Saving Mel

by Rye Hart

  “If you wouldn't mind,” he started, “there actually is something I could use your help with.”

  “Anything,” I said. “After I get out of this hospital bed.”

  “You'll be out next week, right?”

  “Like I said, they're talking tomorrow or the next day,” I said. “Provided there are no complications or setbacks. If not, then I'd be more than happy to help you – so as long as it's nothing too brutal.”

  “How about dinner?” he asked.

  I cocked an eyebrow, my expression asking him to elaborate. He gave me another small smile.

  “Not like dinner, dinner. Not like a date dinner,” he said. “But, I have a friend whose wife keeps doing everything she can to set me up with one of her friends, and well—”

  “You need a wingwoman, that's it?”

  “Yeah, something like that,” he said. “Actually, pretty much that.”

  “That's asking a lot, Oliver,” I said, laughing, hoping he'd get that I was joking. “But for the man who saved my life, I think I can swing a dinner and a few hours of pretending to be his date.”

  It was more than that, though. My heart still raced every time he turned those eyes toward me, and I couldn't deny that seeing him again would be nice. Especially in a less awkward place than a hospital room.

  “It's on Friday night. I'll pick you up at six,” he said. “As for the here and now though, I'll head over to your place and be right back with your things.”

  ~ooo000ooo~

  “This was all of it?” I muttered, digging through the box full of notebooks and things he'd brought in.

  “Yeah, all that was on your desk, at least,” he said. “Unless you put it—”

  “No,” I replied. “I kept everything in one place. Always.”

  “I gathered that,” he said, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I could tell by now neat and organized everything was.”

  I raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was judging me. As I looked at him though, I knew he wasn't being malicious and decided that it didn't matter anyway.

  “This can't be all of it,” I said. “I know there are a few things about my last case missing – things I definitely remember having and being among the rest of my things. I distinctly recall having a green notebook like this.”

  I held up a red and blue notebook, one with dates and the cases covered written on the front.

  “Don't you keep anything on your computer?” he asked.

  “No, computers can be compromised.”

  “Apparently, so can notebooks,” he said.

  “So, someone was in my house then,” I said. “Somebody stole my materials.”

  The mere idea of someone entering my home – with or without me there – disturbed me on a deep, primal level. I wasn't too keen on having my workplace and my sanctuary violated like that. Or, hell, maybe my memory was still playing tricks on me and I was misremembering what I did and didn't have.

  I would have sworn though, that there had been a bright green notebook for the arson cases I was looking into as well as another case that had caught my eye. Both were future topics to be discussed in my podcast, nothing more.

  “And there were no tapes?” I asked.

  “None,” he said. “I saw the tape recorder, but there were no tapes I could find.”

  “Dammit,” I muttered, shaking my head. “Someone stole them. Somebody broke into my house and stole them. They knew we were on to them, so they broke into my place and stole them.”

  “They have access to your house then,” Oliver said. “Which means you can't stay there once you're discharged from here.”

  “I'll stay in a hotel—”

  “What kind of old friend would I be if I made you stay in a hotel, Madison?” he asked. “No, you're staying with me. I have a spare bedroom with its own bath and it'll be way more comfortable than some ratty old hotel.”

  I stared at him for a long time, my mouth hanging wide open. Had he just—? He'd really just invited me to stay at his place and even claimed to be old friends. I almost couldn't believe it. I certainly had no idea what to make of it.

  “No, a hotel will do just fine,” I said. “But, thank you.”

  He gave me a look that said there was no getting out of it, but I smirked, knowing full well that I would be doing what I wanted. No man told me what to do. Even if he wanted to pretend like we were old friends, that wasn't the case. We knew each other. We went on a date back when we'd been in high school – and then I ghosted him because I had to focus on school. Boys were a distraction I couldn't afford and I had to cut them out of my life.

  It was Daddy's orders, but I agreed with him. Not that I wanted to leave Oliver in the dust like I'd done, but I had to put myself first.

  I was still that hard-headed and sometimes selfish person, so if Oliver thought he was going to put one over on me – well, he was in for a surprise.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Oliver

  I'd tried to make a dozen different excuses, but Jimmy wasn't buying any of them. Probably because Cassie was squeezing him to make this blind date – which was not so cleverly disguised as just a friendly dinner get-together – happen. And although Jimmy was a big, strong guy who didn't take shit from anybody, when Cassie said jump, he asked “how high” on the way up.

  Jimmy liked to pretend he was the big man, in control and in charge of everything. But, at home, I knew who was in charge.

  “So, tonight then, right?” he asked as we got dressed after a long shift. “You better show up or Cassie is gonna have my balls.”

  I scoffed. “She already has them,” I said. “She wears 'em on a necklace. Who do you think you're fooling?”

  He grinned, knowing I was right. “Yeah, maybe,” he said. “Just know that if you don't show, she'll toss that necklace in the fireplace. So seriously, do me a favor – save my balls and show up.”

  I laughed. “I think I'm coming down with something,” I said, feigning a cough. “I may just need to—”

  “Yeah, my ass,” he replied, punching me in the shoulder. “Six thirty. You have your ass there or I'll set fire to your balls, buddy.”

  Grinning, I nodded. I knew there was no way I was getting out of this. At least I had a contingency plan in place though. A security blanket. A secret weapon. And, best of all, a way around Cassie's oh-so-cleverly orchestrated plan to find me love.

  Madison.

  I still had a few reservations and misgivings about bringing her along but figured that she'd provide me with a solid enough buffer that Cassie's friend – Angie, or whatever her name was – would take the hint and move on to some other guy.

  “So, I'll see you at six thirty, right?”

  I looked over at Jimmy and groaned. “I don't have much choice in the matter, do I?”

  “None, actually,” he said.

  “Yeah,” I replied as unenthusiastically as I could. “I'll see you then.”

  Jimmy nodded and clapped me on the shoulder. “Don't worry, man,” he said. “It'll be great. And hey, pretend to have some fun and you might actually have some by accident. You never know.”

  “The mind reels with anticipation.”

  He gave me a grin as he turned and headed off to his SUV. I walked over to my truck and chirped off the alarm, pulled the door open and climbed inside. Jimmy honked at me as roared out of the parking lot. Glancing at my watch, I saw that I had enough time to get home, nap for an hour, and grab a shower before I had to pick Madison up.

  I sighed as I pulled out of the parking lot, completely dreading the evening ahead.

  ~ooo000ooo~

  The door opened and I saw Cassie's eyes grow wide when she saw me there with Madison standing right next to me. But, being the gracious woman she always was, she quickly recovered and put a wide, welcoming smile on her face. I doubted Madison even caught it, and it was only because I knew Cassie so well that I saw the look of near panic in her eyes.

  “Oliver,” she said brightly. “Co
me in, come in. It's freezing out there.”

  We stepped into the foyer of the house and Cassie shut the door behind us. I took off my coat and then took Madison’s, hanging them both up on the rack next to the door. I handed Cassie the bottle of wine I'd brought along with me.

  “My mother taught me never to show up empty-handed,” I said and grinned at her.

  “Your mother was a wise woman well-versed in social graces,” she said.

  “She had her moments,” I replied and then motioned to my guest. “Cassie, this is Madison—”

  “Oh, yes, the girl from the fire,” she said. “Jimmy's told me a little bit. I hope you're okay.”

  “I'm doing much better, thank you,” she said, her voice soft.

  Like clouds passing in front of the moon, a look of uncertainty passed across Madison's face. I didn't know if that look was because they were speaking about her behind her back, or because she didn't like being referred to as the girl from the fire.

  Could have gone either way, really.

  But, just like Cassie had a moment ago, Madison smoothed out her features again in a heartbeat. You'd never know by looking at her that she'd just been upset or rattled by what Cassie had said. She gave Cassie a smile that was warm but still looked a little uncertain.

  “I hope it's okay that Oliver brought me, he said—”

  Cassie waved her off and laughed. “Just an informal little dinner gathering,” she said. “The more, the merrier.”

  Madison smiled and seemed to relax a little bit. Her smile was a little warmer and far less forced than it had been a moment ago.

  “Please, let's all go into the dining room,” Cassie said. “It's warmer in there and, more importantly, that's where the food and booze are.”

  Madison stepped ahead of us and, as I turned to go, Cassie shot me a look that was somehow simultaneously an expression of amusement and a promise of retribution for thwarting her master plan. I just flashed her a grin in return and allowed her to walk in front of me.

  “You're just full of surprises, aren't you?” she said quietly, looking over her shoulder at me.

  “I have my moments,” I said with a shrug.

  We stepped into the dining room where Jimmy was sitting at the table with a woman I could only assume was Angie. With long, dark hair, green eyes, and porcelain-colored skin, there was no question that she was a beautiful woman. A stunner, honestly. But, in my mind, she didn't quite compare to Madison. Madison had a more wholesome, girl-next-door thing about her, while Angie sort of looked like a shark. Like a woman who could chew you up and spit you out if she wanted to.

  When those green eyes of Angie's fell upon us as we stepped into the room, I saw them widen with surprise when she saw Madison. She cut a quick glance to Cassie, who gave her a very subtle shrug of the shoulders, and then over to me. I saw her look me up and down like I was a piece of meat. And judging by the look in her eyes, I could see that she saw me as a piece of meat she'd really like to sink her teeth into.

  Normally, I didn't have an issue with being objectified by women. It was part and parcel of being a fireman. Came with the territory and I was used to it, honestly. But I wasn't in the mood for romance and hadn't been in some time. Jimmy knew that. And Cassie knew it too.

  And yet, despite that, she'd been working overtime to set me up with one of her friends. Hell, she was trying to set me up with anybody – one time, she even tried to set me up with the cashier at the local grocery store, claiming she thought we could be soul mates.

  Cassie's heart was in the right place, but she was seriously barking up the wrong tree. Jimmy was taking a drink of his beer when we came in and he set it down, giving me an amused little smirk and a shake of the head.

  “Everybody,” Cassie said, always the gracious host, “this is Madison. Madison, this is my husband Jimmy, who I think you've met briefly. And this is my friend, Andi.”

  Andi. Right. Andi, not Angie. Oh well, not like she was going to be in my life long enough for that little miscue to matter anyway.

  Jimmy raised his bottle in greeting and Andi looked at Madison, giving her a smile that didn't come anywhere near to reaching her eyes. She was looking at her in much the same way I'd seen lions stare each other down over the corpse of a gazelle on those nature documentaries I sometimes watched.

  In other words, Andi was looking at Madison like she was competition.

  Little did Andi know the competition was already over. There had never been one, no matter how badly Cassie wanted there to be. And looking at the way Andi was looking at Madison, it made me glad I'd brought her along in the first place. She was the perfect and, apparently, very needed, buffer between Cassie's friend and me.

  “Nice to meet you both,” Madison said.

  I pulled out the chair for her across the table from Andi – no need to tempt fate by putting her within arm's reach of Cassie's friend – and Madison took a seat. She looked up and gave me a little smile, a look of surprise on her face, as if a man had never pulled out a chair for her before.

  “Drinks?” Cassie chirped.

  “Beer, please,” I said.

  “I'll take a glass of wine, please,” Madison replied.

  “Coming right up,” Cassie said and bustled off to the kitchen.

  An awkward silence filled the air around us as we all stared at one another, nobody quite sure what to say. Obviously, I'd been brought there to meet Andi, so showing up with Madison in tow threw a bit of a damper on their love connection. Which, of course, had been my plan all along.

  “So,” Jimmy started, clearing his throat. “How are you feeling, Madison? You doing okay?”

  She cut an uncertain glance at me, obviously unsure how much Jimmy knew about her situation. Hell, she was probably unsure of how much I knew about her situation – which, truthfully, wasn't much. All I knew was how we found her – tied up and left to burn to death in a building. It wasn't something I wanted to press her on though.

  “I— I'm doing okay, thank you,” she said.

  “What happened?” Andi asked.

  It was my turn to clear my throat. I didn't want to speak out of turn or make Madison uncomfortable, but the way Andi asked, it didn't sound like she was actually concerned. More like she was morbidly curious. Like one of those lookey-loos at the scene of a fire or an accident – somebody fascinated with the blood and gore of it all.

  Madison hesitated.

  “She was injured,” I said. “On a call we had recently.”

  Jimmy looked at me and gave me a small nod, seeming to understand my desire to keep it under wraps. It wasn't ours to talk about.

  “Oh?” Andi asked as she took a sip of her wine. “That sounds terrible. I'm sorry to hear that.”

  I was hoping she'd leave it at that. But, of course, she wasn't going to make it that easy.

  “Injured how?” Andi pressed. “What happened?”

  Madison sat up a little taller in her chair and I saw a look of grim determination flash across her features. She obviously recognized the situation she was in and knew that Andi was picking at her, trying to get her flustered.