Miss Goody Two-Shoes: Contemporary Romance

by Charlotte Hughes

  He pulled her close. “Why don’t we worry about that when the time comes,” he said. “Like your dad always says, there’s no sense borrowing trouble.”

  Once again, she rose up. This time Kane didn’t stop her. “We’d better get downstairs,” she said. “I have a lot to do before church.”

  Kane reached for his shorts. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, that he loved her and would gladly marry her. But, financially, he wasn’t able to. How could he afford a wife with what he made at the printing company? Of course, he would probably get salary raises as time went on, but that would take a while.

  He had to think.

  # # #

  Adelle Taylor was an older, shrunken version of the woman Mel remembered. As Wilton led the frail woman through the front door and invited her to sit, Mel tried not to look shocked. What had happened to the lovely, vivacious woman who’d taught her girls to dance in this very living room? She looked haggard. Her hair, once a deep auburn color, was brittle and streaked with gray.

  Mel suddenly wished Kane had not made some excuse about seeing to the dogs, because she truly needed his support right now. She wondered if he would always disappear the minute things got tough, and she realized she was still hurt over his apparent lack of commitment that morning.

  “Mama!” Blair literally threw herself against Adelle. “Mama, I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Adelle’s eyes teared as she hugged her youngest to her breast. “I knew you’d turn out to be a beauty,” she said. Her eyes met Mel’s and locked. “Hello, Melanie. You’ve turned into quite a beauty, as well.”

  “Hello,” Mel said, her voice stiff. “Would you like something cold to drink?” she asked.

  “A glass of water would be nice.”

  Mel went into the kitchen for the water, just as Kane stepped through the back door, wearing the same outfit he’d worn to church, the same he’d worn to work each day. He paused at the look on her face. “Are you okay?”

  “Please don’t leave,” she said, feeling very close to tears. “This is harder than I thought.”

  He put his arm around her. “I’m sorry, baby. I just didn’t want to get in the way.” He kissed her softly.

  When Mel returned to the living room with the ice water, Kane was by her side. She introduced him to Adelle, but didn’t try to explain why he was there. Instead, she set the water down beside the woman and excused herself so she could finish dinner. Kane followed and set the table while she whipped the potatoes and poured the food into serving dishes.

  Blair talked nonstop during the meal, telling Adelle all about the commercial she’d shot in Biloxi and the man she’d met and the fact that they’d been selected as the NuWave Wine Cooler couple. “But enough about me,” Blair said. “Tell us what you’ve been doing all these years in Louisiana.”

  Adelle looked uncomfortable suddenly being thrust into the limelight. She scanned the group anxiously. “Well, there’s not much to tell. I was married to a man who made his living in furniture. He died last year.”

  “Did you have any other children?” Blair asked, looking excited at the prospect of a half-brother or sister.

  “No, there weren’t any children.”

  Mel was tempted to tell Adelle she was smart not to have more children since she couldn’t handle the two she had. Instead, she bit back the retort and tried to concentrate on her meal. But she could have been eating cardboard, for all she cared.

  With dinner behind them, Wilton escorted Adelle into the living room, then excused himself and disappeared into the attic. Mel had a sinking feeling she knew what he’d gone after. Sure enough, he returned with the stack of photo albums. “Everybody gather round,” he said. “We haven’t looked at these in years.” When Mel refused to budge from the doorway, he motioned for her to join him.

  “No, Daddy,” she said, fearing he’d lost his mind. “I have chores to do.” She turned and made her way out of the room, but not before she saw the hurt look in her father’s eyes.

  “Where are you going?” Kane asked, as she headed for the back door.

  “To clean the dog pen.”

  “I already have.”

  “I’ll mow the lawn.”

  “I did that two days ago.”

  She turned and glared at him, her frustration growing with each breath she drew. “Then I’ll clean the garage.”

  “In your church dress?”

  “Yes!”

  The look on her face didn’t invite further comment. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

  “I don’t want your help,” she sputtered.

  Kane followed her out the door.

  She stalked across the yard to the garage.

  Kane reached for her hand and pulled her to a halt.

  Mel whirled around and faced him. “I’ve spent eighteen years taking care of this family because that woman inside didn’t want to do it. When Blair fell off her bicycle, I put the Band-Aid on her knee. I’m the one who told her how babies were really made, and when it was time, I helped her pick out her first bra. I’ve cooked and cleaned and ironed for my father, but not once has he ever said thank you.”

  “Why do you do it, Mel?” he asked softly.

  Her eyes teared, good question. “Because I thought they needed me. All this time—” A sob escaped her lips. “I’m such an idiot. I should have started my own life.”

  Kane reached for her. “Oh, baby, don’t cry.”

  “Don’t touch me,” she said, brushing away his attempt to comfort her. “You may need a friend right now while you’re starting out. As soon as you get on your feet and meet a few people, you’ll be gone.”

  Mel really needed to say how much she wanted Kane in her life, to let him know that she needed him. She understood that speaking up for herself would go a long way towards not being abandoned.

  Smoldering anger lit his eyes, and his words cut her before she could open her mouth. “I’m tired of you comparing me to your mother. You’re not the only one in this world who’s been hurt or disappointed.”

  He walked away before she could respond.

  Chapter Fifteen

  It was late afternoon when Mel loaded the tall trash bags to the back of Wilton’s truck and closed the door to the garage. “Well, if anybody’s handing out blue ribbons for clean garages, I should win,” she muttered to herself as she trudged up the steps to the house. “I spent more time cleaning the garage, than I have taking care of my needs all week. Now, I think I deserve a bubble bath.” She looked as if she’d spent the afternoon in a coal bin. Her dress was filthy and torn, her eyes swollen from having spent the prior three hours crying. Maybe she could use some makeup. Better late than never, it’s time she began to indulge herself, the way she had everyone else.

  Kane rode away shortly after their argument, and he hadn’t returned. She didn’t blame him. He was probably tired of hearing her bemoan the past.

  Mel opened the back door and stepped into the kitchen. She felt tired and drained. At the same time, she wasn’t angry anymore. If her father wanted to invite Adelle Taylor back into their lives, who was she to stop him? If Kane Stoddard decided to leave and she ended up pregnant and alone, well, she would have to deal with that as well. Folks would talk, naturally. She would no longer be poor plain Melanie Abercrombie who couldn’t catch a man; she would be poor Melanie Abercrombie who went and got herself knocked up by the first man who looked at her twice. But she would get through it the way she had all the other difficult times in her life. As much as she loved and wanted Kane, she could not live in constant fear of him leaving.

  Mel came to an abrupt halt when she spied her father sitting in the living room staring at a blank TV screen. He took one look at her appearance. “You look like something the cat would think twice about dragging in,” he said. Mel shrugged and started to make her way down the hall, but he called her back. “Sit down, I want to talk to you.”

  “Shouldn’t I clean up first?”

  “This is more impor
tant.” He indicated the chair next to him.

  Mel took a seat. She thought he looked tired. Weary. “If it’s about the way I behaved earlier, I’m sorry,” she said. “I guess my feelings were hurt.”

  “Because I invited your mother to a simple dinner?”

  Once again, Mel felt as though she’d cry. Why did she have to deal with this on top of losing Kane? “Daddy, you don’t understand how hard it was for me when she left. I was a kid at the time, but I had to grow up overnight. And now, almost twenty years later, you invite her into this house as though none of it ever happened.”

  “I shouldn’t have let you take on all that responsibility,” he said mournfully. “I should have hired someone to come in.”

  “I knew we didn’t have the money for that.”

  “I should have asked your grandmother for help. But I was too proud. I didn’t want anyone to know how your mother had hurt me. I ended up taking you for granted the way I’d done your mother. You should have been going out on dates; instead, you sat home with me. You should have been married a long time ago, but you’ve stayed here because I was too lazy and set in my ways to learn how to”—he paused, then choked out the last words—“take care of myself.”

  Mel flew to his side, her heart turning over in her chest at the sight of his tears. “Oh, Daddy, don’t cry,” she pleaded. “Please don’t cry. I did it because I wanted to. Don’t you see, nobody forced me?”

  Wilton covered his daughter’s head with his hands. “I never even thanked you for all you’ve done,” he managed, his voice shaking.

  Mel looked up, her own eyes tearful. “You don’t have to thank me. We’re family. We’re supposed to look after each other. No matter what.”

  He pulled her close. “Then maybe you can understand why I have to help your mother,” he said. “Why I have to forgive her the past and be here for her now.” He paused and sighed heavily, and the sound seemed to come from deep inside. “Your mother is dying, Mel. No matter what happened in the past, we have to be here for her now.”

  # # #

  It was late when Mel heard Kane pull up on his motorcycle. Heart thudding in her chest, she slipped out of her bedroom in her gown and tiptoed down the hall toward the kitchen. She let herself out the back door just as he was starting up the steps. They both paused when they saw each other.

  Mel clasped her hands together tightly. Just the sight of him caused her pulse to beat erratically. “I wanted to apologize,” she told him, her voice thick and unsteady. When he didn’t answer, she went on, almost shyly. “I’ve been unfair to doubt your love because of what happened in the past.”

  Kane took a step toward her, thinking she had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment with her hair hanging down and the moon shining on her face. He had spent the afternoon on a riverbank, coming to terms with his past and pondering his future. He’d let go of some of his anger. It was time to let the wounds heal, he’d decided, although the prison psychologist had been telling him that for years. Nevertheless, he was filled with a strange sense of peace.

  “It’s time I let go of my fears and anger and resentments. I refuse to spend the rest of my life worrying that you won’t come back every time you leave the house. I love you, Kane.”

  He was almost weak with relief. He closed the distance between them and took one of her hands in his. “Do you mean that?”

  She nodded. “And not because there’s a chance I could have gotten pregnant.”

  He didn’t think it was possible to feel so good over three simple words. “I love you, too, Mel. I have for a long time now. When I told you how much you helped me while I was in prison, I meant it. Without you I would never have found the strength to go on.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “And I wouldn’t mind at all if you got pregnant.”

  Her heart leaped for joy. “Really?”

  He took a seat on one step, and pulled her onto his lap. “Listen, Mel, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this afternoon. I don’t have much to offer you right now—”

  “I don’t need anything,” she said.

  He smiled. “A man still likes to think he can provide for the woman he loves. In short, I’ve decided to go back to school and get that degree in architecture.”

  “That’s wonderful!”

  “Yes, but I’ll have to attend at night so I can work at the print shop during the day. It’ll only be for a year or so. I promise I’ll try to get my degree as quickly as possible, but it might be tough for a while.”

  “We’ll have the weekends, won’t we?” she asked.

  “Yes, we’ll have the weekends. And the nights.”

  “And I can help you study, right?”

  He grinned. “I’m counting on it.”

  She hesitated. “You’ll continue to live here with Dad and me?”

  He chuckled. “Well, I hope so.” At the blank look she shot him, he went on. “Mel, darling, do you not realize this is a marriage proposal?”

  She shrieked and almost fell off his lap. Kane grabbed her in the nick of time. “You’re asking me to marry you?” she shouted in glee. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. But then, I haven’t had much experience in the marriage-proposal department.”

  “You have now,” he said, “although I honestly wasn’t expecting this much enthusiasm. Does this mean you’ll marry me?”

  Mel threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth. Suddenly, she pulled back. “You’re not doing this because you think I might be … you know?”

  He shook his head, and his look was sincere. “No, darling. I’ll take you with or without a baby.”

  “Oh, Kane!” She hugged him again. “We have to tell Daddy, although he might think a month is a bit quick.”

  “We can have a one-to-two-month engagement if it’ll make him feel better,” he said. “Unless you’re pregnant, of course, and want to do it quicker. I’m open.” He paused. “Does this mean you aren’t mad at your father anymore?”

  Mel sobered instantly at the mention of her father. “We had a long talk. About my mother,” she added, then paused. “Kane, she’s dying. That’s why she started writing after all these years. I never should have hidden those letters.” She swallowed hard. She’d spent the entire evening trying to come to terms with all her father had told her. “Anyway, she wants to get to know her family once more before she goes.”

  “And you’re okay with that?”

  “I am now. From what Daddy told me tonight, she hasn’t had a happy life. The only problem—” She let the sentence drop.

  “What?”

  Mel’s eyes misted. She had cried more today than she had cried in her entire life. “I’m afraid of getting close to her. It’s going to be tough having to say good-bye to her again.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “I’ll help you through it, babe. I swear, you won’t have to go through it alone. You’ll never have to go through anything alone again.”

  Mel buried her face against his wide chest. She gave a contented sigh. It was nice to know he was planning to be around that long.

  About the Author

  Charlotte Hughes published her first category romance in 1987, a Bantam Books’ Loveswept, titled Too Many Husbands, which immediately shot to #1 on the Waldenbooks Bestseller list. She went on to write almost thirty books before the line closed in 1998.

  Although Charlotte is widely known for her laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, she went on to pen three Maggie Award-winning thrillers for Avon Books in the late nineties, before resuming her first love, funny stories about people falling in love. She thrilled readers with her hilarious books, A New Attitude and Hot Shot, the latter of which won the Waldenbooks Greatest Sales Growth Achievement in 2003.

  Her books received so many accolades that she was invited to co-author the very popular Full House series with mega-star author Janet Evanovich.

  With that series behind her, Charlotte began her own, starring psychologist Kate Holly; What Looks
Like Crazy, Nutcase, and High Anxiety, creating a cast of somewhat kooky but always loveable and funny ensemble characters.

  To keep current with Charlotte and her projects, please sign up for her Readers Group and get free excerpts as well as the latest news.

  You can also visit her website at http://readcharlottehughes.com and follow her on Twitter @charlottehughes. If you enjoyed Miss Goody Two-Shoes, her fourth indie publication, you will also enjoy her others: See Bride Run!, Welcome to Temptation and Tall, Dark and Bad.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter 3

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  About the Author