Roping Melanie by Melissa Ellen

17

Melanie

“He calls you Mel,” Olivia said as I snatched her favorite bottle of wine from the cooler and a glass from the shelf.

I rolled my eyes. She would make a big deal out of it. “I know.”

“It’s kind of cute,” she said with a mischievous grin.

“What else did he say?” I poured her a glass of chardonnay and set it in front of her on the bar. She picked it up by the stem.

“He knew you sent me,” she said before taking a sip.

“He’s going to think I don’t trust him.”

“Well, you don’t. It’s why you sent me over there, isn’t it?”

“No!” I practically shouted. “It’s because I know how convincing Avery can be. And she’s already got him wrapped around her little finger. You should see them together. It’s worse than you.”

“I feel like I should take offense to that, but I don’t.” She took another swallow of her wine as I pulled a new drink ticket from the printer. “I thought you were managing tonight, not working the bar.” She leaned her forearms on the edge of the counter as she watched me make another round of drinks.

“I am, but Hank called in sick,” I said, referring to the bartender we’d hired recently as I reached for two bottles of beer from inside the fridge under-the-counter. After opening them, I set them at the end of the bar with the ticket for the server to pick up.

“Well, at least it gives you a chance to make a few extra bucks tonight.”

True. I could definitely use the money with the doctor’s appointment today. Unfortunately, Monday nights weren’t known for being big cash nights. It was usually only a speckling of folks who came in after a hard day of work.

“So what are you going to do about Nash? Has he said anything about custody of Avery?”

“Not really. He says he wants what’s best for her. But I’m not sure what he believes that is.”

“Well the sooner you two have that conversation the better. For all of you.”

She was right. We couldn’t avoid the topic much longer. The stress of wondering was wearing on me. I only hoped it wouldn’t get ugly. Even if I couldn’t afford it, I’d work endlessly to cover attorney costs to fight him for my baby. There was no way I was letting her go.

Olivia had finished the last of her wine as my thoughts wondered.

“Do you want another glass?” I asked as she set the empty one on the bar.

“No. I need to get home. I have an early start at the shop. I’m having a hard time sourcing some of the flowers for Roger and Tina’s wedding next month.”

“Oh, no. Is she going to have to choose something else?”

“Not if I can help it. I have a couple other vendors I can reach out to. Besides, the last thing I want is to not be able to deliver what a bride wants. Especially, Tina. She deserves this wedding to be the one of her dreams. What about you guys? Are you ready for the big event?” Olivia asked.

Roger and Tina had decided to host their wedding reception here at Dudley’s. We were shutting down the place for their special night. Tim was pulling out all the stops to do this place up for it. Roger was one of his best friends. And he’d be one of the groomsmen in the wedding, which meant like Olivia, I’d be working the event.

“Yep,” I replied. “Tim’s been working on it for weeks. You’ll hardly be able to recognize the place when it’s all said and done. He’s even renting special chairs and tables, nearly clearing the place out to do so.”

“I can’t wait. Even if I will be stressed like crazy that week and day.”

I smiled. “You and me both.”

She let out an exhausted sigh as if the thought was enough to make her tired. “Okay.” She stood from her stool. “I’ll see you later?”

I nodded. “I’ll try to stop by the shop later this week. It will all depend on how Avery’s doing.”

“Give her a hug and kiss for me.”

“I will.”

“Later, chick,” she waved just as another drink ticket came through the printer.

I rolled my car into the driveway with the headlights shut off. With Tim’s blessing, I shut down the bar at midnight, since it looked more like a ghost town. Our last customers left a few minutes before that, giving me and our one server working for the night plenty of time to do our closing duties and lock up before one.

The house was dark with the exception of the kitchen light spilling into the entryway. I dropped my keys into my purse and hung it on one of the hooks by the door, then made my way to the kitchen.

Nash was bent over the counter with a pen and paper in front of him where he was scribbling away.

I leaned against the jamb and crossed my arms. “I owe you an apology.”

His head popped up as he looked over at me. He shook it and set the pen down. “I get it. You don’t know me, so how can you trust me? I’m hoping to fix that starting now.”

“It’s not that. I do trust you,” I said as he walked to my fridge and opened the door.

“Either way, it’s time we talk.” He reached inside and grabbed two bottles of beer from the shelf on the door.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Where do we start?”

“First, I think this conversation will go a lot smoother if you know my thoughts as far as custody of Avery,” he said, walking back to the counter where he’d been standing before. “I’ve put it in writing”—he nodded at the piece of paper—“but if you want attorneys present, I’m totally willing to make that happen.”

I walked toward the counter where the paper was. There were paragraphs of writing along with his signature at the end.

“You can read it over now or I can tell you the gist of it.”

I gave him a nod to continue.

“I think it’s best for Avery that you have full custody. I’m on the road too much and a girl needs her mother. Not to mention, she hardly knows me. It wouldn’t make sense to uproot her from the only parent and home she knows.”

Hearing him say the words and willing to put it in writing made the weight lift and tension ease from my tired body.

“All I ask is time with her when I’m in town,” he continued. “As far as overnight stays, I won’t ask for any until she’s more comfortable with me, but I do plan on setting up a bedroom for her at my place. You good with all that?”

I nodded. “I think that’s fair.” It was more than fair, considering he could take me to court and likely win full custody for what I’d done. “Thank you.”

“One more thing, and this part isn’t up for negotiation.”

I raised my brows and crossed my arms, immediately back on edge.

“We need to discuss child support. I’ll be sending you a check each month for you to use however you need.”

“Nash—”

“Nope.” He held up a hand to silence me. “I already said this is non-negotiable. You may not want nor need my money, but she’s my child too, and you’ve spent the last six years providing for her on your own. We can discuss the amount later, but I have my own thoughts on that.”

I lowered my arms and sighed. “Fine.”

He gave me a soft smile. “Now, what do you say we get to know each other?” He raised the beers in his hands. “You up for a little nightcap? I was thinking it might be nice to sit on the back porch with it being a beautiful night.”

“I’d say that sounds great.” I took one of the bottles from him and followed him outside as he led the way, holding the door for me.

He took a seat on the top step, stretching his legs out in front of him. I sat next to him, knees bent and arms wrapped around them as I dangled the beer bottle in front, putting as much space as possible between us on a narrow set of stairs.

“You want to go first or me?” he asked.

“You start.”

“Okay. Let’s see . . .” he murmured, glancing at the stars. “I guess the best place to start is with my family. I have five siblings, all brothers, except for one, which is my twin sister.”

My eyes went wide. “Good lord, that’s a lot of kids. Your poor parents. And a twin sister?”

Nash laughed. “Yeah. You’ll be meeting her soon. She’s coming down here next week with my niece. And as far as my parents, you don’t have to worry about them. They had plenty of free labor from us growing up working on their ranch.”

“And where is this ranch?”

“Wyoming. Just outside of Jackson Hole.”

“Oh wow. I’ve always wanted to see Wyoming. I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”

“It is.”

“Why on earth would you move to Texas?”

Nash shrugged and his eyes met mine. “I’m starting to think it’s where I’ve always belonged.”

The thump in my chest sped up and my skin heated.

Nash cleared his throat and looked away. “I’d love to take Avery there someday. My family is dying to meet her. You could always come too.”

“She would love that.”

“What about you?” He bumped his shoulder with mine, sending me a little off balance. “Any older brothers I should worry about?”

I chuckled. “No. We are the exact opposite. I’m an only child. It’s just me and my parents, who are also dying to meet you after all these years.”

“I’d love to meet them too.”

“I’ll set up a time. Maybe for when you get back unless you want to this week?”

“Whatever works for them, works for me. The only plans I have when I’m here is to spend time getting to know Avery and you.” His gaze came back to me.

I nodded and chewed on my bottom lip.

And you.

“Tell me what it’s like having a twin sister.”

“A pain in the ass,” he teased.

We both laughed, and I shoved at his arm playfully. He snatched my hand holding on to it. Once again my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. He gave it a light squeeze before letting it go.

“I’m kidding. Mostly,” he said. “As kids, I wished she were a boy sometimes, despite me already having four brothers. But now, it’s kind of nice. She’s the best sister a guy could have.”

“So you’re close?”

“Very. It’s going to be hard living away from my family. But I’m used to being gone with all the traveling I do.”

I hummed in response, not sure what to say. I didn’t know what it was like to be close to a sibling. Or be away from home. Other than my trip to Vegas, I didn’t spend much time outside of Billingsley.

“What made you want to be a bull rider?” I asked, changing the subject.

“It’s in my blood I guess. My father and grandfather were both bull riders. I snuck out for my first rodeo without my parents knowing when I was fifteen. I was injured and my dad showed up to the hospital and asked if I got it out of my system. I told him no, that I wanted to be a cowboy.” He smirked to himself as he recalled the memory.

I grinned at him. “A rebel, huh?”

“Maybe a little,” he said and took a drink of his beer.

“Looks like we are opposites with about everything.”

“The saying must be true then.”

“Nash,” I chided, though it was half-hearted.

He put his arm around me and pulled me in for a friendly side hug. “I’m only messing with you.” He released me. “I heard you loud and clear the other night. And after thinking on it, I know you’re right. We shouldn’t complicate things between us.”

“Right,” I agreed, the word leaving a bitter aftertaste on my tongue. He was telling me everything I wanted to hear, but yet . . .