Melissa covered her face. “I can’t believe you still remember this.”
“It was unforgettable.” Cary turned back to Abby. “She said, ‘I’m Miss Melissa Oxford, and I always know where I am, thank you very much.’”
“I did not say thank you very much!”
Cary took a drink of his beer. “I’m pretty sure you did.”
Abby giggled. “So you called her Missy after that?”
“Yep. Every time I saw her.”
“To tease me,” Melissa said. “He was making fun of me for being so formal.”
Cary’s smile was slow and sweet. “I wasn’t making fun of you.”
She shook her head and reached for Rumi’s plate. “You done, Rumi?”
“I am.” She rose. “Why don’t you and Cary relax and let your mom and me clean up? You’ve been running around all day.”
Melissa glanced at the clock, then at Abby. “It’s that time, kid.”
“Noooooo.” Abby ran behind Cary’s chair. “Cary, hide me.”
He laughed and stood up. “Sorry, kid. You’re on your own. Only a foolish man goes up against Miss Melissa Oxford.”
Melissa rolled her eyes in his general direction. “Abby, bed. You had a very fun day—please don’t end it badly by being stubborn about bedtime.”
“Fine.” She slumped her shoulders and trudged down the hall. “I can’t believe it’s already eight thirty.”
“It’s almost nine. Don’t push it. And don’t forget teeth.”
“Fine.” Abby stomped off down the hall.
Melissa’s eyes went to Cary and she mouthed, Fine.
He smothered a smile.
She asked, “Did you get enough to eat?”
“I did.” He ran a hand over his muscled stomach, and Melissa’s eyes went straight there. Cary clearly noticed. “I heard Brian was doing some work on the bunkhouse this week.”
Melissa glanced at Joan and Rumi. “Uh, yeah. Do you want to see what he’s done?”
“I’d love to.”
“Cool.” Melissa walked toward the front door. “Mom, we’ll just be down in the bunkhouse for a few minutes.”
“Take your time!”
Melissa felt Cary at her back when she grabbed a flashlight and the keys. “Eventually we’ll put lights along the path, but for now it’s pretty dark.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Cary walked behind her as she led him down the porch and around the back of the ranch house.
The bunkhouse sat in a copse of sycamore and oak trees at the east boundary of the ranch. It was the oldest building on the ranch, dating back around a hundred years, and was probably the original house. It was made of adobe bricks and covered in flaking stucco.
Old trees shaded the small house, which sat nestled in the curve of the creek. It was dry this time of year but would fill with water as soon as rain came in the fall. Dry or not, it was one of the prettiest places on the Oxford ranch.
“You gonna put gravel on this road to keep the dust down?”
“I already have a load ordered,” she said. “It’ll come in a couple weeks.”
“You’ll want it in before the rain comes or this will be nothing but mud.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
He walked closer to her and ran a hand over her bottom. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night. You’ve got such a great ass.”
Her cheeks felt hot again. “You do too.”
His smile flashed in the darkness. “Thank you.”
“You like my legs. My ass. My hair.” Melissa took the lock and the keys in hand. “Is there any part of me you don’t like?”
Cary put his hands on her hips. “I could do without the hair-trigger temper you have sometimes.”
She opened the door and flipped on the single light. “I don’t have a temper.”
“Yes, you do.”
She felt her temper rising and took a deep breath. “Do not.”
He smiled and pressed her against the dresser. “You’re being so good. Look at you, Miss Melissa Oxford.”
“I wish you’d forget that story.”
“Did you have a crush on me?” He kissed along her collarbone. “That just occurred to me tonight. You must have been what? Thirteen? And you were so formal. Did you think I was cute?”
Melissa couldn’t say anything. Her heart was in her throat.
“Did you?” He grinned. “Don’t be shy. You were adorable.”
“Cary, I was thirteen. I had a crush on all cute boys at that age.”
He gasped. “You mean it wasn’t just me?”
She couldn’t stop her smile as she hopped up on the dresser. “Stop.”
“My heart is broken. I thought Miss Melissa Oxford, sixth Spice Girl, who always knows where she is, only had eyes for me.”
“You were a cute boy with a cool car.” She put her arms around his neck. “I’m sure lots of teenage girls had a crush on you.”
“I wouldn’t want to brag.” He ran his hands along her hips and squeezed. “Fuck, I love your legs.”
She hooked a leg around the back of his thighs and pulled him in. “You’re very talkative tonight.”
He leaned in and kissed her. “I’m happy.”
Melissa’s heart felt like it would burst. “I’m glad.”
“I know there’s a lot going on, but I’m really happy, Melissa.” He kissed the arch of her cheek. “It’s all going to work out somehow.”
She turned her face to his and took his mouth. She didn’t want to talk anymore. She wanted to forget about the skinny girl on the paint horse. She wanted to forget about her responsibilities and her burdens.
“Cary.” She let her head fall back as Cary explored every inch of her neck with his mouth. As she braced herself on the dresser, his hands roamed over her body. He squeezed her hip and ran a hand up the curve of her waist. He stroked her breast over her sundress, then dipped his thumb under the low neckline, testing the firm flesh of her right breast and making her temperature skyrocket.
“When do you have another free weekend?” he whispered. “Come to my place. Stay the night.”
“I can’t.” She could barely think. His mouth and his hands were driving her to distraction. He said something, but she didn’t hear. “What?”
“Why can’t you come over?”
“I can. I can’t stay the night.”
He pulled back. “Why not?”
“I-I just can’t.”
“Missy, your mom and mine know what’s going on between us.”
“I know they suspect, but—”
“But what?” He caged her with both arms. “What’s the problem? We’re both adults.”
She ran a hand along his jaw. “It’s not that simple.”
“It’s not as complicated as you’re making it.” He reached behind her and with one tug pressed their bodies together.
Melissa could feel the length of his erection. She could imagine it. Imagine how it would feel to be with him. The weight of his body over hers. The solid muscle pressing her into the bed as he kissed her senseless. As he moved in her. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
Cary continued to make love to her mouth. His hands stroked her body like his tongue stroked hers. Thoroughly. Teasing her to greater heights as they moved together in the dim shadows of the bunkhouse.
“Mom!”
The sound of Abby’s voice threw cold water on Melissa’s libido. She shoved Cary away.
“What—?”
“Abby’s coming!”
Footsteps were coming closer.
“Tell me something really unsexy. Fast.” Cary’s shirt and hair were mussed. He looked like he was about to ravish someone, which wasn’t far off.
Melissa shoved the flashlight toward him. “Bathroom,” she hissed. “In the corner. Go… look at the plumbing!”
Cary stood in the doorway of the new bathroom, untucking his shirt and shining a flashlight into the new construction as Melissa hopped off the dr
esser and the door opened.
“Hey,” she said. “What’s up? I thought you were in bed.”
Abby’s face was pale in the darkness. “I thought you were going to tuck me in.”
“It’s really late, baby.” She ran a hand over Abby’s hair.
“What are you doing down here?”
“Just showing Cary the new bathroom Mr. Montoya is putting in. I wanted him to check and make sure it was good enough.”
“Oh.” Abby narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t you and Stu look at it yesterday?”
“Uh…” She shrugged. “You know, it’s never a bad idea to get another opinion.”
Cary turned and flashed the light in Abby’s and Melissa’s eyes. “Sorry. Yeah, I think it looks good. It’s small though.”
“We’re going to put a washbasin and counter on the wall alongside. That way people can still use the sink, brush their teeth and stuff when someone is in the bathroom. Since there’s just one bath—”
“That makes sense.” He subtly adjusted his shirt to cover the front of his pants. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I should probably get my mom home.”
“They’re in the living room having cake.” Abby’s smile was crooked. “I kinda sneaked past them.”
So that’s how she snuck out. “Head back to the house, Abby. I’ll be there in a few to tuck you in.”
“Okay. Night, Cary.”
“Good night, Abby. Sweet dreams.”
He didn’t have a smile on his face when Abby ran out the door.
Melissa waited to hear her footsteps fading away before she closed the door, leaned against it, and slid down the wall. “Oh my God.”
“Chill.” He shut off the flashlight and put it on the dresser. “She was none the wiser. Gonna have to get used to that.”
“Cary…” She covered her face. “I can’t… I can’t deal with this too.”
“Missy, it’s fine. She’s going to see us kissing eventually. It’s just a new thing for me and I’ll try to—”
“No, we can’t do this!” Melissa felt like her world was crashing around her. She wanted to curl up and hide. “What if she’d seen us? She can’t see us. She’s ten! She’ll get all these ideas.”
His eyes narrowed. “So let her get ideas. I don’t care.”
“Do you know how big her hero complex is with you?” Melissa spoke in a low, urgent voice. “You have no idea. She thinks you walk on water. She thinks you are the absolute best.”
“And?” His smile was confused. “Melissa, I don’t understand what the problem is. I love Abby.”
She stood. “And what happens when she gets all these ideas and then something doesn’t work out? What happens then?”
He started shaking his head. “Oh no. Not this bullshit.”
“Are you and your mom still going to come over for family dinners like you did tonight if you’re mad at me? Or I’m mad at you? Are you still going to come help her build corrals for her goats? Or go to her school programs? What we had before…” She felt panic rising in her chest. “It was good, Cary. We’re friends, and she depends on you being there.”
“I will always be there for Abby,” he hissed. “Always.”
“Really? Are you sure? Even if you’re sick of me? Sick of us? If we fight or break up or—”
“What are you doing?” He glared at her. “Don’t do this! You are not allowed to break this because you’re scared of what might happen, Missy.”
“Except I have to.”
Because Abby came first. She had to. Calvin was gone. There was only Melissa now. And she’d been distracted. Flustered. Not focused on her daughter or her ranch.
Because of Cary.
He gripped his hair with both hands and she could see how angry he was, but in a flash of panicked clarity when she heard Abby’s footsteps on the porch, Melissa had seen the worst-case scenario.
It ended with Melissa emotionally broken again and Abby heartbroken because she’d lost one of the only men in her life she could depend on.
“Why do you insist on looking for the worst thing that could happen every time?” He was fuming. “Every time, Melissa!”
“Because it’s my job. Because if I don’t do it, then no one will, and I have to be prepared.”
He walked over and looked her straight in the face. “So you’re willing to sacrifice something that could be great—that could be everything for us—because you’re content with making something that’s just okay for Abby? Is that what I’m hearing?”
Her heart was screaming. She couldn’t speak. She could feel the tears threatening in her eyes, so she tried not to blink. She couldn’t nod. She couldn’t shake her head. She was frozen between what she desperately wanted for herself and what was best for her daughter.
Cary stepped back. “I’m taking my mom home, but do not think this is over. I will talk to you tomorrow.”
He walked out, and Melissa’s knees buckled. She leaned against the wall, covered her face, and cried silent, hot tears.
Chapter Seventeen
Her mom was sitting at the dining table, sipping herbal tea and reading a book when Melissa made it back to the house.
“Where’s Abby?”
Joan looked up. “I am so sorry about that. We were trying to give you two privacy, and she literally snuck out of the house behind our backs.” Joan waved down the hall. “I sent her straight to bed.”
“She said she wanted me to tuck her in.”
Joan gave her the “are you that dumb?” look. “Melissa, she’s ten years old. She’s been going to bed without you for a few years now. She just didn’t want to go to bed, and she was curious what’s going on with you and Cary.”
Melissa’s heart sank. “Nothing is going on with me and Cary.”
Joan looked back at her book. “I don’t need to know details. You’re a grown woman, and it’s none of my business what—”
“Mom, nothing is going on with me and Cary.” Melissa felt her throat start to tighten up. “Don’t get any ideas, okay?”
Joan looked up, put a bookmark in her place, and set her book down. “Melissa, what did you do?”
She sat across from her mom and folded her hands on the table. “We never should have… There was a reason there’s been so much tension. That’s my fault. I didn’t recognize what was going on. I should have been more self-aware. But we never should have entertained the idea of—”
“Melissa Oxford Rhodes, that man is in love with you.”
She felt like her mother just punched her. “He never said that.”
“It’s as obvious as the nose on my face. What did you do?”
She rested her face in her hands. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
“Because of the loan?”
“Because of the loan. Because of Abby. Because of the Allen Ranch project knocking at our door. Because I should be getting everything lined up for the mandarin harvest, and I haven’t. Because this bunkhouse project needed to be done last week and it wasn’t because Brian is waiting for another check. Because the ranch—”
“Oh bullshit.” Joan lowered her voice and glanced down the hall. “That is bullshit. Now, some of those things are valid reasons to feel overwhelmed, but Stu and Leigh have the herd well in hand. You only have to ride out there anymore if he needs another hand and Leigh’s not around—a few times a week at most.”
“And Abby?”
“What about her? Abby is fine. She’s doing well in school. She has a new horse she adores, even if her other grandparents are being difficult. She has her friends. She has her goats.”
“Allen Ranch.”
“Is not your responsibility.” Joan shrugged. “We’ll deal with whatever happens. We always do.”
“The loan.”
“We haven’t even gotten notice, but if worse comes to worst, I will cash in my retirement to pay them back. I have enough in my account. I am your mother, Melissa Catherine Oxford. Don’t even try to argue with me. We are not losing m
y daddy’s ranch because”—she glanced down the dark hall again and spoke in a whisper—“because the Rhodes family are assholes.”
Over Melissa’s dead body would her mother be cashing out her retirement. “Fine. What am I going to do about the harvest? No one wants to pick half a crop because there’s not enough money in it. There aren’t enough crews, so instead of ending up with half a harvest, at this rate I’m going to end up with none of one and—”
“You’re going to call Phil like Cary told you to weeks ago and see about subcontracting out his pickers when they have spare time. I don’t know why you haven’t done it already.”
“’Cause it’s gonna cost him money and time and I’m not looking for a handout!”
“Oh Lissa.” Joan took a deep breath and reached for Melissa’s hand. “If one of your friends needed a hand—not a handout, a hand—you would bend over backward to offer them your help. Why can’t you let him do the same?”
“Because…” She couldn’t stop the tears. “I don’t even know if Cary’s my friend anymore, okay?”
“Sweetie.” Joan sat next to Melissa and wrapped her arms around her. “That man loves you. He’s not going to leave just because you had an argument.”
“I can’t lose him. You know… he’s the only friend I have left. I’ve lost everyone else. They probably don’t even remember I’m alive. I have you, I have Abby, and I have Rumi and Cary. And if I lost him as a friend—”
“You’re not gonna lose him.” Joan shook her shoulders. “You can’t do this. You can’t make decisions based in fear. If something bad happened between you and Cary, you’d pick yourself up and you’d move on.”
“And Abby?”
“Abby would be fine. Cary’s relationship with Abby doesn’t run through you. He’s mad at you right now?”
Melissa nodded, blowing her nose on a napkin. “Yeah. Pretty mad.”
“Do you think he’s mad at Abby?”
“Of course not.”
“So?”
Melissa had to sit with that one for a minute because dammit if her mom didn’t have a point. Even if Cary never spoke to her again, he’d find a way to go to Abby’s soccer games and school programs and riding competitions. God knows there had been plenty of times over the years when Cary and Melissa hadn’t been on speaking terms for one idiotic thing or another and Cary still showed up.
Grit: A Love Story on 7th and Main Page 16