Page 15 of Blame it on the Mistletoe
It made Noah wonder who Faith had in her corner. Even at the worst of times, and Lord knew there were plenty, Noah and his brothers always had each other. From the little he’d learned about Faith, she seemed to be in the thick of it all by her lonesome.
“Shelby said that Faith was off at college and decided to come home for winter break,” Cody went on. “She’d barely unpacked her bags when her mom took off. One day she was a nursing student at UCLA, the next she was a single mom.” Cody paused, looking down from the top of the ladder. “Wait, why are you asking me all these questions? You’re the one who can pull up her entire life story with a touch of a button.”
“I didn’t think of it,” he lied. Noah hadn’t been able to think of much else since he’d caught her swinging in the sheriff’s tree. “Plus background checks only give the facts. I’m looking for what wouldn’t be in there.”
Cody laughed. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this into someone since Rachel Bellows showed you all her secrets behind the chem lab sophomore year.”
“I’m notintoher,” he said, and Cody laughed. “Why? Because I didn’t pry into her life?”
“Yes. You pry. That’s what you do. You are the most suspicious person I have ever met.”
“I’m a Ranger. Being suspicious keeps me alive.”
“You were convinced Shelby, the sweetest, most honest person alive, had ulterior motives,” Cody pointed out. “You even ran a background check on my son when I didn’t ask for a paternity test.”
“JT has some sketchy eyes,” Noah said, climbing up the ladder at the opposite side of the door.
“Like his dad.” Cody tossed Noah the lights, and he wrapped the strand around the hook and tossed it back. They made their way around the entire exterior of the barn that way, talking and laughing, and Noah had to admit, it felt pretty good.
“I didn’t run a background on the lady who bought the ranch on the west side last month,” Noah clarified.
“Ms. Lancaster is seventy-six and doesn’t make you blush.”
Looking back, Noah could admit, maybe he’d gone a little overboard when Shelby and JT showed up in Cody’s life. And yes, it was true that in the past, Noah had had zero qualms about doing a thorough check on anyone who came within two feet of his family.
But he’d gotten the distinct feeling that Faith was a private person by nature, so every time he’d started to pull up her name on the national database, something stopped him.
Part of him said she’d feel disrespected if he gathered intel on her like some perp. And after today, he thanked heaven he hadn’t. Another part of him, the part that couldn’t stop thinking about her, knew how pissy she’d be if he somehow gained an upper hand in this little game they were playing. Plus, there was something appealing about getting to know each other at the same time, rather than Noah going in with a detailed map to all her family’s hidden secrets.
But after seeing the utter terror in her eyes when she’d caught sight of Pax holding a toy gun, he knew there was a history he needed to better understand. He only hoped he could get the sexy snow angel to open up before his curious nature got him into trouble.
* * *
New rule: Check town’s Facebook page before getting out of bed.
Had Faith done so, she might not have spent her Monday morning in her kitchen dressed in pajamas and yesterday’s makeup, no coffee in hand, listening to Molly-Mae Beaumont, Decalin’s mom and residing PTA president, blame Faith for what was now being hailed as SANTA’SBADSECRET.
“If you had only called, I could have gotten out in front of this. But that didn’t happen and now parents are concerned,” Molly-Mae said, her voice sweet enough to send Faith into a diabetic coma. “A generous amount of PTA time has been dedicated to organizing the fifth grade’s secret Santa exchange at the park. And while we understand some things are unavoidable, we wouldn’t want some poor child missing out on account of Pax being a no-show, like he was at Decalin’s laser-tag party. You understand.”
The only thing Faith understood was that the slight echo happening in the background was likely a case of using speakerphone in a room full of eavesdropping PTA moms. Yay, it was a party line. As for Decalin’s laser-tag party, Pax had never been invited. Knowing he was the only boy in his class who had been excluded, he’d received a call, the day of. Decalin wanted to see if Pax could “be a spare” in case anyone had to “tap out for a soda break.”
Faith had said no on principle; her brother wasn’t some placeholder. And she still stood behind the decision, but whenever the kids from that party got together, Pax was always the odd guy out.
“Why would you think he isn’t participating?” Faith asked, looking at Pax. He was sitting at the counter in his snowflake pajamas and sleep-warmed cheeks, his precious eyes barely open as he lifted a spoonful of cereal to his mouth.
Unlike his peers, who would sleep until noon, then spend their first day of winter break at the park, Pax would be spending the morning with Viola at the diner, working off some of those community hours Faith had assigned him for his part in the toy-contraband situation. Both boys had received identical punishments, but while JT could serve his time at the ranch with one or both parents, Faith had to work.
So after a few hours clearing out the diner’s storage shed, he’d head over to the community center, where he’d spend his time making reindeer heads out of pipe cleaners.
“With all the talk going around about the unfortunate situation at the diner this weekend, I assumed he wouldn’t be coming,” Molly-Mae said, with a genteel offensiveness that only a woman whose family owned half the town would dare use. “I mean, a patrol car and everything.”
“It wasn’t a patrol car. It was a work SUV.”
“Is there a difference?” Before Faith could explain that, in fact, there was a difference, Molly-Mae continued. “How is Pax handling all this? He must be so embarrassed, bless his little heart. Will it go on his permanent record?”
As if he knew he was the subject of the conversation, Pax walked his barely touched breakfast over to the sink. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he disappeared into his bedroom to get dressed.
Faith wondered if Molly-Mae could feel the fury coming through the phone. This whole situation was complete madness. She wanted to ask if this was a joke, but didn’t need to. The lives of everyone in her family had been out of her control the moment her daddy pulled the trigger.
