Damn. No matter what happened, it always came back to that. Before Talon’s abduction. Back when my mother was my mother, and we three boys were her life.
Wendy Madigan had told Talon and me that our mother had been mentally ill. Part of me didn’t doubt that. Mentally fit people didn’t normally kill themselves. But she had been such a good mother. Devoted to her children, to our father, to the ranch. But that was all before…
Before…
About ten minutes later, Melanie set a plate in front of me filled with scrambled eggs and three slices of bacon. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I wasn’t sure when I had eaten last, and I found that I was famished. I gobbled up the food in short order.
I didn’t want to bring up Melanie’s kidnapping, but I did need to know what was going on. “Have the police contacted you again? Do they have any idea what happened?”
“No. I haven’t heard anything. It hasn’t been very long yet. I’m just hoping they can find the place where I was held. I gave them a detailed account—well, as detailed as I can remember, with my adrenaline freaking me out—of where I had driven from when I escaped.”
“It’s too late now. You won’t be hearing anything more tonight.”
“Oh.” She stood. “Totally forgot something for us to drink. I suppose it’s too late for a pot of coffee, although that’s what this meal screams for.”
“There’s probably some orange juice in the fridge. Or we can drink water. Or make some tea.”
“OJ sounds perfect.” She rooted around in my kitchen again until she found two glasses.
The scene before me—Melanie in my kitchen, making herself at home—looked more than good to me.
It looked right. It felt right.
If only I hadn’t failed her.
She set a glass of orange juice before me, and I drank it down in one gulp. When was the last time I had drunk something? The martini with Talon last night. I was clearly dehydrated.
I was restless. Being with Melanie had given me some solace, but I had no right to ask her to make love again. There was only one other thing that would give me the peace I craved—a midnight swim.
“Would you like to go for a swim with me?” I asked.
“It’s dark out. And isn’t it too cold?”
“You’ve been in my pool before. It’s heated. But if you’re too cold, you can get in the hot tub while I have a swim.”
S
he looked at her palms. “I guess my hands will be all right. I’ll need more Band-Aids.”
“As I told you, I have tons of first aid supplies.”
“I have to admit, swimming would be great for my ankle in its condition. Of course, I don’t have a suit…”
I laughed aloud. “And we’ve been through that before too. This is my house. No one’s going to interrupt us.”
“That’s what you said the last time.”
She had me there. And that was what had led to—
I didn’t want to think about it. I just wanted to get into my swimming pool and enjoy the night with the woman I loved.
“Will you be all right in here alone then? I really would like to swim.”
“I’m being silly, aren’t I?” She shook her head. “It’s just that…when Jade and Talon showed up, and I got embarrassed, that’s why I left, and then… It was all so silly, really. But this was all my fault, Jonah.”
Her fault? It was my fault. I hadn’t answered her phone call. “This is not your fault. That man had no right to do what he did. And if it takes me the rest of my days, I’ll find out who did it and why, and I will make sure that he rues the day he ever laid a hand on you.”