A Reason to Love

by Alexis Morgan

  Her mom hadn’t liked a single thing she’d said, but at least she no longer doubted what Melanie was telling her was anything but the truth. It helped that Melanie had brought along all the paperwork concerning the loans her father had taken out so that her mom could see the hard evidence for herself.

  As Marcia had pointed out, accepting that Edmond Wolfe hadn’t been perfect didn’t change the fact that he’d loved Sandra and she’d loved him. The important thing now was for them to band together to do everything possible to protect the legacy of the Wolfe family. If it became necessary to sell the house to save the company, so be it.

  Her mother was still mulling that part over. To give them both a break, Melanie had grabbed a cold drink from the refrigerator and headed outside. She settled into one of the chairs on the deck and drew the first easy breath she’d had all day.

  She really hoped her mother would come down on the side of saving the company. Despite the headaches that came with running the place, Melanie would miss it. Besides, the idea of telling all the employees that she was going to have to put the company up for sale made her sick. Even if it did sell, that was no guarantee that would save their jobs. Someone might buy the place with the intention of stripping it of every asset before closing it down.

  She sipped her diet cola and tried to shut off the constant stream of worry that kept her head pounding. No dice. There was too much she should be doing back at the office. She’d originally planned to stay overnight, but now she thought she’d head back home after she and her mother finished up their discussion.

  Given a choice between sleeping at her aunt’s house and snuggling up with a handsome guy, well, there was no contest. Once she was on the way back to Snowberry Creek, she’d give Spence a call to let him know a few ideas about how they might celebrate her return.

  The door behind her opened, and Marcia stepped out onto the deck with Melanie’s cell phone in her hand. “You had a call from a Mr. Lunt. I didn’t want to answer for you, and he hung up before I could get out here. I thought it might be important.”

  Melanie glanced at the screen on the phone. Evidently, he’d left her a voice mail. What could he want now? Wasn’t turning her down in writing enough?

  Her aunt dropped down on the next chair. “I’m guessing this isn’t good news.”

  “I’m not sure. He’s the banker I was working with, trying to restructure the company’s debt load.”

  She had to listen to the message, not that she wanted to, especially right now when her head was already pounding. Bracing herself for whatever bad news he had to deliver, she punched in her password and put the call on speakerphone so Marcia could hear it, too. The woman already knew everything there was to know about the Wolfe family finances. One more bit of information couldn’t make things any worse.

  “Hello, Ms. Wolfe. I would appreciate greatly if you could give me a call at your earliest convenience. There has been a new development with regards to your file, one that is most promising. I’d rather not discuss the details in this message, so I’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

  Melanie replayed the message twice more before setting the phone aside. Marcia stared at it with her. “What do you think it means?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea. His letter made it perfectly clear that they wouldn’t be able to help us.”

  “Are you going to call him?”

  Melanie bought herself a few seconds by finishing her drink. “I don’t have any choice if there’s a chance he really does have good news for me. If they’ve changed their mind, it will buy us some more time to decide what to do about the house.”

  Just the possibility that the bank was going to toss her a lifeline left her hands shaking. On the plus side, her headache was gone.

  Her aunt rose from her seat to give Melanie a quick shoulder rub. “You can do this, champ. Get in there and fight!”

  Melanie laughed and patted her aunt’s hand. “Thanks, coach. It means a lot to me that you’ve been in my corner through all of this. No matter how it turns out, I’m grateful.”

  She pushed the button to return the banker’s call. Mr. Lunt answered on the second ring and quickly gave her a brief overview of what had changed since they last spoke. When he was finished, she set up an appointment for the next afternoon to come in to discuss everything in more detail. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he ended the call. Melanie sat frozen, unable to think, much less speak. Not coherently, anyway.

  Her aunt stared at her, her expression slowly changing from hopeful to worried. “Melanie, what did he say?”

  Lurching up from the deck chair, she knocked her pop can onto the deck. With a swift kick, she sent it flying through the air to bounce off the wall behind her. “I’m going to kill that sneaky son of a bitch!”

  Her aunt looked horrified. “The banker?”

  If it were only that easy. “No, not him. Spencer Lang. That man is dead meat.”

  With exaggerated care, she picked up the can and crushed it with her bare hands as she pretended it was Spence’s neck. “I’ll be leaving now, Aunt Marcia. I’ll let you know where things stand after I talk to the banker tomorrow.”

  “Are you okay to be driving, Mel? You’re awfully upset right now.”

  Faking a calm she certainly didn’t feel, she hugged her aunt. “I’m fine, and I really need to get back to town.”

  Marcia held her out to arm’s length. “I’m guessing this Spencer Lang means a great deal to you.”

  Yeah, he did even if she hadn’t actually admitted how much, not even to herself. Maybe it was time to put a label on the powerful jumble of feelings he’d managed to stir up deep inside her. “I love him, Aunt Marcia.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  “It is when we promised to make no claims on each other. I’ve known all along that he planned to leave Snowberry Creek. And now the big jerk has gone behind my back to the bank and offered to cosign on the loan. It’s his way of telling me good-bye.”

  The door behind them opened, and her mother stepped out onto the deck. “Well, are you going to let him get away with this? We don’t need money from the likes of him.”

  Marcia gasped. “Sandra, your daughter is hurting, and she certainly doesn’t need your snobbery right now! If Melanie loves him, I’m sure he’s a fine young man.”

  Her mother glared right back at her sister. “If he doesn’t think my daughter is worth sticking around for, he doesn’t deserve her, Marcia. I’d live in a hovel before I’d take a dime from an idiot.”

  She joined the group hug, surrounding Melanie with the familiar scent of Chanel No 5. “Sell the house. Heck, sell my jewelry if that’s what it takes to keep the company afloat.”

  Then, just as her sister had done, she took half a step back to give Melanie a hard look. “But only if that’s what will make you happy, Melanie. Otherwise, we’ll put the company on the market so you can be free to choose your own life. Before you meet with the banker tomorrow, decide what you want and then we’ll figure out the best way to proceed.”

  “And if what I want is Spence Lang?”

  Her mother blinked back some tears. “My advice? Go after him with everything you have. That’s what I did when I met your father. He was dating someone else at the time, someone his family thought was more suitable.” Her smile turned wicked. “I wasn’t Edmond’s first choice, but I made darn sure he figured out I was the right choice.”

  So why hadn’t Melanie heard about that before now? As much as she’d love to hear more details, now wasn’t the time to ask. She had miles to drive and plans to make. “I’ll call you both tomorrow when I know more.”

  Her mother patted her on the cheek. “Do that. And, Melanie, I know I’ve been useless to you all this time. As corny as it sounds, your father was my soul mate, and I’ve been lost without him. However, that’s no excuse for having failed you, and I promis
e to do better from now on. If you need me to come home, I’ll start packing right now.”

  Amazing. Melanie had no doubt her mom meant every word. Better yet, it was the first spark of life she’d seen in her mother since the funeral. “I’ll keep you posted, Mom.”

  She hugged her mother and her aunt one last time. “Wish me luck, ladies. When I get done with Spence, he won’t know what hit him.”

  Marcia followed her through the house to the front door. “One more thing, Melanie. Before you beat him up too badly, remember that his heart was in the right place.”

  “I know.” And she really did understand. “The thing is that he’s never felt as if he belonged anywhere, especially after his adoptive parents died. After he enlisted, he bounced all over the world, which hasn’t helped. I’m not sure he knows how to put down roots anywhere.”

  “So if he can’t stay, what are you going to do? Does keeping the family company going mean more to you than he does? Because we both know it could come down to that choice.”

  The familiar burden of all those people who depended on Wolfe Millworks for their income settled right back on Melanie’s shoulders. The image of all their faces flowed through her mind, each a reminder of how much there was at stake. “I guess I need to figure that out.”

  Marcia hugged her one last time before letting Melanie walk out the door. “Like Sandra said, if you need us, we’ll be there.”

  • • •

  Three hours later, Melanie turned off the interstate onto the two-lane highway that would take her straight into Snowberry Creek. She’d been driving alone with her thoughts for over three hours and still hadn’t come to any conclusions. Maybe divine inspiration would strike the second she saw Spence, but she wasn’t counting on it. Just before she hit the city limits, her cell phone rang. In no hurry to get home, she pulled off the road to take the call.

  “Hey, Callie, what’s up?”

  She found herself nodding long before Callie had finished filling her in on the plan Spence’s friends had concocted. As much as she wanted Spence to stick around just for her, it wouldn’t hurt to have more people make it clear that he belonged right there in Snowberry Creek with them.

  “My only input would be that the more the merrier. I know Will Cosgrove has been trying to get Spence to hire on in his place at the millworks. That old man has never shown any interest in retiring, so I’m thinking that it’s his way of trying to get Spence to stay. Your folks mean a lot to Spence, too. I’d even ask Gage Logan to put in an appearance.”

  She hesitated and then added, “I think my mother would like to be there. My aunt, too.”

  Callie actually gasped. “Really? Your mom? What’s changed?”

  “Three hours ago she told me that she hadn’t been my father’s first choice, but that she made darn sure he figured out she was the right choice for him. That’s when she told me that if I felt that way about Spence, I should go for it.”

  Her friend’s laughter rang out in the car. “Seriously? She actually said that? It’s hard to bring that picture into focus, but I’ll take your word for it. We’ll add them to the list.”

  Melanie was feeling better by the second. “Thanks for doing this, Callie. It means a lot. And if . . .”

  The next words were proving difficult to say. She closed her eyes and tried again. “And if he decides to go, at least he’ll never doubt that he’ll be missed.”

  There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before Callie spoke again. “I know it’s hard to do right now, but we’ve got to have a little faith in the guy. There was a time I thought Nick was going to walk away, too, but look where we are now. Don’t give up on Spence.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good. And if all else fails, Nick and Leif plan to knock some sense into him. Gage may end up arresting them, but that’s a risk we’ll have to take. Desperate times and desperate measures and all that. Now I’d better go tell Nick there’s been a change in plans. We’ll need to double the food order.”

  “Let me know what I can do to help.”

  “Just show up. We’re kind of considering you to be the big gun in this battle. The man would have to be an idiot to walk away from you. Talk to you soon.”

  Feeling better than she had in hours, Melanie put the car back in gear and drove toward home—and Spence.

  Chapter 26

  Spence stood at the front window, his forehead pressed against the cool glass. Lately, his nightmares had made themselves blessedly scarce, maybe because of how Melanie had helped keep him anchored here in Snowberry Creek. But without her presence somehow the cottage had turned into a cage, one with walls that were slowly closing in on him. Even with all the windows open, the air was too thin to breathe. His head might know he wasn’t back in that damn hellhole in Afghanistan, but that didn’t seem to count for much right now. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he turned away from the window to pace the length of the living room and back again, the smooth wood cool against his bare feet. The short distance didn’t help.

  Where the hell was she?

  On his next lap, he extended his route to include circling through the kitchen; the few extra feet didn’t help. Neither did nearly tripping over Mooch.

  “Damn it, dog, go lie down and stay out from underfoot.”

  The dog backed away to slink across the room to take refuge on the back of the couch. Son of a bitch, he was acting as if Spence had really kicked him. “Cut me some slack here, Mooch.”

  When the dog didn’t look any happier, Spence gave up on trying to outdistance his demons. After grabbing some doggy treats, he flopped on the couch where he could pet his buddy and try to make amends. “Sorry, dog. I shouldn’t take my bad mood out on you.”

  A pair of sympathetic brown eyes said he understood and forgave him. They both took comfort from the close contact. “I wish I knew what was going on with Melanie, boy. Women are a mystery that this poor soldier will never solve.”

  Especially while he was hopelessly mired in his very own pity party. He thought for sure Melanie would call him after she spoke to Mr. Lunt at the bank. Instead, there had been nothing but silence. He’d tried to call her several times, but each time it had gone straight to voice mail. Her phone must be dead; she wouldn’t screen his phone calls. At least he hoped not, because that would mean that she was avoiding him.

  Hell, he didn’t even know if she was still in Portland visiting with her mother and aunt. He’d also avoided checking her house to see if there were any signs of life. If she was back from her road trip, why hadn’t she come to see him?

  Had he really and truly fucked up this time?

  “What do you think, Mooch? Did I screw up big-time by trying to fix things for Melanie?”

  The dog sighed and laid his head on Spence’s leg. “Yeah, I don’t know, either. Maybe I should have talked to her first, but you know how stubborn she is. It would be just like her to refuse help because she wants to do it all herself. She might have issues with her parents, but the truth is that she inherited a full dose of the Wolfe family pride.”

  He leaned his head against the back of the couch to stare up at the ceiling. No answers there, either. Had Nick and Leif had to maneuver through a minefield like this with Callie and Zoe? He’d like to think so, although that didn’t mean he’d call them for advice. He could just hear the huge pile of grief they’d give him for screwing up again, not to mention that they’d never let him live it down.

  Of course, if he followed through on his plan to leave on his road trip as soon as next week, he wouldn’t be around for them to hear it. He’d run out of excuses to hang around much longer. That thought should make him feel a whole lot better than it did.

  “So, Mooch, we do have one problem I haven’t quite figured out.” He dug in his pocket for another dog biscuit. “Here’s the thing. I don’t know where I’m headed once I leave
here.”

  He let the dog munch on that problem along with the biscuit. “Then there’s the fact that I don’t own a car or a truck, which makes taking you with me a bit tricky.”

  Mooch stopped chewing to shoot Spence a suspicious look. He was probably only picking up on something in Spence’s voice or maybe in his body language, but he clearly knew something was up. Either way, he sat motionless and as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  “I guess I could always leave you with Nick and Callie until I get settled somewhere and can send for you.”

  He rubbed Mooch’s silky ears. “But I’m thinking maybe you’d be better off with them on a permanent basis. You love people, and there will be plenty of those around when the bed-and-breakfast takes off.”

  And he knew it would. Hell, the only reason he could stand to leave was believing his friends would live the life they wanted here in Snowberry Creek. Sarge and Callie would have their bed-and-breakfast. He especially loved the name they’d given it: Rose Blossom Place in honor of his mother’s love of roses. Leif had Zoe and his partnership with Nick. All of that was good.

  And Melanie? He’d made sure she’d have Wolfe Millworks if that’s what she wanted, which he was convinced she did. She might grumble about a few things, but there was no missing the pride she took in seeing the numbers improve. Once she had it all under control, maybe she’d even have time for a personal life. No doubt she’d eventually hook up with some guy who would fit in with the country club crowd and make her mother proud. She might not think that last part mattered, but it did.

  Yeah, he wanted all of that for her.

  Even if he wanted to punch something at the very thought of someone else sharing Mel’s life, holding her in his arms, and sharing her bed. Memories filled his mind with what it had been like to rise above her and see her peaches-and-cream skin flushed with passion. He loved the way she called his name as she urged him to take her harder, faster, further. God, he’d never forget the perfect fit of their bodies as they surged together. How the hell was he supposed to find the strength to walk away from all of that?