Right Before His Eyes

by Wendy Etherington

  Sure thing, Amelia. Then she closed her eyes at the mental lapse. Mellie. She hadn’t made that mistake in months, but somehow Bart made her want to be herself.

  Didn’t matter, though. Mellie, that’s who she was now. Who she’d be forever, if she didn’t find Hilton Branch and figure out something about Lily.

  But that was too much to think about when there was cool water waiting. She dragged her gaze from the gorgeous man beside her and dived over the side.

  When she emerged, she saw Bart make a clean arc over the water and spear in like an arrow with barely a splash. It figured that he’d do that well, too. What could the man not excel at?

  He stayed underwater long enough that she was starting to worry when suddenly she felt a hand on her leg, dragging her under.

  Just as quickly, he braced one hand on her waist and wrapped the other around her thigh, shooting her up to the surface, then following her with a wicked grin.

  She splashed him straight in the face, and the battle began.

  SO MISS MELLIE WAS FEISTY, was she? When they paused in the water fight, both dripping and grinning, he couldn’t help but notice that years seemed to have sloughed from her shoulders. She always looked young—and was, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know just how young—but right now, she was like a kid.

  When she reared back to splash him again, he grinned and dived under. Though she kicked and tried to dodge, he captured her and rose to the surface, their legs tangling as they treaded water.

  In the bright sun, her brown eyes were caramel, and he noticed for the first time a tiny trail of freckles on her nose. Impulsively, he bent and kissed her. He meant it to be light and friendly, but when her lips parted, he dived in, bodies brushing, the kiss going on and on—

  Until they started sinking.

  They broke apart, and she surfaced a few feet away, her eyes like saucers, her cheeks blooming rose. She didn’t speak but only stared at him.

  “If you expect me to say I’m sorry, I’m not,” he said. “You may look like you’re fifteen, but you’re one hell of a kisser, Miss Mellie.”

  “We shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I disagree.” He swam to her. “It won’t be the last.”

  “Bart, we shouldn’t—”

  “Sugar, I’ve spent most of my life doing things I shouldn’t. I regret very few of them. And if you tell me you didn’t like that kiss, I’m afraid I’ll have to call you a liar.”

  She looked stricken.

  “Just teasing, honey. If you honestly didn’t like it, just say so, and I’ll leave you alone. Is that what you want?”

  “Yes…no…I don’t know.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Come here.” He slid an arm around her and swam with her to the ladder, then looped his free arm around one rung. “I don’t get it. I’m not a bad man. A lot of people like me. You could like me, too, Miss Mellie, if you’d just give me a chance.”

  “I like you,” she said shyly.

  “Then let me kiss you again when we don’t have to worry about drowning.”

  “We’re still in the water.”

  “I’ve got you.” He pulled her against him. “I’m not letting go.” And even as he began to accept that he might mean that for longer than the next few minutes, he dipped his head and began to taste her mouth, to explore her. Her body was slim, yes, not the usual armful of curves he’d thought he preferred, but her curves were delicate and fragile and though they made him worry that he was too big, he also knew that there was a core of pure steel to this woman who was so reluctant to trust him or anyone else.

  Then her arms came around his neck, and she wriggled against him.

  Bart quit thinking altogether and focused on the woman so alive and eager in his arms, savoring her sweetness, the honesty of her passion. He was about to lose his head completely when a remnant of his conscience refused to let him take her flying too high.

  We shouldn’t have done that, she’d protested. Mellie didn’t really trust him. She thought he would take his pleasure and leave for the next woman. When her head cleared, how would she feel if he let this go too far?

  He was in no position to make anyone promises, certainly not a lifetime’s worth, and though there was much he didn’t know about Mellie Donovan, he would bet everything he owned that she was a forever kind of girl.

  He had a championship to win; he had to stay on course. There were threats to his family; he couldn’t allow pleasure, however sweet, make him forget that he had to protect them. His father had let everyone in his life down, and Bart would spend his own life proving he was nothing at all like his worthless dad.

  So, much as he wanted to lean back into her, to seize her mouth again and so much more, he separated himself slowly from the treasure in his arms.

  When Mellie’s eyes opened, they were blurred by passion, her lips ruby-red from his kisses. It was all he could do to leave her.

  But he had to. “It’s getting late. We’d better head back.” He shoved away from the ladder and gestured for her to precede him.

  Her eyes cleared, and hurt crossed her features.

  He couldn’t let it end like this. “I’m trying to do the right thing, but if you think we’re done, you’ve got another think coming.”

  She didn’t look back as she ascended and hastened to cover herself and that sweet baby-blue bikini that had his fingers itching to roam her flesh.

  Bart sighed and cursed fate and worthless fathers and lousy timing.

  IT WAS CRAZY. SHE WAS CRAZY. It was wrong to have yielded to impulse, yet as the boat raced back over the water, all Mellie could think about was Bart and how those fevered kisses made her feel.

  Glorious. Sexy. Powerful to make such a strong man go half-crazy himself.

  Too bad he had the control to stop when I wasn’t sure I did.

  Her mother would have been scandalized by how unashamed Mellie felt right now. You are too young to be falling in love. Her mother had been fervent on the topic because she herself had married Mellie’s father at nineteen and she wanted Mellie to see the world, to have every possible choice she could give her.

  But you loved Daddy, Mama. You were happy together, I remember that.

  And she wasn’t falling in love; she was only…

  Mellie shifted on her seat so she couldn’t see Bart and instead thought about the innocent baby sister waiting for her, as innocent as Mellie herself once had been, before her father died and her mother got so lonely that an unprincipled man could take advantage of her.

  I can’t do this, can’t have this. Bart was a good man, and he didn’t deserve having to deal with all the problems she brought with her. He’d already suffered enough from his father’s actions.

  One lonely tear rolled down her cheek, and Mellie tried very hard to forget the bliss she’d tasted so briefly, the fun they’d shared. She would never forget this day, though—Bart’s smile, his tender touch, how he made her laugh and made her burn…

  “Oh, man. We’re busted.”

  Her head whipped toward him. “What?” Then she glanced ahead as the dock came into view. On it stood not only Will but Zoe, slowly disentangling from an embrace and watching them arrive.

  Bart looked at her. “We won’t get away without going up to the house. I’m sorry.” He frowned slightly. “I wonder where the kids are—oh, man. I forgot.” He glanced over. “My mom was coming in early for the Charlotte race. She and Chuck are probably already here and knee-deep in grandkids. And you can bet your bottom dollar that my brother, Loose Lips, has told them I’m out here. Can you handle meeting more of my family?”

  More of the family whose lives would be upset by finding out about an illegitimate baby? More people to whom she would have to lie? Mellie closed her eyes and wished herself anywhere but here.

  “They’re good people. I swear they won’t bite.”

  Bart sounded as if he really cared what she thought. He wasn’t to blame for her problems; none of them were. So Mellie took
a deep breath. “I need to return to Lily soon.”

  “I’ll get us out of here as quickly as possible, I promise.”

  He seemed honestly worried about her reaction, so Mellie forced herself past her fears and guilt and nodded. “Ready if you are.”

  Relief chased over his features. “It’ll be painless for you, I promise. They’ll save the inquisition for me later.” But only love and genuine fondness was in his tone.

  He guided the boat into the dock and cut the engine.

  BART WATCHED AS HIS FAMILY worked their magic on Mellie, bringing her out of her shell and into the fold. He’d been right to compare her to a wild and frightened animal—if only he knew what she was frightened of. What had happened in her marriage, or had she actually been married? Had she been left an unwed mother instead? Given her youth, that seemed entirely possible. Had she run away from home? Where was her family and what were the circumstances that kept her so alone?

  “Your brain is clicking so loudly I can barely hear,” teased his sister-in-law Zoe. “What’s going on?” When he continued to stare across the room where his mother, Maeve, was holding Will’s male twin, Micah, and Sam was earnestly demonstrating a handheld video game to both Maeve and Mellie, she nodded her head. “Will’s right.”

  “Will’s never right.” Bart dragged his attention away from the woman he shouldn’t be thinking about. “About what?”

  “That girl’s got a hold on you.”

  Bart sighed. “Girl is right. She’s too young for me. And she’s not my type.”

  “Funny how none of that matters when the heart gets involved.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Zo, not everyone’s intended for the ivy-covered cottage.”

  “There’s not a speck of ivy in our yard.”

  “You know what I mean. You and Will are the exception.”

  One slender eyebrow arched. “Oh, really? Funny that Chuck still acts like he and your mom are on a honeymoon two years later.” The man in question was sitting right beside Maeve with an arm around her, and his mom had never looked happier. “Penny and Craig went through a rough spot, yes, but they’re solid, and Sawyer and Lucy are stupid in love. It took Will and me ten years to find each other again, but—” She turned to him. “Your family’s not doomed because of your father’s character flaws. They’re not genetic, Bart.”

  He adored Zoe, too much to argue with her over this. “I’ve got the championship to deal with. I can’t afford the distraction.”

  “Will didn’t think he could afford to get sidetracked by Sam and me, either. But love doesn’t weaken you, it strengthens you.”

  “Whoa there. Nobody’s talking about love. I just…” He shrugged. “I like her. I…worry about her. She’s so alone.”

  “Not right now,” Zoe pointed out. “She’s surrounded by Branches.”

  And she seemed happy. Rosy-cheeked and smiling, even laughing at the antics of Will’s twins and his brother’s good-natured teasing. She’d stuck like glue to his mom ever since she’d met her, and Maeve’s magic seemed to satisfy a hunger in Mellie. She didn’t look pinched or exhausted or scared, for a change.

  “Do you think she’s been abused?” he asked Zoe, who understood exactly how that felt. Zoe’s first husband hadn’t struck her, but he’d emotionally bruised her. At the very notion that someone might have done so to Mellie, Bart truly understood for the first time how enraged Will had been when he’d uncovered what his so-called friend had done to the woman Will loved. If Tanner hadn’t already been dead, who knows what Will would have done.

  “I don’t know…maybe.” Zoe studied her. “Asking her straight-out wouldn’t necessarily tell us anything. It’s not easy to explain, but when someone’s doing that to you, shame is the first thing you feel besides the fear. You don’t want to discuss it.”

  Bart went ramrod stiff, driven to go to Mellie, to provide the protection she didn’t need here in his brother’s home, surrounded by his loving family.

  Zoe laid a hand on his arm. “Just be there, Bart. When she’s ready, she’ll talk to you.”

  “That’ll be the day. She’s got a shell a mile thick, and she’s damned touchy about anyone trying to break through it.”

  “But they are making a dent.” Zoe nodded toward the rest of their family, then looked at him. “And so are you. If it makes you feel any better, though, I’ll see to it that I drop in at Maudie’s more often and let her know she has a friend.”

  Bart slung an arm around his sister-in-law’s slender shoulders and hugged her to him. “You know, Zo, that if you ever get tired of my worthless brother, I’m the smart twin.”

  She grinned and laid her head on his shoulder. “Stronger, too, right? Better at most everything?”

  “Goes without saying.”

  “Hmm. Wonder where I’ve heard all that before?” She was staring across the room at Will, who was cradling their daughter, Malia, and nuzzling her neck with his nose, making her giggle. As if he sensed her observation, Will glanced up and his eyes went both hot and tender at his wife.

  “Yeah, but the difference is that Will’s prone to exaggeration,” Bart said, and placed a kiss to her hair.

  “You’re the best, Zoe. Thank you.”

  When he made as if to leave, Zoe stopped him. “Thank you,” she said quietly, “for keeping Will out of the search for Hilton’s other family. Is there any news?”

  “Not really. Jake’s working hard, but so far he’s found nothing about the girls’ whereabouts, though he’s uncovered a lot about Biscayne Bay. Those guys are a piece of work.”

  “Will’s not happy about you handling this by yourself, but I really do appreciate everything you’re doing.”

  Bart shrugged. “Only makes sense. Will’s got too much to lose if things get out of hand.”

  She pressed one palm to his cheek. “We all have too much to lose if you get in harm’s way. Please be careful.”

  “My middle name.”

  “Oh, yeah. Mr. Cautious, that’s you.” Zoe was chuckling as Bart strolled off to join Mellie.

  “YOUR FAMILY IS WONDERFUL,” Mellie said after they left.

  Bart turned and paused before donning his helmet. “You can borrow them anytime. They like you.”

  He had no idea how much she wished she could. Mellie resisted the slide into self-pity because her life was too impossibly complicated, and she would never be able to take him up on that offer.

  But Lily could. All Mellie had to do was tell Bart the truth, and Lily could be snuggled into the bosom of that loving family.

  And Mellie would be free to be young again instead of a thousand years old.

  Tears she couldn’t completely explain burned her eyes, and she turned away, quickly sliding onto the motorcycle seat and hiding inside her helmet. Was it Lily she cried for or herself? Both, probably. If Mellie uttered the words so close to spilling from her lips, she knew there was a really good chance this generous family would take her sister to their hearts and not blame Lily for being fresh evidence of Hilton’s betrayals.

  But the price would be more heartache for all of them—and more scandal. And they would surely hate her for being the person who brought all that down upon them.

  No, her choices were still slim to none. She didn’t have the money to travel to Texas to confront Hilton Branch, and she wouldn’t be part of hurting such a kind group of people. Now there was more than Bart to consider—and truthfully, the less she thought about Bart Branch, the better.

  Today had been heavenly, but it couldn’t happen again. It was her bad luck that he’d be around town most of the next several days, with the next race to be held in Charlotte and the one after that only in Martinsville.

  Bart was scrutinizing her too closely, and she held her breath that he’d stop asking questions she couldn’t answer. At last he thought better of it, put on his own helmet and started the bike’s powerful engine. They took off, and she was forced to grab on to him yet again.

  And if her traitorous body wi
shed he’d left off his shirt, that she didn’t have to wear a big helmet, that she could afford to plaster herself against him, snuggle close and never let go…

  Well, the past couple of years had taught Mellie not to waste time on wishes that could never come true.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BART, HOWEVER, WASN’T inclined to grant Mellie the distance she so obviously thought she should keep. Instead, at every opportunity over the next few days, he was at the diner or dropping by at night to take her and Lily to get ice cream or, if he was tied up too late at the shop, calling her to tell her what had happened that day.

  Yes, he was working and working hard. What he wasn’t doing was wasting time with his buddies. Whatever spare moments he could scrape together, he was carving away at the distance she kept trying to put between them.

  Bit by bit, Mellie’s resolve was weakening.

  Now he was about to win the fifth race of the championship run, and Mellie was there to see it. As the white flag dropped and Bart focused on his last lap, with only Will even close behind him, he knew he’d never raced better and she was the reason why.

  Never mind that she’d tried her hardest to refuse the pass and ticket he’d given her, that she’d spent the past few days attempting to talk him out of it, either on the phone or when he was grabbing yet another meal at Maudie’s just so he could catch her for a minute here and there. He’d stolen more than one kiss as she ducked into the kitchen, and she still blushed furiously every time, while protesting that he was going to cost her a job she needed.

  But telling her to quit and let him take care of her brought down her ire like nothing he’d ever seen—except maybe Sheila threatening to bar him from the premises if he ever again tried to rob her of her best employee.

  Next week he’d be on the road again and for the rest of the season, and he wanted Mellie with him. She was still clinging to the pretense that they weren’t seriously involved, but once this season was over, he could spend all his time showing her how wrong she was.