Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(5)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Maybe she just did it to rebel. My dad was a hard-ass. He’d push us to be our best, but only when it was with something he approved. Either he’d given up, or he was going soft in his older age, because there is no way in all of Hell that he’d allow me to do the things Addy got away with.

I found my dad in the back pasture with a thermos of coffee in his hand. He was reading some kind of blueprint when I walked up and I watched him tip his hat like he was already sweating. “Mornin’.”

“Late night?”

I shrugged. “No. Why would you say that?”

“I seen a car parked outside your place this mornin’.”

I knew I probably shouldn’t have opened the can of worms so early, but I didn’t feel like hearing my dad’s shit about priorities and weekdays. “Bells is here.”

He nudged his head and acknowledged silently that he’d been mistaken. I wasn’t hooking up in the middle of the night when I knew I had a heavy day the following morning. “I thought she was comin’ with everyone else.”

I shrugged. “She said that ridin’ in a car with her brothers is like gettin’ needles stuck in her eyes.”

Jake and Jax were bad. Co-captains of the football team in high school, and even better at baseball, they strived to get on the nerves of anyone around them. Since college I hadn’t seen them much. They’d both decided to stay in North Carolina and it was a good thing. My uncle Ty had them working on the ranch on weekends and breaks. I honestly don’t know how Bells was able to put up with them the way she did. Maybe she was just immune to their antics.

Surprisingly, Jake had a girlfriend that he obsessed over, while his twin didn’t want anything to do with being tied down. He often bragged about getting laid, like it was something he deserved a trophy for. I remembered going through that when I was still in school. For me it was easy. I’d always looked older than I was and the ladies told me that my green eyes drove them nuts. I suppose there were a few times when I used my looks to my advantage. I sure as hell knew I wasn’t ugly, so why not?

“Your mom wanted to know if you’d be alright if they stayed with you. We’ve got a full house. I think Uncle Conner said they are stayin’ over at Grandma’s house.”

“Seriously?”

“Boy, don’t act like there’s no room. You and I both know there’s plenty.”

I shook my head and put my hands on my hips as I replied. “It ain’t that. I just think Bells wants to be away from them.”

“That ain’t my problem.”

I turned away from him and mumbled something under my breath, “Asshole.”

“What did you say?”

“I said nothin’. Are we goin’ to work today, or stand around talkin’?”

In the past few years my dad and I had brawled on occasion. It freaked my mom out and I hated to see her so upset. For me, it was like a stress reliever. My dad wasn’t the easiest guy to deal with. He was set in his ways and left no room for change, whatsoever. “I heard what you said, Noah.”

“You didn’t hear shit.”

“Boy.”

Before he could slam me, I held up my hands. “Seriously, the family is comin’. Let’s just get all this done so we can enjoy the weekend.”

He sighed and shook his head, finally looking down at the blue prints again.

“I’m thinkin’ that we need to tear down the feeding facility in zone one and rebuild closer to zone two. These were drawn up last week. Take a look and tell me what you think?”

I moved closer to him, secretly wondering if he was going to punch me in the arm for getting smart with him. My dad was still strong from working the farm everyday, but he didn’t lift weights like me. If I wanted to I knew I could take him. The design was similar to what we already had – another reminder of him keeping things the same. “Looks fine to me. Are we buildin’ it or havin’ someone come in and do it.”

He started putting his work gloves back on. “I think this time I’m goin’ to pay to have it done.”

That was a relief. He’d wait until the hottest or coldest day of the year and decided that was the time to start. “So, why are you even tellin’ me?”

“You know why. This is going to be all your responsibility. Your mother’s really gettin’ on my ass since I took that fall. When I was your age I was runnin’ it all.”

“Dad, I –.”

“I get that it’s a lot bigger, but we got good workers to help you manage. I can still handle the finances of it. All you need to do is focus on the labor.”

My head was starting to pound. I knew it was the worst time to mention it again, but something in me was itching and I had to spat it out. “What if this ain’t what I want to do?”

“Boy, we’ve talked about this. Now get your ass out there and do your rounds.”

I stood still and looked him right in the eyes. “I’m not you, dad. This ain’t my forever.”

“The hell it ain’t. I’ve spent my whole life makin’ this ranch what it is, and that’s what your granddaddy did for me. You’ll learn to like it.”

“Yeah right,” I whispered as I turned around and started walking away.

“Dinner’s at six,” he yelled.

I clenched my jaw and kept moving, knowing that once again I’d gotten nowhere with him.

By lunchtime my mood hadn’t changed. I stopped by my place to grab something to eat and check on Bells. She was fresh out of the shower and on her phone. I could see it on her face that she’d already forgiven the prick.

She gave me a dirty look when I shook my head at her.

“Babe, I got to go. Noah just walked in.” She looked right at me. “Yeah, I love you, too. See you tonight.”

I didn’t care if she hadn’t hung up yet. “What the f**k, Bells?”

“Don’t start, and don’t you dare threaten to beat me with a switch.”

“You seriously have a problem. There’s a ton of men out there that would treat you right. Why do you keep goin’ back and lettin’ him mess you up?”

“Because we love each other. You wouldn’t understand. When’s the last time you’ve been in love with someone other than yourself?” She hugged her knees after pulling her feet up on the couch. Her blow was low to my ego, but then again Bells knew exactly how to push my buttons.