Page 26 of Whiskey Lullaby
Bo grunted something that sounded like “sure” as Noah guided him into a room at the end of thehallway.
“Bathrooms right out here.” Noah stepped into a room across the hall and came out with a plastic trashcan. “If you have to puke”—I stopped at the door, watching Noah place it next to the bed—“puke in that. Gotit?”
All Bo did wasgroan.
“Alright,” Noah said, turning Bo onto his side and cramming the pillow behind him. “Stay on yourside.”
Bo managed to wave his hand through the air before dropping it like a lead weight to his side and then… he wassnoring.
Noah glanced at me and smiled, jerking his chin toward the back of the house. I followed him down the dark hallway and through an unlocked backdoor.
The warm summer air surrounded me the second I set foot on the old, woodenporch.
“He’s out like a light,” Noahwhispered.
“Yeah.” I turned to look at him, caught off guard by the way the moonlight highlighted a grayish tint in his eyes. Noah Greyson was catch-you-off-guard, make-your-chest-go-tight-stunning. Something I didn’t want to look away from but knew I should. I knew I should… “I need to go home,” Isaid.
“Let him sleep it off for an hour orso.”
At least I felt like I tried to escape. “Yeah. Okay.” I leaned against the siding of the house, nervously rubbing my hand over my arm. It was just the situation. The fact that he made me nervous, the fact that Meg warned me he was a Max in waiting. He worked for my father. Mother…Bo…
“Come on,” Noah said, stepping off the porch. And like there was an invisible string tied from me to him, I followed him blindly through the tall grass to his truck. He dropped the tailgate and hopped onto the bed. Grinning, he turned around and held out his palm. “Come on, countrygirl.”
I took his hand. It was such a simple gesture, but it felt like something more—the strike of a match, maybe, or maybe that’s just what I wanted it to feel like. I wanted him to want me. I’m not even sure why, but I almost feel foolish forit.
Exhaling, he sat on the bedrail of the truck. “You just gonna standthere?”
“I mean...” I took a seat on the opposite side, clasping my hands in my lap. The music from the bonfire blended with the hum of the cicadas and a light, warm breeze kicked up. The burning smell of timbers and the fragrant scent of the sweet shrub swirled around me. I closed my eyes. It was a soothing mixture. The southern smells and the warm night was something that made me feel carefree if only for a moment, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a little of the tension wound so tightly in my shoulders easeup.
“So, tell me about yourself, pretty girl. What’s yourstory?”
I shrugged. “Not much totell.”
“Bullshit.”
“There’s not,” I laughed. “What is there to tell when you grew up in a small town, with a small family? Everyone’s story’s the samehere.”
“Now, that’s not true, I assure you. You’ve lived here your entirelife?”
“No, I moved to Fort Lauderdale forcollege.”
“Jesus, why in the hell would you leave paradise to come back to thistown?”
My chest tightened, and I hesitated before I blurted, “My mom’ssick.”
“Oh,” he exhaled. “I’m sorry,I—”
“It’s fine.” I rubbed a hand over myarm.
“What’s wrong withher?”
“Cancer.”
“God,I—”
“You obviously don’t like it here,” I cut him off because I wanted to dwell a little longer in the carefree. I wanted a moment where I didn’t have to think about the ugly parts of my life. As selfish as it felt, I needed a break from real life. Just for a moment. And Noah was a beautiful distraction. “If you could live anywhere else, where would itbe?”
“Australia,” he said quickly with a nod. “Yep,Australia.”
