Protecting Melissa (Holiday Cove 4)

“I’m ready!”

We both turned at the loud proclamation and saw Jackson racing down the hall from the bathroom. He was beaming and couldn’t hold still. “All right, bud. Let’s go catch some fish!”

Melissa laughed and wiped away the last traces of her tears. I backed out of the room and took the stairs two at a time to chase after Jackson as he bolted back on deck.

I was still stewing, wondering why Melissa had really gone into my room. Not only was it an invasion of my space, but it grated on me that she didn’t trust me. I didn’t have long to think about it because Jackson had a bite on the line and we worked together for the next twenty minutes, hauling in a perfect, three-foot tuna by the time Melissa came up to tell us dinner was ready.

“Aw, man! Look, Mama!”

“Oh my God! Baby, you caught one!” She beamed at her son who couldn’t have looked happier than if he’d just died and gone to Heaven.

“Did you see me?”

Melissa nodded and wrapped her arms around her son as I finished off the fish. I’d always hated watching them suffocate and preferred to end their lives more swiftly with a blow to the head. “He was amazing! A natural!” Truthfully, I’d done most of the work as the fight proved too much for the little guy to handle on his own, but he never let go of the rod.

Jackson came over to the fish and I had him hold it up while Melissa used my phone to take a picture since her phone was back in her SUV. “Jump in there with him, Chase!”

I blinked in surprise but did as she asked and wrapped an arm around Jackson’s narrow shoulders as he hoisted the fish up as high as he could manage.

“Perfect!” Melissa cheered as she snapped a few more photos of the two of us. “That’s a keeper!”

I kept my arm around Jackson a moment longer, finding myself overwhelmed with a sudden swell of emotion inside my chest. It was impossible not to think about the day when I might have a son—or daughter—of my own to take fishing. Jackson was the first kid I’d truly spent any amount of time with.

Even in previous jobs, if a child was involved, they kept to themselves or their parents and stayed out of my way. Jackson had latched onto me since the beginning and I knew when this job was over, I’d miss having my little three-foot buddy around to help me out. It was exhilarating to open a new window into the world for a child. First with the boat, and then with the fish.

It was a feeling I could get used to. Someday.

I glanced up from the top of Jackson’s head and caught Melissa smiling at me. My heart stumbled inside my chest and I cleared my throat. “Sounds like your mom has dinner ready. What do you say you go keep her company while I get this guy into some ice?”

Jackson nodded and ran across the deck to take his mother’s hand, chattering a mile a minute in play-by-play fashion as they went below to start on the dinner Melissa had prepared.

“What a day,” Melissa murmured, sinking into the same chair she’d occupied the night before. “I didn’t think I was going to get Jackson to sleep. He was talking about the fish right up until his little eyes finally closed!”

I joined in her soft laughter and took the chair beside her. This time, I’d brought the wine and glasses up while she wrangled Jackson through his bedtime routine. I poured two glasses and set one on Melissa’s side of the small table between us. “I’ll bet! It’s a pretty big milestone.”

Melissa’s laughter feathered off and she brought her eyes over to me. “Thank you, Chase. That was…that was very special for him. You’re making this whole thing so easy on him. And I was—” she choked up, her eyes pooling with fresh tears. She swallowed hard. “I was worried whether I was doing the right thing here. I didn’t want to traumatize him by taking him out of his whole life, but I couldn’t leave him behind either.”

I nodded. “He’s an amazing kid. That whole thing was special for me too, you know.”

Melissa smiled and blinked back the tears. She took the glass of wine that I’d offered and took a long, slow sip. “I’m glad.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” She turned to face me, keeping her glass firmly in hand.

I hesitated for a moment to figure out the right way to phrase my question. I didn’t want to upset her, but the more I was figuring out about Henry and what he was capable of, the more questions I came up with. “You said…earlier…that Henry was well connected and capable of some dark stuff. So, if you knew that, and knew he was having an affair, then why did you stay for so long?”