Page 26 of Love is a Harmony
And all that would be left was him.
8
Melanie
Stella had a choice. She could have stayed another night with the family she knew, the ones who’d lived next door her entire life.
Or she could sleep in her old bed under the watch of the uncle she now knew she had.
It shouldn’t have surprised Melanie to find Stella and Mathieu at the door around dinner time. The Frenchman gave them a pained look, but he didn’t stop Stella from running into the house and wrapping her arms around Noah’s legs.
Mathieu turned to Melanie. “Take care of her. Please.” He handed Melanie a backpack.
She took it from him. “I know you don’t know us, you don’t know Noah except by his reputation in the media, and I can’t imagine how worried you are. But he won’t hurt that girl. That I can promise you. Noah doesn’t let many people see it, but he’s a good guy.”
Mathieu’s shoulders sagged in defeat. “I cannot contest the wishes of a client, let alone a friend. As long as you fulfill the edicts of the will…” He turned without another word, closing the door behind him.
Noah looked up with the sappiest smile she’d ever seen on his face, and she couldn’t help walking closer.
“What’s for dinner?” Stella looked up at them through a curtain of hair.
Noah cursed before clapping a hand over his mouth. “I’m going to have to get used to not doing that. I meant to go to the store today, but…” He walked into the kitchen. “I threw out most of the bad stuff.” He opened the freezer and rummaged through. “Anyone like hot dogs?”
Melanie’s stomach roiled at the thought. Eating healthy wasn’t exactly possible around Noah. The anxiety that had eased up the moment she was around Noah rose to the surface. She wasn’t only a health nut, she was afraid.
Afraid of Justin’s fate.
Of her health failing her.
Of losing someone else she loved.
“Who did you lose?”When Noah spoke those words, her heart jack hammered against her chest. She hadn’t been able to speak Justin’s name.
“Hot dogs?” Stella asked.
“Oh, that’s very American of me.” Noah laughed. As long as she’d known him, he’d made fun of himself for buying in to American culture, the slang, the food choices, the clothing style. He looked down at the package. “Who am I kidding, I can’t read the French.”
He showed Stella the package. “Papa called those sausages.” She walked to a cabinet and pulled out a can. “He put them in these.”
“Weenies and beanies?” A smile broke out across Noah’s face. “Carson still ate those?” He took the can, examining it. “Our Nan sometimes made them for us when we wouldn’t eat the dinners our mother planned.”
“Who is Nan?”
Melanie wanted to know the same thing. Whoever this person was, Noah was obviously very fond of them.
“Hold on.” He set the food on the counter and lifted Stella up to sit beside it before he started cutting up hot dogs.
All Melanie could do was watch the two of them, strangers yet not.
“Nan.” He shook his head with a laugh. “She was my savior growing up. My grandmother—your great grandmother.”
“Is she dead too?” The way she asked—with a cold matter-of-factness—made Melanie sad.
“No.” Noah laughed. “And boy, will she love you.” His smile dimmed. “I haven’t… ah…” He turned to put the hot dogs in a pan before rummaging around in the cabinets, producing a can opener.
He didn’t finish what he’d been saying. Melanie leaned her elbows on the counter as things started to make more sense. Why Noah was here alone. Why there’d been no funeral arrangements yet.
Whatever family Noah hid from the world… they didn’t know their other son had died.
