Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(24)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I didn’t leave my family to get tangled up with my uncle. I was doing this for myself. If I could have some fun and make a little bit of money while trying to find my way I was going to do it.

Knowing how excited she was, I decided to not damper the mood with my concerns. If Shalan wanted to be a singer I couldn’t talk her out of it. It wasn’t my place, and with the talent she carried, she could make it really far. “Looks like we got ourselves a reason to celebrate.”

She pressed her lips together and smiled. “Hold on, cowboy. I know what I said earlier, but this gig is WAY more important than a romp in the sheets. I need to prepare song choices and we should work on harmonization. We’ve got less than a day to get this perfect.”

I wiped my face and tried to relax enough to be kind. It wasn’t like I could convince my dick to calm down. It was ready for action, which clearly wasn’t happening now.

“It’s just sex. We’re two adults seeking pleasure from each other. I’m attracted to you, and you’re obviously attracted to me. We don’t have to make this more than it is.”

Her quirky reaction gave me hope, for maybe a second. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. You should probably take a cold shower before we start working.”

“You’re definitely goin’ to want to put that old ball cap back on your head, and maybe even some dirty clothes. I can’t look at you for another minute with what you’ve got on.”

The look of disgust was apparent. Seemingly annoyed, she shook her head and walked into the room without replying. The cold shower wouldn’t have helped my balls recover, so I decided to ignore the need and take care of other things. While Shalan stood in front of the bathroom mirror, I sat in a chair on the other side of the hotel room and turned on my cell phone. The vibration was constant as all of the messages loaded. It had been two days since I talked to anyone in my family, and I knew they were going to give me shit about it.

I started the text messages first.

I can’t believe how you’re acting! – Bella

Next time I see you, I’m f**king you up, you honky-tonk bitch! – Jake

Noah, you can’t run away from your problems. You and your dad need to sit down and talk about this. You have responsibilities to this family. – Mom

I forgot to tell you to be safe and that I love you. We all do. – Mom

Shutting off your phone doesn’t solve anything, Noah. Call me back or I’m going to hate you forever. – Bella

Baby, it’s me. I kicked my sister out of the house. She told me she seduced you. I want to talk about this. Please call me, Noah. I’m still in love with you. – Perry

Dad and I are getting worried. Please at least check in with us. – Mom

You’re freaking me out. Don’t do something stupid. Call me back. – Bella

This is your aunt. You need to call home. Your mother is a mess, kid. Your uncle and I know the boys provoked you. Christian came to us after you left. Call your mother. – Miranda

So this is your plan? Are you cutting all of us off from your life? – Bella

It’s Mom checking in. Please call me or Dad. Love you. – Mom

As pissed as I was at my family, my heart ached when I thought about my mother being upset. I knew I probably had thirty voicemails waiting, and certainly didn’t want to hear my ex calling over a dozen times, but decided to just call and let a certain someone know I was alive.

It rang twice before she answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, Gram, it’s me. I’m just callin’ to let you know I’m fine.”

“Noah, do you know what time it is?”

I hadn’t even noticed that it was after midnight. “Sorry. I just checked my messages.”

“Anyway, I know where you are.” I could hear her shuffling around, like she’d been up walking when she answered the phone. Then I realized that she’d been in bed and the phone wasn’t near her. “The hotel called and verified your stay with me.”

Shocked. I thought that they wouldn’t know where I’d been until the credit card bill came in, which I’d pay. “What? Since when do they do that?”

“Since people started stealing credit cards and banking information, smarty pants. Did you really think that running away was going to solve things with your dad?”

“No, but I needed some air, Grandma. He doesn’t let up.”

“Noah, if you two learned to communicate with each other life would be a lot easier. You wouldn’t have to go to such extremes to make your point.”

I looked toward the bathroom and saw Shalan spinning around, obviously planning some choreographed routine. She was going to every extreme for one little performance at a hotel lounge. “Listen, it is what it is. Can you just do me a favor and tell everyone I’m fine. Don’t tell Dad where I’m at.”

“I could cut off the card and force you to come home.”

“Come on, Grandma. Don’t do that. I just need a couple days to cool off. Besides, you can’t cut me off from the company account, when it’s all goin’ to be mine anyway, right?” I knew if I added that tidbit she’d be cool with my little vacation. My grandmother may have wanted me to take over the business even more than my father wanted me to.

“Be safe in that city, Noah. I’ll let your mother know you called. If you had any sense you’d call and tell her yourself.”

I made a face knowing she’d never see it. “Yeah, I don’t really feel like hearin’ her upset.”

“She’s your mother. Of course this upset her.”

“Well my call would only make it harder. Just tell her I’m fine. Please.”

“Okay.”

“Great. I’ll see you in a few days then.”

“Noah, hang on. Have you heard from your cousin? From Isabella? Her mother called last night asking if I’d seen her. I thought maybe she was with you.”

“I haven’t seen her, Gram, but I’ll definitely give her a call.”

“Love you, kiddo.”

“Yeah,” I smiled knowing damn well I wasn’t a child. “Love you too.”

When I hung up Shalan came walking up in front of me. “Are you ready to go over a couple songs? We need to make sure we know all the words. I’ve selected a couple older songs we could sing together. The people really liked your rendition of Johnny tonight, so maybe you could do that again.”

I rubbed my face and avoided looking up at her. “I need to sleep before I can deal with all that. You should rest too.”