Page 46 of Keeping Guard
“Do it anyway.”
Peyton didn’t want to move. He’d finally opened up to her...not about everything, but more than he’d wanted to, she thought. If she pushed, she could probably get what she wanted, but he’d regret it, and she’d lose all the ground she’d won. He wasn’t ready for her. Not yet. She wasn’t normally a patient person, but he was worth waiting for.
He’d asked her to get off him, though, so she would respect that. “I’m hungry,” she said as she moved away. “And I have just the thing. Don’t go anywhere.”
While she put together the snack, she considered how she could get him to talk about why he was on leave from the navy. Whatever it was, keeping it bottled up wasn’t going to help him.
Noah stared at the tray, and then lifted his gaze to hers. “This is a little more than a snack, princess.”
“Told you I’m hungry.” She didn’t have a sweet tooth, but cheese? Sign her up. Along with slices of two kinds of cheese, she’d added tart green grapes, thin slices of prosciutto, and stoneground crackers. She picked up one of the two bottles of beer and handed it to him. “This is a dark lager, one of my own recipes. It’s darn good, if I do say so myself.”
He took a sip of the beer, then another. “Damn good.”
“Told ya.” Warmth spread through her at his simple praise.
“Not Grandma’s Tea,” he said, reading the label. “You name this one?”
“No, one of our bartenders came up with that one.” She picked up a slice of cheese and popped it in her mouth. “Gotta pee. Be right back.” She walked off to his chuckle.
On the way back, as she passed his room, she glanced in, then stopped at seeing his guitar case leaning against the wall. On impulse, she got it and took with her it back to the living room.
She set the case on the sofa next to him. “Will you play for me?”
“No.” He picked up the guitar case and walked out of the room. Lucky scrambled up and trotted after him.
She cringed when she heard his bedroom door close. What was his deal? She’d been stunned by how great he was when he’d played Joseph’s guitar. He’d lost himself in the music. The moment he’d finished and opened his eyes, though, it was as if he was in pain. Whatever was going on with him was tied to his guitar, which was puzzling.
She’d wondered if something had gone wrong on a mission, but he wouldn’t have his guitar with him then, would he? The more he doubled down on keeping his secrets, the more she was determined to get him to talk. Her appetite gone, she carried the tray to the kitchen. After covering the tray with plastic wrap and putting it in the refrigerator, she headed to bed.
Unable to fall asleep, she thought of and discarded ways to get Noah to open up to her. There was no easy answer, so she decided she’d just be his friend and hope that was enough.
The next morning, there was no Noah to be seen. His bedroom door was open, the bed made, and his duffel bag on the chair by the window. Where was his guitar? She took several steps toward the closet, then stopped. She’d invaded his privacy enough.
So, breakfast, and then she needed to go see her father. Dalton had to be lying. Her dad wasn’t sick, but she needed to hear it from him. She made a pot of coffee, then decided the cheese, crackers, and grapes from last night would make a great breakfast.
Noah returned with Lucky while she was eating. “Good morning.” She smiled but didn’t get one in return. He was grumpy again. Whatever. If he wanted to be a grumpball, not her problem. “I need to go see my father this morning. You don’t need to come with me. I’ll be fine.”
After unclipping Lucky’s leash, he filled a dish with dog food. That done, he poured a cup of coffee. He was ignoring her, and that irritated her. “Look, I’m not sure what I did wrong last night, but I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine, but you can at least—”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” He sat across the table from her. “There are things I’m just not going to talk about, and why I won’t play my guitar is one of them, okay?”
“But you play so beautifully, I don’t understand—”
“Drop it, Peyton. There’s nothing for you to understand. As soon as you’re ready, we’ll go see your father, then I need to head to Jack’s. You’ll be coming with me.”
“But...”
Coffee cup in hand, he walked out.
“...I need to find a job.” Only Lucky was still there to hear her, and he had nothing to say about that. “Your daddy is very bossy, you know that?” Lucky barked. “I take that as a yes.”
She covered the tray, then put it back in the refrigerator. “Guess I better get dressed before bossy man decides to do it for me.” Although, she wouldn’t so much mind that. Better yet if he undressed her.
Normally, she wore jeans to the brewery if it wasn’t a day for a client meeting or an event because she’d be brewing beer. But today, she needed to be strong and face her father with confidence. So, the power suit again it was.
As she dressed, she couldn’t stop wondering why Noah wouldn’t touch his guitar when how much he loved playing was obvious.
“Here goes nothing,” she said.
