The four made their way out to Austin’s truck and piled in. The girls climbed in the back of the extended cab and immersed themselves in talk of boys and school. Melanie was absently glancing around as Austin pulled away from the curb to head towards the zoo.
As he was driving, he was having a hard time concentrating on the road. He kept glancing over at her, marveling at how relaxed she looked. He was anything but relaxed at the moment. He had shifted in his seat several times trying to adjust himself so that his arousal wasn’t so obvious. He couldn’t believe how this woman affected him. Never in his life had anyone turned him on the way she did, not even his wife. It seemed that every time he was around Melanie, his cock jumped to attention, letting him know that she was there. He shook his head as he moved his hand from the steering wheel to rest on his thigh, strategically blocking it from her view. He silently wondered if he had the same effect on her.
At the same time, Hannah was glancing back and forth between her dad and Dr. Andrews. She kept smiling and giggling at how tongue-tied and antsy he was getting. She pulled out her cell to text Katie.
Hannah: He’s got it bad. I think he wants to marry your mom. LOL
Katie jumped slightly and pulled her phone out of her pocket when she felt it vibrate. When she saw that it was from Hannah, she looked at her and raised her brows. Hannah pointed at the two in the front of the truck and then at her phone trying to get Katie to understand that she didn’t want them to know what she was talking about. Katie finally understood and nodded as she flipped her phone open. She read the message and sent one of her own back.
Katie: Haha, I think so too. My mom likes your dad a lot. She won’t admit it but she does.
The messages continued to ping back and forth as the girls giggled in the backseat.
Hannah: We need to plan something for them. Let’s see if maybe they’ll let us cook for them one night. Hannah snickered and sent the message.
Katie: I can’t cook. Where would we be during this?
Hannah: We could have it at my house. We’ll hang out in my room.
Katie laughed silently and high-fived Hannah.
“What’s so funny back there?” Austin glanced in the rearview mirror.
“Nothing,” they answered at the same time and erupted in a fit of giggles.
Just then, they pulled into the zoo parking lot and began unloading.
“I packed us a picnic for later,” Austin looked over at Melanie.
“You didn’t need to do that,” she sighed. “I feel bad, I haven’t done anything for this trip.”
“You’re here. That’s enough in my book,” he walked around the truck and grabbed her hand with a grin, pulling her in the direction of the ticket window.
The girls trailed behind the two adults, laughing and shouldering into one another. Katie pointed at them and watched as Austin placed his hand in Melanie’s back pocket after he wrapped his arm around her waist. When they approached the window, he let go of her to pull his wallet from his back pocket.
“Four please,” he told the clerk at the window.
“You don’t need to pay for us,” Melanie gasped as she began to dig in her purse for her wallet. “I can get that.”
“I know you can, it’s not a big deal; we invited you out, it’s our treat. Family day, remember?” he shrugged his shoulders and took the tickets from the attendant.
“But...” Melanie began to argue.
“No buts, here,” he handed her a ticket.
Once they walked through the gate, Austin wrapped his arm around her waist again and placed his hand back in her pocket, this time giving her backside a gentle squeeze. Melanie leaned into his side and mumbled, “Watch it mister.” Katie elbowed Hannah and both girls sighed as they watched their parents.
“It’s so romantic,” Katie looked at Hannah.
“I’ve never seen my dad like this. He always seems so uptight all the time,” Hannah waved her hand at the couple. “Your mom is good for him.”
They both giggled and took off at a jog to the first exhibit.
“Keep your phone on in case we get separated!” Austin yelled at the girls’ backs as they charged ahead.
“We will!” Katie shouted behind her as the two laughed and made their way to see the elephants.
“Hannah knows not to get too far ahead,” Austin assured Melanie as she glanced at him with worry in her eyes. “They’ll be fine.”
Melanie began to relax more and more as they walked from exhibit to exhibit. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and enjoyed the feel of the afternoon sun on her face. The troubles with Zach and issues at the hospital seemed to finally be able to melt away.
oooooooooo
Austin could feel the tenseness in her shoulders begin to slowly dissolve under his attention. As she leaned into him, he removed his hand from her pocket and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. She sighed and rubbed her nose against his neck.
“Careful, you’re playing with fire right now,” he groaned.
“That’s ok,” she whispered. “I’m a doctor remember, I can treat a burn.”
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You know you can have that shirt if you like it that much.”
She blushed and looked up at him, “Thank you, but I already claimed it as mine anyway.”
He chuckled and shook his head, “Is that right?”
“Yep,” she smiled. “You aren’t getting it back.” She pulled the sleeve up to her face and inhaled deeply. “It smells just like you, makes me feel close to you.”
Austin just laughed and pulled her tighter to him.
oooooooooooo
The sun was beginning to set as the group of four made their way through the last habitat.
“Ready for something to eat?” he asked.
“Yes!” Hannah and Katie both shouted.
“Let’s go back to the truck, and we can stop at the park on the way home,” Austin suggested.
“Sounds great,” Melanie replied.
Once the group had piled back in the truck, they made their way to the local park. Melanie was so lost in the blissful bubble that had been created for her that day that she didn’t realize they were there until she heard a door slam. The girls had jumped out, and were making their way towards a big grassy area.
“You coming?” Austin had opened her door and was standing in front of her grinning.
“Yeah,” she turned to climb out only to have him pin her to the side of the truck. She giggled as he moved in to claim her mouth. The kiss was frantic and hungry. His hands grabbed her hips holding her against the side of the truck as he pushed his body flush against her. His lips moved hungrily as his tongue swept in and began to duel. A groan escaped him as she ran her hands up his chest to wrap them around his neck. A hand left her right hip only to slide down and grab her thigh. When he moved to tug it upward and bring them to an even more intimate embrace, she released his neck to push on his chest. “Stop,” she panted. “The girls, they might see us.”
Realizing that he was getting carried away, Austin backed up, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry,” he gasped. “It’s just…I’ve been waiting all day for that.”
“Me too,” she cocked her head to the side and smiled saucily as a deep blush caused her already flushed face to darken even more.
“Are you two coming, or are you planning on making out all day?” Hannah shouted.
Austin flashed a sheepish grin at Melanie as he moved around to the back of the truck to remove the picnic basket and give himself time to calm down. The encounter had put him in quite an embarrassing state. Melanie noticed he was using the basket to cover himself, and she couldn’t help but giggle as she yelled towards the girls, “We’re coming!”
“Let’s go up there,” Hannah squealed as she pointed in the direction of a playground.
“Hannah, aren’t you a little old for the playground?” Katie asked as she shook her head.
“No,” Hannah pouted. “You’re neve
r to old for the playground.”
“If you say so,” Katie shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“I saw that,” she elbowed Katie in the side.
They only had a few hours of daylight left, so they moved quickly to spread the blanket out and eat. After finishing the spread that Austin had packed, the girls ran over to the swings and sat. Melanie could hear them laughing and squealing at each other. She smiled wistfully at them.
“I can’t remember the last time she was so happy,” she looked over at Austin. “She’s had so much going on with Zach and moving. She gets along with Hannah so well.”
“I can’t remember the last time I was so happy,” Austin looked her right in the eyes and ran his hand tenderly down her cheek cupping her chin.
Melanie blushed and glanced at her lap. She was knotting her fingers together while working up the courage to ask him something that had been on her mind all day. “Austin, where do you see this going? I mean…”
He stopped her mid sentence. He knew how she felt, but could see that she was having a hard time voicing it. “I love you,” he looked her right in eyes. “I see a future with you in it. I want this, all of it,” he pointed back and forth between them and in the direction of the girls “to grow”.
“Oh Austin, I love you too. I’ve just been too afraid to say it. I didn‘t want to be too forward,” she glanced back to her knotted hands.
He reached into her lap and pulled one of her hands into his. Sliding closer to her on the blanket, he leaned in taking his other hand and cupping her cheek to raise her face to his. He leaned in and gave her the softest, sweetest kiss she’d ever received. When he pulled away, he gently rested his forehead on hers. “I love you,” he stated again with as much conviction as he could muster. The moment would have continued if the shuffling of feet behind him had not broken the mood.
“Nice timing, girls,” he laughed and sighed as he broke the embrace.
“No problem dad, always at your service,” Hannah laughed and Katie giggled.
“So we were thinking that maybe we could go to a movie next week,” Hannah blurted out. “Maybe we could see one, and you could see one. In a different theater that is,” Hannah fumbled. “We’ll pick two that are showing at the same time,” she flipped her hand in the air.
“Are you trying to plan a date for me?” Austin smirked. “Don’t you think your dad can do that on his own?” he glanced at her.
Hannah turned red, “I’m just trying to help with, you know.”
“Thanks dear, but I got this in the bag,” he wagged his finger between Melanie and himself as he glanced back at Hannah.
Melanie blushed and looked over at Katie, who had the biggest, goofiest smile she’d ever seen. “You had something to do with this too, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” Katie toed to ground.
“Tell you what,” Austin looked at the girls. “We’ll go out, if you two stop trying to plan it, Ok?”
“Sure dad,” Hannah rolled her eyes.
“It’s getting cold,” Melanie rubbed her arms. “We better head home.”
Austin helped her stand and began folding the blanket as she repacked the picnic basket. Once they were packed, they headed in the direction of the car, where the girls were already waiting.
Austin leaned in to Melanie’s side, “So where would you like to go on this date that I promised I’d take you on?”
“A night in is fine with me,” she blushed as she remembered their brief encounter on her couch after their date at the opera. “We don’t always have to go somewhere.”
“Ok, a night in it is. I’ll see what I can do about that,” he winked at her.
She smiled as he helped her climb into the truck, and giggled when he playfully swatted her behind. Austin rounded the front and hopped in to take them home. When he looked in the rearview mirror, he noticed that the girls were yawning.
“So, was this near the top of your list for a great family day?” he asked Hannah.
“Yep, right up there with a Sox game,” Hannah stated matter-of-factly.
“Really?” Austin raised his brow. “Even better than when we saw the playoffs a few years back?”
“Yep,” she nodded and giggled. “Better company this time.”
Melanie turned towards the window and smiled to herself.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Austin stated as he reached over and grabbed Melanie’s hand.
They made their way back to Melanie’s and said their goodbyes with the promise that a night in was in the near future. Austin only offered a soft peck to her cheek as he dropped her at her door. With Hannah and Katie watching, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
After Katie and Melanie had closed the door, he turned to Hannah and began to walk back to his truck, “Yep, best family day ever,” he eyed her.
She giggled and hugged him, “I love you dad.”
“I love you too, honey,” he smiled at her.
They climbed back in the truck and headed home.
Chapter 13
September 2012
Melanie was gathering her things to head to work when Katie emerged from her bedroom. It had been a week since Zach had been admitted to the hospital. He was going to be moving to the rehab center this afternoon. Melanie had tons of paperwork to finish in order for the transition to go smoothly. She had taken over Zach’s care since he meant so much to Katie. Normally, after making sure a surgery went well, she’d pass on the patient’s care to a resident, but Katie had all but begged her to continue helping Zach. Little did Katie know that she wouldn’t be seeing Zach in the coming weeks, he had plans of his own. Plans that he’d kept in secret, ones he hoped would change his future for the better.
“Zach’s being discharged to the care of the rehab center at four o’clock if you want to stop by and see him before he goes,” Melanie mentioned as she continued to grab her bag of files. She failed to tell Katie that the rehab center was not in Boston. That was Zach’s secret to tell, and she didn’t want to upset her daughter.
“Yes, I was planning on coming by after school today mom,” Katie shoveled a bite of cereal in her mouth.
“I’ll see you then,” Melanie turned and walked out the door.
Katie was glad that Zach was being moved. It meant that he was that much closer to walking again. He’d been wheelchair bound the entire time he was hospitalized, and she knew he was anxious to be mobile again. She was hoping that his life would begin to get closer to normal in the coming weeks.
Austin’s friend Matthew had been hard at work over the last several days as he worked to emancipate Zach. Rick hadn’t challenged the case in any way, so it was just a matter of proving that Zach could provide for himself. Matthew had collected pay stubs from Shorty’s Diner, and deposit slips from Zach’s bank account to show where he had a steady income. Zach had been rather resourceful in providing for himself at such a young age. Now, they just had to figure out transportation for him until his leg healed. He couldn’t drive; he was still in a wheelchair. Melanie had sent several emails to the rehab center, and left messages hoping that she could find someone that would give Zach a ride if he needed to go anywhere. Even though there were still details to be worked out, everyone had faith that they would.
Zach had been sitting in a hospital bed for almost eight days. He was so restless it was driving him crazy. He was glad to finally be away from it all, but he didn’t enjoy the fact that he had to get beaten nearly to death for it to be put into motion. He glanced over at the stack of papers on the table next to the bed. Mr. Simon had been by several times throughout the week to help him with his portfolio. He was determined to get into art school as soon as he was well enough. He’d been working on putting together his best pieces and writing a letter to the dean explaining why he wanted to enter mid-year.
Zach was much brighter than most of the teachers at St. Vincent’s knew. He missed school a lot because he had to work to pay the bills, and he fell asleep in class because
he couldn’t sleep at home for fear of his father walking into his room in a drunken rage. He lashed out at teachers and other students because he was abused at home and had no other way to release the anger.
He slumped in the bed as he picked up the pile of papers. He had several landscapes and a few graphic pieces, but his specialty was portraits. He could look at a person for a matter of minutes and then draw their portrait from memory. “This is where your talent lies. This is what is going to get you into the school,” Mr. Simon had told him as he flashed a picture Zach had drawn of his mother. After some coaxing from Mr. Simon, Zach had submitted the picture with his portfolio. Now, here he sat with the letter in his lap telling him that he had been accepted. All he had to do now was tell Katie he was leaving.
Unbreak Me (Second Chances #1) Page 14