Noble Love (The Nobles of Sweet Rapids #1) (13 page)

"
I
miss his laugh."

Isaiah turned his gaze from the lake to Ivy, who'd just spoke. She was sitting under a blanket with her head on Isabella's shoulder.

He was sitting on his back porch with his siblings, watching the rain come down. A week had passed since their father's funeral and the family was slowly getting back to normal.

As normal as life would be without the patriarch of their family.

"I miss his hugs," Isabella sighed.

"I miss the way he used to brag about how he made four kids at once." Ian said.

"'By my damn self!'" all four of them said at the same time, sharing a laugh.

"He made sure to let everyone know he didn't need any 'medical help', didn't he?" Isaiah said.

Ian stood, grabbed the bottle of bourbon off of the table. It was a special reserve, their father's favorite. He refilled four shot glasses.

"To Isaac Noble," he said, holding up his glass. Isaiah, Isabella and Ivy stood as well, holding up their glasses as Ian finished his toast. "The best damn entrepreneur, husband, father and man there ever was."

They toasted and tossed back their drinks before sitting back down.

"Remember how he nearly burnt the house down, trying to cook for Mom on Mother's Day that year?" Ivy giggled.

"Oh yeah!" Isabella laughed.

"If Ian hadn't stepped in and cooked, it would have been a complete disaster," Isaiah said.

They spent the rest of the evening reminiscing on good memories of their father.

Ivy sniffled. "What do we do now that he's gone?"

They fell into a somber silence again, all of them staring off into the distance.

"We finish what we started."

Isaiah felt everyone's eyes on him after he spoke.

"It's what he would have wanted," he continued. "We finish the documentary."

He looked around at his siblings and they all nodded in agreement.



"What is this?"

Tessa and Dana looked up to find Janet standing in the doorway of the bakery's kitchen.

Holding a sample of the key lime tarts they'd been giving out for the last week.

After the funeral, Tessa had gone back to work, giving Isaiah the time and space he needed to grieve with his family.

They'd begun giving out the samples of the new desserts they'd created.

And it seemed their mother finally found out about it.

"What. Is. This?" Janet repeated. "Why are these out on the floor? They're not on the menu."

"They're just samples, Mama," Dana said.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"Dad approved," Tessa said. She knew she must have sounded about ten years old and it reminded her of whenever they would ask their mother for something and she would say no, so they'd go and ask their father. Which was exactly what they'd done now, as well.

"'Dad approved'?" Janet repeated, walking further into the kitchen.

"Yes," Emmett said. "I did."

Janet turned to her husband. "What's going on, Emmett?"

"What's going on..." Emmett said, "...is that it's time for us to let our girls properly take over this business like we
said
we were going to do years ago."

Tessa and Dana watched as Emmett walked over to his wife and took the dessert from her hand. Janet opened her mouth to say something, and Emmett placed the tart in her mouth. Tessa felt Dana's hand dig in to her arm as they watched their mother slowly chew. Emmett nodded, a smile growing on his face.

"I'll never forget when you walked in here and all but demanded my parents hire you. My mother loved that passion in you. She taught you everything my parents knew. I understand your desire to hold on to those memories. But it's time we let Tessa and Dana create new ones. Let them add on to the legacy. We've been talking about retiring for a while now." He lowered his voice as he added, "And I know you enjoy our morning activities when you don't come in to the bakery."

Tessa squeezed her eyes shut and looked away, not wanting to remember that morning she'd walked in on said activities as she heard her sister cough down a snicker.

"Look at Isaac and how quickly life can end." Emmett added with a somber tone. "He loved his job, but that's
all
he ever did. Work."

Mentioning the death of Isaac Noble seemed to be a shock to Janet's system.

"Don't you remember when we were young and all the places you said you wanted to visit? The patisseries in Paris; gelatarias in Rome."

Janet sighed, looking away. "You don't...you don't think we're too
old
for that type of thing?"

"Hell no, woman," he said, chuckling. "We could pack a bag right now, grab our passports and take off."

Janet looked at Tessa and Dana. "I guess...I
have
had a hard time loosening the reigns."

"Just a little," Tessa teased, pinching her fingers together.

"I was so afraid of failing. Your grandparents worked so hard to build this place; I just didn't want to let them down. I've been so busy being wrapped up in my fear of failure, perhaps I haven't taken the time to really see how well you girls are doing here at the bakery, on your own."

Janet moved closer to Tessa and Dana. "But your father is right. It's past time we
truly
let you girls take over."

Tessa and Dana pulled their mother into a hug. "Your desserts really are good," she said.

"We've got a lot more ideas," Tessa said.

"I'm sure you girls will promote them as you see fit."

"So...that's it?" Dana asked suspiciously. "Just like that, you're letting us run things without interfering."

"Yes!" Janet insisted. When Dana's eyes narrowed in disbelief at her mother, she sighed, "Okay, I'll admit it'll probably take some time for me to completely back off. It's not going to be easy. But for now, I'll scale back...twenty percent."

"Eighty," Dana shot back.

"Thirty-five."

"Fifty percent, Mama."

With a huff, Janet acquiesced. "Fine."

Emmett wrapped an arm around Janet. "Don't worry, girls. I'll keep your mother preoccupied. Especially since we've got a flight to catch in the morning."

"A flight?" all three women chorused.

"Yes, we are going on a month long cruise."

"Emmett!" Janet gasped.

Tessa and Dana grinned as Emmett pulled Janet in to a long, lingering kiss.

"We'll let you girls get to it," Emmett said, taking Janet's hand in his. "We've got to go and pack."

"Have fun!" Dana called out.

They turned to each other, shocked and let out a scream of excitement in the middle of the kitchen.

"Okay." Dana said, shaking her head. "What the hell just happened?"

"I think our parents just officially retired from Everetts’ Bakery," Tessa mumbled.

"Hey, are you okay?" Dana asked, running a hand down Tessa's arm.

"Of course. I mean this is a good thing, right? We've been wanting this for–"

"I'm not talking about the bakery. I saw your face when Daddy mentioned Mr. Noble; when's the last time you talked to Isaiah?"

Tessa sighed, not wanting to think about that. It had been a couple of weeks. "I'm giving him the space he needs. He's grieving."

"People can become distant when they're in pain," Dana said. "You should remind him that you're there for him, Tess."

She missed him so much and she wanted to reach out to him, but she wasn't sure if she should.



"I guess that's a wrap."

Isaiah stood up from where he was sitting on the couch with his siblings to record their final parts of the documentary. It hadn't been easy to get through, but they'd done it.

"How soon until it's ready?" Ivy asked.

They were beginning to make plans to get back in to the normal routines of their lives. Since Isaiah had already been in Sweet Rapids helping with Noble Naturals before his father's passing, he was staying put for the time being. But he would also help with the final production of the documentary.

"I've got a few more shots to do before we go into post production," Isaiah said. "But we're going to get this turned around as soon as possible. I want us to all be able to see the complete film before you have to leave."

"Are you sure you're okay about us leaving?" Isabella said. "Dad would have wanted us to stay and help you with Noble Naturals."

Isaiah smiled at Isabella over her concern. "And when I need you home, I'll do just like Dad did and summon for you," he teased. "But all jokes aside, we’re still in the idea stages of the company's revamping. We haven't even begun to create anything new. But with Ian and Giselle Warren's solid ideas, we've got a bright future. Izzy, I know you'll be able to help us create a new look for the company. And Ivy, I think it will be great for you to start doing beauty how-to vlogs with our products."

Isabella and Ivy took off a few minutes later to go and visit their mother, while Ian stuck around Isaiah's place.

"I haven't seen Tessa around lately," Ian observed.

"Yeah." Isaiah said, avoiding his brother's curious glare. "With everything going on, I've just been–"

"Avoiding her."

Isaiah didn't say anything, so Ian asked, "Why?"

"I don't want this burden of me losing my father to be her burden too."

Ian shook his head. "Don't be an idiot."

"Excuse me?" Isaiah said.

"Look," Ian sighed. "I know I'm no expert when it comes to matters of the heart, but I've seen the way she looks at you, and I've also seen the way you look at her. You two look at each other the way Mom and Dad used to. Like I said, I'm no expert, but even a fool can look at you two and know you're in love. And when people have that...love shit...they carry each other's loads."

Ian stood. "I'm gonna roll out to my place, check things out." He had a place on the outskirts of Sweet Rapids. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," Isaiah said. "I'll be fine."

Once he was alone, he thought about what his brother said. And then he thought of the last words Tessa had said to him, including she loved him.

He'd wanted to respond, but she'd walked off before he'd gotten the chance. He should have called or went to see her, but he'd become so preoccupied with dealing with the family, and the business; not to mention handling his own feelings about the loss of his father. Time just seemed to slip away.

But he couldn't let that happen anymore.

He couldn't neglect the woman he loved any longer.

I
saiah slid his arms in his jacket, grabbed his keys and opened his front door and froze when he saw Tessa standing in front of him, her fist in the air poised to knock.

"Tess–"

"It's been nearly three weeks."

His mouth clamped shut when he saw the fierce look in her eyes. He stumbled back slightly when she shoved her way inside.

"I know–"

"Three weeks since I've seen you, kissed you or touched you." She blew out a breath. "Three weeks since I told you that I loved you."

"Tess I–"

"I know I have no right to be pissed, because what you've been through is...I can't even imagine. I don't know how I would cope if I suffered that kind of loss. So I know I
shouldn't
be pissed. But I am dammit! I understand that your family needed you and you needed them. But, as selfish as it probably is, I wanted you to need me too."

"I did...I
do
need you," Isaiah said to Tessa.

"Then
where
have you been?" she asked, obviously attempting to keep her voice from rising. "All three of your siblings have come by the bakery, but you...you've been MIA."

Isaiah took a step towards her. "Losing my dad..." He cleared his throat. "It was the hardest thing I've had to deal with. I've never felt so weak as I did over the last few weeks. I didn't want you to see me like that."

Tessa looked away from Isaiah briefly. "I don't mean to be insensitive, but that is the most macho, stupid crap I've ever heard."

"I know," he said, as he gave her a small smile. "But it's the best I've got for an excuse."

"You don't
need
an excuse. I just wish you would have trusted me enough with your heart to let me help you through your time of sorrow. If you need me, Isaiah, even when you're feeling broken and weak, even when you're feeling like you can't get out of bed, I want to be there for you."

"I do trust you, truly. And I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. The least I could have done was reach out to you."

"I'm sorry for being so crazy right now."

Isaiah chuckled, pulling her into his arms. "I don't know if it'll earn me any brownie points, but I was literally on my way to come and see you before you showed up on my doorstep."

"That might earn you a few." she said, before his lips closed over hers.

He pulled away and took a deep inhale, the fragrant smell of the food coming from the bag she'd brought with her filling his nostrils.

"Did you bring Mediterranean?"

She shoved him, and shook her head, grinning. "I pour my heart out to you and all you're worried about is the food I brought with me."

He reached out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back against him.

"Tess." he whispered against her neck, before planting a kiss beneath her ear. "I love you."

He pressed his forehead to hers and her eyes slid open and upward, locking with his.

"I love you too. Now let's go eat."



"We finished the documentary."

Tessa looked up from her food to Isaiah, who was eating with gusto. She was glad to see that. One of the reasons she'd brought food with her was because when his sisters had come by the bakery, they'd 'let it slip' that Isaiah was barely eating.

It was obvious when he'd opened the door right, as she was about to ring the doorbell, that he’d clearly lost a few pounds.

Smiling, Tessa said, "That's great. I'm sure your father would have wanted you to complete it."

Isaiah nodded and swallowed the food in his mouth. "We all thought the same thing, which is why we decided to move forward with it. I still have to finish putting it together, but all of the filming is done."

"You make sure you make me look good in my part," she teased.

"That won't be hard to do. The camera loves you."

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she said with a wink, before she went back to eating.

"We're holding a special screening in about a week."

"Will it be ready by then?"

"Even if I have to stay awake for the next few days, it will be ready."

"I don't know a thing about that type of stuff, but if you any help..."

Isaiah nodded. "You can help by providing desserts."

It was nice to know his appetite had returned, Tessa thought.

"Speaking of desserts," Tessa said. "I guess I should share my good news too."

"What good news?"

"Dana and I have started selling our new creations at the bakery."

Isaiah dropped his fork.

"Really? Like actually selling? Not just samples?"

Tessa nodded and then told him the story of how their father came in and laid down the law with their mother.

"And now they're off on a month long cruise?" Isaiah repeated, after she finished.

"Yes, it's so crazy! They literally packed their bag and flew out the next morning. Apparently, Daddy had been planning this trip for sometime. He wasn't taking no for an answer."

"I'm glad everything worked out for you, Tess."

"Me too," she said. "The customers love them and are eager for more new products."

"Do you have any planned?" Isaiah asked.

"Yeah, we've actually been thinking about some kind of honey cookies. Dana found this locally harvested honey, Abe Nilon's Honey, I believe is the name of it. It's really good."

"That's a really good brand," Isaiah said. "I know a distributor. I can get you a good deal."

"Are you serious?" Tessa asked.

"Yeah."

"That would be amazing."

"I'll call him tomorrow, get you guys connected."

Tessa stood up and came around to the side of the table where Isaiah was sitting.

"Thanks for dinner," Isaiah said, as he pushed his chair back to make room for Tessa to stand in front of him.

"You're welcome."

"Have I told you how much I missed you over the last few weeks?"

Tessa shook her head, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his chair.

"No, but you can show me…upstairs."



"Isaiah?"

Isaiah was down in his studio working on the final edits of the documentary.

"Honey, it's three in the morning. Come to bed."

"Another hour."

He sat back when Tessa slid between his legs, blocking his view of his laptop.

"Tess–" he said, attempting to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"You've barely slept this week."

"And I told you if I had to stay awake all week, I would. The screening is this weekend. We've already set everything up, sent out invitations."

"And it's going to be perfect," she said, leaning forward, palming his cheeks in her hands. "But you need your rest now."

"I have to finish this–"

"In the morning," she said, firmly. "When your mind is clear and fresh."

She sat back and he noticed the way his button down shirt that she put on had slipped open slightly.

"Now, we can argue about this now..." She shrugged out of the shirt a little, showing her shoulders. "...Or we can skip all of that and get right to the make up sex."

Her long chocolaty legs spilled from beneath the shirt and he couldn't resist her offer. He reached out, grabbed the hem of the shirt and yanked her toward him.

"I think we can skip ahead to the make up sex."