Morning Light: A Day of Pleasure, Book 1 (6 page)

Now Chris was in the hot seat and Noah was happy enough to turn the tables. Tennyson wouldn’t answer any of his questions on the subject over lunch. He’d finally given up, knowing he’d get the answers from Chris. If he didn’t offer any up, this time he would definitely toss him over the railing into the lake. Whatever worked.

“I need to talk to her. I wasn’t at my best this morning. Obviously.”

“Chris, she wouldn’t even discuss it with me, but when I followed her into the house I found her crying in the shower. So whatever the fuck you said hurt her. You had better make this right with her, or you’ll be answering
to me
on this one.” Noah punctuated his statement with a sharp look. The kind he normally offered up before he tossed a punch.

Chris watched his normally stoic brother start to look murderous. And he had every right. The things he had said to Tenn were unfathomable. He had been hateful and vicious to her. Something he thought he could never be, especially with her. His best friend. The only real girl in his life.

When his feet had hit the steps of her back porch and he’d taken in an obviously aroused Tenn wrapped around his brother, he had felt hateful. Then the treacherous words had spilled forth.

An aching sense of loss had enveloped him, knowing he’d lost her. Forever. In the space of a moment in time he’d lost his best friend to his brother. In a blink of an eye his entire life had turned upside down. And he’d lashed out.

With his cruel words he’d watched the light die in her eyes. All he knew was a crushing guilt splitting his heart in two. He’d bolted for his car and spent the morning wishing he could take it all back or drink himself into a stupor. Whichever worked.

Now his brother sat beside him telling him he wanted to marry Tenn. It was a beautiful thing, to see his normally calm brother get worked up about a woman. He had pressed his brother in the hopes of scaring him away if he wasn’t serious about Tenn. Instead of scaring Noah off, it had brought his declaration quicker than either of them expected. And as an added benefit, Chris got to watch his brother turn ten shades of red while he reined in his temper. Hell, it was past time Chris accepted the friendship he shared with Tenn was going to change.

Those changes should have happened a long time ago, but she’d never seriously dated anyone. Something he had never bothered to talk to her about. He was happy to have her all to himself. Selfish bastard that he was.

“Noah, I need to talk to Tenn. I was wrong this morning… You probably should beat the hell out of me after what I said.”

“What did you say to her?” And the murderous glint became even deadlier.

“Shit. I can’t even repeat it. It was bad.”

“You make this right with her, Chris. Or I
will
beat the hell out of you.” And with that bright and sunny statement, Chris watched his brother stalk back into the pub.

Chapter Seven

Tenn had bolted from Noah’s vehicle like her ass was on fire. Now she sat alone in her car with nowhere to go. Not ready to face her own home, with all the reminders of the hours they had spent in bed together, she was at a loss.

She needed advice. Obviously she couldn’t call Chris and beg for his expertise. She’d do the next best thing. Molly was Noah’s pub manager, but she was also the closest thing Tenn had to a girlfriend. Molly had come to town not long after Noah took over the pub, and though she was private and kept to herself, she was also fiercely loyal and quite outspoken once you got to know her.

Assuming she’d be working, since Noah obviously wasn’t, she rang up the pub and got Molly immediately. “Hey, girl!” Tenn tried to sound cheerful instead of completely freaked.

“Hey yourself. What’s wrong?”

“How do you do that? Jesus, I’m trying to keep my shit together over here and you totally call me out.”

“Well, darling, you are the most even-keeled woman I know. When you call me at work sounding like you’re about to burst into tears, it’s not hard to figure out something major is up. Spill.”

“I love you and how you cut completely to the core of the matter.” It made Tenn smile that Molly could be so straightforward and still make her feel comforted. “Are you free tonight? Or are you working late? I could use a bottle of wine and some girl talk if you’re free.”

“Oh, honey, you said the magic words. Noah called me in early, he’s taking my late shift and I’m out of here in about…” she paused for a second, “…in about thirty minutes.”

“Excellent. I’ll swing by your apartment and pick you up.”

“You can pick me up here if you want. It would save us a bit of time.”

Tenn hesitated. The silence on the line was deafening.

“Shit. Is this about whatever Chris and Noah are outside on the verge of coming to blows about?” Molly voice sounded stunned. “Tenn, did you and Chris finally sleep together? Oh my God, Noah is going to be devastated.”

“What? I didn’t sleep with Chris. How could you think that?” It wasn’t lost on Tenn when Molly said Noah would be devastated if she had slept with Chris. Could life get any more confusing right now?

“Wait. What was going on last night? You were decked out and Chris was all over you when I left. I thought Noah was going to plaster Chris’s face with his fist at least ten times.”

“Molly, I think I blew my chance with Noah. I slept with him this morning and then I panicked. Hell, I’m still panicking. I thought it was a casual thing for him and I ran!”

“Are you blind? Noah has been stalking you since the day he got home. I think he was biding his time to make sure you and Chris didn’t have something more going on. I mean, Tenn, he looks at you like he wants to eat you up. Lord, girl, if a man looked at me like that I would eat
him
up.”

There was a pause on the line and Tenn attempted to catch her breath. Was Molly right? She had no reason to doubt the only woman in her life. Molly was a straight shooter who was hyper aware of her surroundings. She always said it was the life of a bartender making her that way, but Tenn thought there was more to the story. Either way, she could be trusted.

“Tenn, honey, Noah’s right here and says he’ll pay me double time if I cover for him and get you to come to the pub.” Molly barely took a breath before saying, “If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for me. I could use the extra pay. And I’ll owe you the bottle of wine for next time.”

It was a weak ploy, but Tenn clung to it like a lifeline. She had always been a weak woman when it came to Noah. “Fine. For you, Molly. I’ll be there shortly.” As soon as she could catch her breath.

Noah watched as Molly placed the phone back in the cradle. Anticipation rode him. He’d caught the tail end of the conversation and suddenly realized Tenn had doubted his intentions, she didn’t have feelings for Chris. Her shriek of surprise when Molly asked if it was Chris she’d slept with was all Noah needed to know. Molly was smart and had played the friend card to get her to the pub, and he owed her in a major way. An all-expenses-paid vacation sounded about right.

Molly leveled a glare his way before saying, “Noah.”

She made him smile, even when she was about to give him an earful. “Yes, Molly.”

“I know you have it bad for Tenn, and I know she’s been in love with you for far longer than she’ll admit. If you don’t tell that girl you’ve been in love with her for far longer than
you’d
like to admit, the minute she walks in the door, I’m very likely to stab you in your overly handsome face. She’s unsure of you and probably more than a little afraid. It means you’ve got to lay it on the line and man-up, brother.”

“Just like that?” It was exactly his plan, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to rib Molly a bit. She was protective, fierce, and very likely to make good on her face-stabbing threat.

“Noah.” She was still scowling at him when Chris walked up behind her and placed a casual hand at her waist as he tried to step by her behind the bar. She immediately grabbed his wrist and in seconds had him face-first on the bar, with his wrist uncomfortably twisted behind his back and a hand planted against the back of his head.

Molly uncoiled from the fighting position and slowly released Chris from the takedown. She eyed them both hesitantly before straightening fully and stepping away from Chris completely. “I’m sorry, Chris. You startled me and it was automatic.” She bit her lip, taking another step away from him.

Chris rubbed his wrist and looked at Molly like he’d never seen her before. “Damn, woman. You’re quick.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Hell no! I’m impressed. Where did you learn moves like that?”

Molly glanced between Noah and Chris, not exactly nervous, but definitely cautious. “It comes from working as a bartender—you know, protecting yourself when things get out of hand.” She bustled off, effectively ending the conversation.

Chris glanced at Noah before saying, “She didn’t learn those kind of defensive moves at any bar.”

“No, she did not. She’s had some serious training somewhere. The question is, why and where?” Noah had spent enough time as a ranger to know top-quality training when he saw it. Even in unexpected packages like Molly, who had a slight frame and an unassuming pixie-like face, with a head of boyishly short, auburn curls. Other than the catlike reflexes and the obvious training, Noah had never suspected her of being anything other than a capable employee and strong-willed woman.

They rarely had any instances of violence at the pub, other than a few drunken tourists who needed to be escorted out, and typically it was him or Chris taking care of any troublemakers. He never doubted Molly could handle herself—she was self-assured and quick-witted—but he’d never thought her capable of taking on a man with at least a hundred pounds on her.

“Well, I think the question’s are going to have to wait. Tenn just walked in the door.”

Noah turned to watch her walk toward their location while she casually offered a wave to a few regulars enjoying a late lunch at the other end of the pub.

“Let me talk to her first. I need to apologize.”

Noah slanted a sharp look at his brother and nodded in quick agreement. “Use my apartment; the door’s unlocked. I suspect she’d like to give you a piece of her mind in private.”

Chris moved forward to meet Tenn halfway through the pub. They shared a few brief words. Tenn’s face was set in obstinate lines, but she followed him to the door leading to Noah’s apartment upstairs.

From his left, Molly approached and he waited for her to make the first move. It didn’t take long, since she wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

“Noah, as my boss I owe you an apology as well. I’m sorry I attacked your brother. It really was unintentional. I’m a little on edge lately, and he caught me by surprise.”

“No need to apologize. We’ve all been there. Some of us have more training than the average guy, or girl, in your case.” He waited for her response and watched closely.

She gave a little start at his statement but quickly covered it over with a genial expression. “I appreciate your understanding. I won’t let it happen again.”

“Molly.” He waited for her to raise her eyes to his. When she held his gaze without glancing away, he finally spoke. “Look, I know your job history and I always do a background check on my staff, but there’s something you’re not telling me. And that’s fine. But if you ever need anything, and I mean
anything
, you only need to say the word.”

She gave a quick nod and hurried off, but not before a brief expression of relief flashed over her features. There was a story there and Noah’s instincts told him it wasn’t good. Until she came to him he’d keep a closer eye on her. Something had her spooked, enough to react blindly when casually touched, and he’d be sure to enlist some more help. He picked up the phone to make a few calls.

Tenn paced around the apartment while Chris spoke. It was apparent she was only half listening to him, unfortunately. “What?”

“Are you paying attention?” He gave her a mock scowl, relieved she wasn’t clawing his face off at the moment. “Honey, I’m trying hard to apologize here. Can I at least get five minutes of your time before you run off to Noah?”

Tenn whipped around so quickly he didn’t anticipate her hand reaching out to slap him. What was it with the women in his life today? His face hadn’t been this brutalized since he’d picked a fight in college he hadn’t won. “Look, buddy, you’re lucky I’m even giving you the time of day after the way you attacked me this morning. What you said was fucking unforgivable—you get what I give right now. It’s none of your damn business what Noah and I are doing together.”

Well, at least she wasn’t crying any longer. He could take her anger. Her tears were an entirely different story. “I know. I know it was unforgivable. But I am sorry. So sorry.” He took a moment to breathe before he plunged head-first into the shallow end of the pool. She’d probably give him a punch in the face this time.

“I wasn’t ready to lose you, not even to my brother. Tenn, you’ve always been mine. Always. I’ve never had to share you with any serious boyfriend—a few casual yahoos now and again, but never anyone who stuck around. I’m selfish. A part of me always wanted things to stay that way between us. Just you and me.”

She looked up at him now with shiny eyes and gave a small sniffle.