I'll Stop the World (98)

“Who?”

“The janitor at school.”

“He was fired?”

Rose opened and closed her mouth wordlessly. The truth was, she didn’t know whether he’d been fired. Justin had said that would happen today and she hadn’t seen McMillain at school, so she’d assumed he was right, but she realized she didn’t know for sure. “I . . . think so,” she said meekly.

“Rose,” Noah said gently, “I know you love to believe the best about people, and that’s an amazing thing about you, but isn’t it more likely that he’s just . . . really confused?”

Rose shook her head. “I know how it sounds,” she said. “But I just . . . I know this is real. I can’t explain why. I know it sounds impossible. And if someone else told me, I probably wouldn’t believe it either. But this is me, Noah. And I’m telling you, this is real.”

Noah sat for a moment, searching her face, then blew out a slow breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“If you believe it, I believe it.”

“Really?” Relief flooded through her, and she realized she’d been braced for more doubt, more insistence that she didn’t know what she was talking about. She’d been so ready for rejection, she hadn’t truly considered acceptance. “Just like that?”

Noah smiled, his dark eyes warm and open. “I’ve always been able to trust you, Rose,” he said softly. “I don’t know why that would change now.”

Tears of gratitude welled in her eyes as Rose reached across the seat and took his hand, something she’d wanted to do for months but had never been able to work up the nerve. Yet now, it had taken no courage at all. It was as natural as breathing. “Thank you,” she whispered. She felt lighter, like she was floating. She hadn’t realized how much this secret had been weighing her down. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”

Noah squeezed her hand. “It’s us, Rosie,” he said. “I’ll always be on your side.”

She smiled, her lips quivering, and took a shaky breath. “That’s good,” she said, “because I need your help. Justin is convinced that there’s nothing we can do, but I think he’s wrong.”

Part of her hated bringing their conversation back to Justin when she wanted nothing more than to just sit here, basking in the knowledge that she and Noah were a team, and always had been, even if she’d forgotten for a while. But she couldn’t afford to do that. Not yet.

Noah sighed, staring at their interlocked hands. He was quiet, the only sounds in the car their soft breathing. Rose remembered how awkward she’d felt the first time she’d grabbed Justin’s hand. How aware she was of where she ended, and he began. But somehow, with Noah, that didn’t matter. Their hands were the point where they touched, but they’d always been connected. Why had she made it so complicated?

“Karl Derrin started Gran’s fire?” Noah said finally.

Rose nodded. “He told Justin the whole thing. It was a freak accident. All those rags . . .”

“Yeah.” He shook his head, letting out a slight chuckle. “So I guess it was kind of us after all.”

“No, that’s not what I—”

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” Noah said, squeezing her hand and giving her a small smile. “Gran will be glad to know what happened. Even if she’ll never tell the insurance company. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” There was no way Mrs. Hanley would ever turn in a child, even if it was an accident.

Noah took a deep breath and blew it out in a slow, steady stream. “So this other fire is going to happen tomorrow night?”

“Right before the debate. Yeah.”

“But you still don’t know who will start it.”

She shook her head. “McMillain is still our only suspect, and if he was fired today, he’s got the motive, but . . . I don’t know, he just doesn’t feel like the guy to me. And Justin said Stan was always sure it wasn’t him. But if it’s not him, and it’s not Robbie, then I have no idea who it could be.” She looked into Noah’s eyes, searching for truth. “You really believe all of this?”

He held her gaze, his brown eyes unwavering. “I believe in you,” he said softly. “And I believe in us. If you ask me to help you, I’ll always help.”

Warm tears rolled down Rose’s cheeks. “I believe in us, too,” she said, her voice thick.

A smile tugged at the corners of Noah’s mouth. He shifted his hand in hers, weaving their fingers together. “You know I love you, right?”

She smiled through her tears and nodded. “I know. I love you, too.”

It wasn’t the declaration she’d been agonizing over for months. Maybe this was how it would always be between them, or maybe one day, they would be something different to each other. She didn’t know how the rest of their story would unfold, but just then, it didn’t matter. That they loved each other wasn’t a secret spilling out, or a scandal getting ready to ignite.

It was simply the unchanging truth they’d both always known, finally spoken out loud.





SATURDAY





Chapter Fifty-Nine