Protecting Melissa (Holiday Cove 4)

“Right, except for the fact that the mayor, a staunch opponent to the development, passed away right before Henry was able to get the actual permits. Then magically, he got his way.”

Melissa’s hands flew to cover her mouth. I hated to be the one to reveal just how deep and dark her soon to be ex-husband’s depravity was, but she deserved to know the truth. I wasn’t going to be another liar and deceiver. She’d already dealt with too much of that bullshit.

I held up a hand. “We don’t know anything yet. It’s just an investigation. But from what Matt said, it can be a positive thing for our case. Your case, I mean.”

Melissa nodded slowly and dropped her hands to the table. She pushed away her half eaten food. If she didn’t have much of an appetite before, then she certainly didn’t have one now. “I keep thinking that I’m going to wake up from all of this and things will go back to the way they were before. Instead, it feels like I just keep tumbling farther and farther down this rabbit hole. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s ever going to be an end.”

I tried to reach for her hand from across the table but she pushed up from the table and left me alone in the dining room. I sighed, pushed my plate away, and leaned back in my chair.

I’d lost my appetite as well.

32

Chase

Once breakfast was cleared away, Jackson appeared all suited up for a day of fishing. Melissa waved us off from the front porch as we started off to our lucky fishing spot. I didn’t like leaving her behind, mostly because I didn’t think hours alone, in a near silent house could help her mentally, but I didn’t argue with her decision.

Around noon, Melissa came down to bring us some sandwiches and then spent the rest of the afternoon with us. When we had a few fish and were worn out and dirty, we trudged back to the cottage. Melissa took Jackson off to get cleaned up and I took care of prepping the fish for dinner.

As the evening settled into the rhythm of our routine, I relaxed and cracked open a beer since the wine sucked. The only thing holding it back from being the ending to another perfect day was the worry in Melissa’s eyes. As I cleaned the fish, I wondered if I should have held back some of the information that Matt had given to me. It wasn’t that she couldn’t take it. She could. She was incredibly strong. But I felt guilty for adding more worries to her already weighted down shoulders.

I got everything ready and went out to the back patio to start a fire on the small, charcoal grill. I hummed an old Navy song to myself and didn’t hear Melissa approach. I jolted at her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, wow. You’re sneaky, little miss.”

“I was a jewel thief in another life,” she said, smiling up at me.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by her first real attempt at a joke or banter in days.

She laughed softly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Scare me? Nah. Big tough guy, remember?”

“Right.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked, running a hand down her arm. “Jackson seemed to have fun today.”

“A little too much fun. I put him straight in the tub. The wet wipes weren’t gonna cut it.” I laughed and she joined in. Melissa nodded. “He’ll probably be in there for a while, so I figured I’d come see if you needed a hand with anything.”

I glanced down at the embers in the bottom of the grill. “I think I’m good. The fish is all cleaned, seasoned, and ready to throw on here. What else did you want to have with dinner?”

Melissa shrugged. “Hmm, Let’s see…it’s so hard to decide, what with all of our riveting options? We could have fried plantains or mashed plantains. We might even have a potato somewhere.”

I laughed. “Oooh. How gourmet.”

“Hmmm.” She tapped a finger on her lips. “Let’s live on the wild side and go with roasted plantains!”

“Well if anyone can make it taste good, it’s you.”

“Thanks.” She glanced down at the grill.

“This is pretty pathetic though, huh? Nothing like the five star joints you’re probably used to.” I chuckled and added another handful of charcoal to the fire.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I glanced over at her and my heart fell at the cross look on her face. “I didn’t mean anything by it, Melissa. Just that you’re probably missing some of the creature comforts of home.”

“I haven’t complained yet,” she retorted, crossing her arms.

I held up my hand. “Whoa. I didn’t say you did. You and Jackson have both been troopers through all this shit. But come on, even I’m hankering to get back to the states and go to a restaurant and have a nice steak or something.”