Home to Whiskey Creek (Whiskey Creek #4)(91)
Author: Brenda Novak

“You do.”

“Yes. You don’t?”

“The boy I remember…I can’t see him doing that. He had Shania, the whole world at his feet.”

“Maybe that was the problem. He thought he should be able to have everything.”

“I could see that. Do you think your parents will ever believe her?”

“I bet they already do. They just don’t want to face it. But I’m not going to let them treat her as if she’s lying.”

“I’m getting the impression you really care about this woman.”

“She’s different from the others,” he admitted. “Are you coming to coffee tomorrow?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’d really like to see you.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready.”

Callie lifted her head to frown at his response, but he arched his eyebrows as if to say it was the truth.

“We’re your friends, Bax,” Noah was saying. “Your best friends. We don’t care if you’re g*y. We only care that you’re all right.”

“I appreciate that, but…it’s not going to be easy to get over you.” Baxter had intended that to come off as a flippant remark, a joke making light of The Kiss. He thought things might be more comfortable between them if they could laugh at the situation. But it was too close to the truth to be funny.

“You’ll find the right person, Bax,” Noah said. “It isn’t me, but…I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

Baxter said nothing.

“I mean that,” Noah insisted. “Will you be there tomorrow?”

“I doubt Callie will let me stay home even if I want to.”

“Damn right,” she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

* * *

Noah wanted Adelaide to accompany him when he went to coffee the next morning. She was hesitant, because she wasn’t sure how his friends felt toward her. They’d been close to Cody, too. Did they believe he was involved in a gang rape? Or did they believe what Kevin, Tom, Derek and Stephen kept telling everyone, with the support of Shania and the Rackhams? Because that was the thing about Whiskey Creek. They were all so connected, all so familiar with one another. It was difficult to find anyone who’d be unbiased.

As she walked in with Noah, Adelaide was thinking that she would’ve been smarter to give it more time before showing up at Black Gold, but Kyle, Cheyenne, Dylan, Eve, Riley, Brandon, Olivia, Ted, Callie and a man she’d never met—obviously Callie’s husband, since she knew they’d been on their honeymoon—were already there. They all got up to greet her with a hug.

“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Eve murmured.

“I wish we’d been closer, that I could’ve been there for you fifteen years ago,” Olivia told her. “I can’t even imagine how hard it’s been.”

Dylan’s hug was a little tighter than the others. “You’re going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear. Then he shared what he’d found out about Stephen’s truck with the others, which got everyone mad that Chief Stacy wasn’t doing more to bring those responsible to justice.

When Baxter walked in, the entire group seemed relieved to see him, but they also seemed slightly ill at ease. Addy sensed that they weren’t used to having problems within the group. Fortunately, because they knew this moment was significant for Noah, they stayed seated and allowed him to be the only one to meet Baxter as he crossed the floor.

“Hey, I’m glad you came,” Noah said, and embraced him.

Once Baxter joined them, everyone seemed so happy to put the rift of the past week behind them that Addy forgot her own problems for a while. Then Noah had to go to work. It wasn’t until he dropped her off at Gran’s that the hope and happiness she’d enjoyed at the coffee shop disappeared.

And it started with the arrival of his mother.

* * *

When Noah returned to Milly’s a few hours later, he was surprised not to see Adelaide’s 4-Runner. It had sat in the drive all week because she hadn’t really gone anywhere, other than his place.

“Where is she?” Noah asked Milly, who answered the door.

She frowned as she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Noah. She packed up and left.”

“Why?”

“Because she thought it was the best thing—for you, for your family, for everyone here in Whiskey Creek.”

“But…that’s not true.”

“Isn’t it?” she asked sadly.

He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t pleased with what his parents were doing, but he’d never been more convinced that Addy was telling the truth. “What about the restaurant? She—she’s been creating new menus and—”

“That was when she thought her mother would be heading back to Salt Lake. Now Helen’s getting a divorce. She’ll be here, at least for a while. Addy seems to think it might be healthy for her mother to have some responsibility and…something to care about each day.”

But would Helen be reliable? From what he could tell, she seemed to have calmed down a bit since her younger years, but…who could say what she’d do if she suddenly decided to reunite with her husband, since it seemed to go back and forth from one day to the next, or if she met someone else?

“What caused this?” he demanded. “Everything was fine when I dropped her off.”

Milly pursed her lips as if she wasn’t going to say. She didn’t soften until he put his hand over hers. “I’m in love with her, Milly. I think we’re meant to be together. You have to help me. What made her go?”

“Your mother came by,” she admitted.

“My mother? What’d she say?”

“She said, ‘I only have two sons. You’ve already taken one from me. Can you really be hardhearted enough to take the other?’”

With a sigh, Noah shoved a hand through his hair. “Oh, God.”

“I don’t think Addy can live with the constant hate and anger she’d face here, Noah. That’s why I didn’t have the heart to try and stop her,” Milly said as she closed the door.

* * *

Addy wasn’t sure where she was going. She didn’t care as long as it was away from Whiskey Creek. Kevin, Tom, Derek and Stephen had achieved what they wanted, with a little help from their friends. She wished it could be otherwise. Noah meant everything to her. But his mother had made her see the truth—that even if Chief Stacy aggressively pursued the investigation and eventually put all four men behind bars, there’d be long-lasting resentment. She’d run into Kevin’s wife or parents at the grocery store or Just Like Mom’s. She’d see his kids around town. The same went for the others. There was no reason for her to make life so difficult for people who were as innocent as she claimed to be, Mrs. Rackham said. If Noah loved her, he’d make arrangements to see her wherever she lived.