Until Here

by Cristin Cooper

  She nodded then reached for his hand. “Be gentle, she’s having a tough day.”

  He wanted to question her but decided it would be best to get it from the source.

  Fifteen minutes later, Melanie was cuddled up to him on his couch and he was running his fingers through her hair. “Talk to me, please. I can’t stand seeing you like this.”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “The reason is so silly, but I can’t stop thinking about it.” He kissed her forehead and waited for her to go on. “When I returned home after bringing you lunch, Grams met me outside. Their realtor called because she has a buyer who’s interested in seeing the house even though it isn’t officially on the market until Sunday.” She sat up and wiped her eyes. “I love that house. It’s always been special. It reminds me of happiness, family, love, long summer days of fun, but soon it’s going to belong to someone else and I hate that.”

  “I wish I knew what to say.”

  “You just holding me is enough.” She moved back into her spot next to him and put her arms around him. “I’m sorry for being so emotional. First the house and then…” She didn’t go on but she didn’t need too.

  “Bridget and Katie?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Meeting them…it’s different than imaging faceless people. I was so incredibly jealous. I didn’t want to like them, but I do and I could see why you fell for them.”

  She reached for a tissue and blew her nose. “She’s obviously single and I — I’m leaving in a few weeks…”

  “Oh, Melanie.” He held her tighter against his chest and laughed softly against her hair. “I wish you could feel what I feel so you would know that it’s over between Bridget and me. Even if you weren’t in my life, there would still be nothing between the two of us. When I saw her today, I just saw my past. I care about her and I admit, it was good to see her, but how it’s nice to see an old friend, not somebody you want to spend your life with.” He breathed in hoping it would give him the courage to say what he had been dying to say to her. “Melanie, I can see you in my future. I’d like you to be in my life. I don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the month, but I do know that I don’t want it to be the end of us.”

  He felt her tears wet his shirt. “Can I stay the night? I’m not ready for…” she whispered.

  He didn’t let her finish. He didn’t need more than to have her in his arms. “Let me hold you tonight.” She nodded her head against his chest then he lifted her off the couch and took her hand walking her to his bedroom.

  Chapter Fourteen

  May 18th

  Melanie

  Melanie inwardly groaned when her grandmother’s best friend, Nancy, whispered in her ear. “You two make such a cute couple.” She looked over at Preston, who was trapped between her grandfather and the pastor of the church who were in a heated discussion about who knows what. She could tell Preston was just being courteous but he wasn’t adding anything to the discussion.

  He had been a good sport going to church with her even though in the past he had been an Easter and Christmas sort of churchgoer. She understood his discomfort since the only time she went to church was when she stayed with her grandparents.

  She giggled watching him look back and forth between the two men, visibly sweating. She was about ready to save him when Jerry stopped her. “Melanie, I’m so glad I caught you. I was going to stop by your grandparents today to talk to you but since you’re here.” Her voice trailed off and she gave Melanie a mischievous smile.

  “Uh-oh.” Melanie teased. “What is it?”

  “Nothing bad. At least, I hope not,” she said with humor in her voice.

  “Your grandmother mentioned you might be staying after all.” She did, did she? Melanie glared over Jerry’s shoulder at her grandmother who was watching them from the other side of the foyer with a conspiratorial smile.

  “I wanted to make you an offer and give you another chance to turn me down,” she said with a laugh. Curious what she would offer she waited for Jerry to finish speaking before saying no. “So this is what the school is offering. We will reimburse you for the cost of the tests to get certified to teach in Arizona if you are willing to sign a three-year contract with us to teach third grade. I do have to warn you that we do have a few challenging kids who will be entering third grade which is why none of the other contracted teachers are willing to take that class. But from what I’ve seen with you helping with the Sunday school kids, I have a good feeling you would be a perfect fit.”

  Melanie stood there speechless. She looked over at Preston and felt warmth spread through her. He was more than she ever believed she would have and the idea of leaving him left her feeling empty. She looked back to Jerry and wanted to shout, “Yes. Yes, I’ll do it,” but a small part of her feared that it would all fall apart and she and Preston would be left disappointed and heartbroken. “Can I think about it?”

  “Yes. I brought you the testing schedule. You can take them at Northern Arizona University here in Flagstaff. I also brought you some study material.” She gave her an unrepentant smile.

  “Did my grandmother talk you into this?” she asked skeptically.

  “Well…” Jerry drew out the word. “She and I have spoken about you a few times but this was my decision. I want you to work for our school. I think you would love it.”

  Melanie bit her lip as she took the material from Jerry and fit them in her purse. Was she ready to change her whole life around? She glanced at Preston one more time then said to Jerry, “Can I call you in a few days about my decision?”

  “Absolutely. If you don’t still have my contact information, your grandmother does.”

  “It’s back,” Preston murmured as he ran his finger down the crease of her forehead.

  “Hmm?” Melanie looked at him confused. She wasn’t paying attention to him or the book she was reading. She was too busy considering Jerry’s offer and the couple who put an offer on her grandmother’s house. She was beginning to feel the pressure set in. She had to make some significant decisions and soon.

  “Sometimes, I wish I could get in your head so I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I know for a fact, you don’t want to be anywhere near here.” She pointed to her head with a grin. She didn’t need to ruin a beautiful evening alone with him by making him worry, too.

  They had just returned to his house after having a nice dinner with his parents and were sitting on the couch reading. Him a mystery novel and her the Harlequin romance she was reading when they first met. He must have noticed she hadn’t turned a page in several minutes.

  To divert his attention and keep him from asking too many questions she asked one herself. “Can I sleep over again?”

  His eyes softened then quickly turned heated. “You don’t even have to ask.” He pulled her off the couch and they went back to his room where she slipped into one of his t-shirts and he changed into pajama bottoms.

  Days ago, he told her they could no longer make out on his bed because it was making cuddling with her difficult since he was dying to make love to her. Tonight she wanted to give him everything, but she held back. She wanted everything to be perfect before she gave the rest of her heart to him. He already had most of it.

  She gave him a chaste kiss then cuddled up next to him feeling his love and strength in the way he held her against his body. Once she was in the comfort of his arms, she realized she didn’t have to think about her decision. She knew exactly what she wanted. Him, forever.

  Chapter Fifteen

  May 19th

  She woke the next morning in Preston’s arms excited about her decision to move forward.

  After kissing Preston goodbye, she walked back to her grandparents’ house and found them at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

  “Did you have a nice evening?” her grandmother asked with a raised brow. Her grandfather mumbled something under his breath. Even though she was in her thirties he still treated her like a teenager.

  She di
dn’t answer. Instead, she said, “You can’t accept the offer on the house.”

  “Why dear?” Melanie could see the smirk on her grandmother’s face as she took a sip of her coffee.

  “You know why. I want to buy the house. I haven’t touched my inheritance since Dad died but it should be enough for a good down payment. I’ll have to sell my house in Chicago first so I can get a loan but it shouldn’t be a problem. You already know this but Jerry wants to hire me as the third-grade teacher at Franklin Academy.”

  Her grandmother who was grinning ear to ear looked to her grandfather who was pulling out his wallet and then handed her a twenty-dollar bill. “Enjoy the win, I still don’t think you can get Marla to move here.”

  “You bet on me?” she screeched.

  “Oh, good grief, calm down. When Marla called to tell us you were coming, I told Arthur I would figure out a way to get you to move here, he said it would never happen but that was before we knew you had met Preston. I should thank him. I think he’s the reason I won.”

  “I don’t even know what to say.”

  “You don’t need to say anything. We already turned down the offer on the house and told the realtor we found a buyer.” She looked over her glasses at Melanie waiting for confirmation.

  “You do have a buyer but can you wait until my house sells?”

  “Of course, sweetheart.”

  “Can you also keep this between us. I don’t want to tell Marla or my mother until everything is set in place. I can’t handle dealing with Marla right now and my mom will only try to talk me out of it. She’s not too thrilled about how quickly I ‘latched onto’ Preston.” She added the finger quotes for emphasis. It had hurt her feelings to think her mother would think she would act so irrationally, but she might have thought the same thing if a friend told her she had fallen in love with a guy after just a few weeks of meeting him.

  “I think we can manage,” her grandfather said. It was kind of them not to mention her mother. They liked her, but they also thought she was too strict on her and Marla. They thought their granddaughters needed to let loose once in a while.

  “Thank you!” She went around the table and hugged her grandparents then dug through her purse for the testing information. The sooner she took the tests the sooner she could go back to Chicago and deal with closing her life there.

  Chapter Sixteen

  May 24th

  Preston

  Preston left work right at six. Too anxious to see Melanie, he didn’t bother stopping at home to change out of his suit. He needed to see her. For the past week, he’d been consumed by an urgent case so the only time they had together was late evening or the days she brought him lunch forcing him to take a break. Each evening was a test of his sanity. They would eat dinner then make out like horny teenagers until they were close to being naked. So far, one or the other managed to stop. Barely. She had been sleeping over… until Wednesday. She made the excuse that her grandparents needed her, but he had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason. Now it was Saturday morning and he wanted answers.

  As he drove through the streets of Flagstaff on autopilot, his thoughts were with her. Even though she smiled and kissed him passionately he could feel she was hiding something, and once again she seemed distracted and even tired.

  He thought it might be because of the long hours she spent helping her grandparents but he couldn’t stop the niggling feeling that it was something else. She had casually mentioned how she finally found something about him that wasn’t perfect — how he lost track of time when he worked. Maybe she was frustrated by his long hours at the office. He promised he would work on it, but sometimes the long hours were part of the job.

  Before he knew it, he was parked in front of the Reynolds’ home. Determined to find out why Melanie had been pulling away, he pounded on the door with his fist. He didn’t mean to knock so loudly, but enough was enough. He wasn’t about to let her pull away not when he had one more week with her. He had one week to prove to her that she needed to stay. If not, he would speak with his father and uncle about transferring back to Chicago. One way or another they were going to stay together.

  “One week,” he muttered.

  Not a moment later, Carol swung the door open with an almost unsettling smile on her face. He’d seen her happy and even giddy, but this was a whole new level of happiness. “Come on in, handsome. Melanie’s on the phone with Marla.”

  He followed Carol into the kitchen where Melanie sat on the counter with a smile plastered on her face that made his heart skip. She was incredibly beautiful especially when she didn’t seem to know it. He wanted to spend the rest of his days waking up to her and be the reason for all of her smiles.

  She barked out a hearty laugh that made her grandmother chuckle. He realized seeing her so happy and relaxed was not only everything he ever wanted but now she was what he needed. He could clearly see their future. Marriage, kids, and lots of love.

  When she looked up and noticed him in the doorway, her eyes softened and she waved him over. Sliding off the counter, she leaned into him and seemed to melt against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair imagining, one day soon, her hair splayed out on his pillows. She released a soft sigh and kissed his neck.

  He was okay with waiting. As okay as he could be when everything about her turned him on, but if she needed to wait then he would wait. In fact, he kind of liked that about her and when they eventually made love, he knew it would be worth the wait.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her voice was light and filled with laughter when she said goodbye to her sister. Did this mean he was going to meet the infamous Dragon Lady? He heard so much about Marla, he worried she wouldn’t live up to his expectations.

  She hung up the phone and put her arms around his neck. “Hi,” she said flirtatiously.

  “Hi,” he said against her lips. “Did I hear that your sister is coming?”

  She leaned back and when he saw the way she looked away and began to chew on her lower lip, his stomach dropped. No. She couldn’t be leaving. They had one more week.

  “No. Marla isn’t coming here. At least not any time soon.” He let go of her and began to pace the kitchen drawing in deep breaths, but they were getting stuck in his throat. He bent over panting as the panic set in. He had been dreaming about forever and she was leaving.

  She ran her fingers through his hair moving it out of his eyes. “Preston.” Her voice was soft and filled with worry.

  He stood up and dragged her into his arms. He had to find a way to make her stay. “After Bridget, I swore I would never beg someone to stay. Not ever again. But I’m doing it now. Don’t leave, Melanie. Please.”

  She slid her hands up his chest and pushed back slightly so she could look him in the eyes. “You will never have to beg. You don’t even have to ask. I’m coming back.”

  He shook his head. Seeing her a few days every couple of months or how often they were able to travel back and forth would never be enough. “When? Next month? In a couple of months? That isn’t enough for me.” He pulled her back against him. He breathed her in and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

  “It isn’t enough for me either. That’s why I’ll be back in a week, maybe two.”

  “But for how long?” His jaw clenched as he held back his anger. He knew they only had known each other a short time, but he thought for sure they were on the same page.

  “Preston, breathe,” she whispered as she ran a hand down his jaw and pulled his head down for a kiss. “I’m moving here. In fact, I just bought this house. I just have to pack up my house in Chicago. Hopefully, it won’t take too long. I’m selling it so I might have to go back for a night or two, but this is my home now.” She rattled on. With her every word, the weight in his chest lightened.

  He drew in a deep breath. “You’re moving here?”

  She nodded her head with happy tears in her eyes. “Yes.”

  He braced his hands on the back of her head and pulled h
er into a deep kiss. He kissed her until they were breathless and he tasted her tears…or maybe they were his. Leaning his forehead against hers, he asked, “What about your job?”

  She released a teary laugh. “Well, Marla just fired me. But it’s okay because I was just offered a teaching position at Franklin Academy.”

  “She fired you?” he asked with a laugh. Everything she told him about Marla, he assumed she would be doing everything she could to keep Melanie.

  “She started looking for my replacement the day I called to tell her that you were Ton.”

  His laugh deepened. “You’re staying,” he said more to himself than to her.

  “Yeah,” she whispered against his lips. “I have to.” He raised a brow in question. “I’ve never felt at home. Not until here, with you.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “I like you, Preston Reed, and I want to see where this could go between us.”

  “I’ve never felt so lucky in my whole life.”

  “Oh, you’re going to feel a whole lot luckier. Soon,” she said with a wink.

  He pulled her tight against his chest laughing into her neck. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so much joy. “You scared the crap out of me this week,” he grumbled. “You were so distant; I thought you didn’t want to see me any more.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. I was stressed out. I only had a few days to study for my teacher certification tests and then the tests themselves took hours and I was worried that I wouldn’t pass.”

  “Why didn’t you say something? I could’ve helped you study or done something to help.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you until I had everything finalized just in case it didn’t work out.”