CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Three weeks later…
“Good morning.”
Reese smiled tenderly at the rich tone of Noah’s voice first thing in the morning. She patted the cushioned seat next to her on the porch swing, waiting for him to join her. Once his warm body was next to hers, she snuggled in underneath his arm and curled her legs up beneath her.
“Good morning.” Reese raised her face for her morning kiss. This had become somewhat of a ritual, though there were times he woke her with a kiss in bed. “Sleep well?”
“No,” Noah chuckled, resting his chin on top of her head as they both stared out over the front yard. They were still staying in the rental house. In another day or two, Noah would be able to move into his new home. “Someone kept me up way past my normal bedtime.”
“Hmmm,” Reese hummed in remembrance, her body tingling all over at just the mention of their lovemaking. “From my standpoint, it was well worth the lack of sleep.”
A rather plump squirrel darted from behind one of the trees, and it wasn’t long before his playmate joined him in a game of tag. It was silly really, but Reese wondered how long they’d been together. From birth? Or had they forged a friendship recently, and this was their way of getting to know one another?
“A kiss for your thoughts.” Noah had brought with him a cup of coffee, knowing she’d already have one in hand. Hers was currently sitting on top of the railing, while he held his in his left hand. “And maybe a refill on that coffee of yours.”
“I want to stay.”
Reese held herself still as she waited for Noah’s response. She had to force herself to breathe when he didn’t reply right away.
The devastating news that the body found within the walls of his first home had actually been Sophia had been crushing to hear that night. Reese had already suffered from numerous scratches and scrapes, having warded off who she thought at the time to be a killer. She’d grieved for years over her cousin’s disappearance. She certainly hadn’t been expecting such a blow after all this time.
Darcy Tillman’s juvenile acts were nothing compared to the horrific ones done to Sophia, Deputy Wallace, and possibly Emma.
Reese had driven to Heartland that night with Detective Kendrick to deliver the news to her family. It had been the single worst thing she’d ever done in her life, but she hadn’t been alone.
Noah had been by her side every minute since then, taking care of her, supporting her, and being there to hold her at night when the grief returned from all those years ago.
Sophia’s body had been released to her family, and she’d been laid to rest next to her father. Whatever problems they may have had before were meaningless in the face of death. They were now together, both of them looking over the rest of the family.
Reese had come back to Blyth Lake with Noah for several reasons, though the main one being she’d found something here she wasn’t ready to let go. She still wasn’t.
“I came to Blyth Lake searching for answers,” Reese shared, her heart skipping a beat as she filled the silence. She drew circles on the rough material of his jeans to keep herself from demanding he say something, but it might be better this way. He could finally hear what she’d been wanting to say for days. “I came in search of family, and in a way, I truly believe Sophia led me here…to you.”
Noah inhaled deeply, as if he were getting ready to address her declaration. She thought she was ready to hear his response, but she was downright terrified that she might be wrong.
“Don’t!” Reese shifted so that she could gaze into his blue eyes that had always met hers across a room when she needed reassurance. It was uncanny how he’d known she needed something to ground her when emotions had become too overwhelming. “I need you to know that me wanting to stay here has nothing to do with Sophia. My choice has nothing to do with the investigation. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know that walking away is wrong. Walking away from you is wrong.”
Reese took his coffee and set his mug next to hers, balancing herself on the porch swing as she once again faced him for his inevitable answer. She only had one more thing to say as she lifted her arms and crossed them over her chest to signify where here words were coming from.
This was it.
She was baring her soul to the one man who had the ability to destroy it.
“I’ve fallen for you, Noah Kendall.”
*
There had been numerous times in Noah’s life where he’d experienced a soul-lifting feeling of relief. There had been the time his unit had been rescued after being pinned down by the enemy for a half an hour—they hadn’t lost a single Marine that day, but the minutes had seemed like hours. There was getting the phone call that his father had come through his heart surgery with flying colors. There had even been the moment he’d signed his DD-214, reality sinking in that he was returning home alive, unlike some of his fellow servicemen and women who would never get that opportunity.
And then there was this one singular moment.
Today was the day Reese had been scheduled to return to Heartland for a week before heading back to Springfield to pick up where her life had left off at the beginning of this summer. It was surreal to think that she would no longer be lying next to him in bed, helping him renovate his home, laughing with him over old stories told by his father, or simply being by his side.
He’d struggled to find the words to explain how much she’d come to mean to him since his return to Blyth Lake. The speech he’d agonized over saying this morning evaporated into the warm morning air upon her declaration.
She wanted to stay.
She’d fallen for him.
Reese sat in front of him with sheer honesty shining from her brown eyes filled with unshed tears. She grew more and more beautiful with each passing day, and he had no doubt that he would feel the same way in fifty years as he did this moment.
Mary Kendall had been right about love. Once it was found, there was no denying it.
“You know, I had an entire speech planned out, with airtight reasons why you couldn’t leave.” Noah took her by the wrists and pulled her onto his lap, easing his ache to hold her. He captured her lips and kissed her as passionately as he had the first time in her kitchen. They were both out of breath by the time they were done. He rested his forehead against hers, staring into her caramel gaze. “But only one reason matters, Reese Woodward, and that is I love you.”
“It took you long enough,” Reese laughed while at the same time holding back a sob of happiness. “I can’t even wrap my head around what needs to be done yet, but—”
“We’ve got this.” Noah gently brushed her hair away from her eyes, still feeding this aching need inside of him to touch her. “You and me, sweetheart. We’ve handled everything thrown our way. We’re stronger together, and we’ve proven that time and again.”
Noah lifted Reese into his arms, leaving behind the two cups of coffee in favor of the bedroom. Soon, similar mugs would be on a different porch…their porch. He’d been given a home by his mother and father, and now he had a woman by his side to rebuild the foundation.
They had exposed an unbelievable nightmare in this town created by an evil that shouldn’t be able to exist among these good people.
They had also unlocked a love that could conquer anything thrown in its way, including fear. The tables had turned. It was evil that feared the light of day now. They would strive to push the perpetrator responsible for killing Sophia out into the light, even if it took every ounce of energy that the Kendalls could muster.
~ The End ~
Thank you for joining me in the beginning of the Kendall family’s journey in unraveling a mystery that has surrounded Blyth Lake for twelve long years. You’re not going to want to miss the continuation into Lance Kendall’s story with Unlocking Secrets…
A grim discovery in Lance Kendall’s home proved one thing—the residents of Blyth Lake had a serial killer in their midst. Now Lance had unintentionally put a target on his back. Worst yet, he’s made the only woman he ever loved known to a murderer.
A trip down memory lane with the man who’d broken Brynn Mercer’s heart wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done in her life, but their reunion was a slow burn of temptation that she couldn’t ignore.
Together, they will only have one chance to correct the past. Will the hidden secrets he uncovered threaten their love or solidify it for a future that has always been out of their reach?