Camille smiled when she heard the bell above the door ring. She knew it would be Noah when she scooted her chair back from the desk in her office. It was the day he volunteered, and she hadn’t seen him since he’d taken her to Bluestone Creek, though they’d talked on the phone daily.Noah was already approaching the checkout counter as she stepped from her office. His hair was damp from a shower, and his white T-shirt hugged his shoulders just right. How did he always look so good? She narrowed her eyes at him as he approached with too much swagger. It was too early for her stomach to be doing flips over a good lookin’ man.He smiled and locked his arms to lean on the counter. “What’s got you in a huff?”She just looked at him, daring him to be more handsome than he already was.When she didn’t answer, he continued.“You’re cute when you’re mad.”“You’re too cute for your own good.” If he wasn’t so handsome and charming, she might have been over him years ago. “It’s frustrating that I
Camille held Noah’s hand as they walked into Barn Sour, or just “The Barn” as most people called it. The rustic restaurant and bar was popular with the country locals, and the place was already packed on a Friday night. She’d taken Jenny’s suggestion and opted for a lightweight dress with cap sleeves. Noah looked handsome in a navy and gray pearl snap shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.The band on the stage tweaked their equipment as Noah leaned in close to her ear to be heard above the noise. When his breath tickled her ear, she giggled.“Let’s sit there.” He pointed to an empty booth in the back of the main room.She nodded and followed him, holding his hand as they wound their way through the milling patrons.They leaned in close over the table to hear each other above the sound of the band while they waited for their food. She ordered the tater totchos at Noah’s recommendation, and she found herself impressed when they arrived.“You’re right. This is delicious. I coul
NOAHWhen the fog cleared from his mind, Noah remembered the anger and the red he’d seen when that guy had pushed Camille. Her voice had caught hold of him and pulled him out of his stampede. In that moment, he hadn’t been in control of his own body. But then Camille called to him, and he’d bent to her command.It didn’t bother him. He’d needed to be called out of that cloud of anger. Sometimes, she had to be the level-headed one.The Barn was one place he could take Camille out in public without the fear of Nathan or someone he knew spotting them and getting word back to her stepdad. The company Nathan kept wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like Barn Sour, but starting a fight in a public place might draw undesired attention from the locals. The last thing he wanted right now was for his name to be connected to Camille’s in gossip circles.“Where do you wanna go?” he asked as he opened the passenger door of his truck for her to step in.“Can we go to the ranch for a bit? I know it’s
Camille’s phone rang on the nightstand beside her bed, startling her from a sound sleep. She lifted her head and squinted into the dark bedroom. The phone continued to ring, but her tired brain hadn’t processed anything beyond the intrusion.Propping up onto her elbow, she leaned over to look at the glowing phone. It was midnight on the dot, and the caller ID read Noah over a photo of him she’d secretly snapped at Blackwater Restoration. He was wearing a sweaty T-shirt and facing away from her with his hands propped on his hips during a break. She hadn’t been able to resist the shameless photo of his backside, and he’d rolled his eyes when she’d shown him later that day.A knock sounded on her window, and her heart stood at attention. What was outside?Camille snatched the phone up and answered before it stopped ringing. “Hey.”“Hey, yourself. Come to the window.”Why was he whispering?She kicked the blankets and sheets from her legs and plodded across the cool floor to her bedroom w
NOAHStepping into the small local church on Sunday morning was as expected as the sun rising in the east, yet Noah somehow felt different every time. Each week passed much like the one before it, but the wheels of time were turning at an alarming pace these days.He used to sit on the fifth pew from the front with his family and Camille every time the doors were open. Now, he still sat in the same place, but one person was missing.It was a blessing that Camille had held onto her faith through everything she’d experienced. A traumatic brain injury could easily change someone’s personality entirely. Thankfully, he hadn’t seen much of that in Camille. Her memory seemed to be the most affected, but she was still the lively, kind woman he’d known when they were teenagers.If things settled with Nathan, maybe he could sit beside her through church services again. Where did she attend services these days?Noah hadn’t seen much of Camille since her birthday. He’d worked his 48-hour shift at
Noah wasn’t kidding when he said sometimes his schedule got hectic. Apparently, summer was hay season, on top of all the other regular duties. After two weeks of scraping for time with him and only seeing him during his volunteer hours at Blackwater Restoration, she decided things had to change. If she wanted to see him, she’d have to go where he went—to the ranch.Camille sat on the open tailgate as Noah filled the tractors with diesel from the tank truck. She’d started trying to help out while she was there. Some things were easier to understand, while other things were just hard labor. By the end of the second day on the ranch, she knew she needed new shoes and that cowboy hats weren’t just a fashion statement.Despite the heat and the dirt, she treasured the time she spent with Noah there. If she thought she enjoyed watching Noah working at Blackwater Restoration, it was nothing compared to seeing him in his element on the ranch. He made sweaty and dirty look good when he pulled w
NOAHNoah followed Camille back to her house without turning the radio on in the truck. The old stereo only worked half the time anyway, and he needed the quiet. If he worked in the fields alone all day, it wasn’t uncommon for him to enjoy the silence for the rest of the evening. He used to go days without even speaking to anyone before Camille came along.But Noah liked talking to her, and it lifted his lonely soul when she asked questions about what he was doing. It wasn’t always easy to work with someone new on the ranch. He and his brothers had perfected it over years, but the solution was usually to keep your head down and minimize chitchat.With Camille, it was different. Explaining a task to her was as easy as breathing. She listened, and he usually had the time to let her give it a try on her own. It was a good thing she wanted to work alongside him. Ranchers didn’t have much time during daylight hours to spare for spending time with girlfriends or spouses, but he knew Camille
NOAHNoah nudged his horse, Weston, closer to Camille’s blue roan, Sprite. They’d been riding since just before sunrise, and they hadn’t spoken much. Actually, they’d both remained fairly quiet since Camille’s mother had stopped by the night before. Noah certainly didn’t know what to say, and Camille seemed at a loss for words too.The silence wasn’t tense, but there were things not being said. Instead, they’d kept their conversation generic. She pointed out a patch of wildflowers and several hawks circling overhead between the stretches of horse hooves clopping on the dry dirt. When Noah’s horse fell into step beside Sprite, Camille’s smile told him she was strong enough to handle what was coming.“I’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.” He reached out a hand, and she placed hers in his with a smile.“I know I told you I didn’t want to know what was going on, but I think I figured it out anyway.” She turned her gaze from him to look at the open pasture ahead of them. “This could be bigg