, but Noble appears in the kitchen with a large Two-Step pizza with pepperoni and green olives “Because we need to celebrate the win.” After we eat, we sit on the dock, bathed in the misty light of a full moon.

It’s the first time all day I start to relax. The first time I can reflect back on how grateful I am that I didn’t have to handle that all alone.

We’re so close our shoulders are practically touching, and a part of me wants to lean into him. It’s only about an inch, maybe less. If I just shifted a tiny bit, I’d feel the warmth of his arm against mine.

Despite everything, I’m still more drawn to Noble than I’ve ever been to another person.

And now, after the day we had, and the way he showed up, and the stupid moon, my thoughts wander into familiar fantasy.

Only this time, I don’t even try and stop it.

Chapter Seventeen

Hattie

My siblings start referring to the barn mishap as “CowGate.”

Doubly fitting because cows and also because gate.

We spent another full day cleaning, mending, fixing, and we’re not quite finished. The barn was rustic to begin with, but adding cow manure to it seemed a little too rustic.

Thursday morning, I find Noble in the kitchen making coffee. I’m dressed for kayaking—leggings and a cropped sweatshirt. He’s dressed as a man who forgot a shirt. Again.

Just friends. Just friends. Just friends.

“Morning,” I say, my voice quiet.

The second his eyes hit mine, I feel it in my toes. Then he smiles, and the warmth spreads through my entire body. “Morning.” He glances down at his bare chest. “Shoot. I’m sorry. The rules.”

I quirk a brow.

There’s a pull at the edge of his mouth—not quite a smile. “I thought I’d be back upstairs before you got up. It’s earlier than usual.”

Usual. Like we have a rhythm.

“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep,” I sit on a stool at the counter across from him, trying to keep my eyes from wandering. Rowe was right. It’s a nice torso. “It’s a lot to think about, and I just want everything to be perfect.”

“You know it’ll be okay if it’s not,” he says.

“I absolutely do not know that, no.” I wait a beat, then smile.

He smiles back.

It feels a tiny bit like old times.

He walks over to the fridge and pulls out my coffee creamer, pours the exact right amount into the coffee, and slides the mug toward me.

I pick it up and hold it between both hands. “Do you want to go out with me?”

His lips pucker for a split second before I realize what I’ve said.

“On the lake, on the lake,” I say, eyes wide.