Page 38 of Axe Backwards
My mother in Lovewell? And my sisters? A wave of dread washed over me, threatening to pull me under. This couldn’t be happening.
Life had finally taken a turn for the better, and here my family was, on standby to crush the joy from it.
“This will give us a chance to get to know you better, Noah,” my mom said, her tone lacking even a hint of enthusiasm. “And your…family.” The way she emphasized the word made it sound like she’d rather spend time with a pack of feral raccoons.
No matter that Noah’s family was lovely and generous. In her mind, they were nowhere near acceptable.
“Summers up north are so beautiful,” she trilled. “Dad is having our boat transported to the lake there, and our property has a cottage for Marnie too.” Marnie was my parents’ long-time housekeeper. Of course my mother wouldn’t deign to make her own bed or brew her own coffee, even on vacation.
“We’ll see each other all the time. Won’t that be lovely? We get so little time with you, Victoria.” Despite her words, her tone was pure threat.
“Vic is very busy. I’m not sure how often she’ll have time to come out to your new place,” Noah said, jumping to my defense. “She’s got a lot of fundraising planned. The work she’s done with the food pantry has been incredible, and she’s bringing in even more resources.”
My mother ignored him. She did not give a shit about the food pantry. Her idea of charitable work involved gowns and diamonds, not actually helping those in need.
The lump in my throat grew, threatening to suffocate me. Lovewell had become my sanctuary, my happy place. It was free from the drama and toxicity that came with my family. I had friends and I had a job I was passionate about. Now they were coming back?
Onto my turf?
For months?
I wanted to cry. And scream and stomp my feet.
Before the urge could overtake me, Noah pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.
And with that simple gesture, my mind cleared.
I was done. With this conversation and this wedding.
Seeming to sense how close I was to shutting down, Noah cupped my cheek gently. “Looks like I need to get my girl home.” His voice was little more than a whisper.
It was for me, not for our audience. But it did the trick.
Turning to my mother, he forced a smile. “It’s getting late.” He craned his neck, peering around her. “Is that Senator Blakely? Looks like he may be leaving.”
“Oh no.” She whipped around and stomped away, prepared to continue her social climbing and leaving me to catch my breath. Elizabeth dutifully followed her, looking morose as usual.
Blowing out a breath, I looked up at Noah. “I’m fucked.”
He pulled my body flush against his. The heat of him was a comfort in the cool night air. I buried my head in my chest, willing all thoughts of this wedding and my family away.
“It’s gonna be okay,” he said into my hair. “Let’s get you home.”
Chapter 12
Noah
Until yesterday, I was sure Vic was exaggerating when she talked about how awful her family was. I had expected them to be snobbish, but nothing had prepared me for just how cruel they’d been to her.
Her father, who was far too busy talking to his golf cronies to do more than acknowledge her, wasn’t much better. The man seemed content to stand idly by while her mother terrorized his oldest daughter.
I’d seen a very different side of her this weekend. Back in Lovewell, she was one of the most confident, level-headed people I knew. But for the last forty-five minutes, she’d been shaking her head and muttering to herself. This weekend had left her all out of sorts. While I didn’t have the first clue how to make things better, I wanted to at least offer my support.
“You don’t have to argue with yourself,” I said softly as we passed Augusta on 95. “You can talk to me.”
“Or me,” Lou said from the back seat where she was playingWords with Friendson her phone.
Vic stared out the window. “Sorry. I talk to myself a lot.”
