Built to Last (3 page)

Del sat with a sigh and sifted through the loose pictures. Most of them were Polaroids. She laughed aloud and pointed to the picture. “Do you remember this one? You and I were what… maybe six and nine? You wanted to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast for Halloween and I went as the Beast. We got so much candy that year. Mom made both our costumes…” Del paused tears springing to her eyes. “I’m sorry Elle. I haven’t been a good sister.”

Noelle smiled kindly at Del. “Do you hear me complaining? I know it was hard for you with Mom. The important thing is that you came to say goodbye. I know that meant more to her than anything. She loved you Del and forgave you a long time ago. It may have taken a while but I have too.”

Tears were flowing freely down both the sister’s cheeks. Noelle got up and found a box of tissue for them both. She leaned over and hugged her sister as the wall of grief between them crumbled. They cried together for a while sorting through various pictures. “Do you recognize any of these people?” Del asked turning them over. The backs were blank.

“I already sorted them into the ones where I knew people and the ones I didn’t. Mom wasn’t very good about labeling. I left those for you to look through; I thought that maybe you might recognize a few. We should have updated her to the digital age years ago.”

Del laughed dabbing the last of the tears from her eyes. She shuffled through them, chuckling at some of the contents. “I say throw the lot of them, who’s going to miss them?”

Noelle shrugged, thinking about her mother. She didn’t like the idea of throwing out any pictures of her mother regardless of who was in them, there were just so many. “Set them is the box in the corner, then.”

The women spent the next couple of hours marking boxes with relatives’ names and sorting through knick knacks and memorabilia sometimes stopping to relive a happy memory sometimes to cry a bit more. Finally, everything was sorted down into a keep and a discard box.

“I’m ready for a bre
ak, how about you?” Del asked, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

Noelle nodded and followed. She poured both of them a fresh mug of coffee. “So, tell me sister dear, what’s this idea you have for my date?”

CHAPTER THREE

Noelle stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom.

“See, what did I tell you?” Del commented with a grin. “Beautiful. I wish I had your legs little sister.”

Noelle laughed, “Yours are nothing to scoff at either Del.” She turned slightly making the flared skirt of the dress Del had insisted she needed to buy, swirl softly just above her knees. It was rich burgundy chiffon with a vee neckline and faux ties on each shoulder strap. The color brought out the color in her cheeks. It wrapped snuggly around her waist giving her slim frame a more curvy appearance. Del had taken her to have her nails and hair done as well. She felt amazing. It’d had been a long time since she had dressed up for anything.

“Are you going to be all right on your own until he gets here?” Del asked.

“Of course, it’s just a date. I used to go on them all the time.” She waved her sister off. “Kiss the boys for me when you get home.” She followed her sister out to the door. “Thank you for your help today.” Noelle leaned in and gave her sister a warm hug.

“I’m glad I could do something to help Elle. Call me tomorrow?”

Noelle nodded as she closed the door. Alone in the house amid half-packed boxes and her mother’s things, she began to have doubts about going out with Cade tonight. What did she expect to come of any of this? She didn’t have anything to offer anyone right now. No income, no place to call her own and not in the position to say she would have either problem fixed in the immediate future. Today was supposed to be about getting organized and moving forward toward her own life and instead she spent the majority of it getting gussied up for a date with a man she’s lusted after in high school. She was sorely tempted to give Cade a call and cancel. Precious rubbed up against her bare ankles.

“What do you think love? Should I call him?” She asked the cat. Precious meowed at her and walked off toward the bedroom. “Well, that was helpful,” she muttered and then laughed softly at herself. “I’m already dressed up, I guess, no use putting it to waste.” Besides Del wouldn’t let me live it down if I don’t go.

***

Cade was excited. There was no other word for it. He had made reservations for one of his favorite places and had bought flowers. He ran a comb through his loose waving dark brown hair. He looked at his watch for the third time in as many minutes and decided it was time to head out. He locked up the house and chose against his truck in the garage opting for the SUV instead. He shrugged into his coat and climbed into the vehicle. It was an hour and twenty-minute drive to her house and then an hour back into the city for dinner. He plugged in his playlist for the evening and backed out of the garage. Being later in the evening, it was already dark and traffic was light. The moon was out shimmering off the snow and making the evening seem like something out of a movie.

As he pulled up to her house, he felt a tremor of anticipation run through his body. He hoped that she would be impressed by his choice of restaurant. He killed the engine and grabbed the pale yellow roses from the passenger seat. The porch light flickered to life, as he climbed out of the SUV and onto the sidewalk. The evening was crisp and cold against the skin, but he felt comfortably warm already. He couldn’t keep his mind from thoughts of Noelle. They had been tormenting him all day.

Noelle heard Cade pull up out front and switched on the light refusing to give in to her urge to peek out the window at him. It felt too eager. She pulled her wool coat from the coat closet and laid it across the armchair where her purse sat. She looked around the room to take stock of everything and mentally check off any last minute things she should do. No, she was ready. The house being in the state it was, she felt that meeting him at the door was appropriate. She didn’t really have comfortable seating anyway. The couch cushions had been stacked to one side and the coffee table was holding a half filled box. Even knowing he had been walking to the door, she still jumped a little when he knocked. She twisted the knob and opened the door. Again, she was struck by his looks and as he crossed the threshold into the house, she could smell his cologne. It made her feel weak in the knees.

“You look beautiful,” he commented softly as he looked at her from head to toe. “These are for you.” He handed her the roses.

“Thank you, they are gorgeous.” She looked toward the kitchen trying to remember if she had a vase to put them in. “I’ll just put these in water and then we can go.”

“I talked to some of the boys, would three work tomorrow to pick up the furniture?” Cade called into the kitchen.

Noelle walked out with a vase and the flowers and set them on the crowded coffee table. She pulled the roses from their bundle and slid them into the water. “I don’t see why not. I’ll make sure to have a good sized path cleared,” she smiled up at him.

“Ready?” he asked feeling his heart leap into his throat when she smiled at him. In a t-shirt and exercise pants he had found her beautiful, in this dress with her chestnut brown hair falling in waves around her face, she was devastating. He helped her into her coat and held the door open for her making sure it was locked behind them. He opened the door to the SUV and helped her up into the seat admiring her legs briefly, as she climbed in, before shutting the door.

The trip to the restaurant went quickly for them both. She asked him about his life since high school and he asked about college. They laughed together and listened to music. In fact, by the time they reached the restaurant, Noelle thought that she would have been just as happy if the date was ending instead of beginning. She was having a wonderful time. She felt breathless and pretty and all the things she could hope for as he helped her out of the car and offered his arm to her to walk up the path to the door.

The place looked like an upscale log cabin. The trees were lit with strings of white lights and she could tell that this place was not some place she could ever afford on her own. As they stepped inside a pretty hostess greeted them. She took them to a waiting area next to a cozy fireplace, with the promise that their table was nearly ready. After taking their drink orders, she disappeared again.

“This place is...wow.” Noelle offered looking around. The rustic log cabin feel moved throughout the place.

“I’d hoped you’d like it.”

A cocktail waitress brought them their drinks while they talked.
Noelle was quick to notice her eyes all over Cade and it made her feel predatory.

“How’s your wine?”

“Delicious.” Noelle smiled, giving the waitress a ‘Back Off’ stare. “How did things go with your mason?”

Cade gave her a confused look.

“You mentioned this morning that you had to show him to the site you’re working on.”

“Yes, of course, the hotel. It went well. I think he’ll get the job done for me.”

“It must be enjoyable work for you. Creating buildings like giant pieces of artwork that will be standing long after you.”

“It can be very rewarding, watching things I design come to life, yes. It can also be very frustrating at times. Clients don’t always understand how things work. They want a glass bottomed pool over their living room because they saw it in a movie once, but don’t understand what it takes to make it happen. That kind of thing.”

Noelle nodded, imagining what he was describing. “I don’t think I’d feel comfortable sitting under something like that to watch TV.”

Cade laughed aloud. “Safe enough, just expensive to construct.”

“Your table is ready now, if you’d like to follow me,” the hostess offered.

They wove their way through the restaurant and Noelle discreetly looked at the plates of other diners as they passed. Everything looked wonderful and rich. The hostess led them to a table closer to the back of the room where one wall was nothing but bookshelves covered with antiques and all kinds of books. She caught titles of classics among ones with which she was unfamiliar. If they weren’t here for dinner, she could make an evening just reading the titles along this lovely wall.

She sat and looked across the table at Cade, whose handsome face was now highlighted by the candle flickering between them on the table. He was watching her in return. She locked eyes with him and felt her cheeks grow warm. Her mahogany eyes darted down to the menu in front of her. This was the kind of place where they didn’t put prices on the menu, definitely outside her pay grade.

“Anything sound particularly good? They get the majority of their ingredients from local merchants.” Cade asked looking at his own menu.

“Everything sounds fantastic; I really have no idea what to order.”

“Would you allow me to order for you?”

Noelle looked across the table again, feeling relieved. She was afraid she’d inadvertently pick the most expensive thing on the menu. “Okay, surprise me then.”

***

Cade walked her to the door. The evening had gone well and she felt the anticipation of a second date. She unlocked the door and turned back to him. “Everything was wonderful Cade, thank you.” She smiled up into his deep green eyes and felt heat stain her cheeks again. Her heart leapt up into her throat and her eyes flickered down to his lips and back to his eyes. She really wanted him to kiss her.

“I’d like to do it again soon,” he answered watching her blush. So... she wasn’t completely oblivious to him. He thought that it was cute that he could make her blush so easily.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon?” she asked just because she wasn’t ready to say goodnight.

“Yes, I think we can take the majority of the furniture.” He wanted her. He had wanted her for two years now, but here, right now he wanted to scoop her up into his arms, take her inside, and make love to her for the remainder of the night. It hit him like a whirlwind.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she whispered. She leaned up on her tiptoes and planted a quick soft kiss on his lips before darting inside. “Goodnight.”

Cade stared at the closed door in front of him for a moment feeling stunned. He grinned widely, “Goodnight Noelle” he called through the door and turned to head home
.

CHAPTER FOUR

Noelle had a hard time sleeping after Cade left. She kept thinking about everything between them and what they had talked about through dinner. She had come to realize the boy her sister had dated in high school had been a stranger to her, a fantasy she had entertained through her adolescence.

He was so different from what she had expected and not in a bad way. He was independent, confident, and passionate about the things and people he loved. His work was very important to him, but what he wanted more than anything else, was to build his own home in the mountains and retire at an age early enough to still be able to enjoy life. He hadn’t said it directly but Noelle understood that to mean retired with a wife and children. He enjoyed literature and read in his free time, which pleased her to no end. He asked all the right questions and none of the hard ones like whether she would go back to college or not. In short, he was exactly the type of man she could fall head over heels for if she wasn’t careful.

Precious had curled up in a sunbeam on the carpet in the living room as Noelle closed up the last of the boxes she’d filled. She looked over at the clock, which told her it was not yet one in the afternoon and her stomach reminded her that she’s only had coffee since dinner with Cade. Deciding that a sandwich was in order, she walked into the kitchen. An easy smile brightened her face as the vase of yellow roses came into view. She stuck her nose into one of the buds and inhaled deeply. If Cade only knew how close she had come to inviting him in last night...

Her cell phone rang jarring her from her thoughts. “Hey sis! How’d it go?” Del asked excitedly on the other end.

Noelle laughed at her sister’s exuberance. “It went fine. It’s not like I’ve never been on a date before Del.”

“All you are going to give me is fine?”

“Why the fascination? It was just a date.”

“Oh come on Elle,” her sister whined, “Let me live a little vicariously through you. Do you know when the last time was that I went on a real date? It was before the twins were born.”

“Then Sam needs to fix that. Find a day you both have off and I’ll come into the city and watch my nephews for the night.”

“You’d do that? They can be a handful...”

“You are my sister and they are my family, so of course I’d do that for you. I’m surprised you haven’t asked before this. I can handle the terrible twins.”

“I’ll talk to Sam then.” Del answered. There was a slight pause in their conversation, “Nice try by the way, and I’m not letting you off the hook. I want to know everything so spill.”

Noelle shook her head and started in on the details with her sister. She leaned in, pulled some lunchmeat and cheese from the fridge, and made herself a sandwich while she answered all of Del’s questions. Finally satisfied, even though Noelle had left out a lot about the night, Del said she had to go and that she would call again later in the week after she had talked to her husband about a date night.

A couple hours later, there was a knock at her door and Noelle nearly jumped across the room to answer it. She pulled it open with a wide smile on her face to find someone completely unexpected on her porch.

“Griffin?” Noelle asked incredulously.

“Noelle Fuchs. You are the last person I expected to find behind this door.” Griffin Andersen answered through her screen door.

“Come in please,” Noelle offered and gave him a big hug as he did. “It’s so good to see you. It’s been what five years? How have you been, what have you been up to?” Noelle let her eyes pour over the man in her living room. His sandy blonde hair was longer than she’d remembered and he was taller by several inches. His intense ice blue eyes still jumped out at you when he looked at you, but he no longer looked like the college freshman she knew. He’d filled out into a very handsome man.

“It’s been six. I was sorry to hear about your Mom. I would have come for the services but I was out of the country at the time.”

Noelle’s eyes dropped at the mention of her mother. She still didn’t know how to reply to people when they offered their condolences. “Out of the country sounds promising. Did you stick with the art major? I remember you were talking about all the things you wanted to do before you settled down. Are you married?”

They sat on the couch, Noelle forgetting that she was expecting Cade and his crew to move the furniture at any time. “No. I’m not married. I did get my degree in art, crammed it all into two years with night classes and online, but I apprenticed into masonry shortly after you had to leave. There are too many things I want out of life and painting landscapes for living wasn’t going to cut it for me. I made Journeyman last year. I found that working with stone was something I enjoyed and was good at, I still do a sculpture or an odd painting here and there, but mostly I’m in high end construction.”

Something clicked for Noelle. “You wouldn’t be working for Harden Construction would you?”

“Yeah, I just started yesterday morning in fact.”

“Well, that explains how you ended up on my doorstep then. The world really is a small place. Cade is collecting all Mom’s furniture to donate to her church, he was who I was expecting when you knocked.”

“Yep, he sent me over to meet the crew which, if I am hearing correctly, is just arriving outside.” They both stood and walked over to the front window to look out. A large moving van and two more trucks had pulled up along the street and several men including Cade were opening up the van and getting it ready for the furniture.

“Since you are going to be around for a while Griffin,” she said pulling on her coat and opening the front door again. “We should get coffee sometime.” Noelle grabbed a scrap of paper from the top of one of the boxes and wrote her cell number on it. “Give me a call.”

“...give me a call.” Cade heard her voice as he stepped up onto the porch.

“Afternoon Boss,” Griffin greeted Cade before grabbing an armchair and heading out the door with it.

Cade looked suspiciously between Griffin and Noelle. She was smiling and color flooded her cheeks as he caught her eye. “Good afternoon.”

“I have it all ready,” Noelle commented feeling more than a little nervous and breathless in Cade’s presence. Two more men came in behind Cade before he had a chance to say anything further and then in no time flat the house was devoid of furniture. She had hoped to get a chance to talk to Cade before everything was done but he was gone again just like that. Noelle closed the door as the last truck drove off, with a sigh of frustration. Had she misinterpreted his feelings last night? Maybe he didn’t have as good a time as he let on. Doubts flooded her head and to avoid them she grabbed that morning’s edition of the paper and started to look for an apartment she could afford and a job to pay for it. She grabbed her laptop from the bedroom and decided that she would look into the English program at University of Utah as well. Perhaps that would be her answer for now. If all her credits were still good, she only had a year left of study and then her student teaching. That way she could teach while she worked on her Master’s program. Of course, that plan all hinged on whether or not she could get financial aid. She had been on scholarship initially so she didn’t owe anything but she knew it’d be next fall before she’d be eligible for any of that again and Fall was still a long way off.

***

Griffin was smiling at his coworkers. “That was one sweet looking little lady.” Rick the electrician commented, “How’d you score her number?”

“What can I say?” Griffin answered as they set the couch down on the rec room floor. “Women just love me.”

“Back to work.” Cade called as the last of the furniture was brought in. He looked specifically at Griffin. “There’s a lot to be done and a short time to do it in.”

Griffin knew his new Boss was unhappy with him. He shrugged to himself and headed for his truck.

As Cade drove back to the site, he thought about calling Noelle, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to press her number into his phone. He’d thought their date had gone really well. He thought back over the evening and couldn’t find one moment that seemed anything but pleasant. But there she was this afternoon, only a day later giving her phone number to his marble guy.

“It was only one date,” he muttered to himself. “It’s not like you proposed.” he said but it didn’t help. The feeling of her lips brushing his own ever so briefly the night before still distracted him. For reasons unknown, he felt like she had betrayed him. It left him feeling hollow. He pulled into the hotel site and climbed out of his truck. He felt raw and frustrated, and his crew suffered the brunt of it for the rest of the day.

***

Noelle had been busy for the rest of the day cleaning up the living room and kitchen. All that was left was one set of dishes for her to eat off and the things in her bedroom. She had contacted several people advertising apartments in the city and arranged to view a couple of them tomorrow. The deposit, first and last month’s rent requirements would eat up the last of her savings. So, while she was in the city tomorrow, she would also be putting in for several different jobs.

The gap in her resume of paid work made her worry, but after spending several hours poring over the university website, she realized there just wasn’t any way she would be able to afford to go to school until the fall. She’d stop by admissions and get the financial aid forms as well as find out what the newest class catalog would require to finish her degree. It felt good to have forward momentum in her life again.

She yawned and stretched her muscles a bit, deciding a shower and bed sounded really good. She thought about Cade again and the way he had acted today. Her memories of him from her early years were so filled with hero worship that it was hard to incorporate the man she went to dinner last night with into the boy from school. However, the man from the reunion and this Cade were one and the same. He was alive and sexy as hell. Turning the water off, she dried off and wrapped up in her robe. She was just entering her bedroom when her phone rang. She dove for it with a hopeful smile on her face.

“Hello,” she answered, the smile ringing in her voice.

“Hey there,” Griffin smiled in return. “It’s Griffin. I wanted to call and see what you were doing tomorrow night.”

“Hey Griffin,” she replied holding back her disappointment. “I’m going into the city tomorrow to look for an apartment but I don’t have anything planned for tomorrow night. I suppose I could meet you after work.”

“How about the Bayou at six?”

“I haven’t been there in a while. That sounds great. I’ll meet you there.”

“Good, I look forward to getting to catch up with you. Goodnight Noelle.”