Page 62 of Bound to Him
Mama pointed at me, and I bit the tip of my tongue.
When I leaned around to the side, Noah looked about ready to faint. “No. I’m not a saint, but I don’t cheat. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
Mama patted his head with a “good boy” and hooked her thumb toward the front door. “Get him inside.” She turned and walked in and the screen door slammed behind her.
“Does she hate me?” Noah whispered.
I laughed and kissed the top of his head. We followed Mama in and I found her standing with her arms folded, staring at the small piano in the corner of the living room. “Which one of you decided not to invite us?” She turned to glare at me, and I sighed.
Noah shook his head fast, but I didn’t like the way his face was going red.
Mama’s lips thinned. “Explain yourselves.”
“I thought we weren’t doing this?” I wanted to yell at her; however, she’d always been good at ignoring my moods in the pursuit of finding out the truth.
She scowled. “What made you think I wouldn’t want answers? If you’re worried about being embarrassed in front of your new husband, maybe you should’ve thought to do things differently.” She stomped her foot on the floor, and Noah flinched.
I stared at her, but she wasn’t backing down.
Noah raised his hand, almost like he was in a classroom, and I had to snicker. Mama nodded at him.
“Uh, my mom didn’t even talk to us. My dad was rude. Alton knew it would be that way, so it’s my fault.” He gave me an uncomfortable smile.
Mama stomped over and flung her arms around him. He let out something close to a tiny mouse squeak, and a sweet heat eased through my chest. I rubbed at the spot over my heart while I watched him, and Mama gave him a big hug. “Oh, honey. You know whose actions you are responsible for?”
Noah shook his head.
“Yours. I sure would’ve survived some snotty, sorry excuses for in-laws, but I s’pose there’s no going back in time. Maybe you can renew your vows in Texas in a few years, what do you think about that?” She beamed when she stood back, and Noah nodded fast.
“Mama, that’s an excellent idea,” I said, feeling like a slimy liar. It would never happen.
Noah’s cheeks flushed even darker.
Mama straightened up, and I did, too. “Go out back and bring in some firewood, it’s gonna get cold tonight and we never did get the furnace fixed. It’s on the list, don’t look at me that way. Then go bring in that Christmas tree that’s out there and put it in the stand.” She pointed toward a cleared-out corner next to the couch, and there sat the same persnickety metal stand that always tilted to the right that we’d been using since I could remember. “Then go feed the horses and do the mucking in both barns. Your daddy is tinkering with his truck in the hay shed. If he’s not done before you are, go help him so he’s finished sometime this year.”
“Come on, Noah.” I tugged on his hand.
Mama slapped my arm hard, and I rubbed at the sting. “Hey!”
“No, sir. He is a guest!”
“I don’t live here anymore, either. What am I?”
She narrowed her eyes at me, and I chuckled, but truly did panic a bit as I rushed back toward the door. Noah’s stricken expression had me laughing. Mama plucked a dish towel up from where she’d tossed it on the back of the couch and handed it to him. He looked like he was handling a live rattlesnake. “You can help me with some cookies.”
“Mrs. Bouchard, I can’t cook.” He pursed his lips at her.
“They’re nothing fancy, honey.”
“Let me rephrase—I have never baked in my life.”
Mama’s mouth fell open. “You poor thing!”
Noah sputtered and ducked his head, and I was laughing as I hustled outside to get to work on the chores Mama had given me. My estimation of this visit had just gone up, there was nothing cuter than a flustered Noah.
16
NOAH
