“Thanks,” Noah mutters, accepting the beer I offer to him.
“Hmm,” I hum.
He places the peas on the counter, a deep purple bruise already forming along the line of his jaw. “Look, man, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where she was, or that I went to see her. I know that it probably don’t mean shit to you now, but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing by not telling you.”
I observe him. The look in his eyes tells me he’s being sincere, but it doesn’t settle the hurt any.
“How did you even find her?”
“I ran into the Rhodes brothers at an auction with my dad. When they heard we were from Rosewater Creek, they let it slip that their groomer was from here. I put two and two together.”
I shake my head at him, disgust lining every feature. “You should have told me.”
He returns my movement with a head shake of his own. “I’m glad I didn’t.”
I frown. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m glad I didn’t tell you, Killian. Because if I had, you would have been the one to go looking for her, and that would have hurt you more than any lie I could ever tell would.” He puts his beer down andlevels me with a serious look. “You think this hurts? I promise you; it would have hurt a whole lot more if you had gone all that way just for her to look you in the eyes and tell you she didn’t love you anymore.”
He’s right. Even knowing she’s not being truthful, hearing those words from her mouth yesterday felt like someone had reached inside my chest and wrenched my heart out with their bare hands. I don’t even want to think about how I would’ve felt hearing them three years ago.
“Why did you go there in the first place, Noah?”
He sighs, taking a seat on one of the wooden barstools at the kitchen island. “Because you’re like a brother to me. I could see how much it was killing you. I thought I could convince her to come home.” Noah shrugs, taking a swig of his beer. “I failed.”
“How did she look?” I question.
Confusion laces Noah’s features. “What?”
“How did she look when you went to see her?”
“I don’t know, man. It was a long time ago.”
“Did she look sick?” I all-but snap at him.
Noah’s eyes search my face, and I hold his gaze, willing him to just give mesomething.
“She looked tired. And maybe a little thin, but other than that, no. Should she have looked sick?”
I blow out a long breath, scrubbing at the stubble on my jaw. “Hunter thinks she was sick.”
His forehead creases. “Why would he think that?”
“There was a gap in her employment. Hunter questioned it in her interview, and she told him she was sick.”
“Shit,” he stares off into the distance for a long minute. “Do you think she’sstillsick?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so.”
We settle into a thoughtful silence for long minutes before Noah speaks up. “I have a confession to make.”
I raise both brows, waiting.
“I’ve been giving her shit at work.”
I nod, my lips pursing. “I sort of picked that up from the argument you guys were having. And it ends, now.”
“I know, man.”
