Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

“I’m just kidding,” I chuckled under my breath. “I’m going to have a cheeseburger and fries.”

“Mommy, that’s what I want too!” Charley tapped her mother’s arm.

“Okay, sweetheart.” Melanie nodded.

I wasn’t in the mood for something healthy, and nobody else at the table seemed to be either. The food was good, and the dessert was even better. I was pretty stuffed by the time we left. Charley was pretty quiet once we got to the car and ended up falling asleep before we even made it to the interstate. Melanie and I held hands, talked quietly to make sure we didn’t wake up Charley and avoided the subject of Jackson. Leo sent me a text message right before we got to Carson Cove—Jackson’s mother had showed up, raised hell, and provided the paperwork that proved he had a prescription for the pills. The District Attorney wasn’t going to press charges, and Jackson was going to be released. I told Leo to keep some guys on Melanie’s family—just in case Jackson tried something.

“Are you feeling okay?” Melanie looked over at me once we turned into my neighborhood. “I won’t be able to stay—I’ve got to get Charley home. I could call Anna again.”

“No, I’ll be fine.” I waved off her concern. “I’m sore, but I feel a lot better today. I needed to get out of the house—laying it bed was just making it worse.”

“You’re not thinking about going into work tomorrow, are you?” She raised an eyebrow in concern.

“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “But I am going to work from home.”

“I guess that’s okay…” She narrowed her eyes.

Charley woke up in time to see Alcott Manor and desperately wanted to go inside. She said it was the biggest house she had ever seen, which was probably the truth. I wasn’t up for giving her a tour, and I could tell that Melanie just wanted to go home, so I suggested that the two of them come to hang out with me on Saturday. That seemed to appease Charley, and it meant that I would get to see her again—another step towards revealing that I planned to be in her mother’s life—and her life—for a very long time. I had fallen hard for Melanie, and that meant I would be spending a lot more time with Charley as well.

“I’ll check on you tomorrow.” Melanie walked around to the back of the car so that Charley couldn’t see us and gave me a hug.

“You’re not going back to work either?” I leaned back from our embrace.

“Honestly?” she sighed. “I think I’m going to look for a new job…”

“What? W

hy?” I blinked in confusion.

“I already screwed up at Alcott Inc. I haven’t even managed to make it through a full day…” She shrugged. “I’m sure you can smooth things over with Damien, but this isn’t how I want to start a new career. Eventually people will find out about us, and that will just make things even more complicated.”

“I don’t care if it gets complicated.” I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not going to hide our relationship anymore. I don’t care if anyone has a problem with it at the office…”

“I know, but I do.” She forced a smile. “This will be for the best, I promise.”

“Okay.” I nodded and let out a long sigh. “I do understand where you’re coming from, even if I’m going to miss our performance reviews.”

“Look at it like this…” She tilted her head and grinned. “If I don’t work there, I can come see you whenever I want—I won’t even need an appointment.”

“Hmm.” I raised an eyebrow. “That does sound nice…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She squeezed my hand and walked towards her car.

“Drive safe.” I waved to Melanie and then walked over so Charley could see me and waved to her as well.

You’ll never know what your mother did to protect you, but she practically risked her life to keep you safe…

Chapter Twenty-Three

Melanie

The emergency hearing was a small victory, but we weren’t out of the woods yet. If Jackson was free, he would want revenge for what I had done, and he knew he could do that by getting custody of Charley. I didn’t know if he would try anything else, or if that would be the only shot he took at us, so I was glad to have Leo behind me when I left Alcott Manor. He helped me bring Jackson to his knees, even if it was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to realize that I wasn’t going to let him win without a fight. Addison was a great attorney and could delay the trial for a little while, which would give me more time to figure out what my next move would be. The drug charges were never going to amount to anything—I needed something that was as damaging as the video he had of me. I just didn’t know what that was…

“I like Jon. He’s nice.” Charley shifted in her booster seat and watched Alcott Manor as we drove away.

“You like all of my friends…” I chuckled under my breath and looked at her in the rear-view mirror.

“Is he your boyfriend?” Charley flashed a devious grin.