Whiskey Reveals

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “You say that, and yet I’m walking in there pregnant and unwed. I might as well put on a shirt that is ruined or have a scarlet letter on my chest.”

  “As we are in a different century and Whiskey is a little more progressive than a lot of towns, especially compared Regency England, I’m going to go with no on the scarlet letter. But whatever you think is best.”

  “Sometimes you’re very lucky that you’re cute. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

  Fox leaned over and kissed her hard. The touch left her pulse racing, and she had to fight to catch her breath. “Just cute? I’m going to have to step up my game when it comes to touching you if you just find me cute.”

  “Fox, keep your hands off that poor girl so she can come inside and actually get something to eat. Plus, she’s carrying my grandchild; therefore, I want her sitting down with her feet up and a glass of ice water in her hand. For the love of Pete, Fox, keep your hormones at bay for at least five minutes.”

  That’s it, Melody really needed to find that hole where she could bury herself and never actually think about what had just happened. Of course, his mother would be standing on the porch waiting for them. Of course, she would be staring and watching Fox make out with her as he made growling noises. And Melody was pretty sure she had made a moan or two of her own. Fox did that to her. Damn the man. Damn him and his pretty face and his yummy dick.

  “Sorry, Mom. She’s just so pretty.” He gave Melody a wink before taking her hand and leading her towards the house. Fox’s mom rolled her eyes before opening her arms for a hug.

  “That boy is just too smooth for his own good. Or at least he thinks he is. I know we’ve already met, but just in case you forgot, I’m Barbara. Bob’s inside, chasing the other two grandkids around the house. I don’t know exactly what game they’re playing, but it makes the kids giggle, and it keeps them out of the kitchen so they’re not pilfering food. Keeping my children out of the kitchen, well…that’s just never going to happen.”

  All of her nervousness seeped out of her at Barbara’s hug. Because not only did that woman give good hugs, she immediately made Melody feel at home. And though Melody had met every single person inside the house, Fox’s mother introduced her to everyone again and then literally sat her on the couch, put her feet up on the ottoman, and handed her a glass of ice water.

  Kenzie laughed at the expression on Melody’s face. “Let her take care of you. The boys keep pushing her away, and now that Tabby has decided to stay in Denver, she needs someone to pamper.”

  “She’s still pampering you,” Dare said as he walked into the living room with two glasses of iced tea in his hands. He handed one to Kenzie and sipped the other. Melody remembered that Dare was working that night at the bar, hence why he wasn’t having a beer like Fox and Loch were.

  Fox’s father was indeed chasing Nate and Misty around, the noise almost deafening, but no one said anything. The three of them were having a blast, or at least Melody thought a good time was had by all. Loch was fixing a hinge on a door to one of the rooms down the hall but was still in the middle the conversation between Dare, Fox, and Kenzie. Melody tried to keep track of it all but still felt two steps behind. It didn’t help that she was already getting pregnancy brain and was a little too tired to be on her feet. Fox’s mom really knew what she had been talking about with putting her feet up.

  Barbara wouldn’t let most of them in the kitchen to help out with food since she had her own way of doing things, but Fox had told Melody that wasn’t always the case. Sometimes, his mom was just in the mood to cook and perhaps work with one person.

  That person today happened to be Ainsley. Apparently, Ainsley was doing even better than Fox at the cooking class, and Barbara wanted to see what the other woman had learned. Every once in a while, Misty would come up to Ainsley, give her a hug, and then go running after Nate. Melody knew she wasn’t the only one who saw that interaction; the rest of the family watched it as well, but they all seemed to be doing their best not to say anything.

  Because whatever was going on between Loch and Ainsley was none of their business, even though she had a terrible thing feeling that things wouldn’t end well if the two of them didn’t talk to one another. But knowing Loch as she did, talking wasn’t going to come easily or anytime soon.

  Melody rested her hand on her belly and let out a sigh. Fox had his arm wrapped around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. He didn’t say anything to her, and he didn’t need to. She could feel his comfort and his need, especially since it matched her own.

  She was going to be a mom, that much had finally gotten through her head. Fox was going to be a dad. It should have stressed her out more than it did, but with everything else, it was just about par for the course. It was going to be something completely different, something else that would change their lives forever.

  But Fox’s family surrounded her, and she was comforted by the fact that she knew her grandmother was hanging out with her friends tonight and wouldn’t be alone. Fox had been by Melody’s side throughout it all and hadn’t backed away—even when she tried to push him. She saw the strength in Bob and Barbara’s love and marriage. She saw a similar strength in Dare and Kenzie’s relationship. She saw the laughter from Misty and Nate. And she saw the delicate temptation between Loch and Ainsley. All of that surrounded her and reminded her that she wasn’t alone. As she leaned into Fox, Melody figured that maybe just this once, she could trust herself. She could trust him.

  Maybe this feeling she had wasn’t wrong. Maybe she was finally falling.

  Maybe she’d already fallen in love.

  Chapter 22

  Melody was actually smiling. Not just smiling, practically skipping. She’d finished her morning barre class with some amazing women who wanted a different way to work out than the gym next door, and now her belly was full of some amazing food thanks to Dare’s bar. Kenzie had taken the afternoon off, and it was a teacher workday, so Ainsley was off, too, and the three them had eaten to their hearts’ content. Or rather, her belly’s content.

  She’d gorged herself on a double cheeseburger with mushrooms and onion rings on the side. The girls and she had even shared some artichoke and spinach dip with some of the best homemade chips she’d ever had her life. She knew she’d work off the really bad food later on that day, or she probably wouldn’t have indulged as much as she did. But what she really wanted to do was go to the back of the bar and meet Dare’s chef and thank him for the amazing food.

  Apparently, being pregnant had suddenly catapulted her into someone who couldn’t help but try every single thing on the menu. Fox had even cooked for her the night before, and he hadn’t burned a thing. Yes, it had been grilled cheese and tomato soup, but the soup hadn’t been from a can. And for some reason, she had never been able to make grilled cheese herself. No matter what she did, she either added too much butter or ended up burning it. Or worse, she flipped it too fast, and the bread got all mushy, and there was cheese everywhere. So, in her mind, Fox was a very talented chef, but she planned to beg him to take her out for onion rings more often.

  If she weren’t careful, her baby would have the middle name “onion rings” considering how many she’d eaten in the past month she lived in Whiskey.

  Things had quieted down around them, and she and Fox were actually starting to form a relationship beyond what they should have been, or rather what they thought they should’ve been. She’d fallen in love with him, and she knew she needed to find the guts to actually tell him that. It shouldn’t have been scary, not with how many other scary things she had gone through in her life. How many other things she was still going through.

  Her dance studio was thriving, and her students were adorable and hard-working even if sometimes they didn’t want to stretch or plié. She didn’t mind though, because she was learning along with them. Some of her older students were far more talented than they gave themselves credit for, and she was excited to start working with them one-on-one. And sh
e’d already started putting feelers out for someone to take over the studio when she needed time to recover from having the baby.

  Because though she’d been hiding from her past for far too long, she really did know a lot of people in the dancing world. And not everybody hated her as much as she hated herself.

  And because that thought had entered her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder where the stalker had gone. It’d been two weeks since the music box showed up. Two weeks, and she hadn’t heard anything from the person who was trying to make her worst fears come true. The police felt helpless, trying to figure out how any of it had happened, but there just wasn’t evidence. Melody was never alone now, one of the Collins brothers or her friends were constantly around her.

  It should have annoyed her, should have been claustrophobic, but she let them take care of her, and it made Fox happy. And making him happy was something Melody wanted to do.

  She’d never been good at relationships. But now, Fox was part of her life, and maybe tonight over another plate of onion rings, she would finally tell him exactly what was in her heart.

  Because she loved him, and it was past time she told him. And the thing was, she wasn’t scared that he didn’t love her, too. Because it was in each and every one of his actions. But she knew he was waiting for her to say the words because she needed to be the one to say them first. It was how they were and she appreciated that.

  And, oddly enough, she didn’t mind.

  “You have a dreamy look on your face, and you totally just missed Kenzie saying goodbye because she had an emergency upstairs. Probably just a towel issue, but those are big things when it comes to innkeeping.”

  Melody winced at Ainsley’s words and offered the last onion ring as an apology. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, I know you’re thinking about your dreamy Fox and how handsome and manly and growly he is. But you’re going to see him later, so you can keep your sad little onion ring while I walk you back to your studio. I figured I’d hang out with you if that’s okay. I really don’t want to go home and grade. So I figured I’d smile and be happy watching little girls in tiny tutus prance around while you do your best to be stern.”

  “That sounds like a plan because, honestly, I wouldn’t want to grade either. It’s too nice of a day.”

  The two of them made sure that they tidied up their mess and left a big tip since this was turning out to be their second home. Or maybe it was a third home at that point. They waved at Dare, and he waved back from where he stood behind the bar, and then she and Ainsley made their way outside and into the street where they could walk to the studio. She’d truly fallen in love with the town. Every single person had opened his or her arms to her, and she never once felt like a tourist. They’d helped her build her dreams, and had helped her feel safe when she didn’t think she could. No, they didn’t know her past, but they didn’t ask either. For such a curious and gossip-filled town, they truly held back when it came to the important things.

  She was just waving to the barbershop owner, a very hunky guy with a nice beard that happened to rival any of the Collins brothers’ when the sight of the car coming up pretty fast on the road stopped her.

  Ainsley was closest to the curb, but Melody was right there beside her. The car sped up, and somebody screamed. Ainsley held onto Melody’s arm, but Melody pushed the other woman out of the way. The car jumped the curb and slammed into the pole right where Ainsley had been standing, and right in front of Melody. Another scream pierced the air, and Melody fell back, her head slamming into the pavement. She rolled to her side, protecting and cradling her belly. Ainsley was on her knees in a second, and others crowded around her. But she didn’t really hear any of it, she could only think about the baby in her belly beneath her hands. And the fact that Fox wasn’t beside her, watching her every move. He would blame himself for this.

  But it wasn’t his fault.

  It was the fault of the woman behind the wheel.

  The woman that Melody should’ve known was part of this all along.

  The woman that Melody had helped to ruin. Because she would know Sarah’s face anywhere.

  Chapter 23

  Once again, Fox found himself standing in a hospital room, looking down at someone he cared about. He’d done it for Ms. Pearl only two weeks ago, and now he was looking down at the mother of his child—the woman he loved. He couldn’t believe that a fucking car had almost hit her. Yes, she was going to be okay, but a car had almost hit her.

  That didn’t happen in Whiskey. Even with all the tourists and cars on their tiny roads, people didn’t get hit by them.

  But, apparently, the love of his life did.

  Melody told him not to blame himself, but he was going to, at least a little bit. Sarah had found out where Melody was because of his viral news story. Because Sarah had learned of Ms. Pearl long before his article ever reached the internet, and she had known exactly who was related to the woman who danced for the Rat Pack and possibly the mob. The woman had used that and Fox’s details to find out where Melody was so she could take out her sick revenge on her. Sarah wasn’t a dancer anymore. And, apparently, seeing Melody dance even as an instructor had been too much for her. So she’d broken and tried to break Melody in turn.

  “If you keep pacing and beating yourself up over this, I’m going to get out of this bed and smack you upside the head. Don’t make me get up when the doctor told me to lay down for just a little bit. Come over here and hold my hand.”

  Fox glared at the love of his life and held back the bitter retort that he wanted to say. It wasn’t her fault that she’d gotten hurt. None of this was her fault. And she had told him more than once that this wasn’t his fault either. It didn’t make the pill he had to swallow any less bitter.

  “I’m fine, Fox. Please, just stop pacing. I don’t have a headache, but you are about to give me one. The doctors didn’t even put me in a gown. I’m still wearing my clothes.”

  “I can see you’re wearing your own clothes because I can see the hole at the elbow where you scraped yourself when you fell down. There’s a bandage under that hole. I can see the white of it. Don’t tell me that you’re fine when you were clearly bleeding earlier.” But he did stop pacing and went over to her side. And then he sat down right on the edge of the bed and held her hand, lowering his head so he could press his forehead to hers.

  “Fox, baby, I’m fine. Yes, it was scary. Sarah is behind bars and, hopefully, she’ll get the help she needs. I knew it either had to be her or someone else close to the accident. When I told the police her name after the ballet slipper incident, they said they were going to look for her. It hurt me at first because I didn’t want to encroach on her life any more than I already had, but I had no idea where she was. I haven’t heard from her since right after the accident when she yelled at me. Yes, I know she was drunk, too, but I was the leader, and I failed.”

  This time, Fox did growl after kissing her hard on the mouth. “You did not fail. You made a mistake. But so did she. But did you go and stalk her like an insane woman? No. Sarah is disturbed, and she could’ve hurt you. The only reason she’s the one with the concussion is because she hit a pole instead of you or Ainsley. She could’ve hurt way more people than that.” He cupped her face, holding her close. He knew his hands were still shaking after being so close to losing her, but he didn’t care. She needed to see the breadth of his emotions, the depth of what he felt for her. Because that wouldn’t change anytime soon. He’d fallen in love with Melody, and it was past time the told her.

  “And she won’t be able to hurt anyone else or herself again. I’m okay, Fox. That part is over. Now, we only get to look at the future. Right?”

  There was a slight uncertainty in her tone that worried him. But he hoped it was just because of the adrenaline fading after the accident.

  “Right.”

  She let out a breath, and a small smile appeared on her face “You know, I was going to wait until tonight when I ordered so
me onion rings and we could munch on them together, but I figure this could be the perfect time.”

  “You and your onion rings,” he murmured, earning him a smile.

  “Don’t knock them. But what I wanted to tell you tonight was that I love you. I love you so damn much it’s scary. I think I started falling for you that first night we drank too much whiskey. When we created our baby together. I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I do know that our lives will be forever intertwined because of this child. But I don’t want our lives to be connected just because of him or her. I want us to be connected because I love you. And it didn’t take someone behind the wheel of a car trying to hurt me for me to figure that out. I knew before, and I think it’s time you know.”

  This time, it was Fox who got choked up. “You stole my thunder, baby. I was finally going to tell you that I love you tonight. Only over grilled cheese instead of onion rings.” She licked her lips, and he laughed. “We can still have both tonight. But, Melody? I love you so damn much. You’re it for me. I love your strength, your tenacity, your talent, your beauty, your brains, and the fact that you make me smile. I love that you make my family happy, and you’re forever trying to make sure that everybody’s included. I just love you so damn much. And I should have told you before this, but right now, with you in my arms looking at me like that, I guess it’s the perfect time.”

  And then he kissed her, not able to hold himself back. He had one hand on her belly, her fingers tangled with his, and the other in her hair as he kissed her. He was sure the doctor was going to come in any moment, or maybe the rest of his family to check on them. But he didn’t care. He had the woman he loved in his arms, and that was all he needed. After searching Whiskey for far too long, he’d finally found exactly what made him Fox.

  Epilogue