One More Time

“Yep, lived there my whole life,” I said. “I don’t usually come back this way though, not since I was a kid at least.”

“Uncle Ev?”

I whipped around at the small sound and was shocked to find two children sitting in a playpen. The little boy couldn’t have been more than three years old, and the little girl looked less than a year. She was crawling around and trying to climb up the little boy’s back as he giggled, and my heart melted. They both had bright green eyes and rosy red cheeks, and the little girl had drool dripping down her face while she chewed on a stuffed animal.

“Yes, Liam?” the man asked.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

His little finger pointed to me before the little girl began to giggle at something. My love for children was strong, and it was what had driven me to want to become a preschool teacher. I lifted my hand and waved my fingers at them, giving them a wide smile.

The man cleared his throat.

“This is—”

“Melanie,” I said. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Liam! And that’s Uncle Ev.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you and your—Uncle Ev,” I said. “Does the beautiful little girl have a name?”

“Hawy,” Liam said.

“Hailey?” I asked.

“Hadley,” the man said. “And I’m Evan.”

I looked up at him and found him studying me even closer. Though I still had my guard up and was a little intimidated by his size, a man with two obviously well cared for children couldn’t be a psycho serial killer. Could he?

“Sit and warm yourself up,” Evan said.

“Thank you.”

I walked over and sat down on the couch as my eyes continued to watch the little ones. Liam was helping the little girl—who I assumed was his sister—try to do something, and she was getting frustrated with him for taking her toy. She was swatting at him and he was asking her to stop, and all the while I was trying to hold back my giggles.

They were perfect.

I settled back into the couch cushions and sighed as the fire warmed my body. I watched the snow continue to fall outside and started to become concerned for my father. I knew there was plenty of food in the house and that he was capable of making a few things for himself, but he often forgot to take all of his medicine if he wasn’t reminded. Since it was beginning to look like I was going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future, I needed to at least be able to call and remind him. Hopefully, Evan had a phone I could use or a charger to charge my own.

Though my body was still tense, I began to relax in his presence. I just hoped I wasn’t making a mistake by letting my guard down.

CHAPTER 5

EVAN

She was beautiful, sitting there on my couch. Her long black hair fell down her back, covering a delicate neck. She had deep blue eyes that seemed to match the warring storm outside. Her short stature brought her only to my chest but, even underneath her bulky coat, I could tell her body housed curves that could make a man salivate. My fingertips burned with electricity while I made her a cup of coffee.

“I made some coffee. Want some?” I asked.

“That would be nice, thank you. My hands are still really cold,” she said.

“I don’t have cream, but I do have sugar.”

“That’s fine. I’m not picky.”

Reaching for the sugar, I craned my neck back to take her in. She was nestled into the cushions of the couch as the kids continued to play. Her voice was light and innocent but held a confidence beneath it. The contrast between her small stature and her slightly aloof nature burned me to my core, and I had to take deep breaths to quell the urges rising in my pelvis.

“Here you go.”