Maybe it was a letter from one of the upcoming dancers. Maybe it was a note from one of her friends from the past. That sent a chill down her spine, however. She wasn’t friends with anyone from back then anymore. She had been the one to cut ties, but she knew they’d have cut them if they had the chance. She didn’t deserve their friendship or their letters.
Melody closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was once again nauseous, but this time, she had a feeling it had nothing to do with the nerves of opening a new dance studio on her own.
Swallowing hard, she flipped the envelope over and quickly opened it using one of her grandmother’s fancy letter openers. Inside, there was a single sheet of paper with a handwritten note. She opened it and blinked.
Found you.
The paper fell from her fingertips, and she tried to catch her breath. Who would’ve sent that? Who would be looking for her? Nobody knew where she had moved to because no one was looking. And why would they say something about finding her? It didn’t make any sense. It had to be a joke from some of the teenagers in the town or something, being weird and welcoming her. Or maybe it was someone who had figured out that she was related to Ms. Pearl and wanted to creep her out. She had no idea what it could mean, but because she had watched way too many detective shows in the past, she put the letter and envelope into a plastic bag and hurriedly hid it in the desk in her room. The letter was just a mistake. Or a joke. It meant nothing. Just like that email had meant nothing.
Her hands shook, and her stomach rolled, but she tried to push the weird feelings out of her mind. There was no cause for worry. No one was looking for her. There was no reason for anyone to look for her.
Because the people she had hurt were dead.
And the dead didn’t stalk you.
Chapter 10
By the time Melody made it to her studio after hiding the letter in her desk, she was running late. It had taken her longer than she had planned to finish getting ready and get out of the house. She still couldn’t quite believe that someone had sent that note, but she hoped it was just a prank. It had to be. There was no reason for her to get anything like that in the mail, and because she’d watched so many crime shows, her imagination was just running amok.
Her contractors weren’t working that day because they had another project they alternated with hers. That was just fine with her, though, because she still had to set up her office and do some practice in the main room to make sure all the tiny logistics were exactly where they needed to be. She had been in countless dance studios in her life and knew what she needed as a dancer, but teaching children—or anybody for that matter—was new for her. She may have taken classes to ensure that she could do what she would be doing, but it didn’t mean she would excel at it. And that meant lots of practice and making sure each piece of equipment, and the space, was perfectly attuned to what her dancers would need.
And once again, her stomach rolled, and she tried not to vomit.
She really didn’t want to throw up on her new floor.
She had put on workout clothes so she could test out some of the new things her contractor had put in, so she toed off her shoes and put on an old pair of ballet flats before she started to stretch. She was nowhere near the shape she had been in in her prime thanks to everything that had happened, and there was no way she would ever be able to have that kind of endurance or stretching ability again. But she could at least do some of the initial stretches and position work to make sure that everything in the space was set up exactly like it needed to be.
And maybe she hadn’t needed to follow her dreams along the path she had to this particular destination, but as her grandmother had said, there was dancing in her veins, and she had been hiding from it for far too long. There was no way she could stand alone in the stance studio for too long and not want to put her feet on every inch of the beautiful floor and let the music flow through her as she danced.
They hadn’t set up the rest of the audio system yet since that was one of the last things they were going to do, so she connected her phone to the speaker and played a song that was slightly upbeat. If she had queued up anything sad right then, with all the nerves running through her, she probably would have ended up a weeping ball, never wanting to dance again.
She rolled her neck over her shoulders and held out her arms, her fingers spread ever so slightly. And then she danced. With every high and low, she moved, the music flowing through her. She didn’t do any giant leaps or big spins that would end with her on pointe or on the ground, but in those moments, she was just the music, and she could feel the woman she had once been.
And because she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that anymore, she forcibly lost herself in the music, and it took her moment to realize that someone was knocking on the door. She tripped over her own two feet, proving that being graceful didn’t always come naturally, and looked out her floor-to-ceiling windows at the front the studio, trying not to fall flat on her face. Having a potential new client watch her fall on the dance floor wasn’t the best way to entice people to pay for dancing lessons.
Standing at the glass double doors were two women with bright smiles on their faces. They looked sort of familiar to her, but then again, she had seen a lot of people since she’d come to Whiskey—even though she had sort of hidden herself away at her grandmother’s house and at the studio. But she had a feeling she should know who these two women were.
She held up one finger, scurried back to her phone to turn down the music since it was far too loud, and did her best to look professional as she walked back to the front doors. She had locked them since she was a woman alone in an empty building, but now, she kind of felt silly dancing with the lights on where anyone could see her.
Both women smiled at her when she opened the door. “Hi there, we aren’t open quite yet, but is there something I can do for you?” She used to be good at this whole people thing, or at least she had thought she was; now, she felt a little bit rusty. Considering that the only people she really talked to were her contractor, her grandmother, and Fox, she realized she really needed to get better at this whole thing.
The slightly curvier woman with the long, auburn hair gave a little wave and grinned. Melody thought slightly on that curvy part because they were both tall and pretty slender—and gorgeous. For a dancer, Melody had far more curves than some of her previous acquaintances. Since she wasn’t dancing full-time now, she didn’t mind and actually liked her curves. But if she had still been in the Juilliard world, she would’ve been considered fat. And she probably would’ve told those people to go fuck themselves and then danced her heart out. But that was neither here nor there.
The brunette waved, as well. “Hi, I’m Ainsley, and this is Kenzie. We know you’ve already met Kenzie’s man, Dare since he owns the bar across the street. And you met his brother, Loch at the gym he owns. And you met Fox. We’ve been patiently waiting for you to come back into the bar so we could meet you, but we’re not that patient.”
Kenzie let out a laugh as Melody tried to catch up to exactly what Ainsley was trying to say. “I’m new to this whole small-town thing, too, so don’t worry. Yes, the whole town knows about you and knows that you’re opening a small dance studio and that a lot of us have already signed up to work with you. And the whole town is waiting for you to come out of the house and meet them so they can talk about you—but in a fun way, not a weird way. And I’m just rambling about the fact that small towns are really weird. I’m still trying to get used to the fact that everybody seems to know my name and that the only people I really know right off the bat are the others I work with and my new family. And Ainsley, of course.”
“I’m practically family,” Ainsley said with a laugh.
Melody was still trying to catch up when she realized that she was standing in the doorway forcing the two women to remain on the sidewalk. Now she felt awkward, but she took a step back and let them walk in anyway. She knew she had seen these two women before
. Fox had pointed them out the night she wasn’t ever going to mention again. Plus, he had talked about them again when they were texting each other. It was just weird to have the women in front of her and not know exactly what she was supposed to say.
“Come on in, sorry for making you wait out there. I was just stretching, getting to know the dance floor, and I think my mind is still on the music rather than how to actually have a conversation. Sorry.”
“It’s no worries,” Kenzie said as she and Ainsley walked in, their gazes searching the place.
Melody felt a little self-conscious but she did her best not to look it. At least, she hoped she did.
“This place looks great,” Kenzie continued. “I can’t wait to get started. I used to dance when I was younger. I wasn’t amazing or anything, but it’ll be nice to have a workout that doesn’t include the elliptical day in and day out. Not that I don’t love Loch and his gym, but sometimes, it would be nice to do something a little different.”
Melody finally caught on. “You’re going to be dancing with me? That’s wonderful. I wasn’t actually looking at names as much as I probably should have when I was making up the rosters. I think everything is blending together at this point, and it’s going to take me a few tries in order to get it.”
“I run the inn and barely remember guests’ names as they leave sometimes, so I totally understand. I’m just really excited that you’re here.”
“We are excited,” Ainsley corrected. “I haven’t signed up for a class yet because I don’t have the experience that Kenzie does. I know you have non-experienced classes, but I don’t know if I’m there yet. You’ll still see me around because Loch signed up his daughter Misty, and Dare signed up his son, Nate. So I will probably be here often to watch over practices and pick them up.”
Melody didn’t think that Ainsley was dating Loch, at least from what Fox had said, but she seemed really close to the family. There had to be a story there. Not that she was going to touch on anything close to that since it wasn’t her place and she was still trying to figure out exactly how she would fit into this new town and with these new people. Digging for gossip and trying to figure out relationships was no way to go about that.
“Can I just say how excited I am that people are actually signing up? I mean, it’s not like I went into opening the studio thinking I was going to be all by myself, but I totally went into it thinking I might be by myself, going into complete debt because I had no dancing students, and dancing alone on this floor sobbing into my ballet shoes.”
The others laughed, but Melody had been totally serious, and she had a feeling the others knew that.
“Anyway, we came to say hello,” Kenzie continued. “I know what it’s like to be the new person in town, and this one over here completely took me under her wing so I wasn’t alone. You totally don’t have to become best friends with us or even hang out with us if you don’t want. But I wanted to let you know that we’re here if you need a set of girlfriends.”
Melody couldn’t help but smile. She’d never met women like these two before, and she knew she’d been sorely missing out. Her past friends had been just as cutthroat as she was, and she regretted what had become of everything.
“And I’m going to be blunt and say that I want to know exactly what you were doing that night with our dear Fox.” Ainsley looked like she was a cat in cream, and Melody just stood there blinking.
“What?”
“What Ainsley is trying to say, is that we remember you doing shots of whiskey with Fox one night a little over three months ago. However, we are not going to talk about that right now because it is totally none of our business. Right, Ainsley? Did we not just have this discussion and say we weren’t going to mention the fact that we know the two of them left one night completely wasted? The guys didn’t notice, but we did. But don’t worry, Melody. We’re not going to talk about this ever again. Right, Ainsley?”
“Oh dear God. I didn’t think anyone had noticed. Oh my God. This whole move just got really complicated, really fast.” Melody had no idea what she was going to do with this information. She had been doing her best not to think about the fact that she had slept with Fox and had the best sex of her life with him. And then she tried not to think about the fact that she really wanted to have sex with him again, and that they had both decided they wouldn’t because they were trying to be friends. She’d moved to this small town to find friends and a new life, and now…things had gotten really complicated, and she was just so freaking embarrassed.
“Since you’re talking about it, can we?” Ainsley asked, a curious look on her face. Melody had a feeling she was trying to look innocent but there was nothing innocent about this woman in front of her. At least, not yet.
“Ainsley,” Kenzie laughed.
“What?”
“Okay, I will say this just once. So that it’s out in the open and we can forget that I ever said it at all. Yes, Fox and I had sex. I didn’t realize he actually lived here until I was too drunk to care. Yes, we had sex. Yes, we’ve talked about it. No, we aren’t going to do it again. Yes, we are going to be friends. Yes, it is awkward, and I have no idea what I’m doing. And I have no idea why I’m saying all this out loud to you. But, apparently, it has been bursting inside of me, and I couldn’t wait to tell somebody, so I had to tell the two people who I just met about thirty seconds ago. Now excuse me while I go find a hole to bury myself in. I will talk to you later.”
The other two laughed, and Melody seriously needed to find that hole. Why was it never handy when she needed it?
“Fox is sexy, just not as sexy as my Dare.”
“So not having this conversation,” Melody said, laughing. “I really cannot believe I just put all of that out there like that.”
Ainsley studied her face. “So you two had sex. And it was probably amazing because you’re blushing and you aren’t looking like you’re grossed out. And considering he’s a Collins brother, I can assume that’s a pretty good guess.” She paused. “Not that I know what sex is like with one of them, but I hear things.”
“I don’t think I’m going to answer that,” Melody said with a laugh. “Not that it was a question, but I’m so not going to answer that.”
Kenzie just shook her head, her smile widening. “Okay, enough of that. We’ll just get you tipsy one day so you spill everything. But, really, if you need friends, we’re here. I really do know what it’s like to move to a new place and not know your way around. In fact, if you want to join us for lunch, we’re heading to Dare’s since I’m addicted to his new tomato grilled cheese.”
Melody’s stomach normally would have rumbled just then, but she blinked, her head going a bit fuzzy as her stomach rolled instead.
“Melody?” Ainsley asked, her voice sharp.
Instead of answering, Melody tried to take a step forward, but her body felt suddenly heavy. The others said her name, but she felt as if she were walking through fog. Hands wrapped around her arms, and she suddenly felt herself being lowered to the ground, though she couldn’t really focus. Instead, black dots danced around her eyes just as she had been dancing around the floor, and then there was nothing. Only silence.
* * *
Melody woke up only a few moments later, but by then, she was lying on the floor, her head resting on Kenzie’s lap as Ainsley talked on the phone to whom she assumed was the paramedics. She had tried to wave off her new friends, saying that it must just be a stomachache and spinning around too much. But even she didn’t quite believe that.
And that was how she found herself sitting alone in a hospital room after somehow making the other women not call an ambulance to pick her up. They had demanded to take her to the doctor themselves, however. Melody had kept putting off getting a new primary care physician, and she knew why she was afraid of going to the doctor, but she couldn’t keep running anymore. She had seen enough of the inside of hospital rooms in her lifetime, and now it seemed she was right back in one.
The doctor had been nice enough, and the nurse had taken a blood sample because Melody had been so lightheaded. Ainsley and Kenzie were in the waiting room, and Melody had a feeling if she hadn’t put her foot down, they would be right in her hospital room beside her.
She was fine, everything was fine. It was just nerves.
The door opened, and a nice, elderly doctor walked in, a calm smile on his face.
“I skipped breakfast, and I think my blood sugar is just low. That’s it, right? I’ll do better about eating. I know that I need to eat breakfast. I just forgot today.”
He set down her file, and she noticed a prescription written out on top, but she couldn’t read what it was for. She hated pills, and she really hoped that everything was okay.
“You really do need to eat breakfast, Ms. Waters. And that is something we can talk about in the future, as well. But your blood tests came back quickly since we put a rush on them. The results mean that you’re really going to need to keep eating. Because you’re not just eating for yourself anymore. Melody, you’re pregnant.”
She blinked. She had to have heard him wrong. Because there was no way she could be pregnant. She hadn’t had sex in over three months, and even then, they had used a condom. Three condoms, one for each time they had sex. And birth control. There was no way there could be a little baby growing inside her stomach right then. Because she was about to open a dance studio. And she couldn’t do that if she were pregnant. And it wasn’t as if she were seeing anyone. The test had to be wrong. When she tried to explain all of that to the doctor in one rushed sentence, she swore she saw a pitying look in his eyes.
“We can and will run the test again, but you’re pregnant, Melody. And if you say you haven’t had sex in over three months, then you’re a little over three months along. I’m going to refer you to the best OB/GYN in our town, and they’ll be able to set up an appointment to discuss exactly what you want to do.”
Whiskey Reveals Page 8
