Roping Melanie by Melissa Ellen

15

Melanie

“It’s just a sprain,” Dr. Martinez said. “She’ll need to rest and keep it elevated and iced for fifteen to twenty minutes every couple hours. I’ll give you a note for the school to keep her home the remainder of the day today and tomorrow to make sure she’s not overdoing it.”

“She’ll be able to return to school on Wednesday then?” I asked.

“Well, let’s see how it looks tomorrow. If it’s still swelling and causing her a lot of pain, then no. She’ll need to stay home. But if it’s better, she can go back. We can also get her some crutches to help her move around while staying off of it.”

“Okay. Thank you, Doctor Martinez.”

“No problem.”

“Will I get a cast? Charlotte will be so jealous if I do. I want a pink one.”

Dr. Martinez chuckled. “No cast I’m afraid. But we will be wrapping your ankle with a cool brown bandage.”

Avery’s face fell and her eyebrows furrowed inward with her pout.

“Not as cool, huh?”

Avery shook her head.

“Hmm… you know, I think there are some cool compression socks that one of my nurses just ordered. There may even be a pink one. Let me find out, and we’ll be right back to fix you up. Sound good?”

Avery gave him a single nod and a small smile.

“All right. Give me a minute to check on that,” Dr. Martinez said and then turned back to me. “I’ll send the nurse in to get her bandage on. If you have any additional questions, you know you can always call my cell.”

“Thank you, Josh,” I said with an appreciative smile.

Nash stepped beside me, resting his hand on my lower back. “Yes, thank you, Doctor Martinez. We’ll call you if needed.” It was the first and only thing he’d said to him since he entered the room.

Had I not been overwhelmed with the multitude of tingles that were coursing through me, I might have laughed at how territorial Nash’s small gesture seemed. It was completely unnecessary.

I’d known Josh Martinez most of my life. He’d graduated four years ahead of me and was the valedictorian of his class. He returned to Billingsley to open his pediatric practice a few years ago. He’d always been a nice guy even if a bit of an awkward teen. But he’d aged well, becoming a very handsome man. There was more than one lady in our town that had her eyes on him. I just wasn’t one of them.

Josh’s eyes fell briefly to where Nash had his hand on me before he met him eye to eye. “Great. I apologize as I should've inquired earlier, but are you a family member?”

“That’s my fault,” I piped up. “I should’ve introduced him to you. This is Nash Evans.”

“He’s my daddy!” Avery added helpfully.

My cheeks were on fire. Everything had been happening so fast, I hadn’t exactly thought about how I’d explain Nash to everyone in town. It hadn’t even crossed my mind. But the way things were in Billingsley, soon there wouldn’t be a single person who didn’t know that Nash Evans was the man who had knocked me up all those years ago. Theories and rumors would spread like wildfire if I didn’t set them straight.

Dr. Martinez’s eyes bounced to Avery and then to me. “Oh. I hadn’t realized. I thought he—” He stopped himself short, probably realizing this wasn’t a conversation to be had in front of Avery. “Well, it’s great to meet you, Nash.” Dr. Martinez offered him an open palm.

“Likewise,” Nash said as they shook.

“All right then,” Dr. Martinez said. “I’ll send the nurse in shortly. Take care, Melanie.” He nodded to me. “And you, little one, try to be more careful on those monkey bars.”

Avery grinned up at him. “Okay.”

He gave us a small wave as he exited the room and closed the door behind him. I turned to Nash with a glare, while stepping away to put some space between us. “What was that?”

“What?” Nash crossed his arms at his chest with as smug smirk.

I glanced at Avery who was watching us both. “We’ll talk about this later,” I said, temporarily ending the conversation.

A few minutes later the nurse came in, carting a pink compression sleeve to bandage up Avery’s ankle. The nurse’s eyes traveled and lingered on Nash more than once. Ten times to be exact. Not that I was counting. She spent more time smiling at and focusing on him than she did on Avery. I tried to ignore the real reason it annoyed me.

“How does that feel?” the nurse finally asked Avery as she secured the end of the Velcro on the brace.

“Okay,” Avery replied.

“Are we good to go?” I asked, trying to hide the irritation in my voice behind a forced smile.

“Almost,” the nurse replied, unfazed. “We just need to grab some crutches and get them adjusted to the correct height.”

“Awesome,” I said sarcastically.

Nash cocked an eyebrow at my sudden change in mood. “If you’re in a hurry, I can make the adjustments,” he said to me. “I’ve spent my fair share of time on crutches.”

“Oh?” The nurse asked, despite him having been talking directly to me.

“I’m a professional bull rider,” Nash said in way of explanation.

“Oh, wow,” she said as she lightly touched his arm. “That’s so dangerous.” Her eyes lit up as if that only made her more attracted to him.

He shrugged, crossing his arms as if it was nothing. The move only made his biceps bulge.

“How long have you been doing that?” she asked, her hand still on him.

My irritation skyrocketed and my fists clenched at my sides as ground my molars.

“Most my life,” he replied, discreetly stepping away from her as he shifted closer to me.

“He’s a world champion,” Avery added proudly.

I assumed he’d told her all about his career during their time spent playing basketball last night.

“I’ve always wondered what made a man want to ride a bull,” the nurse said with a flirtatious smile.

“Do you mind getting the crutches,” I interrupted. “I need to get Avery home and settled before I have to go to work.” I gave her a tight smile of my own.

It wasn’t a complete lie. I had plenty of time before I had to go to work, but it didn’t mean I wanted to spend it here, watching Nash and the nurse flirt.

“Oh! Of course. Do you want me to bring them out front for you, while you check out?” she asked Nash.

“That will work,” he replied.

“Okay,” she said as she opened the door to the small room that was feeling more crowded and stuffier than before. “I’ll meet you up front,” she said to Nash.

The moment the door clicked closed behind her, I turned my narrowed eyes to Nash. He gave me the same annoying response as earlier. “What?”

I rolled my eyes and mocked him, “‘I’m a bull rider.’”

He chuckled and shook his head as he moved to stand in front of Avery. “Want a piggy back ride?” he asked her as I gathered my purse from the chair in the corner.

“Yes!” she shouted.

He squatted down, so she could easily climb onto his back. “If you give me your keys, I’ll get Avery settled in the car while you wrap up things at the front desk.”

“Okay,” I said as I dug through my purse for the keys.

Holding Avery’s leg with one arm, he held out his other palm for them. As I placed them in his hand, he wrapped his fingers around mine, holding on tight. “There’s no need to be jealous,” he said in a low, husky voice.

I looked up at Avery. Her chin was resting on his shoulder as she stared back at me with a grin. “I wasn’t,” I lied, trying to hide the effect his hold had on me.

He released me and smirked. “See you at the car.”

“Can we stop for a milkshake at Kathy’s?” Avery asked as I walked toward the car with her crutches in hand. She was already in her car seat. Nash stood outside the car with the door held open.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I replied, stopping in front of them. Nash took the crutches from me and popped my trunk to put them inside. “We need to get you home and start elevating and icing your ankle. You heard what Doctor Martinez said.”

“What if you two headed to the house, and I stopped there and got it to-go?” He closed the trunk and walked back around the car. “I’ve been hearing good things about Kathy’s and could use some lunch myself.”

“I guess that would work,” I agreed. It would definitely save me some time and make things less hectic once we arrived home and got Avery settled before my shift.

“Great. What would you both like?” Nash asked.

“How about I just call it in and let Ms. Debbie know you’re coming? It would be easier that way.”

“Works for me. You can just order me a burger and fries. However it comes.”

“All right,” I said while pulling out my phone. Nash bent down beside the opened passenger door to chat with Avery while I made the call. Much like yesterday, he had her giggling in a matter of seconds.

I walked a few feet away as soon as Ms. Debbie answered my call, turning back to watch as I placed our order.

“Leighton Bradley stopped by to pick up some lunch earlier on her break,” Ms. Debbie said once I’d finished listing everything off. “I heard the poor dear hurt herself at recess this morning.”

“Yes. But she’s fine,” I assured Ms. Debbie. “Just a small sprain is all.”

“No doubt she’ll bounce right back. She’s a tough one, that girl of yours.”

That she was. I was starting to believe she took after her father more than me. Each day he was around that was becoming more and more obvious.

“I’ll have your order ready in about ten minutes,” Ms. Debbie added.

“Thank you. And, oh! I almost forgot. A man named Nash Evans will be picking it up for me.”

“Hmm. This wouldn’t be the handsome cowboy I’ve been hearing about, would it? The one staying at Dolores’s motor lodge?”

“Most likely, yes.”

“A friend of yours?”

“He’s . . .” I paused with my eyes still on him.

There was no sense in hiding the truth. It would be out in the open soon enough and if there was anyone to trust with the facts and setting people straight when rumors started spreading it was Ms. Debbie. She wasn’t one to add to gossip, but owning the most popular diner in town, there wasn’t much she didn’t know. She also wasn’t afraid to speak up if she thought someone was running their mouth when they shouldn’t be.

“He’s Avery’s father. It’s a long story, but he showed up recently having purchased some land outside of town. Tucker Monroe’s building him a house. But before anyone thinks ill of him for not being around, he had no idea about Avery. That’s on me.”

“Say no more, dear. That’s your business and between you and him.”

“Thank you, Ms. Debbie.”

“Give that sweet girl a hug and kiss for me.”

“I will.” I hung up the phone and tucked it in my purse as I walked back over to them.

“All set,” Nash said as he straightened to his full height.

“Yep. It will be ready in about ten minutes. I let her know you’d be picking it up.”

“Good deal. I guess I’ll see you two at the house, then.”

I nodded. Nash turned and bent down to give Avery a kiss on the cheek. “See you in a bit, kiddo.” He closed the door and then looked back at me.

“Look about how I acted in there,” I said, referring to my outburst in the doctor’s office. “I was just—”

“Mel,” he cut me off.

“What?” I asked, trying to fight off the hair blowing around in my face from the light breeze that swept through.

He brushed his fingers over my cheek, tucking the strands behind my ear for me. Another simple touch. Another monumental number of tingles. “We are going to talk about this. But later. When we can have a proper conversation without an audience.”

I nodded.

“I’ll see you at the house,” he said with a few backward steps before turning to leave.