Without caring where she was going, she put the truck into gear and pressed on the gas.
Everybody she’d ever loved so completely had left her. Her dad had gone, and her mother had been taken away with her illness. What would she do if Noah and Drew left or were taken from her? Even though she loved them with her whole heart, she couldn’t deal with the pain that hit her square in the chest at the thought of losing them. When she got back, she’d be able to say the right words to her two men. Speaking to them at the moment didn’t feel right to her.
Noah chuckled and glanced over to find Andy walking towards their group. She’d married two good guys and looked damn good for it, too. He saw she looked worried. Ashley and Matt were talking with the rest of the bad boy crew, even though they’d never made it as members.
“Andy, when are you going to leave these two boys and find a man good enough for you?” Stefan, one of the newer members, said.
“When I see a decent enough man to replace them?” All the men snorted and burst out laughing. “Hi, Noah,” she said.
“How are you doing, Andy?” Noah knew when they were younger she had had a crush on him. He recalled letting her down gently and steering her towards Matt and Ashley.
“I’m good. I don’t mean to upset you, but Cheryl ran out of here pretty quickly.”
“What? Why?” He searched the spot where he left her and saw her cardigan draped over the chair.
“We were talking, and I mentioned love or something, and she just scampered out of here.”
“Thanks for telling me,” he said. Noah grabbed Drew and they walked to the edge of the parking lot to see their truck gone.
“What’s going on?” Drew asked.
“Something with Cheryl. Come on. We’ve got to find her,” Noah went into the direction of the high road.
“If she’s got our truck don’t you think it’s pointless? How do we know where she went?” Drew kept asking questions. Noah went with his gut when thinking about Cheryl. He knew she would need time and would probably be parked along the road somewhere.
“She doesn’t like cars. We’ll find her.” They followed along the path. She wasn’t in sight, and Noah glanced down at his watch to see they had been looking for the past thirty minutes. An hour later when they were both ready to call it a day, they found their truck parked at an odd angle. Cheryl was marching up and down kicking the dry soil.
When they got closer, they dodged the stones she was throwing their way. None of them were high enough to do any damage.
“I fucking hate you. There, I swore, Drew, what are you going to do about it?” She cursed.
“Wait and see, and I’ll show you when we get home.”
She snorted. “I’m not going home with you.”
“Yes, you are.”
Noah got to the truck and leaned up the front. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the pair of them. “What’s the matter, baby? I didn’t figure you for a quitter.”
Her blush stained her cheeks. She remained silent. Noah stared at her and knew he would need to make the first move.
“I love you, Cheryl.”
She hit him on the chest. He knew she was fighting it and let her. Staying still, he let her hit him over and over again, her tears pouring down her face, dripping onto her dress. Noah knew this was more than their feelings for her. There was pain inside her that had nothing to do with them.
“I love you, and I swear I will never hurt you or leave you.”
“Me neither.” Drew folded his arms and stood by Noah’s side.
“What are you trying to say?” she asked, rubbing the tears from her eyes.
“That we love you and have loved you since the first moment you stumbled into our shop and asked if we could fix your mother’s car,” Noah said.
“What if you leave me?” she asked. His heart broke for her. She looked so vulnerable at that moment.
“Never going to happen, baby. You’ve got us for the rest of your life. Trust in us.”
He’d known for a while his obsession with Cheryl had begun the moment she asked them for help. At first he thought it was attraction. When he watched her sleep, wrapped in his or Drew’s arms, he’d known how he felt.
She made him feel like the best man in the world. No other woman had let him feel so happy and secure in a relationship. Cheryl was fire and ice and all the round things in between. She cared, loved, and gave all of herself without expecting anything in return. Noah knew he would love her for the rest of his life. She had given him her virginity and her love. In return he wanted to love, care for, and cherish her. He wanted her to be his wife and the mother of his children.