Roping Melanie by Melissa Ellen

14

Nash

Once Avery was finally asleep again, I tiptoed out of her room, closing the door halfway unsure whether she slept with it open or closed. A floor board squeaked as I made my way to the living room.

That little girl was a master negotiator. Not that it took a lot of convincing. I didn’t know how Melanie could ever say no to that face. Admittedly, I also was selfish enough to take advantage of every second I could to spend more time here with her and her mother. I didn’t want to leave any more than she wanted me to.

It’s why when I found Melanie still on the couch with one foot tucked under her leg, a book in her lap and an inviting smile, I was relieved. My chest ached at the mere sight of her. At how natural it seemed to be in their home, spending a casual Sunday with them.

“I wasn’t sure whether to close the door or not, so I just left it cracked.” I pointed my thumb over my shoulder toward Avery’s room.

She smiled wider. “That’s fine. I usually only close it if I’m trying not to wake her.”

I shoved my hands in my pocket. “What do you have there?” I slanted my head at the book in her lap.

“I thought you might want to see her baby book.”

I stared at Melanie, wondering if she even knew how attractive she was. How much I wished things weren’t so tense between us. I wasn’t completely over the fact she’d kept Avery from me, but I could see she was trying to do her best to make amends. If we were going to move forward as Avery’s parents, I’d have to find a way to forgive her.

“Unless you don’t want to,” she said, misinterpreting my silence. “I just thought—”

“I’d love to,” I said, taking the steps to the couch to sit next to her.

She relaxed as I did, and then opened the book, sliding it so it was on both our laps.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve looked at this,” she said.

I stared at her profile with a sudden urge to kiss her. As if sensing it, her eyes flicked up to mine, cutting right through me. And damn if that didn’t make me want to lean in and take her mouth with mine even more.

“Thank you,” I said before I did something I shouldn’t.

“For what?”

“For all this. I think this was the best night I’ve had in a long time.”

She laughed uncomfortably and turned her eyes back to the book. “I doubt that.”

“I’m serious. Most nights I spend alone. It’s nice to be around people who make me feel like family.”

“You are family, Nash.” She flushed as soon as she realized what she said. “I mean Avery’s, obviously,” she added quickly. “So should we start with the ultrasound picture? Or I can show you the little bracelet from her wrist when she was born.” She flipped toward the back of the book where she had various physical items tucked in a pocket.

I hadn’t meant to make her feel uncomfortable with my comment. But before I could explain, my eyes caught on a familiar looking card with the Vegas hotel logo I stayed in every year.

The hotel room key from our night together.

I picked it up, staring at it as I rubbed the pad of my thumb over the logo.

I tried not to read too much into it. But she’d taken it and kept it for months before she even knew she was pregnant. She’d wanted something to remember our night by. The same way I had.

She had no idea I still remembered what she wore that first night we met. That I remembered the smell of her perfume. The same scent she wore tonight. She didn’t know I’d spent the last seven years wishing we’d had more time together. Or that I’d kicked myself more times than I could count for not getting her number.

“Oh my gosh. I forgot that was even in there,” she said even more flustered now. Her face turned ten shades of red.

Without a single thought, I cupped the back of her head and pressed my lips to hers. I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I didn’t care. At her slight gasp at my invasion, I slipped my tongue into her mouth, desperate to taste more of her once again. Her hands clung to my biceps, pushing lightly, then pulling me closer as if she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She kissed me back, meeting me with the same fervor. Her kiss only drove me madder with lust until she pulled away completely.

“We shouldn’t do this,” she said short of breath. “It will just complicate things.”

“Or it could make things that much easier,” I countered.

There was a struggle in her eyes as she weighed my argument. She wanted this as much as I did. Neither of us were wrong. This would go one of two ways if we decided to cross the line.

“Momma?” Avery’s voice called out.

Both of our gazes flew to the hallway as we put some space between us, sliding to opposite ends of the couch like teenagers who were busted.

The sound of our daughter calling for her mother put things in perspective. There was too much at risk. I needed to get my head out of the clouds and keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.

“I should check on her,” Melanie said when Avery hadn’t made an appearance.

I nodded, sitting back as Melanie stood and hurried out of the room.

“Damn,” I muttered to myself, rubbing my palms over my face. I needed to leave before things got out of hand. I raised to my feet and headed for the door. I reached for my hat, snatching it from the hook.

“You’re leaving?” Melanie’s voice had me spinning to face her. She stood in the hallway with her arms crossed protectively over her stomach.

“I think that’s best, don’t you?”

She nodded, but there was a reluctance in her expression. “Do you want to take her baby book with you?”

“How about you keep it and you can show it to me next time.”

“When is that?”

“I was supposed to leave town tomorrow afternoon to head to Nampa, Idaho.”

“Supposed to?”

“Yeah. Well . . .” I played with the ridge of my hat worried after what just happened she’d think twice about having me over again. “If it’s okay with you, I was thinking about sticking around a little longer,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe spend some more time with Avery before I left. I don’t have to be there until the end of the week.”

I’d have to change my hotel reservations and book a flight to make it all work, but it was worth it to have more time with Avery.

“Of course it is, but we’ll have to figure out a good time. I’ll be working in the evenings and my mom usually keeps her until I get off.”

“Maybe I can stay with her while you work then?”

She hesitated briefly. “I guess that would be okay. She has school, though,” she reminded me with a slight warning in her tone. It’s what I learned tonight was her mom voice. My mom and sister had a similar tone they’d take when needed.

“I get it. I’ll make sure she’s in bed on time.”

“Okay. I’ll let my mom and Avery know.”

“What time do you go into work?”

“Around four thirty. I pick Avery up from school before. Can you be here by four?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Okay, then.” She uncrossed her arms, lowering them to her sides. “We’ll see you then.”

I nodded, then turned and reached for the door knob. I opened the front door before facing her again. “Night, Mel.”

“Night, Nash.”

“How’d it go?”

“She’s amazing, Meg. I can’t wait for you and Sam to meet her,” I said as I walked out of the title company’s office Monday morning. As excited as I was to have finally closed on the land, I was more excited to talk about Avery with my sister. It was the first call I made as soon as the papers were signed.

“I can’t wait either, and Sam is beyond thrilled.”

I went on to tell her all about playing horse, giving her every detail of our conversations and night together.

“She sounds like a riot and like she and Sam will get along great.”

“They will. And I think you and Mel will too.”

“Oh? Is there something happening between you two?”

“No.”

“It sounds like there is.”

“How did you get that out of no?”

“Because I know you. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I kissed her, but that’s it. She stopped it. Nothing else is going to happen. What does Alec say about you two coming down here?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Oh no you don’t. You can’t just say you kissed her and then expect me to drop it.”

“I just did because there’s nothing else to say. We decided it was best not to complicate things. Now answer my question.”

“Fine.” She heaved a sigh through the phone. “But we are talking more about this in Nampa.”

I figured as much.

“He thinks it will be a good thing for all of us,” she finally answered my question.

Sure he did. It meant he wouldn’t have to make excuses for his whereabouts. I’d already made a call to a few of my brothers back home. We all suspected the same thing: Alec was cheating. There’d been whispers going around town, but nobody could confirm it for sure and wouldn’t give them a name of who he was running around with. Until any of us had solid proof, there was no point in saying anything to Meg though.

“When are you getting into Nampa?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t before I arrived.

“Friday afternoon. It’s Sam’s last day of school. I’ll be picking her up from there and heading straight to the airport. I wanted to make sure we were there in time for your first ride of the weekend.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure the tickets and passes are at will-call for you.”

“Sounds good. I’ll text you as soon as we land.”

My phone beeped with an incoming call. I pulled it from my ear, seeing Mel’s name. “Melanie’s calling.”

“Then you should take it,” Meg said. “I can talk to you later. Love ya.”

“Love you too,” I said before quickly clicking over to answer Melanie’s call. “Hey.”

“First off, before you start to panic, I want you to know she’s okay,” she said as soon as I answered the phone.

“Is that somehow supposed to make me feel better?”

I was definitely panicking now.

“Nash, just listen,” she said calmly. “The school called and said Avery fell off the monkey bars during recess. She landed wrong, and she’s having trouble walking. They think it’s just a sprain. I’m on my way to get her and take her to the doctor.”

“I’m coming with you. Text me the address to the doctor. I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay.”

“And, Mel.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for telling me.” I ended the call before she could say another word, sprinting for my truck. As I climbed in the phone notified me of a new text from Melanie with the address. I didn’t waste any time plugging it into my GPS.

Being a bull rider, I’d had more injuries than I could count, some nearly life-threatening. But none were as scary as thinking about my little girl hurting.