“You people have far too much time on your hands. Seriously, just because your lives are over, it doesn’t mean you have to fabricate stuff into mine.”
“He’s protesting,” Brad Gelderman said over Newman’s shoulder. “It’s a dead giveaway that he’s guilty.”
Noah raised his hands, then turned and walked away.
He’d fallen in love with Samantha the first day he’d seen her. He’d left the Howler in the capable hands of Faith and gone away to study business for a year in Colorado, where they had family.
He’d sat down next to the sweet-looking blonde, sharing a park bench and a sandwich. He’d fallen hard and fast from the start, believing she felt that way about him too. They’d shared dreams and passion, and after three months he’d asked her to marry him, convinced she was the one. She’d agreed, and then everything changed when she fell pregnant.
The day he’d walked into her office and found her bleeding had been the most terrifying of his life. The child couldn’t be saved and as it turned out neither had their relationship. Samantha’s job had taken her to France, and he’d returned to Lake Howling.
Noah knew it wasn’t rational, but now when someone close to him was pregnant he panicked easily. He’d often check in on Annabelle and Willow to make sure they were resting, and quizzed their husbands over their progress. His friends knew some of why he behaved the way he did, and allowed it… until now. Suddenly he was everyone’s business, it seemed.
“Uncle Noah, will you play parcel parcel with me? We didn’t get to do it ’cause everyone had to leave.”
Rose McBride pulled Noah from his thoughts. She looked sad, which he knew was totally fake, as the child was hyped up on sugar and had been playing with all her new toys just minutes before.
“Pass the parcel, sweetheart, and yes, I’d love to.” Anything to keep his thoughts from Annabelle and what was going on inside. Plus, this would stop the others from asking him any more questions.
Turning, he waved them over. “We have a game to play.”
They sat in a circle.
“Wait! Lani will want to play,” Rose said.
“She’s gone, honey, she had stuff to do.”
“I like her.” Rose looked up at him. “She’s lonely, so we need to make her our friend.”
“How do you know she’s lonely?”
“She has the same look that this boy Peter had when he first came here. He’s all good now because we made him our friend.”
He wasn’t sure why those words formed a large lump in his throat, but they did.
“We gonna start now?” Billy, Macy’s boy, asked.
“I’m on music, and no cheating,” Patrick O’Donnell said.
Each wrapper was removed and the parcel passed on.
“How many pieces of paper are on this gift,” Faith hissed, wrestling with it.
“The kids are better behaved than you,” Noah teased her.
“We have a baby!” Everyone turned as Branna appeared. “It’s a girl! Both mother and daughter are doing great.”
The relief would have dropped him to his knees, but as he was sitting he just unclenched his muscles and smiled. “Excellent.”
“The father, however, is a bit peaky.”
Everyone laughed.
Champagne was opened, and they toasted the as yet unnamed babe. Ethan staggered out an hour later, still looking green, and accepted hugs. He slugged down a glass of bubbles, then went back to his wife and daughter.
Would he ever want that again? Noah wondered. Somehow, he doubted it. Going through the pain that came with loss was something he didn’t want to contemplate any time soon. No, the single life was for him; that, and playing uncle to his friends’ and sister’s kids.
Chapter Thirteen
