by Rye Hart
Liam kept asking about her and I knew Hadley was looking around for her. Her head kept turning on a swivel before she looked back at Melanie’s seat at the table and it broke something inside of me. I had to conceal my growing tears from them as we ate breakfast, and then an idea crossed my mind.
We could all use some time out of the house.
Getting the kids dressed, we all hopped into my truck. I got Hadley buckled in her car seat before I got Liam situated in his, then we traveled into town. It was good for us to get out for a bit. The kids had been cooped up because of the snow and part of me hoped that by going out, we might run into Melanie.
For the past two nights, my body had ached for her. I slept lightly, wanting to make sure I heard the cabin door if she knocked. But that knock hadn’t come. I took the kids for a drive and we went through a drive-through. Liam was excited to get ice cream so early in the morning and Hadley was very happy with her squeeze-pouch applesauce. That would keep them occupied while we drove around town, and it would buy me some time to see if I could spot her. I knew where her house was and that in all reality she’d probably gone home, but it felt like too big of an intrusion to show up on her father’s doorstep. Not to mention, if she hadn’t gone home and had gone to a friend’s instead, I didn’t want to panic an old man with a heart issue.
After traveling most of Bozeman and not seeing her car anywhere, I decided to take the kids to the park. Liam was running around with ice cream frozen on his coat while I pushed Hadley in one of the infant swings. She was giggling and clapping and her little legs were just flapping in the wind with happiness.
It was one of those moments I wished Melanie was here to share with us.
“Uncle Evan! Look!”
I turned just in time to see Liam dive headfirst down a slide and tumble out onto the ground.
“That’s awesome, kiddo! Just be careful!”
“I will!” he yelled.
I gave Hadley one more push before I let the swing do the work. I pulled out my phone and tried calling Melanie again, and like always it shot me to voicemail. I left her another message, pleading with her to call me so I knew she was okay.
Then, I went back to spending time with the kids.
They wore themselves out at the playground but weren’t ready to go home. So, running out of ideas, I took them to the library. I got a membership so Liam could pick out a book to check out, then we went up to the second floor to look at the movies they had to rent. Every single Disney and children’s movie I could think of was in their video library, and Liam looked like he was in childhood heaven.
“Do they have Aladdin?” Liam asked.
“You’ve already got that at home. Why don’t you pick out something you haven’t seen yet?” I asked.
“Like what?” he asked.
“How about this. Since you picked out a book, why don’t I pick out a movie? I’m sure they’ve got movies I used to watch as a kid. We could watch it together tonight.”
“Okay,” Liam said. “But it’s gotta be good.”
“I promise it’ll be good,” I said, smiling.
I looked around at all the movies and it threw me back to another time. A time when I was running around outside with my mom while Dad was off working somewhere. Most children would’ve resented their fathers for working all the time, but my father did it a little differently. He never shooed me out of his office if I came to find him and he would always talk me through what he was doing. In fact, he bought me my own little leather chair, so I could sit next to him whenever I wanted to come spend time in his office.
I was always welcome in there, and it was his personal influence and acceptance of me that fueled my desire to run my own business.
I kept looking around for a movie I knew Liam would like while he flipped through the pages of the book he had checked out. I scanned all the titles and etched them into my memory, just in case I needed to rattle them off for Liam before the next time we came. But then, I came across a movie that punched me in my gut.
Beauty and the Beast.
It was one Liam hadn’t seen and one I didn’t even think to own until now. But it was eerily reminiscent of everything that had happened. I was a beast until Melanie stumbled onto our porch. An angry, cooped up, mangled beast who snarled at the world. Then she came charging into my life on the wings of a snowstorm and sassed her way into our hearts.
She transformed me, and all I wanted to do in return was transform her.
I took the video from the shelf and headed for the check-out station. I checked it out while Liam continued to wander around the room, then I grabbed his hand and headed for the elevator. This library was much larger and more kid-friendly than I ever thought it could be, and I was excited that the kids were so fascinated with it.
Maybe it would get us back into town a little more often.
When we got back to the cabin, the kids were asleep. I gathered them up into my arms and laid them down, then went back to fetch the book and the movie. I set them down on the kitchen table for Liam to see when he woke up, and then I sat down on the couch.
The couch that Melanie and I used to occupy.
I pulled my phone out again and tried calling her, only this time it didn’t even ring. Her voicemail popped up and her sweet little voice fluttered over my ear. I closed my eyes and listened to it, trying to grab onto any part of her I could have. I missed her more than I was willing to admit to myself, and I prepared to leave a voice message before I hung up.
But my phone vibrated at my ear and caught my attention.
I had a message from Melanie and I almost dropped my phone opening it. I hung up the phone call and navigated to my texts, my fingertips trembling with each button I pressed. I opened the message and felt relief cascade over my body. Even if it was just four little words, the fact that she sent me the message meant she was okay.
“I’m ready to talk.”
CHAPTER 26
MELANIE
I had stayed at Layla’s an extra night, just needing some girl time. My father had even felt well enough to drive himself into town and meet us for dinner. I was amazed at how well he was doing and began to wonder if I had been holding him back; smothering him in his sickness.
Whatever the change had been, I was glad he was feeling better and more like his old self. After dinner, my father had agreed to stay the night at Layla’s parents’ house and I would follow him home in the morning. He had been tuckered out by his first trip to anywhere but a doctor’s office in months and welcomed the invitation to stay.
Layla and I had gone out to the local bar to grab a few drinks and listen to some local country band sing about losing their dog and their pickup or some shit. I didn’t really care for the music, but the lead singer reminded me of Evan and so we stayed and watched.
Getting out with Layla had made me feel better and I realized how much I had missed and needed her. I was finally starting to come out of the shadows and it felt good. I knew now that I was ready to talk to Evan; to tell him my story. If he pitied me, I would have to deal with it, but something told me that he wouldn’t. I had simply not given him enough credit.
Shit, I’d apparently not given anyone much credit in the past four years. Layla had been right. I had been through something horrible, but I’d gotten myself out of it and I couldn’t let that psychopath steal any more of my future.
I slipped into the bathroom and saw that Evan had called again but it was way too loud to be able to hear his message. I sent him a text instead, telling him I was ready to talk.
I walked back to the bar to sit with Layla and ordered another beer.
“Well?” she asked, motioning toward my phone with her drink.
“I sent him a text and said I’m ready to talk.”
“Good,” she said and clanked her bottle to mine in a mock toast. “Now let’s get that ass out on the dance floor.”
I laughed and tucked my phone into my pocket as we headed out into the crowded bar. We
raised our beers up and sang along to a Garth Brooks cover while we danced and laughed. It was the best time I’d had in a very long time. I was starting to feel normal again and it was amazing. And I had Evan to thank for it. He had been the key that had unlocked the door I’d been closed behind for far too long now.
I excused myself to check my messages, but when I flipped my screen on, there were none in my inbox. I checked to make sure the message I had sent him had been delivered. The phone indicated that not only had it been delivered but it had been opened. I looked down at the phone with a sinking feeling in my gut.
Layla came from across the room and put her hand on my arm. “What’s up?” she asked, looking over my shoulder at my phone.
I looked up at her as tears filled my eyes and, just like that, my fun-filled night crashed down around me. “I think I’m too late.”
Layla grabbed our coats and led me out of the bar and to her car. Once inside, she turned the heat on high and grabbed my phone from me. She flipped through my calls and messages and shook her head. “Maybe he just fell asleep?” she offered, trying to make me feel better.
I shook my head. “But he read the message, Layla.”
She looked at me with sympathetic eyes and drove us back to her place. We sat on her couch in our pjs and drained a bottle of wine. The alcohol was having the opposite effect to what I wanted, however, deepening my sorrows instead of drowning them. Layla tried putting on our favorite funny movie, but nothing was working. I was miserable.
Finally, I sent her to bed and curled up on the couch with the blanket pulled tightly up to my chin. My head hurt and I was bone weary. I realized that I hadn’t slept well at all since leaving Evan’s. In such a short amount of time, I’d gotten used to feeling his big body next to me. If I closed my eyes, I could almost feel him now. The heat the always emanated from him, the strength in his arms that circled around me, the tickle of his beard on my skin as he rested his head against me.
I couldn’t bear the thought that I might have just given that all up. I took a deep breath, turned over onto my side, and cried myself to sleep.
CHAPTER 27
EVAN
I woke up Sunday morning in a blind panic. I had gotten Melanie’s text saying she was ready to talk right before my phone died. I’d run around my house like a fucking maniac for forty-five minutes trying to find a goddamn charger before passing out on my bed on top of the covers, fully clothed.
I leaped up from my bed and continued the search. I suddenly remembered that I had lent Melanie one that first night and ran to her bedroom only to find that one was gone too. She probably took it with her by accident. Panic was starting to rise within me and I felt like I was going to lose my fucking mind.
I went back into the living room and dropped to my knees, looking under every piece of furniture to no avail. I sat back on my heels and felt like breaking something. I checked my watch and knew that I didn’t have much time before the kids would be waking up. Once they were out of bed, I would be busy with them and wouldn’t have much time to try and settle this thing with Melanie.
As I went to stand up, something caught the corner of my eye. The basket that we kept the kids’ toys in was tucked into the hollow bottom of the bench that sat in front of the big window. On a hunch, I pulled it out and started digging through it, finally unearthing my damn charger cord from the bottom. I was going to have to have a serious talk with Liam about not playing with my things.
I ran to the kitchen and plugged in the phone, waiting for it to gain enough juice for me to turn it on. The minutes dragged on and I swore that I could hear every tick of the second hand on the fucking clock. By the time, the battery indicated the phone was charged enough to be turned on, I felt like I might pull all my hair out.
The screen lit up, but there were no other messages from Melanie. I tried calling her only to find that her voicemail was full and I couldn’t even leave a message. I switched back over to text and sent her a message to call me when she could.
I stood there, feeling helpless as I waited for some sort of response. Was she ready to tell me what it was she was so afraid to share with me? Or did she want to tell me that whatever we had was over and she wouldn’t be back? The thought of that made me physically ill and my stomach lurched. Hadley’s crying pierced through my worried thoughts and I groaned as I made my way to her room.
Liam was sleeping in again and I was thankful for it. I sat on the couch and cradled Hadley in my arms, feeding her a bottle I knew she could hold on her own. I looked down into my niece’s gaze and saw my brother swimming around in them, and I couldn’t stop the tears that rose in my eyes. My brother would never be here to watch her go off to school. He wouldn’t be here to rattle her first date or shake her future husband’s hand. My sister-in-law wouldn’t be here to calm her first heartache or help her get ready for prom. To teach her how to do her hair or pick out the right shades of makeup.
All that shit would fall on my shoulders now, and I didn’t have the first fucking clue how to do any of it.
Hadley finished her bottle just as I heard Liam stir. I put Hadley in her playpen before I went to gather Liam up, and I could immediately tell he wasn’t feeling well. His nose was running and his eyes were bloodshot. I took his temperature just to make sure it wasn’t serious. He had a low-grade fever and he was incredibly cuddly. As he wrapped his arms around me I succumbed to his warmth.
I guess I wasn’t getting any work done today.
Just as I walked back out into the living room, a knock came at the door. I laid Liam down on the couch and tucked him in with a blanket, kissing his forehead and letting him know I’d be right back. I pulled the door open and almost fell over.
“Evan?”
Holy shit.
Melanie was shivering in her coat with her arms wrapped around her chest. Her nose was red and her eyes looked tired, and the only thing I wanted to do was pull her into my arms.
But I settled for stepping aside and letting her in.
She came in and looked over at Hadley before she spotted Liam on the couch. She rushed over and knelt down, worry dripping over her features as he smoothed the boy’s hair back. He smiled up and her and gave her a weak hug and I watched her cuddle her face into the crook of his neck.
“Mew,” Liam said lightly.
“Hey there, handsome,” Melanie said.
“Don’t feel good,” he said.
“I can tell. Want me to make you some soup?” she asked.
“No spoon,” he said.
“I can put the warm soup in your sippy cup,” she said.
“Soup in sippy?” Liam asked.
“Trust me. It’s the best.”
I watched her with Liam as my heart leaped into my throat. Melanie was okay. She didn’t look hurt, and the relief that barreled over my body almost took me to my knees. I didn’t know what I would’ve done had something happened to her.
Her eyes locked with mine and she stood before she started walking towards me.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’m just glad you’re all right,” I said.
“It’s just—so hard for me to—talk about that stuff,” she said.
“I shouldn’t have pushed you. You gave me the space to open up, and I need to give you the same.”
“I know you deserve to know,” she said. “And I want to tell you, but not in front of the kids.”
I nodded and looked down into her eyes.
