Then Came You: A Lake Howling Novel Read online

  Then Came You

  A Lake Howling Novel

  Wendy Vella

  Contents

  Then Came You

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Somebody To Love

  Other Books By Wendy Vella

  About the Author

  Then Came You

  By Wendy Vella

  One night with her could never be enough.

  After a disastrous relationship ended in a broken heart for Noah Harris, he vows to stay a lone wolf. Lake Howling, Oregon, is his home, where he runs his business and has friends and family, and he’s convinced that’s all he needs in his life… or at least he was until he walked into that bar.

  The night he spent with Lani Sullivan was a meeting of two lonely souls seeking comfort in each other—a spectacular single night to remember. But that plan is upended when she turns up in his home town, secretive, withdrawn, and trying hard to hide who she really is. And it doesn’t take long for Noah to want to know why.

  Dare she take a chance on love to keep her safe?

  She’s been running for years and has no plans to stop. Lani once had it all: money, friends, and family, but that all changed when someone tried to kill her, and now she’s alone and on the run and planning on keeping it that way… or she was until the night she met Noah Harris.

  Sexy, sweet, and a man who makes her heart ache, he’s sinfully dangerous to her survival and peace of mind. Taking a job in his town was foolish, but getting to know him and his people is doubly so. Soon Lani wants more and begins to dream about a life here with Noah. Can she take a chance, or will her secrets destroy them both?

  BOOKS IN THE LAKE HOWLING SERIES

  A Promise Of Home

  The Texan Meets His Match

  How Sweet It Is

  It Only Took You

  Don’t Look Back

  A Long Way Home

  Then Came You

  Would you like to know when my next book is available? Sign up for Wendy’s newsletter

  www.wendyvella.com/newsletter

  This year we welcomed another precious

  little bundle into our lives.

  Welcome to the family Emma Dulcie Holmes,

  we are so excited to have you here!

  Hugs and kisses and much love,

  Aunty Wendy xx

  Chapter One

  Noah Harris walked out of the elevator and into the foyer of the apartment building. He was tired but happy, and his day had worked out pretty spectacularly all round.

  “Going out for a meal?”

  “I am, Roy. Any suggestions?”

  He was staying in his friend Ethan Gelderman’s place for two days while he visited suppliers and his bank manager. The business he and his sister ran was doing well, and they were both determined to keep it that way, so they were about to upgrade things.

  “Fort is a bar about a ten-minute walk from here, Noah. Good food, good music, and usually a nice crowd.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Heading down the sidewalk, he let the cool air settle around him. Twilight looked good on the town of Brook. He saw glimpses of the lake that reached all the way to his home town of Lake Howling. The buildings were a mix of old and new, with plenty of greenery planted about the place for effect. People were roaming the streets, enjoying the weather before fall really took hold.

  Noah would have a beer and some food, then he’d be ready to head back and catch an early night so he could leave in the morning. Like most Howlers, as the locals in his town called themselves, he enjoyed a break away now and again but was usually ready to head home after a few days.

  He found the sign for the place Roy recommended and entered the building.

  “You want a table?”

  “I’ll just head to the bar first, thanks,” Noah told the waitress.

  As the owner of a bar, restaurant, and hotel, he always liked to check out what others were doing with their businesses. More modern than he usually liked, Fort was busy and the music loud. It was a flaw in him that he judged every establishment he walked into against his own.

  Reaching the bar, he took a stool beside a woman and offered her a smile as she turned his way. “Hi.”

  She was surprised by his greeting, the look she threw him wide-eyed. “Hello.”

  She wore a faded navy cap over short black curls. Her jeans were worn and baggy, and over the top was a loose white button-up shirt.

  “Beer, thanks,” Noah said as the barman arrived. He pointed to his favorite kind. “You want something?”

  She shook her head, and he could imagine what she was thinking. Why does he want to buy me a drink? What’s he after?

  Noah mentally sighed. He really was just being polite. People were suspicious these days.

  “How’s your day been so far?” Social chat was natural in his occupation; he could do it in his sleep, so he worked on getting her to relax.

  She picked up her wine and took a large sip, draining the last of the liquid. Fortifying, he thought for some reason, and yet his question hadn’t been overly taxing, surely?

  “Okay, thank you for asking.” She spoke in a soft, polite voice.

  “Just okay?”

  She shot him a look, then another nod. He knew when someone wasn’t into conversing; however, that rarely stopped Noah.

  “I hate those days. You can’t put a finger on what went wrong, but something did.”

  Because he was watching her, he saw the side of her mouth kick up as her fingers played with the stem of her wineglass. “Yes, that sums it up.”

  “Hate to say this, but I had a great day.”

  She turned from contemplating her wine, and the smile was in her eyes even if her lips only moved slightly. It suited her. Lit her face. He thought her eyes were a dark blue, but it was hard to tell in this light and under the brim of her cap. Dark gray, maybe? “I’m glad your day was good.”

  “I own and run a hotel, bar, and restaurant with my twin sister.”

  “That must be nice.”

  “It has its moments, but I wouldn’t do anything else.”

  “I never had siblings. Sometimes I’m sure that’s a good thing, but then sometimes not so much.”

  “I hear you,” Noah said, signaling the barman to refill her wine and his beer.

  “I don’t need you to buy me a drink.” She withdrew again.

  “I’m drinking, and I didn’t buy it for any other reason than I don’t want to drink alone.”

  She studied him and then nodded. “Okay, thanks. So why was your day so good when mine sucked?”

  “It’s pretty boring.”

  “I could use the distraction.” That small smile appeared again.
<
br />   “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  He detailed the supplies he’d purchased, the barstools his sister had wanted him to look over, and then he told her about his business. People often sat in his bar after a tough day and wanted to escape; this woman appeared to be one of those, and he was happy to oblige.

  “We are looking to grow our business. You have to keep moving forward or things get old and tired real quick,” Noah said, surprised at how easy it felt talking to this woman he didn’t know.

  “What does your growth include?”

  “Extend, refurbish, renovate. Plus, we want to hold more weddings and corporate retreats.”

  “And that excites you?”

  “Very much so. I want to extend the garden bar and move things around upstairs to accommodate more guests. It’s important to have things in your life that excite you. We go stale otherwise.”

  That made her shrug, but she didn’t elaborate.

  She sat there and listened to him as he talked for the next hour about what he wanted to do. She asked questions, just a few words, and rarely elaborated, and occasionally he saw the small smile. It was nice, relaxing even, to talk to a stranger about his dreams, even if the conversation was one-sided. She was someone he’d likely not meet again and had nothing invested in him.

  He wondered what her deal was. Her shoulders were hunched, and she kept her voice soft so no one but him could hear her. The clothes weren’t designed to attract attention either. He’d only spent a short time with her, but Noah could read people. This one was happy to be in the background; he just wondered why.

  “I’m ordering food, how about you?” Noah asked after he’d signaled for another beer and her a wine.

  “I’ll pay for my share, and I don’t usually drink much.”

  “Me either. Occupational hazard, really. It doesn’t look good if the owner is consuming the profits constantly. As for paying your share, no worries there, I’m all about equality. If I wasn’t, my sister would castrate me.”

  “Sure.” He had a feeling that was important to her.

  “The burgers look good,” Noah said.

  “Just fries for me.” She followed those words up with another small smile for the barman.

  “Fries accompany a meal, they are not a meal,” Noah said.

  “I don’t eat much.”

  He looked at her skinny wrists and the edge of her cheekbones. Was she naturally slender, or down on her luck?

  “You’re one of those types who eat for fuel, right, and aren’t constantly tempted by double-chocolate brownies with caramel sauce and cream?”

  “I have a thing for peanut butter.” She frowned after she’d spoken, almost as if she shouldn’t have said anything.

  “What does this… thing entail?”

  “I can eat a single jar in a day.”

  “Doesn’t it stick to the roof of your mouth?”

  Her laugh was a small chuckle, but he felt pretty good that he’d pulled it from her.

  “There’s a phobia called arachibutyrophobia that has to do with peanut butter.”

  “Actually the fear is more rooted in the possibly of something sticking to the roof of your mouth than actual peanut butter,” she said.

  “I stand corrected. I’m Noah.” He held out his hand.

  She looked at the hand, then him. Several seconds passed and he waited. She was hesitant to tell him her name, which Noah found interesting.

  “Lani.” She shook his hand briefly.

  “So, Lani, what are you doing here in Brook? After all, you’ve just listened to me talk for the last hour about my business, so tell me something about you.”

  She looked down at her wine again. “I don’t have much to share.” The words were spoken softly and had him leaning closer.

  “Okay, well, just share anything.”

  She looked at him again, almost like she was trying to read his thoughts.

  “I like to bake.”

  “With peanut butter?” He said the words to take the tension out of her face, but she didn’t smile.

  “No, not peanut butter.”

  “Do you live here?”

  “No.”

  “Are you looking for work or have you got a job here?”

  She shrugged again, and he now knew this was the gesture she used when she didn’t want to speak.

  “A shrug is not an answer, Lani.”

  “I’m just travelling about and picking up work as I go.”

  She’d backed away from him mentally again.

  “That’s pretty cool, I bet. You been on the move long?”

  “I need to go.”

  Noah touched her shoulder as she started to move; it was rigid with tension.

  “That would be a shame, as your fries have just arrived.”

  She looked at the food, then sat and picked up a french fry.

  They ate in silence, and he thought about what was going on with the woman beside him. What was her deal, and why did he care? She was just someone he’d spent a few hours with and would likely never see again, so what was it about her that intrigued him?

  She ate in tidy little bites, swallowing what was in her mouth before taking another bite. His mother would love her manners.

  “I’ve been travelling for a while.”

  The words surprised Noah; he’d thought she’d simply eat, then leave.

  “Nice.”

  “It can be, but it can be lonely too.”

  “I bet.” He didn’t push; if she wanted to talk, she would.

  “I like it most often, but sometimes....” Her words fell away.

  “Sometimes you want to put down roots and just have a place to hang your pictures. I travelled for while, thinking it would be cool, but I missed my family pretty much most of the time.”

  She turned again, impaling him with a serious look.

  “Tell me about your family.” It wasn’t a demand exactly, but pretty close to it.

  He told her about Faith, his twin sister, and his mom who was in a home, and his father who passed away a few years ago.

  She ate, drank her wine, and listened. A good listener, he thought, really good. People who didn’t like to talk often were.

  “I can hear the love in your voice when you talk about them. You’re a nice guy, aren’t you, Noah?”

  “I try to be.”

  “There’s not that many of you around.”

  “Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places, Lani?”

  “Maybe. I need to go for a walk now. I don’t usually drink, and that third glass of wine has gone to my head.”

  Which explained why she had opened up a bit.

  “You want company on that walk?”

  “No, that’s okay, you finish your meal.”

  “I’m done.”

  She hesitated.

  “I don’t bite, Lani, nor would I ever hurt you.”

  “I know that.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I’ve been around some bad people, so you learn to pick the good ones.”

  Her words were spoken in an even voice, no emotion, but they told him someone had hurt her, and that made him angry.

  “That’s a good skill to have.” He put a hand on her back and urged her toward the door. She stiffened at his touch, but he kept it there. “Where to?”

  “The lake,” she said, heading in that direction when they left the bar.

  He fell in beside her.

  “Did you find work here, Lani?”

  “No, I’ll move on soon.”

  Noah had a feeling this woman had some heavy stuff in her past that had made her who she was. Timid, and a loner.

  They walked across the road and down to the lake. Noah took off his sweater and placed it on the grass.

  “It’ll get dirty.”

  “So I’ll wash it.”

  “Grass stains are hard to get out.” She watched him sit.

  “I promise not to make you get them out. How come you’re nervous o
f me now, and yet you weren’t in the bar?”

  “We’re not surrounded by people here.”

  “But you said that I was a good guy, remember?”

  “When you’re travelling alone, you have to be cautious.”

  “As you should be.”

  She sat, but not close to him. There was at least two feet between them. They both looked out over the dark, glimmering waters of the lake.

  “Did you know that Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system? We’re located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way called the Orion Arm,” Noah said.

  “How come you know this stuff?”

  “I read a lot. Those stars there are Orion’s Belt, also known as The Three Kings or Three Sisters. The stars themselves are called Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.”

  She started to relax as he talked, dragging every bit of knowledge about the solar system from his memory.

  “Don’t get up, just hand us your money, and you get to carry on with your astronomy lesson.” After these words were spoken, two men stepped in front of them. One held a gun, and it was pointed at Lani.

  “It’s all right.” Noah touched her shoulder as she made a noise.

  “I said give us your money now!”

  “For me to reach my wallet, I need to get to my feet, because it’s in my pocket.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Noah lifted his butt, then kicked his foot up, dislodging the gun from the man’s hand. It landed in the water. He leaped to his feet.

  “That makes things even,” he said, punching the first man in the face.