He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen them in fifteen years.”
When she looked surprised, he went on. “They used to fight all the time. My old man would get liquored up, come home, and beat the hell out of everybody. Us kids tried to get my mother to leave him, but she wouldn’t.”
The old hardness was back in his eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of Battered Woman’s Syndrome?” Mel asked.
He wadded up his sandwich wrapper and empty fry carton and dropped them in the bag. “Yeah, I’ve heard of it,” he said tersely, “but I’ve also heard of this thing called pride, and she had none. Far as I’m concerned, a woman lets a man beat on her, that’s her business. But when she lets him beat on the kids, that’s a crime for which they should both be punished.”
Mel could see that he was close to anger, and she wondered if that anger was ever far from the surface. “How many children were there?”
“Five including me, three boys and two girls. We all got the hell out of there as soon as we were old enough. My old man died ten years ago. The booze finally killed him. You ask me, the world’s a better place because of it.”
“And your mother?”
“Last I heard, she’d remarried. And you know what? This guy knocks her around, too.”
Mel didn’t know what to say. It was obvious he was bitter about the whole thing. And why shouldn’t he be? “I guess we’d better get back on the road,” she said.
Chapter Nine
Mel and Kane arrived back in Hardeeville an hour later and, after changing into work clothes, headed for the store where they worked side by side until after six o’clock, despite the fact it was Sunday.
“I’ve got an idea,” Kane said, as he drove Wilton’s truck home. “Instead of cooking, why don’t we go out for something to eat? My treat,” he added.
“Go out? Where?”
“Surely, there’s a decent restaurant in town. Besides, it’s Sunday, and we deserve a break.”
Mel thought of her Friday nights at Thelma’s Restaurant that she’d enjoyed so much. Now that Harper was mad at her, it wasn’t likely she’d be going anytime soon. “Yes, I know of a place,” she said. “They serve a great chicken-fried steak.”
When they arrived back at the house, Mel insisted Kane grab a shower first while she ironed one of his shirts from the duffel bag. It was the only time she could remember ironing for a man other than her father. Performing the little chore made her feel closer to him.
Kane stepped out of the bathroom freshly scrubbed and shaved and found the shirt hanging on the back of a kitchen chair. “Thanks,” he said, appreciating the fact that she’d taken such care in ironing it when he was so used to wearing his clothes wrinkled. But tonight he wanted to look good. He didn’t want to do anything that might embarrass her.
“You’re welcome.” Mel tried not to stare at the half-naked man before her with the magnificent chest. He was lean and brown without an extra ounce of fat on his body. She caught a whiff of him as he shrugged on the shirt. He smelled of soap and aftershave and male flesh. “Are you finished in the bathroom?” she asked, wanting to put some distance between them so she wouldn’t gawk at him.
“It’s all yours.”
There was something decidedly intimate in stepping into the same bathtub Kane had stepped out of only moments before. His scent lingered in the mist that clung in the air and fogged the mirror over the sink. As Mel soaped herself, she felt her skin prickle at the thought of Kane using that same bar of soap across his broad chest. She pushed her thoughts aside.
Mel entered the kitchen thirty minutes later wearing a khaki skirt and a multi-colored camp shirt. She was wearing her hair loose. “Now that’s more like it,” Kane said, noting she’d spent more time on her makeup, as well.
Mel blushed. She had only worn her hair loose because it was still slightly damp, not because she’d been trying to seek his approval. At least that’s what she’d told herself.
“Are you ready to go?” she asked. “I’m starved.”
They made the twenty-minute trip to town in Wilton’s truck. Thelma’s was packed when they stepped inside. Mel blanched when she realized why. The evening service had just let out at the Hardeeville First Baptist Church.
“Oh, no,” she said aloud. “We can’t eat here.”
They were already inside. “What’s wrong?” Kane said, glancing around the busy restaurant for a clue as to what was causing her distress. He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but everybody seemed to be staring at them.
“I wasn’t in church today,” Mel whispered.
“Is that against the law in this town?”
“Of course not.”
“It’s me, isn’t it?” he said, stiffening automatically. The thought of anyone mistreating her because of him made him mad as hell. “They’re staring at you because you’re with me, aren’t they? Do you want to leave?”
“We can’t just walk out. How would it look?”
“I don’t give a flying fig how it looks. If you’re uncomfortable—” He was interrupted when a matronly woman appeared out of nowhere.
“Hi, Mel. We missed you at church this morning. Would you like your usual table?”
“That will be fine, Vera,” Mel said, taking Kane’s hand in hers. He hesitated only a moment, then let her lead him to a table in the back.
Kane waited until they were alone before he said anything. “Your usual table?” he said, arching one dark brow.
“Harper and I used to come here on Friday night.”
“And this is where you sat?”
“Yes. Do you mind?”
Hell yeah, he minded. “Should I?” he said instead, trying to play it cool.
He looked so handsome; it was hard to believe he was the same man who’d walked into Abercrombie Grocery wearing a straggly beard and filthy clothes. “No.” She folded her hands in front of her. “If Harper and everybody else in this town chooses to misunderstand our relationship, that’s their problem.”
“Does he think we’re romantically involved?”
“I have no idea what he thinks. But I can’t base all my decisions on groundless suspicions.”
Kane opened his menu and tried to concentrate, but he couldn’t shake his feeling of disappointment over what Mel had said. Here he was, finding himself drawn more and more toward the woman, and she refused to think of him as anything more than a friend.
It scared him to think he might be falling for her. She was clearly not his type, not with her prim and proper ways. She had tied that glorious mass of hair up before she’d come into the restaurant, obviously trying to dispel any notion that she was attractive. But she was attractive, dammit, and he was having a hell of a time not noticing. He was also having a hard time not thinking about the times he’d kissed her.
“I highly recommend the chicken-fried steak.”
“Huh?” Kane offered her a blank look.
Mel smiled. “You were a million miles away. What were you thinking?”
“You don’t want to know.”
He was scowling, and she didn’t know why. “I don’t?”
“Trust me on this one.”
The waitress picked that particular moment to appear. Kane closed his menu. “We’re both having the chicken-fried steak,” he all but snapped.
They barely talked during the rest of the meal and on the way home. The silence was unbearable to Mel, who’d tried several times to start a conversation. She had made him angry, and she had no idea how or why. By the time he parked in front of the house, she was in a tizzy to find out what was bothering him. He opened her door and helped her out.
“Kane?”
“I’m going to check on the dogs,” he said, then disappeared before she could say anything.
Mel went inside the empty house, kicked her shoes off, and called the hospital to check on Blair. Her father answered the phone and assured her Blair was okay and would be released the following day. Mel hung up and sat at the kitchen
table, feeling depressed for reasons she didn’t understand. Finally, she slipped her shoes back on and stepped out the back door.
The night air was cool; a full moon hung in the inky sky. She picked her way carefully across the backyard, using the floodlights from the house to light her way. She spied Kane stooped beside the Doberman they’d rescued a few days before.
“What are you doing?”
He glanced up at the sound of her voice. “I was just checking on Rover.”
“Rover?” She chuckled softly. “That’s not a very original name.”
When he merely shrugged, she went on. “Kane, have I said or done anything to make you angry?”
He stood and faced her squarely. “Yes, you have, Mel, although I doubt you’d ever do anything intentionally to hurt a person.”
“Are you angry with me because we sat at the table Harper and I usually use?”
“I’m not mad because we sat there. I guess I’m hurt that it didn’t seem to make any difference to you when it made a helluva lot of difference to me.”
“What do you mean?”
He stepped closer and placed his hands on his hips, then stared at her for a full minute in the darkness. She was truly lovely, but he was certain she wasn’t aware of that fact. He took a deep breath. “I’m damn sick and tired of your thinking of me as just some charity case.”
“I don’t think of you as a charity case.”
“How can you not? Here I am, no job, no place to live, and less than two hundred bucks to my name.”
“You do have a place to live. And sooner or later one of those interviews is going to pay off, and you’re going to land a good job.”
He was touched that she believed in him, and it strengthened his determination. “That’s not really what this is about,” he said. “I know I’m going to succeed because I refuse to give up. This is about you and me. I want you, Melanie Abercrombie, and you’re too damned blind to see it.”
She took a step back.
He took two forward.
“You can back up clear to the hog pen,” he said, “but I’m not going to let you get away until you’ve heard me out.”
“I’m listening,” she told him, when every instinct in her body warned her they were moving in a dangerous direction. She should turn and run as fast as she could to the house. Yet his gaze dared her to budge. “What is it you want to say to me?”
“I want to know how you feel about me.”
Mel took a deep breath. “That’s easy. I think you’re very nice and—”
“Cut the crap, Mel, I mean do you like me the way a woman’s supposed to like a man?”
When Mel didn’t answer, he reached up, cupped the back of her head in his hand, and pulled her to him, planting his mouth across hers. He kissed her hard.
He released her without warning. Mel stumbled. “What was that all about?” she demanded.
“I have to know how you feel,” he said matter-of-factly. “I can’t hang around this place, seeing you and wanting you when you don’t even take me seriously.” He paused and took a shaky breath. Her eyes were luminous in the moonlight, her mouth wet from his kiss.
“How do you think I feel, Kane?” she said, her emotions suddenly getting the best of her. “What woman wouldn’t be flattered by the things you say? But this is happening too fast. I don’t know if it’s right.” Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her sister lying in a hospital, and of her father sitting next to her, feeling guilty and wondering where he’d gone wrong. She thought of Harper, who was angry with her for opening her doors to an ex-con and a man she’d come to care about in a short time. Finally, she thought of Amy, an eight-year-old who needed her friendship more than ever.
A sob escaped Mel’s lips. “I just don’t know what’s right anymore.”
Kane’s heart turned over in his chest at the sight of her tears. “Oh, baby,” he said, taking her in his arms. “I’m sorry for making you cry.”
Mel snuggled against him, taking great comfort in his warmth and strength. “You didn’t make me cry,” she said, her words muffled against his chest. “I’m worried about other things. I can’t stop thinking there’s something I should have said to Blair. Maybe I’ve judged her too harshly. And Daddy, sitting there blaming himself for everything. I should have stayed.”
He stroked her hair as she talked. “I’ve never met anyone like you,” he said. “You’re so devoted to those you love.” At the same time he wondered if she would ever take time for her own happiness.
Finally, when her tears were spent, Mel raised her head and studied him in the moonlight. He was so handsome. Much too handsome for a simple farm girl who’d never been more than two hundred miles from home. But she was drawn to him regardless, and she knew her feelings had little to do with reason. “I want you, too, Kane,” she said suddenly, surprising them both with her honesty. But that’s the only way she knew how to be. “You do things to me that no other man has.” She blushed as she said it. “I feel as if I’ve known you all my life.”
Kane kissed her softly, and Mel parted her lips so he could taste the inside of her mouth. She kissed him back with a hunger she’d never known. The kiss echoed through her thoughts, sang through her heart. She felt drugged. He pulled away, leaving her mouth burning and yearning at the same time.
“I want to make love to you, Mel,” he whispered against her open lips.
Her heart leaped to her throat. The thought sent a shiver of anticipation through her and at the same time frightened her. “I can’t,” she said. “I could get pregnant. Just like Blair.”
His gut clenched at the thought of doing anything that might hurt her. “Let me just hold you and feel you next to me,” he said.
She hesitated.
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course, I do.”
“I mean, really?”
She thought about it. He looked so sincere, it was hard not to trust him, even though she was accustomed to doubting and second-guessing everything he said to her. Had she spent too much time listening to Eunice? “Yes, really,” she said, deciding it was the truth.
“Let’s go inside.” He took her hand and led her up the back stairs and into the house. Still holding hands, they walked down the hall toward her bedroom.
Mel didn’t say anything until he’d laid her down on the bed. “Kane, I think we should talk,” she said.
He lay down beside her and gathered her in his arms. It felt so good, so right, being there with her. “What do you want to talk about?”
She hesitated. “I know we’re not going to make love, but I have to tell you just the same, I’ve never been with a man.”
“Not even Harper?”
“I told him I wasn’t ready.”
Kane kissed her forehead and simply held her against him for a time. He felt an unexpected wave of tenderness wash through him. Prison had not destroyed all his emotions as he’d once thought. “I won’t do anything to put you at risk, Mel,” he said softly. “No matter how badly I want to be inside you.” He shifted on the bed and raised up on one elbow. “But I would like to look at you … and touch you.”
She gazed back at him, feeling very vulnerable, but thinking she’d never felt so close to another human as she did at that moment. He reached for the buttons on her blouse, and she stilled his hands. “Would you turn off the light?”
He gazed down at her. “How about I leave on the light in your closet? Would that be okay?”
She nodded, and he got up from the bed. When he returned, the room was dim, with only a bit of golden light peeking out from the closet.
“Better?” She nodded, and Kane reached for the clasp in her hair. He undid it, and then fanned her hair out on the pillow. It was thick and heavy, but silky to touch. “Beautiful,” he said. “I wish you’d wear it down always.”
He kissed her again, this time softly and lingeringly, simply enjoying the taste and texture of her lips. He drank in her sweetness, stroking her cheek with one
hand, marveling at the feel. He had forgotten how soft skin could be, how smooth. He’d forgotten how good a woman could smell. Mel smelled like wildflowers and bath soap. Prison had smelled of unwashed bodies and cigarette smoke; of sweat and blood. He blocked the thoughts. Nothing was going to infringe on this time right here and now.
He unbuttoned her blouse slowly, and then opened it. He fingered her white lace bra, noting how delicate it was, how utterly feminine. Kissing her again, he eased the cups aside. At first he thought he’d died and gone to heaven. It was too much to comprehend, this lovely, shy woman so willing to let this love-starved man touch her. He reached for her again, crushing her to him as he pressed his lips against hers.
Mel returned the kiss with what she decided could only be described as reckless abandon. All her inhibitions vanished into thin air as his mouth caressed hers, coaxing a response that surprised her as much as it delighted him. Kane broke the kiss, and his mouth reappeared at her throat. He moved a hand to her breast, and she closed her eyes as he fondled it and teased the nipple to erectness. Her stomach fluttered at the intimacy of his touch. She drank in the sensations, then moaned softly when they became too much.
He moved his hands under her skirt and skimmed her hips and thighs with a wide palm. He felt her stiffen slightly. “It’s okay,” he whispered.
Mel bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out when his hand moved around to her belly. It felt too good, too sweet. Something inside leaped to life. Instinctively, she arched against him.
“Feel good?”
“Yes.” It came out sounding like a hoarse croak.
Suddenly, his hand was inside her panties, caressing, teasing, and sending jolts of excitement through her. Fully aroused, Mel parted her thighs. Kane stroked her until she thought she’d burst from the pleasure of it. Finally, he touched her, seeking the small bud that was giving her such a fit at the moment. He flicked it softly with deft fingers, then dipped one finger inside where she was already wet.
Miss Goody Two-Shoes: Contemporary Romance Page 10