by Rye Hart
I took them into the room I was sleeping in and we jumped on the bed. I brought Hadley’s playpen into the room so she could roam without getting hurt, then I started wrestling with Liam on the bed. Hadley clapped her hands and grabbed her toes, falling back onto her back as her giggles filled the air of my bedroom.
My stomach hurt from all our laughter.
Then, I heard the front door open. Liam and I paused what we were doing before we scrambled off the bed, and I scooped Hadley out from her playpen. We ran down the hallway, our chests heaving for air as we went to greet Evan, but I could tell by the look on his face that things weren’t good.
“There seems to be a commotion going on,” Evan said.
“Sorry,” I said. “We sort of got—caught up.”
“No need to apologize,” he said. “Got good news and bad news.”
“I take it the bad news has something to do with the fact that I’m not getting out of here,” I said.
“Yep. But, I was did free your car from the embankment and get it up here. It’s parked outside.”
I went to the window and looked out at my car. The fender was bent and the headlight broken, but everything else seemed to be intact. The snow was deep enough to almost cover the tires and I wondered how in the hell Evan had driven it up here.
“Very slowly,” he said, as if reading my mind. “I was able to clear a bit of a path with the plow on my snowmobile, but it was still a bitch to get it even this little way. That car is not made for mountain driving in Montana.”
I nodded. “I know, but it’s what I can afford right now.”
“It still starts and runs just fine. Just a bit of superficial damage,” Evan said.
“That’s good. When do you think I could head out?” I asked.
“Well, that’s the bad news. The clouds are pretty heavy and it looks to be about to snow again. And even though I cleared a small path, there’s no way you’re getting that little car two miles up the hill to your place. Sorry to say, but you’re stuck here for the time being.”
I sat down as his words sunk in. I needed to get home and make sure my dad was okay. Though he’d sounded okay on the phone and had assured me that he was eating and taking his meds, I was still worried about him being alone.
“I need to call my father,” I said, handing Hadley to Evan as I made my way back to my bedroom.
I picked up my phone and dialed.
“Sweetheart, I’m fine,” my father assured me when he answered the phone. “In fact, I’m feeling better by the day. I think not having you here to do every little thing for me is making me stronger.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said.
He chuckled; a wonderful sound I hadn’t heard in too long. “Don’t get me wrong, I love having you here, but I need to start taking care of myself. I even figured out how to set the alarm on this damn phone to remind me to take my pills.”
“That’s good, Dad,” I said, relieved.
“More importantly, Melanie, how are you? I’m not thrilled that you are stuck with a strange man. You know, you can call the sheriff and he’ll get the plows out if you think you’re in danger.”
I sighed. My poor father had been through just as much as I had, possibly worse. The helplessness that he’d felt during my ordeal had aged him. “I’m okay, Dad, really. Evan is a good man. He’s thoroughly devoted to his niece and nephew and has been nothing but kind and hospitable,” I assured him.
“Well, that’s good. The forecast is calling for more snow, so it looks like you are stuck there for a bit longer,” he said.
My father and I finished up the conversation with me promising to call him later, and him reassuring me that he was getting on all right. My fears were somewhat allayed by the time I hung up the phone.
If only I knew what in the hell I was supposed to do cooped up with a dangerously handsome man for a few more days.
CHAPTER 9
EVAN
After bringing Melanie’s car back up to the cabin, I needed to go and retrieve my snowmobile. It was blustery as I trudged the quarter mile back to where I’d left the sled. By the time I reached it, my face and hands were practically numb. I jumped on the sled and let out a breath when it started easily under me.
I rode back to the cabin thinking about how much things had changed in the past couple of days. I’d gone from being petrified to be stuck alone with the kids, to rescuing a beautiful woman whose mere presence made me more confident. I thought back to earlier when I’d come in and heard the kids giggling wildly down the hallway.
I loved that sound so much. I loved the way Liam’s high-pitched laughter filled the corners of the cabin. I loved the way Hadley clapped her hands whenever she giggled, encouraging Liam to keep going with whatever it was that made him so happy. It was a sound that had made me smile so many times in the past few months.
I promised myself that I would always make it a point to make those kids laugh and be happy.
I put the snowmobile in the shed and made my way to the cabin. As I stepped onto the porch, I saw them playing in the window. Melanie was tossing Hadley into the air and catching her while my niece donned the biggest smile I’d ever seen. Liam was twirling around on the coffee table about to take a tumble before Melanie reached her arm out, catching him and spinning him around with Hadley in her arms.
I walked into the cabin and tossed my coat and gloves in a pile by the fire. Liam came running to me and wrapped his arms around my leg. I picked him up and held him close to me as Melanie approached my side, then I scooped Hadley into my arms as well and held them both close.
“Mew’s funny,” Liam said.
“She is, is she?” I asked.
“We jumped and played cars!” Liam exclaimed.
“Sounds like you had fun,” I said.
Hadley answered me with a resounding spit bubble.
Melanie threw her head back and laughed, and I allowed the sound to cascade over my body. I put Liam back down on the floor and Hadley back in her playpen. I turned to the kitchen to make some coffee to warm myself but saw that Melanie had beat me to it.
I stepped up next to her and she handed me a steaming cup. As I took it from her, my fingers brushed hers and a jolt of electricity shot through my entire system. The flush that crept up her neck and settled in her cheeks nearly undid me where I stood.
I knew she had felt what I had. Her eyes lingered on me a little longer than they should have, and everything within me wanted to kiss her. I wanted to draw her petite body into my arms and press her flush against my chest. I wanted to cup her cheek and smooth my thumb over the rosy tint of her skin. I wanted to pull her lips up to mine and cradle her in my arms, warming her from the inside out before I dove into the depths of her body.
Liam’s voice from behind me brought me back to my senses and I cleared my throat as I stepped away from Melanie.
“Thanks for making the coffee,” I said.
“No problem. It’s the least I could do with everything you’ve done for me,” she responded.
I wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to thank me. I wanted to tell her that I thought she was saving me as much as I had saved her, but the words stuck in my throat. “I’m going to go jump in the shower to warm up a bit more,” I said, as I started down the hallway.
She nodded and went back to the living room to sit with the kids.
I stepped into the shower and heaved a sigh. Having Melanie here was sweet torture. I could tell that she was warming to me, but there was also something still holding her back. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her that she had built up such a wall.
Not that I could really say anything about that. After Elise had left me, I was determined that I’d never let myself fall in love again. I’d screwed my way through the pain, but I knew that Melanie was not someone I could do that with. There was a vulnerability to her that made me want to protect her. There was also an unassuming sexiness about her that made me want to fuck her senseless.
> I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower before I could let my mind wander any further down that road. I dried off and quickly dressed in my room.
A burst of laughter hit my ears as I opened the door and headed down the hallway. When I got to the living room, I found Melanie and Liam both red-faced and giggling on the couch.
“That’s what you get for trying to tickle me!” Melanie exclaimed.
“No! Mew! Tickles!” Liam said.
“Tickle monster!” Melanie said, laughing.
I smiled at the sight just before everyone turned their heads toward me. Liam scrambled out from underneath Melanie’s hands before he ran to me, his panting body clinging to my leg. Hadley was clapping and cheering everyone on as drooled spilled down her chin, and I watched as Melanie reached over to clean her up with the sleeve of her sweater before she turned toward me.
Even the kids gravitated toward her.
CHAPTER 10
MELANIE
I woke up the next morning to my phone buzzing off the hook. I sat up in a panic, worried that something was wrong with my dad and he was trying to get hold of me.
But when I saw I had fifteen missed calls from Layla, I grinned. I wondered what she would think about my predicament.
“Hey Layla,” I said when she picked up after the first ring.
“Mel! Holy shit! I haven’t heard from you in like three days!” she exclaimed. “I was starting to worry that something was wrong with your dad.”
“I know, sorry, things have been a little crazy up here,” I said. “Dad’s fine; doing really well actually.”
Layla blew an audible sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. “So then what the hell has been so important that you couldn’t call your best friend? I know you’re stuck up there on that God-forsaken mountain twiddling your thumbs.”
I laughed. “Well actually—” I began, and Layla immediately read my tone.
“What? What’s going on?” she asked. She knew me too well.
“Well, on my way back home, the snow was coming down so hard I could barely see. A tree had fallen over the road and so I had to take the back way. Long story short, my car is shitty in the snow, I slid into an embankment, had to walk, and ended up on the porch of a super-hot guy about two miles from my house.”
“What?” Layla practically shouted. “Are you okay? Did you call the sheriff? Do you need me to get my dad’s truck and come get you? Is your dad okay by himself?”
“Layla!” I had to raise my voice to get her attention. “Everything is fine. I’m fine. Dad is fine.”
I could hear her breathing on the other end of the line. “Did you say ‘super-hot’?” she finally asked.
I laughed out loud and lay back on my pillows. “Yeah. His name is Evan and he’s got his niece and nephew here with him. The little boy is three and the girl is about eight months. They are just the cutest.”
“And you’re okay there with him?” she asked.
I thought for a just a second before answering her. “Yeah, I really am. He’s nice and he’s taken really good care of me. Plus, I figure he can’t be an ax murderer if he’s got these two kids here, right?”
“It’s just so weird to hear you talk about a guy like that,” Layla said quietly. “It’s been so long.”
I sighed. “I know. It’s weird for me too. I’m really comfortable around him and he just does something to me.”
“Something like breathing some life back into that cooch of yours?” Layla asked, a wicked giggle escaping from her.
“Layla!”
“Listen, I know,” she said, turning serious. “I know why you’ve steeled yourself against any type of relationship. But maybe this isn’t a bad thing? Maybe this could be the first step in your getting back out there? You’re young and gorgeous and sweet and smart and there are a whole lot of guys being deprived of that. Not to mention, you’re depriving yourself of feeling desired and loved. I just want you to be happy, Mel.”
I smiled. “I know you do, Layla, and that’s why I love you.”
We finished our conversation and I promised to call her later. She also promised to call my dad and see how he was, to make sure he wasn’t just blowing smoke up my ass so I wouldn’t worry and try to get to him.
I hung up the phone and closed my eyes. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time that I let my guard down a little. I’d holed up inside myself for four damn years, telling myself that I was just being cautious; that I was protecting myself. But maybe I was really letting him win. I had fought for so long to get my sense of safety back, but I had never truly let myself be free.
I decided right then and there that I would no longer let that bastard take any more of my life from me.
And maybe Evan was the first step in letting it all go.
CHAPTER 11
EVAN
Nightfall came and it was time to put the kids to bed. The gray clouds were looming over the cabin, but they hadn’t yet started dumping snow. Hadley was practically asleep on Melanie’s shoulder as she bounced her in her arms.
“Ready to go to bed, buddy?” I asked.
“No,” Liam said, yawning.
“That yawn says differently,” Melanie said.
“No sleep,” Liam said.
Hadley’s cheek was pressed into Melanie’s shoulder. She looked so peaceful resting on her new friend. It warmed my soul to watch them. I gathered Liam in my arms and took him back into his bedroom, and immediately he started trying to get away from me.
“No, Uncle Evan. No sleep,” he said.
“Not even with the alphabet song?” I asked.
“No!”
“What if Miss Melanie comes in here and sings it with me?” I asked.
I watched his eyes light up with joy just at the mention of it.
“Mew sing?” he asked.
“I can go ask. Let’s get your pajamas on and get you in bed and then I can go find her and ask.”
Liam fought me every step of the way, but I eventually had him in his pajamas. He wanted me to keep the light on just so he knew I had to come back, and I chuckled at his logic. He was smart, just like my brother, and the ache of loss quickly began to settle in.
But it alleviated itself the moment I walked into Hadley’s room.
“There you go, sweet girl,” Melanie said. “How does that feel?”
Hadley was stretching her arms as a massive yawn unhinged her jaw. The little girl clung to Melanie as she plucked her from the changing table and carried her over to the crib. I could hear Melanie singing something in Hadley’s ear as she slowly lowered my niece into her crib but it wasn’t until I took a step forward that I caught the last of the song.
“... you’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my Hadley away.”
She was singing the song I sang to Hadley every night, and I was stunned since she had revised and personalized it the exact same way I did.
“Oh, hey there,” Melanie said, whispering. “I think she’s almost asleep.”
We both watched as Hadley rustled around in her crib before she rolled over and closed her eyes. The beautiful woman before me slowly tiptoed from the crib over to where I was standing and then we trickled out into the hallway just as I shut the door behind us both. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“How do you know that song?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s a pretty common one. My father used to sing it to me and he’d add my name all the time. I was trying to keep her quiet since I heard Liam kicking up a bit of a tiff over having to go to bed.”
“He wants you to come and sing to him,” I said.
“Sure,” she said.
Her eyes rose to meet mine before she walked past me and down the hallway. I looked back at Hadley’s closed door and listened for her, making sure she didn’t cry for me or need anything else. I opened the door one last time and took a peek inside, watching as her small little chest rose and fell quickly with her breaths.
Then, I he
ard a small voice coming from around the corner.
“A, B, C, D, E, F, G…”
I walked down the hallway and peered into Liam’s room and watched as he curled up next to Melanie. She was singing his favorite song lightly in his ear while her hands ran through his hair. His eyes were already drooping as his hands pulled the covers up to his chin, content with the scenario he’d found himself in. It was interesting, the way we worked together as a team. The kids enjoyed her, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I started wondering how long I could get her to stay.
Would she stay if I asked?
“Goodnight, sweet boy,” Melanie said. “Get some rest.”
She bent down to kiss his forehead before she tucked him in tightly beneath the covers. I ushered her out of the room and shut off Liam’s light, then I escorted her down the hallway and she sat back down on the couch.
“Thanks for helping,” I said.
“It’s not a problem. They’re such sweet kids.”
I opened the fridge and grabbed us some beers before I walked back over to her. I set them down on the table before I cracked one open for her, and she took it with a smile on her face. We drank our first one in relative silence, with nothing but the fire crackling in front of us but, once we got halfway through our second round of beers, she finally piped up.
“Do you think you’ll always live out here?” Melanie asked.
“For a time, I thought so,” I said.
“But you don’t think that now?” she asked.
“There are just—some things that are up in the air. Depends on where they take me.”
“Well, your niece and nephew are beautiful kids. Their parents must be really proud.”
I wasn’t ready to open up about any of that. Not even to Melanie. The wound was still too raw.
“So, you grew up here?” I asked her, trying to change the subject.
She nodded. “Yep. My mom left us when I was just a baby and my dad bought our house up here and raised me in it. He wanted to get away from town and all the gossip.”
I looked over at her. “How was that? Growing up without a mother, I mean?” I was curious to have her take on it as I thought about the two children sleeping down the hall.