Saving Mel

by Rye Hart

  I slowly made my way back down the road I had come up and by the time I got to the turnoff to the main stretch to my house, the county plows had cleared the fallen tree and plowed a path to our place. I pulled up in the driveway and cut off the engine. As happy as I was to be home, I was missing Evan and the kids already.

  When I got into the house, I found my father standing at the stove making himself soup from a can. He turned to look at me and the color in his cheeks looked better than it had in months. I rushed forward and threw my arms around him, surprised by the strength of the hug he gave me in return.

  “Melanie! I’m so glad you’re home!” he said.

  “Me too, Dad. How are you? You look good,” I told him.

  He nodded. “I’m feeling pretty good. A little more like myself.”

  I hugged him again and then went to take off my coat and boots. I looked down at myself, still dressed in Evan’s clothes and I couldn’t help but smile. I needed a long, hot shower and my own clothes but, for now, I wanted to sit a bit with my dad.

  I joined him at the table, where he’d set two bowls of soup, and I smiled. It had been a while since he had been well enough to serve me, let alone himself. I picked up the spoon and scooped a warm bite into my mouth.

  “So, how are you? You okay, kiddo?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Yes, I’m okay.” I recounted the story of how I’d ended up at the cabin and how Evan had helped me and taken good care of me. I told him about the kids and how great he was with them, as well as how attached to them I’d grown in just a few days.

  “And he offered me a job as their nanny for a while,” I finished. “It will be a big help with the bills.”

  My father shook his head and looked sad. “Melanie, I don’t want you worrying about these bills. You should be off looking for a teaching job up in Helena or somewhere, not taking a nanny job on the mountain.”

  I placed my hand over his and looked into my father’s eyes. “Dad, you’ve taken such good care of me all of my life, I want to do the same for you for as long as you need it. And besides, I’ll still be using my degree. I’m sure it won’t be forever, but for now, it’s something.”

  We sat and finished our lunch. All the while, I tried to tell myself that I didn’t need ‘forever’ with Evan and the kids.

  It was the biggest lie I’d told myself in a long time.

  CHAPTER 13

  EVAN

  A knock came at the door just after breakfast and I felt a jolt of excitement run up my legs. Liam had pestered me all day yesterday about when she was coming back, and the only thing I could tell him was ‘sometime tomorrow’. Well, ‘tomorrow’ had officially arrived, and the knocking on the door served to fuel Liam’s excitement for seeing Melanie again.

  But the thing was, I was excited about seeing her again as well.

  I opened the door and saw her standing there in a pair of dark-wash jeans with knee-high black boots and a beautiful mauve sweater. It complimented the beauty of her eyes while her black hair cascaded down her back.

  I had a hard time taking my eyes off her.

  “Mew!” Liam said.

  “Hey there, Liam.” She smiled and picked the boy up in her arms as Hadley clapped her hands from her high chair. The kids were elated to see her and it tugged a smile from beneath my beard. She instantly fell into a rhythm, letting Liam cling to her back as she started to clean up Hadley. I watched her for a little bit as she cleared the table from breakfast, mindlessly chewing on a leftover piece of bacon.

  “If you’re hungry, help yourself to anything,” I said.

  “Thanks,” she said, grinning. “You go on and do what you need to do. I’ve got it here.”

  Grabbing my coat, I stepped out into the cold to take stock of what I needed. I needed to venture into town to get more wood pieces I could use on my projects. I got into my truck and slowly made my way down the mountain, making sure not to go too fast.

  The owner of the wood shop, Mike Prescott, came out and clapped me on the back with a broad smile on his face, then he led me into the back where unwanted pieces of wood had already been discarded.

  “Been awhile, Evan! How ya been?” Mike asked.

  “I’ve been okay. Got buried underneath the snow for a few days,” I said.

  “You came down that mountain with all that snow still on the ground? Got balls bigger than I do,” he said.

  I laughed and shook my head. “Necessity, my friend.”

  “Where’re the kids? I made something for that pretty little girl of yours.”

  “They’re with the babysitter.”

  “You mean the nanny?” he asked.

  “No, the nanny’s pretty sick right now. Found a temporary babysitter to replace her for now, but if this new woman turns out to be as wonderful with the kids as I think she is, my nanny might be out of a job,” I said.

  “Hey. Whatever’s best for the kids, right?”

  “Right,” I said. “So, whatcha got for me today?”

  “You’re in luck,” he said. “I’ve got discarded cedar, oak, and cherry mahogany.”

  “You’ve got discarded cherry mahogany?” I asked.

  “Yeah, a lot of it. It was tainted by the snowfall we just had. The tarp wasn’t over it completely and some of the snow got underneath. There’s a bit of fresh rot on the top, but I know you work around that shit all the time.”

  “How much for it?” I asked.

  “Did you bring your truck?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’ve got my truck,” I said.

  “I’ll load ya down with a good combination of the three for three hundred.”

  “I’ll take it,” I said.

  “Wonderful. Let me get ya loaded up.”

  Mike and I stood and shot the shit while some of the workers loaded my truck. It would take a little more work on my part to refine the raw pieces of wood, but it was worth it for the lower-than-basement price Mike had just offered me. By the time the truck was loaded and tarped down, it was sitting visibly lower to the ground, and a part of me wondered if I would be able to get the truck up the mountain.

  But it didn’t give me any issues at all.

  By the time I got it home, it was almost nightfall. It took me a couple of hours to drag all the wood to the shed and lock it up and, by that time, my stomach was howling for food. The chimney was piping smoke into the air as the lights shone from the windows and, as I opened the door and walked inside, I was hit with the most wonderful smells.

  There was dinner on the table, two kids stuffing their faces, and with them the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

  “Want some spaghetti?” Melanie asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” I said.

  I watched as she doted over Liam and Hadley, getting them more food and drink whenever they requested it. I heard her wheeling around in the kitchen, trying to clean up a little before she sat down to eat. She and Liam were whispering to each other as Hadley shoved her mouth full of the wonderful dinner she had made, and I smiled at the entire scene.

  This was really nice.

  It felt like I had a family again.

  But dinner soon ran into bedtime and Melanie was up again and running around. I cleaned up the rest of the dishes while she prepared the kids for bed. I could hear them splashing around in the tub as she cleaned them up and got them changed.

  And the entire time, I couldn’t think about anything else other than how much I enjoyed it.

  I loved watching her with the kids and I loved coming home to a warm meal. I loved listening to Liam ask for her and I loved how Hadley always reached her arms out to her. I listened as she sang Hadley to sleep before she slipped out of the room, dashing down to Liam’s to do the same. It was like she’d fallen into a natural rhythm, and the smile on her face as she interacted with the kids was genuine.

  But the blustery wind that howled against the windows pulled me from my thoughts.

  The snow was coming down heavy again, swirling around in the wind as it du
mped itself onto the ground. It was quickly piling up and drowning Melanie’s car, and I heard her gasp before she started clamoring for her coat.

  “I’ll need to get out of here if I’m gonna—”

  I reached out to grab her arm before she could get out the door.

  “It’s too bad out there,” I said. “Besides, it’s too dark.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I guess I’m staying here tonight.”

  “Thank you. I’ll feel much better knowing you’re safe.”

  She took her coat back off and hung it up, calling her dad to check in and let him know she was staying, while I fetched us a couple of beers. This had become sort of a routine between us, and I found myself looking forward to it. I handed her one and she took it willingly before she sat down beside me on the couch. We sat in silence.

  A comfortable, relaxed silence.

  The fire crackled as the frigid wind beat against the walls of the cabin. The snow was twisting around in little tornadoes of flakes, battering themselves against the windows as we nursed our second beer together. I could feel the tension growing between us as her hand laid haphazardly down onto the cushion of the couch.

  I took a chance and wrapped my hand around hers before she turned her face toward mine.

  Her ocean blue eyes were dark and stormy, like the night sky outside blanketed with gray clouds. I set my beer down before I took hers, plucking it from her fingers as I sat up with my back straight.

  Her eyes were locked on mine and I could see the ring of gray around her iris that signaled the impending storm about to break between the two of us.

  I moved my lips closer to hers and she quickly closed the gap. I released her hand and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her effortlessly into my lap. Our tongues met and electricity crackled between us, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Her hands cupped my cheeks and her hips ground down into mine, repeating the same motions she had made not so very long ago. I could feel my cock bubbling to life as it pressed hard against my jeans.

  Our tongues danced and my hands explored. I gripped onto the meat of her thighs and massaged the decadence of her hips. I released her lips and caressed my beard across her skin, allowing my lips to taste her neck as she opened herself up for me.

  Her hands threaded around my neck and I could feel how her body was heating up for me.

  Grasping her ass, I lifted her into the air. I continued to suck on her neck, pulling shivers and whimpers from her as I made my way to her bedroom. It was the farthest one away from the kids which meant we wouldn’t disturb them, and that was exactly how I wanted it.

  I wanted all her sounds and her tastes tonight without any risk of waking up the kids.

  CHAPTER 14

  MELANIE

  I felt my back being laid down on the bed as a calming presence washed over me. Evan’s lips were so enticing and his strength was oddly reassuring. His eyes had settled my raging mind, but it was his touch that calmed my body. Where I thought I’d be shaking, I was completely still. Where I thought my mind would be racing, it was totally hushed. For the first time in four years, I felt comforted by the presence of a man instead of threatened, and I wasn’t ready to let go of it.

  Not just yet.

  His hands were gentle in undressing me, smoothing over my pale skin while his lips carved a trail along my stomach. My skin prickled at the sensation of his beard on the outside of my thigh. It seemed like he wanted to leave no part of me untouched.

  I was loving every second of it.

  My body was bared to him as my eyes rose to meet his gaze. It was heated and dark like he was studying me to make sure I was okay. His hands quickly pulled the flannel from his back, exposing his strong, rippling arms. Veins pulsed in his forearms as he peeled his white undershirt off, and soon I was gazing on the most beautiful body I’d ever seen. His abdomen rippled and the “v” of his muscles pointed the way to what I wanted to see most.

  He descended back on my body and I pressed my body into his. I felt my nipples rising toward him, raking against the swell of the hair on his chest as his lips trailed downward. He covered my neck with kisses and sucked patches of skin between his teeth. I was moaning and arching into him. Begging him for more instead of begging him to stop.

  I was finally, gratefully, able to let myself go and enjoy the touch a man could offer.

  His tongue lapped at my nipples, pulling groans from my throat as my hands wrapped up in his black tresses. His hair was thick and his breath was hot, and I could feel him grinding into me as he traveled down. His hands parted my legs at the knees and the rush of cool air shivered my skin.

  But then, I felt his lips descend on my pussy.

  I rose my hips to meet his lips, offering myself to him on a silver platter. I felt him grin against my skin, his tongue prodding my folds while his fingers massaged my thighs. He licked a thick stripe up my slit, gathering my arousal upon his tongue. I looked down at him and saw him staring back at me as the glittering gold of his eyes turned devious.

  His gaze only heated me with a white-hot pleasure that I wanted to explore.

  I pressed him back into my body and his tongue found my clit. He sucked and flicked as my hips rolled into his face. I could feel my body coating his cheeks with my fluids as they poured out of me and onto the bed. The electricity surging through my veins as his fingertips embedded their prints into my skin was nothing short of fantastical. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and my hair was a tangled mess of knots. I writhed underneath him as his tongue explored my depths, then I lifted my eyes to look down once more.

  His face was buried between my legs just as his arms wrapped around my thighs, pulling me closer to him as he drank me down.

  My heels dug into the sinewy muscles of his back. My toes began to curl and my back began to arch. I bowed like a tightened violin as my fingernails scraped across his scalp, and soon my legs were quaking with delight as I spilled my pleasure onto the tip of his tongue.

  “Evan. Yes. Please don’t stop. This feels—so good—yes.”

  His name rolled effortlessly off my tongue as he rode my climax out with me. His tongue pressed deep, massaging the whole of my pussy while his beard tickled my thighs. I dropped to the bed and heaved for air as tears of joy prickled the backs of my eyes.

  I felt like I was floating on clouds as Evan crawled back up my body.

  His lips connected with mine and I could taste myself on his skin. His beard was shining with my fluids and I smiled. My toes ran up the naked backs of his legs as my eyes widened, and a growl escaped from Evan’s lips.

  The look of raw lust in his eyes almost had me pushing him away. Instead, I tried to quiet my mind. I placed my hands on his chest and motioned for him to roll onto his back. If I was going to get through this, I needed to be in control.

  Evan held me to him as he effortlessly rolled us both over. I straddled his hips and hovered over his massive cock as his eyes darkened further. Letting out a breath, I lowered myself down, taking him deep inside my body.

  “Shit, Melanie,” he said.

  His cock filled every part of my pussy, pressing against my walls and stretching them to their limits. My hands came down on his chest, my nails curling into his skin as I adjusted to his length.