Page 85 of Finding Noah

Meg lifted her head, looking up at me. “You didn't know any of that before?”

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I shook my head. “I knew Mom and Dad had met when they were younger. I mean, they'd grown up in the same town, and … I just never thought to ask how they’d met. I figured it was—I dunno—something boring, like they went to school together or they bumped into each other at the grocery store. And I didn’t know that Dad had pissed Seth off so much that he was hell-bent on revenge. Dad was why Seth raped—”

“Do not even go there,” Meg said, laying her fingertips over my lips. “Some people are born heroes, and others are destined to be monsters. You and your mother are so unbelievably fortunate to have found a hero who knew exactly how to fight off that monster, and I will not let you blame him for what happened to either of you.”

She lowered her hand, and I sucked in a deep breath before nodding.

“No, you're right. I … I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know that I'm okay. Not right now. But I will be. Today was just … a lot.”

One side of her mouth curled into a soft, understanding smile. “I get that. It's all right.”

I cleared my throat and lifted my phone. “Anyway, where were we?”

She snuggled against me once again, settling her warmth against my weary soul. “Tommy Nolan,” she said. “But, baby, if you wanna take a break for a minute—”

“We will,” I promised. “But first … Tommy Nolan.”

***

But as luck would have it, finding Tommy Nolan wasn't as easy as I'd hoped it'd be.

The internet search I did pulled up dozens and dozens of results, even with the search narrowed down to only those limited to the state of Massachusetts.

Tom or Thomas wasn’t much help either.

After an hour of digging, Meg suggested we set the search aside and head over to my parents' house for dinner for a change of scenery and something else to do. I reluctantly went along at first, not wanting to focus on anything else, but I was immediately grateful for the suggestion the moment we stepped outside and started walking.

The fresh air helped to clear my mind, the early summer sunshine on my skin thawed the bitterness in my heart, and the second we walked through my parents' open door, I could've cried at the warmth that spread through my chest at the sight of the three people I loved almost as much as I loved Meghan Kinney.

“Hey, guys!” Dad said, wrapping his arm around my neck and dragging me farther into the house. He dropped his voice to a low mumble as he said, “Mom's cooking dinner tonight, bud. We might wanna order a—”

“What are you saying over there?!” Mom exclaimed from the kitchen. “Soldier, I swear to God, if you make another comment about my cooking—”

Dad feigned a gasp, pressing a hand to his chest. “I would never.”

Then he cupped a hand around his mouth and whispered to Meg and me, “But seriously, guys, I wouldn't blame you if you wanna run out of here. I'll cover for you. Save yourselves.”

Meg laughed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she walked toward the kitchen. “Oh my God, will you leave her alone?”

“Leave her alone?” Dad hissed. “I'm trying to save you guys, and you're scolding me?” He turned to me and asked, “Are you sure you want to legally bind yourself to this insanity? ‘Cause, dude, it's not too late.”

“Yes, it is,” I said, smiling as Meg wrapped Mom in a tight hug. “I'm too far gone.”

Dad shoved me away, rolling his eyes playfully. “God, I can't deal with you people anymore. Gotta go find your brother. Maybe he'll bust out of this joint with me.”

“Gonna make a prison break?” I teased, smirking as I grabbed a carrot stick from a dish on the table and dipped it into a bowl of ranch dressing.

“I mean, I wouldn't have taken my chances at Wayward. Security was pretty tight over there. But I think I could get out of here without anyone noticing. Or at least not until I was—”

“Soldier, can you reach the butter dish?” Mom called from the kitchen.

He looked absolutely downtrodden as he sighed. “The amount of stepladders that woman owns, and she still asks me to reach everything,” he grumbled, shaking his head.

“Foiled again,” I teased, popping the carrot into my mouth and grinning.

“Yeah,” he muttered, trudging into the kitchen. “Guess it's too late for me too.”

He spoke with such disdain, but the moment he was in the vicinity of my mom, he couldn't keep his hands off of her. He kissed her cheek, molding his fingers around her waist as she pointed to what she needed on the top shelf. She could've gotten that stepladder. She could've asked me even. But she’d asked him because she needed him. She needed his presence, his touch, his closeness … and he needed her just as fiercely.