On my next trip to see my uncle, I would be alone.
* * *
“So who lives here anyway?”
I pulled up into a parking space near Melanie’s building. All I had told Bryce so far was that I needed to check on a friend.
A friend.
God, she was so much more than my friend, and I had been ready to turn her away. But no more. I’d changed my mind. I was going to be there for her, or at least I would try. My own head was such a mess I wasn’t sure I was much good to her, but surely just being there would help.
I didn’t want to lie to Bryce. I was already keeping so much from him. “My friend is…a psychotherapist. Dr. Melanie Carmichael.”
“Isn’t that…”
I nodded. “Talon’s therapist. Yeah.”
“So she’s a friend of yours?”
“Yes. Sort of. I mean—”
“Christ. You’re screwing her.”
I shook my head with a chuckle. How in the hell had Bryce and I been separated for so long yet he still knew what I was thinking? “That’s none of your concern.”
Bryce gave me a broad grin. “Joe, I have known you your whole damned life. You can’t hide that shit from me. I can read you like a book.”
Apparently, he could, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I didn’t want him guessing what I suspected about his father, not until I had better proof. Once I did, I had to tell Bryce before I could tell Talon. I owed Bryce that much. This was his father, after all. I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Okay,” I said. “You got me. We’ve fooled around a few times, but we’re really just friends.”
“Yeah? Then why are we coming here to check on her? Why not give her a call?”
“Because she’s not answering my calls.”
After Melanie had sneaked out of my house a few days before when Talon and Jade found us swimming naked in my pool, I’d been angry. When she called me a few hours later, I hadn’t answered. When I’d finally tried to call her, she gave me the same treatment. She didn’t take the call. I deserved it, but now I was starting to get worried. Melanie wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. She was a good person—a person who preached against grudges, a person who helped others.
“Have you considered the possibility that she doesn’t want to talk to you?”
“Yeah, I’ve considered it. Maybe she doesn’t. It’s been a few days.”
“Did you leave everything fine?”
I let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, no. I was mad at her for a while. But I’m over it.”
“What did she do?”
“It’s a long, dull story. The gist is that Talon and Jade walked in on us while we were naked by my pool. She was embarrassed, and instead of staying, like I wanted her to, she got dressed and sneaked out without telling me.” I opened my door.
Bryce left the passenger seat and followed me. “Nice building.”
“She has a great little loft here. Fourth floor.”
“You want me to stay down here?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. There’s a tavern across the street. After talking to Larry again, I need a beer.”