Roping Melanie by Melissa Ellen

6

Nash

I blew it.

There was no way Melanie would want anything to do with me after I inadvertently called her fat and then told her I was glad her kid’s father wasn’t around.

It had all come out so terribly wrong. I acted like an eighteen-year-old kid. My only excuse was I’d been so damn gobsmacked at the sight of her and how beautiful she was, I’d lost my damn mind. And apparently my communication skills.

I hated knowing that cute little girl had a deadbeat dad. But I was relieved Melanie wasn’t married or with the kid’s father. It meant I might have a shot . . . or I would’ve, had I not put my foot in my mouth. Multiple times.

And the little girl, she was something else. It was weird when I saw her. She’d reminded me of Meg at that age. The resemblance was crazy. Impossible. I hadn’t noticed it initially, but as they walked away, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

All night I was kicking myself when I’d returned to my motel room. Why couldn’t I have just shut my damn mouth? And why the hell did I forget to ask for her number? Again.

You’d think the one thing I’d remember was to ask for her number after all the years of regretting not doing it in the first place. Not that she ever really gave me the opportunity either time. She’d snuck out in Vegas and this time she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Not that I could blame her.

Twice in one day, I’d bumped into her. What were the chances?

High, I was learning.

I’d gone to the store to grab a few things to snack on. I’d been looking over the various protein bar options when I caught Melanie breezing by out of the corner of my eye.

I’d followed her to the ice cream aisle. And that’s where it all went south.

The whole encounter had been rolling in my mind over and over as I sat alone in my motel room, trying to focus on tapes of my past rides.

It wasn’t until my phone notified me with an incoming text that I felt like the luckiest bastard in the world. I’d been told time and time again how lucky I was by others. After multiple wins, nearly escaping an angry bull’s swift kicks, even just the other day by Dolores. But never had I felt so lucky as I did right now, reading the text message from Tucker.

Melanie’s number. He’d sent it to me and said she wanted mine.

I fist pumped the air, thanking the good Lord above. I fired off my reply, thanking Tucker also and letting him know I’d text her myself.

Before something catastrophic happened, like me accidentally deleting Tucker’s text, I programed her name and number into my phone. Then I texted her immediately. I waited seven years and wished all night last night for another chance. There was no way I was waiting another second to contact her. Too much could happen in a matter of seconds.

Hey. It’s Nash. Tucker said you asked for my number.

I exhaled the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. When it showed a read receipt, I waited a few minutes with the phone in my hand, expecting to see the little gray dots appear that told me she was writing a response.

They didn’t.

Disappointed, I tossed it to the mattress and ran my hand through my hair. This was why I avoided getting involved in relationships. It distracted me when I couldn’t afford it. Bull riding was the most dangerous sport out there. If your head wasn’t in the game, you could end up seriously injured or worse.

“Focus, man,” I muttered to myself and resumed watching the videos on my laptop of my ride from a few weeks ago. The bull had been tough, and I’d nearly fallen off before the eight second bell. The bulls at the Invitational in Nampa, Idaho would only be tougher. Which meant I needed to make sure my mind was right, and I was doing everything I could to ready myself.

I’d been teasing Rome earlier about being way behind me in the rankings, but the truth was, I was barely ahead of him. He was ranked number three, not far behind number two, Jose Pacheco. And Jose was right on my tail, vying for the number one spot I currently held. If I had more than one unqualified ride at the next event, he’d have a chance to take the lead. If it hadn’t been for closing on the land early Monday morning, I’d be with Rome in Corpus trying to gain more points to widen the spread.

My phone vibrated on the bed. Any willpower I thought I had vanished with that single notification. I snatched up the phone to read her response.

Mel: Hey. Yeah. I was hoping we could talk.

Nash: Now?

Mel: I’m about to head to work.

Nash: Want me to meet you after?

Mel: It’ll be late.

It wasn’t a no, but it wasn’t a yes either. I decided not to give her the opportunity to change her mind.

Nash: I’ll see you after.

I checked the time. It was barely just after twelve in the afternoon. That gave me plenty of time to finish the tapes, workout, and shower before heading out to meet up with Melanie.

Feeling like a weight had lifted, I restarted the video once again.

The parking lot of Dudley’s was still packed, despite last call having been thirty minutes ago. A drastic change from when I’d been here just yesterday. It took me a few minutes to find a space to park, finally finding one near the back of the building. I spotted that same beat-up Mazda, figuring it must be Melanie’s.

I nearly lost my mind waiting for her text to tell me she was done. Sitting alone in my room had only made me more anxious to see her.

I strolled into Dudley’s, keeping my cowboy hat low on my brow as I made my way to the bar. I waited for a spot to clear that I could squeeze in at. I didn’t have to wait long. A couple vacated two stools after paying out their tab. I snatched one up, removing my hat and laying it on the bar while straightening out my hair with my other hand.

A few seconds later Tim came around the corner, carrying a rack of glasses. He did a double take when he saw me.

“Hey, Nash. Have you been here all night?”

“No. I just got here actually.”

“Ah, man. Sorry. We just stopped serving for the night.”

“No problem. I’m here for Melanie, actually. Is she around?”

He set the rack down and glanced over his shoulder, a confused expression on his face. “She’s in the back office, closing out some of the servers for me.”

I nodded. “Okay. I’ll just wait here for her, if that’s cool with you.”

Tim picked up a bar towel, drying his hands as he walked to stand in front of me. He tossed it to the side and leaned his forearms on the rim of the bar. “Look man, I respect you and all, but Melanie is my best employee and a friend. Actually, she’s more like family. You get what I’m saying?”

“Yeah. I get it. You don’t have to worry. I’m not here to mess her around. She asked me to meet her here to talk. That’s it.”

I could tell he wanted to ask why, but he didn’t. Even if he had, I wouldn’t know what to tell him. I was as surprised as he was when she reached out.

Tim knocked his fist on the wooden bar top, straightening upright. “All right. You want a water or something?”

“Nah. I’m good, man. Appreciate it though.”

“I’ll let her know you’re here.”

“Thanks.”

Angling my body slightly, I glanced around the room while I waited. The crowd slowly started to thin with each passing second. A few minutes later, my eyes caught movement from my left peripheral. I turned back to face the bar. The double swinging door fully opened as Melanie walked through. Her hair was swept up on top of her head in a messy bun. A black tee with the name Dudley’s printed on it hugged her breasts and narrow waist, diving into a pair of tight-fitting jeans.

A timid smile slowly spread over her pretty face as her eyes met mine.

One look at her, and I knew I was a goner.