Noah (The Mitchell/Healy Family #1)(66)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“He does.” I wanted to giggle. She obviously thought the world of Noah, and so did I.

“We better get goin’. Mom’s makin’ dinner.”

We started to leave, but his grandmother grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me to the side. “Can I have a minute alone with this young lady?”

I felt nervous from the get go. She grabbed my hands and held them as she spoke. “Noah doesn’t bring beautiful women here to meet me, Shalan. That boy means the world to me, and I can tell he’s smitten over you.”

“We haven’t been talking very long. Only since his first visit to New York.”

“His daddy fell in love with his mother in less than a month. Don’t think it can’t happen. I’ve never seen two people more in love than I do when I see them together. That kind of love isn’t based on time. Just do me a favor and don’t hurt him. Okay?”

I nodded, afraid to say anything that would make her hate me. I surely didn’t want to tell the old woman that there was no way Noah could love me. He cared for me, but knew better than to give me his heart, when he knew our relationship was temporary.

“Go on and enjoy your night. Don’t keep him waiting.”

I found Noah sitting on the golf cart. He smiled as I climbed on. “I can’t get used to the fact that you’re here, but then my dick reminds me of what happened in the shower.”

I smacked him on the arm. “Noah, wait until we leave her house before you talk like that.”

“What did she want to tell you?”

“She asked me not to hurt you.”

He grabbed my hand and put it up to his lips. “So don’t.”

His comment made me rethink what the old woman had said. Was Noah in love with me? Had all of our time talking and being away from each other made what we had stronger? “Noah, I-.“

“Don’t ruin the moment, Shalan. You’re about to see something as beautiful as you are.” We came up over this hill and I knew right away what he was talking about. The sun was setting and the sky was different hues of red and orange. Noah pulled me closer to him and kissed the side of my head. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect.”

“Just like you. I knew you’d like it.”

Waves of anxiety overwhelmed me. This was a side of Noah that I wasn’t used to, and although it was even better than I ever could have imagined in my head, it reminded me that I had to leave it behind and go back to New York.

I watched the sun disappear in the horizon, and appreciated the arms that were around me. Every second I spent with Noah was making me wonder if the life I’d always wanted was as good as what he already had. He was so lucky, and I was sure that he didn’t even know it. There was nothing I wouldn’t have given for a family like his. In my eyes, he was the luckiest man I’d ever met.

“Thank you for inviting me here, Noah. I know I just arrived, but it’s wonderful.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“I may never want to leave.”

Noah turned his head and leaned forward to kiss me. When our lips met he held his over mine. After pulling away, he said something that I will never forget. “I may never let you.”

Noah

Something was seriously wrong with me. From the minute I saw her on my parent’s porch I’d started acting like a sap. Since it was so out of character I wasn’t sure how to approach Shalan about anything else. She and I both knew that even a label couldn’t stop the inevitable, yet every moment I spent with her made me want to keep her as close to me as possible.

Right now she was singing backup for artists that were on tour, but once she got her own opportunity to shine, a country boy like me would be the last thing she needed in her life.

Shalan was going to be famous. She had this gift that deserved to be shared with the world. As lucky as I was to meet her in that bar, I felt torn because I wished I’d never heard her sing. Who would have known that one night at a karaoke bar would change her life like it had?

As nervous as I knew she’d been, Shalan survived dinner with my parents. I’d never seen her scarf down food like she did when she tasted my mother’s cooking. Now I think she understood why I still ate there so much. After dinner we all sat around talking, and Shalan told my parents about her pending record deal. While she helped my mother do the dishes, I walked out on the porch with my dad, who had his own concerns about my girlfriend.

“Son, I’m not tryin’ to start with you, but have you considered the lifestyle that girl’s goin’ to be livin’ in? I don’t know if you were too young to remember, but the music industry ain’t all as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be.”

“I remember just fine. Look, I know you just met her. There’s a lot that you don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but her mother died of breast cancer when she was a kid.”

My dad looked away, seemingly still affected by that disease.

“Shalan’s dad became a drunk. There were nights when he thought she was his dead wife.” My dad turned toward me shocked. I held up my hands. “Nothin’ happened, but she knew she had to get out of the house, so after graduation she went to stay with her uncle who owned a bar. They treated her like she wasn’t a real part of the family. In the meantime she was datin’ this loser that cheated on her with pretty much her only friend. You see, when I met Shalan her whole world was crumblin’ at her feet. You probably don’t understand this, but I felt like I had to save her.”

My dad cleared his throat, which he did when he was thinking of how to reply to something. “Son, I do understand. My concern is that now that she’s in a better place, what are you goin’ to do when she moves on and forgets all about you? I’m not sayin’ it’s goin’ to happen, but you need to prepare yourself. Shalan is a beautiful girl. If she can sing half as good as you’re tellin’ me then she’s got a real shot at getting far in the industry. I don’t have a right to ask you this, because you’re a grown man who can make his own decisions, but please don’t get involved in that lifestyle. I don’t want to see you turn out like your uncle.”

I put my arm on his back. “You don’t need to worry about that. I turned down the offer to sing as partners when they first approached us.”

“What?” He turned to face me. “They wanted to sign you?”