Her eyes were just closing again when Noah shouted, “Get out of bed, Addison.”
She chuckled as the sound of the shower turned on in the other bathroom.
It took them half an hour to get out of the house, and the only thing that really got her there was the thought of Mrs. Gerald’s hot chocolate. And giving her parents a huge, gigantic hug. But she knew exactly what was going to come with that hug. An earful of advice.
“Is there anything I should know about your mom and dad before I meet them?” Noah asked.
She glanced at him, sitting behind the wheel. “My mom is your typical first-grade teacher. She’s soft-spoken. Kind. Worries far too much but has a solution for everything. Although, that solution can offer differ from mine…she errs on the side of caution.”
Noah’s lips twitched. “And your dad?”
“You know that saying, acts tough but he’s really a big softy?”
“Yeah?”
“Not the case for my father. He acts tough because heistough. But he loves me, something I remind myself of when he gets overbearing.”
“So he’s going to hate the thirty-five-year-old boyfriend who doubles as your boss?”
“Well, he hasn’t liked a single boyfriend of mine yet but…you’re a Marine, so there’s hope.”
He chuckled. “Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.”
“Fortunately, not much scares you. Anyway, I’m hoping the second they see how much you mean to me, they’ll love you.” Not likely though. Telling them how much she loved Amber Ridge had not warmed them up to the town.
Noah pulled into the parking lot beside The Tea House, and she immediately spotted her parents’ black RAV4. A smile curved her lips, almost making her forget about the pressure she was about to face to move back home.
Noah climbed out first and set his hand on the middle of her back as they made their way to the door. She spotted them in a booth by the window the second she stepped into The Tea House. Her mother looked up first, a large smile spreading across her face, then her dad. Although, his smile was more of a lip twitch. The second they stood, she ran into their arms and hugged them both at the same time.
God, they smelled like home—a mix of cinnamon and coffee and something else that was so infinitely them.
When she pulled back, tears gathered in her eyes. “Hey, Mom and Dad.”
Her mother wiped a tear from her own cheek. “Addie, we’ve missed you, darling.”
“I’ve missed you both so much.”
When Noah stepped beside her, she turned and smiled up at him before looking back at her parents. “Mom, Dad, this is Noah Hayes. Noah, meet my parents, Mark and Diana.”
Her father held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Noah.”
“You too, sir.”
His mother stepped forward. “In this family, we hug.” She wrapped her arms around Noah’s shoulders, and Noah returned the hug. When she pulled back, she clenched his shoulder. “Thank you for keeping our girl safe.”
He dipped his head. “Of course.”
Noah feltthe frustration radiating off Addie beside him. Her thigh muscles were tense beneath his palm, and she’d barely touched her drink.
He didn’t blame her. It had been thirty minutes of her parents telling her to go back to Bozeman and thirty minutes of Addie saying no. Every time she tried to change the subject, that new subject would last for a couple of minutes at best, before someone, usually her mother, drew the conversation back to Bozeman and all the reasons she should return home.
“Darling, I’m not saying you can’t take care of yourself. But this is a unique situation. Someone has gone so far as tokillsomeone to send you a message.” Her mother grabbed her chest like saying the words out loud caused her pain.
Her father leaned forward. He had a bushy white beard that matched his white hair, and he hadn’t smiled once. “Someone wants you gone, Addie…so leave.”
“But who?” Addie asked. “And why? This is information I need to know, but I won’t if I run away.”
“Yourlifeis the priority right now,” her mother gushed.
