Melody didn’t say anything as her mother was taken away. Gannon watched as Daniel went to speak to Mel as he moved them into the living room. Gannon looked at Demi when she said his name.
“I have a favor to ask of you.” He told her anything. “Thank you for trusting me not to fuck you over. I’d like for Mr. Austin to stay with the two of you for a few days. He needs family around him for a while. I know you were planning on having them both stay here, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem for him to be here without her.”
“No. He can stay for as long as he wants.” Gannon looked toward the library, then back at Demi. “He’s a good man then? The reason that I’m asking is, I don’t want those kids hurt any more than they already have been.”
“He’s a very good man. When he found out about what was going on, he did go to his boss, and then he had a meeting with me yesterday when I found out that he was coming here. He knew this was going to happen, and he gladly turned over all the paperwork he’d found on his wife. She fucked him over royally.” Gannon asked about the kids and the use of their socials. “I’m working on that. When she’s convicted, and she will be, the courts will make sure that things are taken care of quicker than I can. He came here because I told him to. The man never once told me to make sure that his wife got a good deal out of this. He was hurting as badly as anyone could have been after being fucked over by someone that they loved.”
Gannon didn’t know where to go when Demi and the rest left. His mom and dad stayed, helping the kids get their grandpa’s things gathered up and taken to his room. Sam looked broken like he’d aged ten years in the last few minutes. Gannon’s heart broke for him as he walked up the stairs with his grandchildren all around him.
“Gannon?” He turned to see Daniel standing just inside the doorway. “I’d like to have a word with you, please. Mel and I want to talk to you. If you have time.”
“I always have time for you two.” He walked into the living room and could see that Melody had been crying. He didn’t blame her. He might well have too if he’d just been through what she had. “What’s going on? If you’re going to ask me to bail out Mrs. Austin, I’m going to have to have a good reason for it before I do that.”
“No. We don’t want that either. No, nothing like that. This is more of a business matter. Mel and I have been talking off and on for a few days now. Mostly—never mind. We would both like to stay here. I know that you have this house for you and Mel, but the home that I’m living in, it’s only a rental until we finish the job. I’d like to—”
“I’m sorry, but I thought you understood that the home was yours until you didn’t want to live here any longer. The house, the car, and whatever else you were given when you came here is yours to keep.” Daniel said that he didn’t know if he could afford that. “Afford what, Daniel? You’re my brother-in-law. Or in theory, you are, until Melody wants to marry me. But Melody and I are working through things, and as her brother, you’re my family too. Those kids, they’re already calling my parents Grandma and Grandpa. Your family is right here, with all of us.”
“This project that we’re working on, it’s not going to last forever.” He asked him to give him a moment. Going to his office, he picked up the paperwork that he’d gotten from Lucian just last night. He handed it to Daniel. “What’s all this?”
“More school projects. All over the country. There are also requests in there for you to work on government buildings to make them safer. People want your designs on all sorts of buildings. And they’re begging for Melody to come to their places as well to see what sort of security issues she can find and fix them for them. I’m to understand that you don’t have to be on-site for you to work?” Daniel said that was right as he looked over the paperwork. “Demi and I have been scoping out buildings for you to use here so that you can be home when you’re finished for the day, and not having to juggle a workspace as well as a home life in the same place. Melody already has the same thing behind the house here. We’ve yet to go out and look at it, but I’m sure that it’s up to date and ready for her to work. If she wants to.”
“And if you and I can’t work this out, what do you do to him then? Or any of us, for that matter.” He looked at Melody, hurt not just by her words but the tone too. “Will you throw us to the side and move on to someone else that needs help?”
“I’m sorry that you feel that way, Melody. I have been working hard to show you that I’m not like other men. Especially not like the bear that hurt you. But from what you’re saying, it’s done me no good.” She started to speak, but he wasn’t ready to listen to more of what she had to say. “You have this job, both of you, because you’re very good at what you do. I would have offered you the moon even had you been not related to me in any form. Anything to make it so that children can go to school and feel safe.” He looked at Melody. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think this is going to work out between us. The house is yours. I’ll go to the bank tomorrow. Whatever is in it, it’s yours as well. But I can’t allow you to lump me in with other people who have hurt you when I’ve done nothing wrong, only to be a bear who also happens to be your mate.”
Gannon blindly left the house. He didn’t even bother stripping down, but let his bear take him when he was far enough away so that no one would see him shift. Taking off toward the woods behind Lucian’s home, he let his bear take the lead. Whatever happened to either of them right now, he just didn’t care.
Gannon had fallen in love with his mate. Her tenderness, her excitement over the new project she was working on, he’d fallen in love with that woman. The woman he’d just left would have a painful reminder of her past in him, and he should have known that it would never work out between them.
Where are you, Gannon? I’m at your house. He told Madden to leave him alone. I can’t. Vicky Austin has been arrested, and she’s out on bail. I just found out about it. She’s headed in this direction. Your mate is who she is after.
I don’t have a mate, Madden. She’s shut me out. Madden asked him what he was talking about. She doesn’t trust me, and she won’t. I have nothing more to offer her. Everything that I’ve tried, she’s thrown it back in my face. I’m sorry, but I’m going to go away for a while. Don’t contact me again. Please.
What about your mate? Because no matter what you say, she is still your mate. Gannon told him that he thought that Melody could take on Vicky and come out on top. And if she doesn’t? What are you going to do then? What if she’s killed over this?
Then I will join her in death. Leave me alone. I beg of you.
Gannon ran until he couldn’t run anymore. He ended up near the hills that butted up against the houses that they all had purchased. Finding himself a nice spot, Gannon laid down and let his hurt, pain, and sorrow wash over him.
~*~
“What did you just do?” Melody told her brother to leave her alone. “No, I won’t leave you alone. I think that’s been your problem all along. If you don’t want to face something, you go off someplace alone and let it fester in you. You just hurt the best man I’ve ever met. And what does he do that I wouldn’t have? He gives you everything that he has without a second thought. I would have smacked you upside the head and asked you what the fuck was wrong with you. In fact, I feel like I should do that anyway. Just to see what the fuck you were thinking when you said that to him.”
“Leave it alone. It’s not your concern.” He told her that she was his concern. “Not anymore, Daniel. I absolve you of having to be the caretaker where I’m concerned. He was never going to love me, anyway.”
“He already does, you moron.” Melody looked at her brother when he spoke. “He looks at you like you’re the best thing to have ever happened to him. He’s been about the nicest person to you that you could have ever hoped for. He’s given you time to come to terms with what he is to you. And what do you do to that love? You toss it back into his face like it meant shit to you
. My God, Mel. What the hell is wrong with you? Do you want to spend the rest of your life pushing people away? You do that to me too. But this man, Gannon, loved you despite you being a royal bitch.”
“He’s a bear. Don’t you fucking get that? He could hurt me.” Daniel just shook his head at her. “What? You don’t think that he could hurt me as his bear? You think that he couldn’t just have a bad day and take it out on me? He could kill me.”
“Yes, he could—could being the word you should think about. I want you to think about what you just said to him. Something so hurtful that I couldn’t believe that it came from your mouth. What did he do, Mel? How did he take it out on you? Let me think.” He pretended to be thinking. “Oh, that’s right. He gave you his home, money, and his love. My goodness, how will you ever forgive him for being such a monster to you by shifting into his bear and tearing you apart? You know why you don’t have to think about that? I’ll tell you because he did none of those things. He walked away, and you are better off than you’ve ever been. Christ. And here all along I thought you were the smart one between us. You’re no different than Mom is right now. A bitch that doesn’t deserve to be around people who love you.”
“Don’t compare me to her.” He asked her if she could point out one difference between what Mom and she had done. “I didn’t steal his money, did I? I didn’t ask for this house, nor the other things he said.”
“No, because you didn’t have to. Because Gannon McCray is a good man with a huge heart that you broke. No, you didn’t steal his money, Mel. You took something from him that means so much more than money. You took his heart and his trust, and stomped them into the ground right in front of him.” Daniel picked up the paperwork and looked at it before looking at her. “I’m taking this job and this opportunity. You can move back to your little apartment and do your thing out there if you want to. But I like this family, and I like Gannon. My kids do too. Mel, I can’t believe that I’m going to say this to you, but I don’t much care for you right now. So before I say something that I might regret, I’m going to take my children, who have been hurt enough too and go home. Dinner plans tonight with you are officially canceled. I can’t be around you right now.”
“You’re taking his side.” Daniel looked at her, and she could see the pain there on his face. “Don’t do this, Daniel. Please? You’re my family. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I am taking his side on this. I will, too, until you get your head out of your ass and see what you’ve done. Not just to you—no, not you alone in all this—but to all of us. Because as surely as I’m standing here, I’m betting that before the end of the day, not only will you have your name on everything that he gave you, but he’ll be leaving too. And sadly, I’m betting that he won’t return. Not even for the sake of his family. Much less, you.”
Daniel yelled for his kids. No matter how much she tried to get him to talk to her, Daniel ignored her. When the kids came down the stairs, they had Dad with them. Apparently, he was going to stay with Daniel for a while, just to be around family.
“Will you tell Gannon that I just need the kids around me?” Melody didn’t know what to say to her father, so she said nothing. “I’ll be back. He’s a generous man, that one. I’m glad to see you getting happily settled with someone like that. He’s just what I would have chosen for you had I been able.”
Daniel snorted but didn’t say anything. When they left, she saw Madden standing just inside the library door. He’d been there a while too, she thought. Asking him what he wanted, he just laughed.
“I heard the two of you. I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I couldn’t help but hear.” He stood up, and she made herself stand her ground. “You’re a peach, aren’t you? Anyway, I came here to tell you that Vicky is on her way here. She should be here within the next couple of hours or so. I spoke to Gannon, and he told me that he thought you could take her on. After hearing what I did, I guess he was correct.” Melody said she didn’t know what to do. “I don’t either, honestly. But your brother was right. Gannon is gone. I don’t think he’s left the area yet, but he will. And he won’t return. Not at all. And when I asked him what he would do when you were killed if you weren’t able to take on Vicky, he said that he was going to die as well. You did that to him.”
“I told him that I was afraid of him and what he was from the very start. None of this is my fault.” He told her to go on thinking that. “Doesn’t anyone see that I’m dealing with a lot of shit here? I’m not the bad guy in this. Neither is Gannon, but I didn’t ask for this.”
“No, you didn’t. But you got it, and you frittered it away, didn’t you?” He moved toward the door but turned back to her. “I’ll let the rest of them know that Vicky is coming and that Gannon is gone. If they ask me why he’s not here making sure you’re safe, I’ll refer them to you. I’m sure that my family will be thrilled to death to know that you couldn’t handle the nicest man in the world loving you.”
After he left her, she sat down on the floor. She couldn’t get anyone to understand that she was hurt too, that a man had taken everything from her. Sure, Gannon had given her much more than she’d lost, but he didn’t understand.
When the front door opened and closed, she didn’t bother even to look up. But when someone sat down in front of her, saying nothing, she knew that it was Gannon’s mom. Cindy started speaking before she could tell her that she’d had enough of being yelled at for one day.
“No one knows this but me and Gannon. I’m only telling you this now so that you can understand that you’re not the only person that was hurt by someone else.” She told her that a bear, like she was, had hurt her, both physically and mentally. “Yes, well, a human girl is who hurt my Gannon. He was seventeen then, already dating more than his brothers were. Not a womanizer, not Gannon, but because women liked him, he was a date that wasn’t a date. A man that they could go to functions with have a good time and have no trouble leaving him at the door. Gannon enjoyed that, for a time. Then a woman came around that told him all kinds of things that he, being a good man, believed.”
“I didn’t lie to him.” Cindy looked at her and told her that she’d not, but she had no less hurt him. “It’s not fair that I’m being ganged up on. By all of you.”
“I’m not ganging up on you, Mel. I’m simply telling you how my son won’t come back here. He’s going to leave us all. And it will be all your fault. Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but I want you to shut your trap and listen to me tell you something. Got it?” Melody nodded. “Good. I’m not a person that tells secrets out of turn, but with you, I think that I need to. Then I’m going to help you pack up what little you had before coming here and help you on your way. Either you go nicely without me shifting and running you off or not. Really, I don’t care. But back to Gannon. A woman told him that she was a prisoner in her own home. Her parents, she told him, had locked her in a cage nightly, and she was starved most of the time. She did look gaunt to me. But then I’m a bear too, and I love food. But he believed her. When she disappeared for several days, he went there to break her out. Lucky for him, he’d told me what his plans were, to break her out of the chains, then bring her home to mend. I believed the woman as well. I had no earthly reason not to believe her, to be honest. So we went there with the full intentions of doing just that, helping a woman out. Now, you ask yourself, how is this relatable to you? Gannon loved her. Very much so. He told me that he didn’t think he’d ever find a mate or anyone that he loved as much as he did her. Just as he loves you, and that, I will tell you, will never change. Not from now until he breathes in his last breath.”
“I don’t love him.” Cindy just glared at her. “Well, I don’t. He’s good to me, I guess. Kind too. He— He’s just too good for me. I just realized that I’m not good enough to be in the same room as him. I hurt him too.”
“I believe that, as well. Especially after I heard from my son just a bit ago, he’s leaving us,
all of us, and asked for us to make sure that you were safe and that Vicky didn’t harm you. Gannon also said that he was going to change the house and all his worldly goods over to you. I don’t believe for a second that you asked for that, but he’ll be doing it. Because, as I said, he loves you.” Melody told her that she didn’t want it, none of it. “Well, be that as it may, they will be yours. Back to the woman. She used him, you see. To get herself out of a marriage that was stifling her, she told us. She wasn’t a teenager, as she’d told us, but a woman on the verge of thirty something. Her chains, as she called them, were of her own making. Her stepping out on her husband made him find a bodyguard that would report back to him. So when we showed up that night, ready to do battle, the husband was right there waiting on us.”
“His wife told him? Why? So Gannon would get killed?” Cindy said that she’d told the man what was going on before they arrived. “So, you set up your own son.”
The slap was hard and took her breath away. Cindy had hit her. Not just to get her attention, but to cause her harm. Melody put her hand on the burning wound and started to cry. She knew at that moment that she’d pushed this woman to violence. Something that she’d never done before, Melody thought.
“You are the most untrusting person that I’ve ever met; you know that? I was wrong about you, Melody. You’re not just a bad person, but you’re mean too. The things that spill from your mouth when you don’t have all the facts startled me into wanting to hurt you. Do you think for one moment that I’d do that to my own child? Your mother might. And she has. Are you so much like her that you just won’t allow anyone to get close enough to you to show that there are good people in the world?” Melody told her that she wanted to be different. “Well, sorry to tell you, but I just don’t see you trying very hard.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t tell you enough...I fucked up. Not just with you, though you were a lot more physical about it than Gannon, but I want to be different. I need...I need Gannon here to settle me. He was right. About everything he said to me. Everything that you said to me is true as well.” Cindy stood up. “Cindy, please. I would...would you please help me make this right with him? I don’t know what I feel about him. I’ve never been in love before. But I need him. I really need him with me.”
Gannon: McCray Bruin Bear Shifter Romance Page 9
