by Sydney Logan
“Mom, hush. I’m begging you.”
The room grew quiet. Melody closed her eyes.
“I think she’s going to be fine,” Brody said softly. “Want to try to sit up?”
She didn’t, but she was tired of being stared at like a prize heifer at the county fair.
Melody laughed. Prize heifer? I’ve really got to get back to Manhattan.
“Well, she’s laughing. That’s a good sign,” Troy said.
Very slowly, Melody pulled herself up on the couch. She reached for the chair arm for support, but she found Brody’s hand instead.
“Dizzy?” he asked.
“A little.”
Sharon dashed out of the room and returned with a glass of juice.
“Drink this,” she said.
Melody did as she was told.
“I passed out,” she said tiredly. “I’m gonna be the worst mother ever.”
The room fell quiet.
The lawyer was the first to break the silence. “Does that mean—”
“Are you sure, Sweet Pea?”
Melody glanced at Brody. He said nothing, and she was grateful. Like she needed more pressure.
“I don’t know. I mean, can I do this?”
Sharon smiled softly. “Of course you can.”
“But be sure, Mel. This is a huge commitment,” her dad said.
Brody still remained silent.
“What about you, Doc? Can I do this?”
“Yes,” Brody replied. “But I think you’ll need help.”
She appreciated the honesty. He was right. She’d need help. Lots of it.
“I can hire a nanny when I get back to Manhattan. People do that, right?”
Sharon tried to hide her disappointment, but Melody saw it flash across her mom’s face.
“What did you think, Mom? That you’d move in with me?”
“Actually, I was hoping you’d come home. For a while. Just until you felt confident on your own.”
“I thought you guys were done raising babies?”
“We are. You would raise her,” John said. “But we’re more than willing to help, Mel. With whatever you need.”
“Besides, Brody’s her pediatrician,” Sharon reminded her.
“There are pediatricians in the city, too.”
“But . . .”
“Sharon,” her dad said calmly, “don’t pressure the girl. This has to be her choice. All of it. I think Melody knows that she always has a home here and that we’ll do everything we can to help her. But this has to be her decision.”
Sharon sniffled quietly and took the empty glass back to the kitchen. John and Troy exchanged looks before following her, leaving Melody and Brody alone.
“Want me to go?”
“Are you gonna give me a guilt trip, too?”
Brody sat down next to her.
“No. Your mom’s doing a fine job.”
“She’s definitely a pro.”
Melody couldn’t believe it. She’d just made the decision to become a mother. Kind of. She was certainly leaning in that direction, anyway. But now her mom wanted her to leave New York and move back home? Where did that come from?
“Don’t be too upset with her, Mel. She means well.”
“She just wants a grandbaby.”
His eyes filled with emotion.
“I’m . . . sorry, Brody.”
“Don’t be. But I can’t lie. Seeing you with a baby in your arms was . . . very overwhelming. Especially when she looks so much like you.”
“She does, right?”
He nodded.
“Even if I agree to be her guardian, I never imagined uprooting my life and moving back to Meadow Creek.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know, but they have a point. I will need help. I can’t do this by myself. I have absolutely no idea what to feed her or how to change her or—”
“You’ll figure all that out. Single mothers do it all the time. But it will be hard. Your world will completely change. I don’t know much about your life in Manhattan, but I imagine you’re used to doing what you want, when you want. You’ve been on your own for a long time. This isn’t like having a roommate. This is a child who will need your constant attention. Music can no longer be the most important thing in your life. You need to be sure that’s what you want.”
“This is so unfair. Why me?” Melody closed her eyes and exhaled an exasperated sigh. “I know. I’m the most selfish person on the planet.”
“Come on, Mel. The fact you’re even considering it proves that you’re not. It’s a monumental decision. Of course you’re going to have doubts. My advice?”
“Please.”
“Don’t decide today. Take a little time to really decide if this is what you want.”
“Macy needs a home.”
“But you can’t give her one. Not today. There are legalities to consider. Papers to sign. Apartments to baby-proof. You couldn’t take her home today if you wanted to. So, give yourself a few days to consider if this is really what you want. And don’t try to make the decision when you’re holding her.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t make a rational decision when a baby’s in your arms. She’ll smell like heaven and rest her curly head on your chest, and you’ll be a goner. It’s pure coercion.”
Melody grinned.
“Thank you, Brody.”
“For what?”
“For the advice. For being here.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled before looking down at his watch. “I’d better get going. Cathy will have my head if I’m late for my afternoon appointments.”
Melody laughed. “Nurse Cathy? She hasn’t retired yet?”
“Not a chance. And I’m glad. I couldn’t make it without her.”
“Tell her I said hi. I mean, she may not remem—”
“She remembers you, Green Eyes. You’re not that easily forgotten.”
Melody felt her face heat with the sweetness of his words.
Brody cleared his throat and climbed to his feet.
“Anyway,” he said, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a card. “Here’s my number. Call me if you need anything or have any questions about Macy.”
“I will. Thanks.”
And with that, he was gone.
Chapter 6
“Dr. Brody, you’re in a mood today.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Whatever you say.” The nurse placed a patient’s file on the counter. “You were right about Grainger Hamlin. Positive for strep.”
Brody scanned the test results. “Man, that’s the third case today.”
“Germs love kids.”
“Don’t I know it,” he grumbled, reaching into his pocket for his prescription pad. “Does Grainger have any allergies?”
Cathy nodded. “Penicillin.”
Brody wrote out the script for azithromycin and handed it to his nurse.
“Call that in, please. I’ll go tell Grainger the good news.”
“He’s not gonna be happy. The boy’s got a soccer game this afternoon.”
“Not with that fever he doesn’t. It’s a good lesson for a young man.”
“What lesson’s that?”
“Life’s full of disappointments.”
Cathy smirked. “Okay . . . did Duke lose a game or something? Because you are particularly cranky today.”
“It’s May. Basketball season’s over, and I’m not cranky.”
Brody could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t believe a word coming out of his lying mouth.
He never could fool her.
Cathy was more than just his head nurse. When Dr. Rowland handed his practice over to Brody, he’d given only two pieces of advice to the new doctor—love your patients and keep Cathy Jenkins on the payroll.
Truthfully, Brody hadn’t even considered letting her go. She’d been a nurse at the clinic since Brody had been in diapers
. Cathy was a wealth of knowledge when it came to patient history and ran the place like a Swiss watch. Brody might be the pediatrician, but everyone in town knew who the real boss was, and it wasn’t the guy with the medical degree.
“Well, Dr. Sunshine, go tell the kid he’s missing his game. After that, you’re done for the day.”
Thank God.
It wasn’t that Brody didn’t love his job. Nothing made him happier than healing the sick kids of Meadow Creek, but today, he just had too much on his mind. He couldn’t focus on anything except for the fact that the love of his life was back in town, and he had no idea how he felt about it.
That was a lie, too. Brody knew exactly how he felt about it.
God knows he’d tried to ignore her. He’d actually convinced himself that going to Trish’s funeral was the right thing to do. He was Macy’s pediatrician, after all. It was absolutely appropriate, if not expected, for him to make an appearance and pay his respects.
That’s how he’d justified it in his head, anyway.
But if he’d been honest with himself, Brody would’ve admitted that he was at that funeral for one reason and one reason only.
To get a glimpse of the girl who had broken his heart.
How was it possible that she was even more beautiful than he remembered?
Ten years had passed, and still, his heart nearly exploded when he saw Melody sitting in that chapel. After their awkward encounter in the garden, he told himself that he’d never have to see her again.
Then her mom invited him for breakfast, and he couldn’t say no.
Then his mom sent him over with a coconut pie, and he couldn’t say no to her, either.
Brody was starting to think their mothers were conspiring against them.
He wasn’t crazy. He knew their ship had sailed. Melody made her choice a long time ago. Needing a fresh start of his own, he’d enrolled at the University of Kentucky. For a while, he considered becoming a vet. It made sense, considering he grew up on a farm, but then he volunteered at the local children’s hospital, and that’s when he fell in love with the idea of becoming a pediatrician.
Besides, if he was never going to have kids of his own, pediatrics was the next best thing.
Between his clinicals, his residency, and his new practice, Brody thought he’d seen almost everything. But nothing could’ve prepared him for today—when he walked into the Mitchell’s living room and found Melody with that baby in her arms.
His heart physically hurt from the sight of it.
The image of the two of them together had haunted him all afternoon, causing him to be short tempered with his staff and unfocused with his patients.
Brody knew he had to get it together.
After breaking the bad news to the soccer player, Brody checked in with Cathy one last time before heading home for the night. As he made his way down the two-lane road, he found himself driving toward her parents’ house.
After all these years, Melody Mitchell was still like a magnet to his heart.
At the end of the driveway, Brody put the truck in park and stared at the house. As his headlights glistened in the twilight, he tried to come up with an excuse.
The explanation would be easy enough.
He just wanted to check on her. Make sure she felt okay after her fainting spell. See if she had any questions about Macy.
Totally plausible.
And totally stupid.
With a tired sigh, Brody shifted the truck into reverse and headed home.
* * *
Lightning flickered through his window as the heavy rain pelted his roof, but it wasn’t the storm that was keeping Brody awake.
It was her. Always her.
Melody always hated storms. A tornado ripped through Meadow Creek when they were kids. It was a small one and didn’t do much damage, but from that moment on, Melody had been deathly afraid of storms. Even a gentle rain would make her nervous.
Needing a distraction, Brody sat up in bed and reached for the remote. He flipped through the channels, but the infomercials and overnight news weren’t interesting enough to take his mind off Melody. And Macy.
Would Melody take the baby?
He knew it wasn’t any of his business, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Melody was thinking. If she was the same girl he knew all those years ago, he’d bet that she made a list. She’d always been a list maker. Making lists and writing songs. That was Melody Mitchell.
And writing love letters.
Brody glanced toward his closet. On the top shelf lived an old shoebox, full of photographs and love notes. They’d started writing notes when they were eight years old, and Brody had kept every single one of them. Melody kept hers, too. Or she had. Brody couldn’t help but wonder if Melody’s own shoebox had made the trip to Manhattan, or if she’d tossed them away, just as easily as she’d tossed him.
Before those bitter memories could take hold, he threw back the blanket and switched on the bedroom light. The shoebox was buried deep behind his winter clothes, but he finally found it and carried it over to the bed. For the next hour, Brody let himself drown in the sweet, innocent memories. He was so consumed in the old pictures and letters that he almost missed the alert on his phone.
“Please don’t be a car accident,” he whispered as he reached for the phone on his nightstand. But it wasn’t an emergency. It was a text . . . from Melody.
Are you awake?
Brody smirked and typed out his reply.
Still afraid of storms?
You know me so well.
Brody sighed. After a few minutes, he replied.
Need to talk? I could call.
I’m here.
Brody frowned.
Where?
Sitting on your porch.
Brody jumped out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. After grabbing the closest shirt he could find, he raced out of the bedroom until he reached the living room window.
Sure enough, Melody was sitting on his porch.
Crazy girl.
With a tired sigh, Brody opened the door.
“Are you trying to get electrocuted?”
Melody grinned. “It’s not that bad.”
Just then, lightning crackled, illuminating the front yard. Melody was off the steps and by his side in a flash.
“Okay, maybe it is. Can I come in?”
He thought about saying no. That would have been the smart thing to do.
But he’d never been smart when it came to Melody Mitchell.
“I can’t believe you’re out in this storm,” Brody said, waving her inside.
“It’s not that bad.” Melody shrugged and looked around the living room. “This is nice, Brody. Warm and cozy.”
“You mean small.”
“I mean warm and cozy. I like it.”
“Thanks. Make yourself at home.”
Melody slipped off her wet shoes before walking into the living room. Curling her feet beneath her, she made herself comfortable on the couch. Brody sat down beside her.
“Seriously, Mel. You could’ve just called.”
“I could have.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Maybe I wanted to see your house.”
“I bet my entire house could fit in your apartment.”
“You’d lose that bet. Apartments in Manhattan are pretty small.”
“Still. I bet yours is bigger than most.”
Melody’s eyes sparkled, and he knew he was right.
“It has a recording studio,” she said with a grin.
Brody chuckled. “That’s great, Mel. Really.”
With a sigh, she leaned back and closed her eyes.
“My apartment’s not very baby friendly, I’m afraid.”
“I guess you’ve made a decision then.”
“I think so. I haven’t told anyone officially, but yeah. I think so.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Melody frowned. “Is it? I’m not so sure. There are a lo
t of legalities to work out, even with Trish’s will. It’s not like I can just pack her up and take her home tomorrow.”
“Home to Manhattan, you mean?”
Melody nodded.
“You don’t want to stay with your folks a while? Just until you figure things out?”
She sighed. “I really don’t want to uproot my life. So much is going to change as it is. I’ll have to scale back my hours at the office. Baby proof my apartment. Set up a nursery. Find a nanny. My assistant—her name’s Claire—she just had a baby. I’m hoping she can help me.”
“I’m sure she can.”
Melody laughed. “My other friends would be clueless.”
“None of your friends have kids?”
“Just Claire.”
“Wow.”
“To be fair, I don’t have a lot of friends,” she said. “I bury myself in my work. If it wasn’t for the No Brides Club, I’d probably never leave the studio.”
Brody was intrigued. “The No Brides Club?”
Melody laughed. “My five best friends and I get together every Thursday night. We call ourselves the No Brides Club.”
“Because none of you are married?”
“Because none of us want to be.”
He frowned.
“None of you want to get married? Ever?”
“Nope. Although, Kinsley just got engaged, so who knows. We may have to rebrand ourselves if she decides to make bridesmaids out of us.”
Brody didn’t plan on getting married, either. He found it ironic, considering the reason for his marriage ban was sitting right there in his living room.
“I understand.”
“Really? Because most guys don’t.”
“No, I get it. I don’t want to get married, either.”
Melody grew quiet. “That’s my fault, isn’t it?”
He chose his words carefully.
“Let’s just say . . . I’ve only wanted to marry one girl. And, since that’s no longer an option, then I’m no longer interested in the institution of marriage.”
“But you’ve dated.”
“Not lately. I work a lot, just like you. But sure, I’ve dated.”
“You didn’t love any of them?”
“Nope.”
“What about kids?”
“I have kids. I have hundreds of them.”
Melody gazed at him. “You always wanted to get married. You always wanted kids.”
