Noble Love (The Nobles of Sweet Rapids #1) Read online

  Noble

  Love

  Té Russ

  To my husband for all of your encouraging and support. To the best proofreader in the world. And to my readers, thank you for continuing this journey with me.

  Prologue

  Isaac Noble paced his office, while his wife, Irene, sat in a chair, knitting.

  "I just don't understand it," he grumbled.

  Irene sighed. "What don't you understand, dear?"

  "I don't understand them," he said, pointing at a picture on his desk of his four children; Isaiah, Ian, Isabella and Ivy. "Are those not our children?"

  "Well, I was the one who carried all four of them…at once," Irene mumbled under her breath.

  "Are these not the ones we raised?" he continued, not hearing his wife's smart remark. "The ones who were musical prodigies at ten. The Noble Quad is what they called them."

  "I remember..."

  "Genius quadruplets. Graduating high school at fifteen and getting their bachelor's degrees at eighteen thanks to skipped grades, advanced classes and dual courses."

  Irene sighed again, as Isaac went on and on. He'd been on this tirade before, but he seemed to be bringing it up even more lately.

  "All that and what do we have to show for it? We've got one kid in the jungle–"

  "Bora Bora," Irene said.

  "Same thing," Isaac grumbled.

  "And she's not there anymore. They wrapped that segment of her vlog and are in Milan now."

  "What the hell is a vlob?"

  "No, Isaac a vlog...V.L.O.G.!" she said, spelling out the word. It's a video blog. It's where she chronicles her travels for the world to see. She is a MyScreen superstar."

  Isaac shook his head.

  "Anyway, we've got another flouncing around Paris eating damn croissants–"

  "And working with one of the best fashion houses in the world."

  "The one that actually stayed somewhat close to home, when he's not in some kind of trouble, is flipping burgers in Vegas-"

  "He's working for one of the top restaurants in the world and one of the hottest chefs in the country since he won that cooking show, and up for his own show on the CookNetwork. Plus you know you love those gourmet burgers."

  "They're overpriced."

  "It's Vegas, Isaac."

  "And the last one, whom we all know should be taking my place, is out in L.A., just making a whole bunch of noise."

  "He's one of the most sought after music producers. And don't act like you don't like his music, I've seen you in here listening to it and bobbing your head around. Plus, the short film he directed is headed to Sundance and maybe even the Cannes Film Festival later this year. Besides, I figured you'd be happy that he was putting his 'musical genius' to use."

  "That's not the point! He should be directing this company." Isaac turned to Irene. "This is all your fault you know."

  The needles in Irene's hand stopped clicking as she glared up at her husband. "Excuse you, Isaac Noble. You were the one who insisted on the kids proving to the world that they could accomplish any goal they set their minds to. And guess what? They did that above and beyond expectation. Your problem is that they chose different goals than what you envisioned for them."

  "We didn't build all of this for it to go to someone else," Isaac boomed, holding his arms out around him.

  Isaac and Irene met in college and when they were assigned to work together on coming up with a business plan. Isaac's mother had been making her own natural hair care products since Isaac was a little boy for the women in their neighborhood and with her permission, Isaac and Irene turned a little kitchen business into Noble Naturals, which was now worth nearly a billion dollars.

  "They need to be home."

  "Sit down, Isaac," Irene ordered, growing exasperated with her husband. He stared at her for a moment before taking his seat behind his desk.

  Irene began knitting again. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "The kids are exactly where they need to be. Out living their lives. They'll come home when the time is right."

  Isaac sighed. He hoped his kids would get the sense to return to Sweet Rapids sooner rather than later. Then an idea clicked in his head.

  Irene jumped at the loud thud of Isaac slamming his palms on his desk.

  "Isaac, what in the wor–"

  "Isaiah!" he shouted in a revelatory tone. "That's it!"

  "Isaac, what are you talking about?" Irene asked, although she was already quite sure what was now churning in her husband's head.

  "Isaiah was the first born of them. And he's always been the leader out of the four of them." Isaac was back on his feet pacing again. "If I can get Isaiah back, the others will follow. Now the only question is...how do I get Isaiah home?"

  Chapter 1

  Los Angeles, California

  "This is absurd! They can't do this."

  Isaiah Noble sighed, listening to his father's rant.

  "They can and they are," Isaiah replied.

  "But we've been a hair care staple for decades."

  "And Chic and Sleek has been too, for twice as long. They're cashing in on the natural hair boom."

  "But it's not a 'boom'," Isaac yelled. "It's not a 'trend'. Natural hair is a way of life. And our customers know that."

  "Be that as it may–" Isaiah said, calmly.

  "You've got to come home."

  Isaiah stopped pacing the living room in his condo and looked down at his phone.

  "What?"

  "You heard me," Isaac ordered. "We need you here, Isaiah."

  Isaiah could imagine his father, purposely pointing his index finger down at the ground to reinforce his point.

  Isaiah rubbed a hand down his face, before asking, "To do what exactly?"

  "To figure this out! We cannot let them overthrow us. Noble Naturals has been the top seller in natural hair care products for way too long to be ousted by some company like Chic and Sleek."

  "Pop," Isaiah hurried. "I'd love to come and help, but...I've got a full plate."

  "Your mother mentioned you were about to take a vacation."

  "I am," he confirmed. "I've been planning a trip to Europe. I'm going to fly to Milan to visit Ivy. She's got a break coming up too, so we planned on catching a train to Paris to visit Izzy."

  "Your sisters aren't going anywhere," Isaac grumbled. Isaiah could tell his father was less than pleased about that fact.

  "Actually, Ivy will be going to China in a few weeks for her vlog."

  "That girl and her vlob..."

  "Vlog, Pop...vlog."

  "Whatever. Look, son, the bottom line is that I need your help. We're trying to come up with ideas to stay relevant and your mind is young and fresh. The marketing department has been toying around with the idea of finally doing televised commercials."

  "Pop!" Isaiah said, enthusiastically. "That's an awesome idea."

  "I'm glad you think so. I need you to come here and direct them."

  "Wait...what?"

  "Your mother told me you've been thinking about expanding your directorial portfolio."

  "Yeah, but–"

  "Great. And while you're here, we can discuss other ways for us to fight this battle against Chic and Sleek."

  "Whoa! Pop–"

  "After you rearrange your travel plans, I expect to see you home within the next few weeks."

  With that said, Isaiah's father hung up the phone, leaving Isaiah's head spinning.

  Isaac Noble had just laid down the law, not giving Isaiah a chance to argue. It didn't matter how grown Isaiah thought he was, nor did it matter that Isaiah had been a successful music producer, who'd parlayed his way into directing short films; there was nothi
ng he could do except obey his father.

  Isaiah had been summoned to return to Sweet Rapids, Nevada, so it looked like he was going home.

  

  "What do you mean you're not coming to Europe?!"

  Isaiah cringed at the simultaneous screeching of both of his sisters, Ivy and Isabella, in his ear over the phone. They'd yelled out that first question at the same time, now they were both throwing a slew of separate questions at him.

  "What happened?"

  "Why aren't you coming?"

  "Is everything all right?"

  "Everything's fine," he started. " What happened is Pop..."

  "What happened with Dad?" they asked, once again in tandem.

  Isaiah sighed as he began to explain how the patriarch of their family demanded his presence.

  "Plus, he's already told Mom. She called me so excited about visiting Sweet Rapids. I couldn't say no after that."

  "No," Isabella said. "You can't. I was hoping to see you since I couldn't make it to your film premiere at the Cannes Film Festival a few months ago."

  "This sucks!" Ivy whined through the phone. "I haven't seen you guys in forever."

  "You can still take the train ride to go see Izzy," Isaiah encouraged.

  "Oh I plan to!" Ivy said. "I already paid for my ticket."

  Isaiah chuckled as Isabella said, "Since you're heading home, are you going to meet up with Ian?"

  "Yeah," Isaiah said. "I called him before I called you guys. He got a kick out of the way I got 'handled' by Pop."

  "Well, you did," Ivy concurred.

  "Whatever. Look, I've got to go. I've got a session in the studio with Laurel Hunter."

  "Are you serious?" Isabella screamed. "Oh, I love her! I saw her here in Paris when she was on her world tour."

  "And that husband of hers!" Ivy added on. "Is he not the yummiest? And his books are great too!"

  "On that note, I'm hanging up," he said as his sisters continued gushing over crime novelist, Rowan Hunter. "Love you two."

  "Love you," they yelled at the same time before hanging up.

  He turned his chair back around and hit a key on his laptop and the studio filled with the smooth sounds of Laurel Hunter, previously known to the world as Sapphire Woods, singing her heart out.

  Luckily, they only had a few more tracks to lay and the album would be ready for mixing before it went out to the world. No one knew when Laurel's album was dropping. She'd decided to follow in the footsteps of another well-known recording artist and just surprise her fans with it.

  It was her first album as Laurel Hunter, her first album since she'd gotten married.

  Isaiah's head bobbed along to the beat as he took notes on his laptop with ideas for the song's music video concept. He'd been honored when Laurel asked if he would also direct a few of the videos to go along with the album.

  As his father had mentioned, Isaiah wanted to build his directing portfolio. He'd never forget the first time he yelled, ‘action’. It was a high like no other. But the accomplishment of shouting 'that's a wrap', had solidified that he'd been bitten by the directing bug.

  He was still reeling that his short film had been screened at Sundance, followed by Cannes, earlier in the year.

  He finished taking his notes, and then opened another window in his browser to view his travel plans. With a heavy sigh, he began cancelling his reservations. Thankfully, he wouldn't lose too much of the money he'd spent on his trip to Europe. And changing his flight Vegas was saving him a ton of money. Couldn't complain about that, even though money was never an issue for him or his siblings.

  His parents’ success with Noble Naturals had afforded them a lifestyle of comfort. And the money they'd earned in the days of their youth when they briefly toured as a musical group for their fifteen minutes of fame had been invested by their parents and given to them on their twenty-first birthdays.

  Their parents had been the best growing up, discovering their talents and exceptionally high intelligence at a young age and making sure to cultivate it so it could grow. Learning had come easily for the four of them and they'd breezed through school and college. Once they turned eighteen, they decided they were ready to carve their own paths, much to Isaac Noble's chagrin. He'd expected them to fall right in line and join the family business. But they weren't ready.

  Isaiah still wasn't quite ready yet. It was no secret that Isaac thought Isaiah was the natural choice for his replacement to run the company and Isaiah understood why. He was the first born of the Quads, the ringleader growing up.

  While Isaiah wasn't ready to take a seat at the helm of the company, he knew he would do anything in his power to help keep Noble Naturals afloat. It was their heritage.

  And he knew, eventually, he would need the help of his siblings.

  Chapter 2

  Two more miles...

  Tessa Everett began running faster on her treadmill, huffing and puffing along the way.

  She grabbed her water, inhaling it and appreciating the coolness filtering through her body as her legs continued to burn.

  After Tessa finished her run, she did her morning stretches before showering and heading out to start her day. The sun was just beginning to rise as she pulled her car into the parking lot of Everetts’ Bakery.

  Her family's bakery had been a staple in Sweet Rapids, Nevada for decades. Her grandparents had started the business, and then passed it down to her parents. They still worked at the bakery, but over the years they'd slowly begun to hand over the reigns to Tessa and her sister, Dana. Her father, Emmett, whose parents had started Everetts’ Bakery, had been ready to retire years ago, while Janet, her mother, wasn't quite ready to let go so easily...

  Tessa slammed her car door shut and took a deep breath. She grinned and shook her head as she entered the bakery through the back door.

  "Mama," she called out as she grabbed an apron. "What are you doing here?"

  "What do you think I'm doing here, Miss-I-Have-To-Run-Five-Miles-Before-Work?"

  Tessa tied the back of her apron and kissed her mother on the cheek, before she said, "And yet I'm still here thirty minutes early."

  "Hair net," Janet ordered, swatting Tessa away from her.

  Tessa grabbed a hair net, covering her hair that she'd pulled into a large poof on the top of her head.

  "The question of the day, though, is why are you up and here so early, Mama?"

  She had to have been there a good two hours from the looks of things. There was already a large batch of cupcakes on cooling racks, and Tessa could smell the cinnamon rolls baking that they would put out for their morning clients.

  She watched as her mother whipped a bowl of egg whites effortlessly by hand.

  "You and your sister think you're so slick. You and Dana think you're keeping me in the dark. I know when my babies are sick."

  Dana had come down with a nasty cold. Tessa decided to arrive at the bakery early to do Dana’s portion of the baking. It was also why she'd put in the extra miles on the treadmill.

  Tessa could admit that she had her vices where food was concerned, and the pastries and desserts at her family's bakery were definitely vices.

  Growing up, she'd been slightly overweight. But in college, rather than gaining the traditional "Freshman Fifteen", she'd joined a running club and had been hooked ever since. The weight loss hadn't been part of any plan, but it was definitely an added bonus. She'd lost thirty pounds and gained some curves that had some of the men, who hadn't noticed her in high school, visiting the bakery more often.

  Her mother had already started a pot of coffee, so Tessa went and grabbed a mug and filled it up. Then she swiped one of the still piping hot cinnamon rolls off of the pan that her mother had just pulled out of the oven, garnering a head shake of reproach from Janet.

  "Did Dana show you the new recipes she and I came up with?" Tessa asked before taking a bite of the cinnamon roll. She knew she'd be blowing her morning exercise out the water, but she didn't give a damn at th
e moment.

  She instantly regretted asking her mother that question, when Janet let out a frustrated sigh.

  "You and your sister always experimenting," Janet griped. "Why are you girls always trying to change things?"

  "Mama," Tessa said, after she finished chewing another bite. "We're not trying to 'change' things. We're trying to expand things...to grow...didn't you ever think that Everetts could be so much more?"

  "Tessa it is too early in the morning for this. I know where you're going with this spiel. Things are fine just the way they are. We don't need to think about changing a perfectly good menu that's worked over thirty years. And we definitely don't need to think about opening another bakery. When your grandparents," she spoke of her late in-laws, "God rest their souls, opened this place, it was about the community. Family. Turning Everetts’ Bakery in to a chain would diminish that."

  "I don't believe that."

  "Tessa, you're breaking my concentration," Janet fussed. "I've got things covered back here, so why don't you go to the office until it's time to open. I can handle the kitchen and my boring old recipes."

  "Mama..."

  Janet turned her head away from Tessa, effectively dismissing her. After another moment, Tessa yanked the hair net off of her head, snatched up her cinnamon roll and coffee and stormed off to the office.

  She loved her mother, but sometimes Janet Everett drove her completely mad. Everyone was on board with coming up with new desserts and treats recipes and expanding the business. Except for Janet. Tessa's grandparents had passed the bakery down to both Emmett and Janet, so as long as Janet kept her stubborn foot down, there was no progress being made.

  Their father thought Tessa and Dana's ideas were great, but their mother had him wrapped around her finger. Emmett Everett was the head of the family, without a doubt, but Janet was the neck who controlled the head. And that neck was constantly making the head shake with the answer of no.

  Tessa understood her mother's reservations, she truly did. Janet had worked for Everetts’ Bakery as a teenager, where she met and fell in love with the owner's son, Emmett. Emmett's parents had taken Janet in and loved her like the daughter they never had. His mother had made their wedding cake. Janet didn't want their legacy tainted.