I must have imagined it.
Chapter Fifteen
Jonah
I stopped my shaking, hopefully before Melanie had noticed. I didn’t want to give her any more cause for concern. She had enough to deal with now without worrying about me.
This woman meant so much to me. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her, and I would lose her, as soon as I came clean about ignoring the phone call. But right now she needed me, and I would not let her go through this alone.
I needed to get back to Talon and talk to him about what he’d decided to do about Felicia. So many questions were still unanswered. But I couldn’t leave Melanie. If she woke up and I wasn’t in the house, she would freak, and rightly so.
I was exhausted, having been up all night in that uncomfortable chair. As much as I wanted to help Talon uncover the mystery of his past, right now I needed sleep. So did Melanie. Once she drifted off, I relaxed a little.
* * *
When I woke up, darkness had already fallen. I checked my watch. It was after nine p.m. I was disoriented at first and then realized I was in the guest room with Melanie. I reached next to me to touch her. But she was gone.
I got up, quickly put on my jeans, and walked out to the kitchen. There was Melanie, in my black silk robe, looking as luscious as anything, putzing around in the kitchen. I cleared my throat.
She looked up. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I know you didn’t get any sleep last night. I wasn’t planning on waking you at all.”
“What are you up to?”
“Just fishing around for something to eat. I can’t believe I’m actually a little hungry. That’s a good sign. I mean, after my”—she paused—“abduction and all.”
I nodded. Undoubtedly, it was. “I’m not much use in the kitchen. I can have Marj come over and whip us up something.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. We’ll find something. Or we can order something.”
I couldn’t resist a chuckle at that one. “We’re over a half hour from a small town. No one delivers out here for takeout. Most places close by nine on weeknights.”
Her eyes widened. And I laughed again.
“This ain’t the city, honey.”
She joined me in laughter. Not her normal laughter, but still a happy sound. She was something else.
She opened the refrigerator door and then turned to me, her expression aghast. “I’m so sorry. I’m being kind of presumptuous, aren’t I?”
“Of course you’re not. You’re my guest here. I don’t expect you to go hungry. What do I have in there anyway?”
She stuck her nose in the fridge. “Ha. Bacon and eggs. The perfect comfort food, and something I can actually make.” She pulled the food out of the refrigerator. “Where do you keep your skillets?”
“I have no idea.”
“You don’t make your breakfast?”
“One of my men brings me a massive breakfast burrito in the morning, compliments of his wife.”
“I see. Well, if you don’t mind me being a nosy Nellie, I’ll just look around until I find what I need.”
“Like I said, I want you to make yourself at home.”
Melanie found the skillet she was looking for, and soon my kitchen smelled like the country ranch house when we were kids. I half expected to look outside and see a beautiful orange sunrise rather than the night sky. This was how the house smelled every morning when Mama was alive, before—