Saving Mel

“Thanks for making the coffee,” I said.

“No problem. It’s the least I could do with everything you’ve done for me,” she responded.

I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to thank me. I wanted to tell her that I thought she was saving me as much as I had saved her, but the words stuck in my throat. “I’m going to go jump in the shower to warm up a bit more,” I said, as I started down the hallway.

She nodded and went back to the living room to sit with the kids.

I stepped into the shower and heaved a sigh. Having Melanie here was sweet torture. I could tell that she was warming to me, but there was also something still holding her back. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her that she had built up such a wall.

Not that I could really say anything about that. After Elise had left me, I was determined that I’d never let myself fall in love again. I’d screwed my way through the pain, but I knew that Melanie was not someone I could do that with. There was a vulnerability to her that made me want to protect her. There was also an unassuming sexiness about her that made me want to fuck her senseless.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower before I could let my mind wander any further down that road. I dried off and quickly dressed in my room.

A burst of laughter hit my ears as I opened the door and headed down the hallway. When I got to the living room, I found Melanie and Liam both red-faced and giggling on the couch.

“That’s what you get for trying to tickle me!” Melanie exclaimed.

“No! Mew! Tickles!” Liam said.

“Tickle monster!” Melanie said, laughing.

I smiled at the sight just before everyone turned their heads toward me. Liam scrambled out from underneath Melanie’s hands before he ran to me, his panting body clinging to my leg. Hadley was clapping and cheering everyone on as drooled spilled down her chin, and I watched as Melanie reached over to clean her up with the sleeve of her sweater before she turned toward me.

Even the kids gravitated toward her.

CHAPTER 10

MELANIE

I woke up the next morning to my phone buzzing off the hook. I sat up in a panic, worried that something was wrong with my dad and he was trying to get hold of me.

But when I saw I had fifteen missed calls from Layla, I grinned. I wondered what she would think about my predicament.

“Hey Layla,” I said when she picked up after the first ring.

“Mel! Holy shit! I haven’t heard from you in like three days!” she exclaimed. “I was starting to worry that something was wrong with your dad.”

“I know, sorry, things have been a little crazy up here,” I said. “Dad’s fine; doing really well actually.”

Layla blew an audible sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. “So then what the hell has been so important that you couldn’t call your best friend? I know you’re stuck up there on that God-forsaken mountain twiddling your thumbs.”

I laughed. “Well actually—” I began, and Layla immediately read my tone.

“What? What’s going on?” she asked. She knew me too well.

“Well, on my way back home, the snow was coming down so hard I could barely see. A tree had fallen over the road and so I had to take the back way. Long story short, my car is shitty in the snow, I slid into an embankment, had to walk, and ended up on the porch of a super-hot guy about two miles from my house.”

“What?” Layla practically shouted. “Are you okay? Did you call the sheriff? Do you need me to get my dad’s truck and come get you? Is your dad okay by himself?”

“Layla!” I had to raise my voice to get her attention. “Everything is fine. I’m fine. Dad is fine.”

I could hear her breathing on the other end of the line. “Did you say ‘super-hot’?” she finally asked.

I laughed out loud and lay back on my pillows. “Yeah. His name is Evan and he’s got his niece and nephew here with him. The little boy is three and the girl is about eight months. They are just the cutest.”

“And you’re okay there with him?” she asked.

I thought for a just a second before answering her. “Yeah, I really am. He’s nice and he’s taken really good care of me. Plus, I figure he can’t be an ax murderer if he’s got these two kids here, right?”

“It’s just so weird to hear you talk about a guy like that,” Layla said quietly. “It’s been so long.”

I sighed. “I know. It’s weird for me too. I’m really comfortable around him and he just does something to me.”