“No sir.” She shook her head back and forth. “The person that rented this room checked out earlier today.”
Damn…
“I must have made a mistake.” I tilted my head to the side. “I’ll be on my way.”
I got a good look at the room before I finally opened the door and left. The maid had cleaned up the area by the door, and the bathroom, but that was as far as she had gotten. I could see empty beer bottles, fast food wrappers, and it looked like he had been there a while before he checked out. There were two beds, and both of them had been slept in. If Leo got the room number right, then it appeared that Jackson had someone with him—someone that didn’t want to share his bed. I wasn’t sure if it was a good sign that he was gone or not—I hoped it meant he had left Carson Cove, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Hey, Leo.” I pressed my phone to my ear. “Are you sure about that room number? It looks like the guest in 142 has checked out.”
“That’s definitely the right number,” Leo sighed into the line. “Fuck, let me do some more digging, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks.” I ended the call and pushed the phone into my pocket.
I drove to my house, exchanged a couple of text messages with Melanie to make sure everything was okay with her and waited to hear back from Leo. It was almost ten before he finally called, and what I saw was apparently true. Jackson checked out of the Pembroke Hotel, and they weren’t able to find any trace of him in Carson Cove. Leo put a tracker on his credit card, so he would know when it was used again, and said he would call as soon as he got a hit. I didn’t ask if that was legal or not—I assumed he called in a favor from one of his cop buddies. I wasn’t happy, but there wasn’t anything else I could do until he had another lead.
Hopefully he came to his senses…
I sat alone in my house after the call ended, and my thoughts returned to Melanie. I never imagined that a girl like that could come charging into my life and make me believe that I could have a second chance at happiness, but she did. It was going to be complicated as fuck once she was working for me, but a few secret indiscretions wouldn’t hurt anything. I could separate the office from the bedroom, even when they collided together. Melanie would be my employee during working hours, and the woman that made me feel like a new man when it was time to go home for the day. It wasn’t going to be perfect, but I was done playing by the rules. I felt something for Melanie that I couldn’t ignore.
The first step is making sure that Jackson never comes back to Carson Cove.
Chapter Thirteen
Melanie
A few days later
I kept waiting for Jackson to show up again, but after a few days went by without incident, I began to wonder if he had already given up. I didn’t take his threat lightly, just like I didn’t take his mother’s threat lightly when I was a teenager. The Weber family had enough money to make my life hell if they wanted. I kept reminding myself that Jackson went four years without contacting me, and there was a chance that once he came to his senses, he simply left town. Maybe he was looking for something—and quickly realized that I wasn’t the same girl I used to be. I was a mother. That changed me. Jackson might have been my whole world once upon a time, but as soon as I held my little girl in my arms, she became the most important thing in my life. I sure as hell wasn’t going to let Jackson anywhere near her after he hurt me.
Hopefully, she’ll understand if she ever finds out that I turned him away. I’d rather her have an illusion of who her father could be than see what kind of man he’s become.
Mr. Moretti forgave me for asking to end my shift early while we were at Chateau Prime and calling in the next day. I didn’t tell him the real reason I had to stay home, but I told him it was important, and I wouldn’t have missed one of my last days at the restaurant if I could have avoided it. I made it to my last day without missing any more time, and Mr. Moretti was still willing to let my co-workers throw me a party to celebrate my departure. It was bittersweet in a way. I didn’t always enjoy waiting tables, but I was going to miss the people I had met there. Outside of Taylor, they were the only friends I had in Carson Cove.
“Just wait until Mr. Moretti leaves—then we’re going to open a bottle of wine.” Tiffani gave me a nudge and grinned.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.
“I bought it. We’re not stealing from him—now, I can’t say the same for Lauren. She’s had her eye on the bottle of Gran Patron Platinum tequila since Mr. Moretti opened it.” Tiffani winked at me.
“I’m definitely not doing tequila shots.” I shook my head back and forth.
“It’s a party…” She took a step back. “Live a little!”
I did tell my mom that I might be home late, and Charley was pretty forgiving since it was going to be my last night at Moretti’s…
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Mr. Moretti walked out of his office and motioned to me.
“Sure thing!” I nodded and followed him into his office.
I hope I’m not going to get in trouble on my last day—right before my party…
“Sorry, I know your party is about to begin.” Mr. Moretti closed the door.
“No problem.” I looked up at him. “Is something wrong?”
“Not at all.” He shook his head back and forth. “I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate what you’ve done for me over the years. Most of the kids I hire don’t give a damn about this job. They’re just here to get a check and earn a few tips. I got lucky when I hired you, and while I’m sad to see you go, I know you’re going to do very well at Alcott Inc.”
“Wow, thank you, Mr. Moretti!” I was almost too stunned to speak, but I managed to express my gratitude as the shock wore off. “You took a chance on me. I was brand new to Carson Cove, and had never worked in a place like this—waiting tables here is a whole lot different than the small cafe I worked at in high school. I felt like I owed you my best, so I never took the opportunity lightly.”