Roping Melanie by Melissa Ellen

11

Melanie

“How’d it go?” my mom asked as soon as I walked through the door. She’d stepped out of the kitchen, drying her hands with a dish towel.

“I told you I’d take care of the dishes.” I moved to the window, pushing the curtain aside.

She waved me off. “I needed something to keep me busy while you were out there, and I was in here on pins and needles. Now quit avoiding. Tell me what he said.”

Mom was just as anxious as I was. We were both concerned he’d try to challenge me for custody, even if he’d said last night he’d never do that. There was always the possibility he’d change his mind.

“He wants to meet her,” I said, watching through the window as Nash’s truck drove away. It hadn’t been more than a minute before my dad’s car took its place.

Mom came up behind me, peering over my shoulder while we both watched my dad help Avery out of the car. Mom gave my upper arms a firm squeeze. “Do you want us to stay?”

It would be nice having them here for emotional support, but just as I told Nash, I needed to do this on my own. “No,” I replied, turning to face her, letting the sheer curtain panel fall back in place. “You guys have already given up most of your weekend to help me with this mess. You should go home and enjoy the rest of your Sunday.”

The front door flung open and Avery barreled through, still full of energy. Her cheeks were pink. Her hair a mess as usual. She ran straight for me, giving me a big hug.

“Did you have fun at the park?” I asked.

“Yep. Papa said we could get a puppy,” Avery replied, pulling away and heading for my mom to give her the same greeting.

My eyes flicked to my dad as I narrowed them on him. His hands flew in the air in defense. “That is not what I said. She’s twisting my words.”

“Sure she is,” I said, crossing my arms.

Avery had been begging for a puppy since Christmas. Deciding I didn’t have the time, energy, or money for a puppy, I had to break her heart and tell her no. She didn’t give up on the idea easily. It’d been an ongoing battle.

“All I said was that dogs make great playmates. And that, if—and it was a big if—you were okay with it, we could always see what they had at the animal shelter.”

“Dad,” I scolded.

“What?” he asked with feigned innocence. “The girl wants a pet. Would it be so terrible to have a dog around here to keep her busy?”

“Please, momma, please,” Avery begged, running back to me and wrapping her tiny arms around my waist.

“Are you going to be the one to take care of it?” I asked him sarcastically.

“I will!” Avery chimed in excitedly.

Right, I already knew that would never happen. At least, it wouldn’t last for more than a week, and she’d be bored with it. “I’m going to kill you,” I mouthed silently at him over her head.

He chuckled quietly, putting his arm around my mother. She smacked him lightly on the stomach. “Stop getting the poor girl’s hopes up,” she admonished, then clapped her hands together a few times. “Okay, sweet pea. It’s time for Grans and Papa to go. Come give us hugs.”

They each took their turn with Avery before making their way to me. Dad and Avery chatted as Mom pulled me into a tight embrace. “Call me. Let me know how everything goes.”

“I will,” I promised as she pulled away. She cupped my cheek gently before kissing my forehead.

Avery and I both stood on the front porch as we waved them off. After they were out of sight, I took her hand, leading her to the porch swing. “Come sit with me, peanut. We need to talk about something important.”

“Is this about my daddy?” she asked as we both took a seat.

“Uh, yeah,” I faltered. “How did you know that?”

“I heard you and Aunt Olie whispering last night after we saw him in the store.”

“I see.”

“He didn’t recognize me,” she said with a downward stare.

I took her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. “No. He didn’t. But that’s what I want to talk to you about.”

“Was it because I’d grown so much since he last saw me?” she asked before I could say more.

“No, peanut.” I pulled her closer to me as we began to swing, placing one arm around her. “You know when you do something you weren’t supposed to, and you try to hide it from me and keep it a secret because you’re scared of what might happen?”

“Like when I broke your favorite lipstick.” Her big green eyes looked up at me.

I gave her a soft smile and stroked the hair from her face. “Yeah. Kind of like that . . . well, I did something I’m not proud of. And instead of making it right, I hid the truth.”

“What did you do?”

“Well . . .” I sighed. “I never told your daddy about you.”

Her face turned pensive for a moment before she asked, “Why not?”

“I was scared. But that doesn’t make it right. I should’ve told him, and I should’ve told you all this when you first asked about him. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t recognize you.”

She turned her head away, her little legs swung in sync with mine as I pushed the pads of my feet off the porch floor. The chains creaked as the silence loomed.

“Are you going to tell him?” she finally asked after much thought.

“Yes. I did yesterday while you were with Grans and Papa. And he’s very excited to see you again and get to know you. He’d like to come over tonight for dinner. Would that be okay with you?”

I’d told Nash he could, but if I saw any hesitance from Avery, I’d call it all off and deal with his wrath later. No matter what, Avery would always come first for me.

After giving it some more thought, she nodded. “I guess.”

Relieved, I hugged her tighter to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you both before and that you missed out on all this time getting to know your dad. If you have any questions or want to talk about anything, I’m here. Okay?”

She nodded, and we continued to swing for a few more minutes before she asked, “Is he going to live with us now?”

“No, peanut. But he is moving here. He’s going to have his own home. Tucker’s building it for him.”

“But why?”

“Because not all mommies and daddies live together.”

“But why?”

“They just don’t.”

“Do you not love him? Charlotte said her parents got a divorce because they didn’t love each other. And now they live in different houses and she has two bedrooms and Christmases.”

I’d prepared myself for a question like this, but it somehow still threw me off kilter a bit. How did you explain to your six-year-old daughter you got knocked up from a one-night stand with a man you barely knew? As much as I wanted to be honest with her, there were some things she didn’t need to know. At least not now.

“I like your daddy very much. And I think you will too. And I know he’s going to love you with all his heart the same way I do. In fact, he’s going to bring your favorite dinner.”

“But we had pizza last night,” she pointed out. I’d never known this child to argue about having junk food before. Especially not pizza. Maybe things weren’t going as well as I hoped.

“Well, tonight is an extra special night, so you get pizza two nights in a row.”

“Okay.” She did her little shrug. The one where her shoulders nearly reached her ears. It was the one I knew meant she wasn’t quite sure about something but willing to give it a try and go along with whatever I was asking.

“Should we get ready before he comes over?”

Avery bobbed her head as I took her hand to help us both from the swing. She broke free, running ahead of me into the house and toward her bedroom. “I’m going to pick my prettiest dress,” she informed me.

“I’m sure he will love it,” I said with a smile as I searched the house for my phone. I sent Nash a text with the time, then set my phone on the kitchen counter. All things considered, the conversation had gone better than expected. I only hoped that tonight went just as well.