Natural-Born Protector / Saved by the Monarch

by Carla Cassidy

  Sam Hunter patted his wife’s hand and returned her look of affection. “For the last thirty-five years, anyplace you are is home, darlin’,” he exclaimed.

  As they disappeared down the hall to look at the bedrooms, Melody leaned against the kitchen counter and released a deep sigh. It was obvious Sarah and Sam Hunter were just as in love with each other today as they had probably been on the day they had married.

  For thirty-five years the Hunters had shared their lives and Melody had scarcely gotten a day of loving Hank before all hell had broken loose.

  I think it was never about Lainie’s needs. I think it’s always been about your needs. Hank’s words whirled around and around in her head. She was grateful when Sam, Sarah and Mary Jane returned to the kitchen and took her away from her troubling thoughts.

  “I’ll be in touch,” Mary Jane said as Melody led them to the front door.

  Melody closed the door after them and leaned against it weakly. All she wanted to do was get into bed and pull the covers up over her head. She’d never felt so weary. The weariness of heartbreak, she thought.

  Maybe a nap was just what she needed. Although her ribs were healing, she still wasn’t totally up to par. Besides, in sleep she wouldn’t think about the hurtful words she’d exchanged with Hank.

  She went into the bedroom and took off her jeans, then, clad only in her underwear and T-shirt, she crawled beneath the sheets on the bed. She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what had possessed her to get involved with Hank in the first place.

  Throwing herself at him sexually had been out of character, seeking his comfort and company had been equally unlike her. She tried to tell herself her attraction to him had been driven by loneliness and grief, but she didn’t believe that.

  Physically she’d been drawn to him by some mysterious force of hormones or whatever power had brought lovers together throughout history. Emotionally it had been his steady strength, his sense of humor and the gentleness she’d sensed inside him that had drawn her in.

  It didn’t matter now. None of it mattered. All she wanted was the oblivion of sleep to take away the pain inside her.

  She must have fallen asleep, for the ringing of the phone awakened her. Groggily she reached for the phone, at the same time checking the clock on the nightstand. It was after four. She must have been asleep for nearly two hours.

  “Hello?”

  “Ah, good. You’re finally home,” Fred said.

  For a moment she didn’t know what he was talking about. Then she remembered that she’d told her mother she was visiting an old high school friend out of town for the last couple of days.

  “Yes, I got back in today.” She pulled herself up to a sitting position in an attempt to slough off the last of her sleep.

  “Did you have a nice visit with your friend?” he asked.

  “It was okay. Is anything wrong, Fred? Is my mother all right?”

  “She’s fine. Why?”

  “I think the last time you called me was when you told me Mom was about to go into surgery to have her gallbladder removed.”

  Fred laughed. “Nothing like that with this phone call. I was just wondering if you’d have some time this evening to come over and help me with some plans for a surprise birthday party for your mother.”

  “I’m really tired, Fred. Can we make it another time?” she asked. She had no desire to go out in the evening hours, especially now that she’d lost her bodyguard. The last time she’d left to go out into the night, she’d wound up being kicked half to death.

  “What about tomorrow? Why don’t you come for brunch? I’ve been itching to make some of those apple crepes that you love.”

  It had been Lainie who had loved Fred’s apple crepes, not Melody, but she didn’t have the heart to remind him. Surely it would be safe for her to leave the building in the light of day, she thought. “Brunch sounds perfect,” she agreed.

  “Shall we say around ten?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll be there,” she agreed.

  After they hung up she tried to talk herself into getting out of bed, doing something constructive. She could get the phone book and hunt up Forest Burke’s number. She could call Zack and get an update. What she did instead was curl up on her side, hug her pillow to her chest and fall back asleep.

  Because she went to bed so early she awakened the next morning before dawn. She lay in the quiet darkness of the room and found herself contemplating what Hank had said to her.

  Was she desperate to continue her search for Lainie’s killer because she was afraid to let go? Afraid to face the emptiness of her life?

  Had she used Lainie as an excuse not to make her own friends and explore new relationships? As much as she hated to admit it, she thought that might be true. She’d encouraged Lainie to lean on her, to need her because of her own needs. Melody was afraid of the dark, when night fell and monsters crept out of closets.

  Hank’s words washed over her in wave after wave of recognition. It was time for her to finally let go. No matter who she spoke to, no matter what information she gathered, it wouldn’t bring Lainie back.

  Hank had been right. It was time for her to go back to Chicago. She’d wait until next week after her mother’s birthday, then she’d get on a plane with only her memories of Lainie and Hank and Maddie to keep her company.

  It was just after nine when she heard a tiny knock on her front door. Maddie. Her heart squeezed as she thought of the child who had taken such a large chunk of her heart.

  “I came to visit,” Maddie said as she swept past Melody and into the nearly empty living room. She sat crosslegged on the floor in front of the folding chair. “It was more fun to visit with you when you were at my house.”

  “I couldn’t stay there forever,” Melody said as she sat in the chair.

  “Why not?” Maddie looked at her with childish longing. “Why couldn’t you marry my daddy and stay forever?”

  Could the pain get any deeper? Melody wondered. “Because I have to get back to my life in Chicago,” Melody replied, unsure how else to answer.

  Maddie’s lower lip punched out in a pout. “I hate Chicago,” she exclaimed. At the moment Melody wasn’t thrilled with the idea of returning there either.

  For the next few minutes the two talked about school and summer plans, then Melody stood up. “You’re going to have to leave, sweetie,” she said. “I’ve got to go have brunch with Fred.”

  “Who’s Fred? Is he your new boyfriend?”

  Melody smiled as she walked with Maddie to the door. “No, he’s the man who’s going to eventually marry my mother, and that will make him my stepfather.”

  Maddie gazed at her with somber eyes. “So you’re going to get a new daddy. I wish my daddy would get me a new mommy.” She slipped her hand into Melody’s. “I would have liked you as my new mommy.”

  Melody knelt in front of her. “I would have loved to be your new mommy,” she said. “But sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to. Maybe someday your daddy will find a special woman to be your new mommy.” She leaned forward and embraced Maddie and wondered how many more ways her heart could break.

  Hank was in a foul mood. The gray storm clouds gathering in the distance reflected the tumult of his thoughts. He stood at the window where he’d kept vigil the day before and sipped his coffee. After the fight with Melody he’d stormed home not fit for human company. He’d spent most of the rest of the day watching from the window that looked out on the parking lot to make sure that Melody didn’t take off to do anything crazy, but her car had remained parked.

  The minute he’d rolled out of bed he’d returned to the window, relieved that her car was still in the same place. He’d told her he was through playing bodyguard to a woman who intentionally wanted to stir up a hornet’s nest. Unfortunately, he also couldn’t stand the idea of her going off half-cocked and getting hurt again.

  He drained his coffee cup and headed toward the kitchen for a fres
h cup. He set down his cup and leaned against the counter, rubbing eyes gritty from lack of sleep.

  It was hard to sleep with a woman’s voice echoing in your head. And it was damned irritating when the words the woman was speaking held more than a grain of hard truth.

  He filled his coffee cup and sat at the kitchen table where the morning paper was still wrapped in plastic in case rain fell. He was about to open it when he heard the front door open and the sound of his daughter’s footsteps running toward the kitchen.

  She needs you, Hank. Melody’s words banged around in his brain, bringing with them a shard of pain that nearly doubled him over. She needed him and he’d let her down.

  Maddie marched into the kitchen and straight to the refrigerator. “Hi, Daddy,” she said as she pulled out the gallon of milk.

  “Before you pour yourself a glass of milk, I want you to come here.”

  Maddie set the milk jug on the table and eyed him suspiciously. “Am I in trouble?”

  He smiled, love for her burgeoning in his heart. “Should you be in trouble?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said hesitantly. “But I stopped and saw Melody on my way from Grandma’s house.”

  “Why don’t you come over here and see me. I can’t remember the last time I gave my best girl a kiss.” The eager expression on Maddie’s face as she ran to his open arms once again made his heart ache. He pulled her up on his lap, closed his eyes and relished the hug they shared.

  “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered against his neck.

  “And I love you, baby,” he replied, surprised by a sting of tears in his eyes. “And things are going to change around here.”

  Maddie got down from his lap and looked at him curiously. “What’s going to change?”

  He smiled at her, his heart suddenly lighter, brighter than it had been in years. “From now on you’re going to be spending less time with Grandma and more time with me.”

  “That’s good,” Maddie said happily. “And are we gonna live on a ranch? Couldn’t you be a cowboy again?”

  I know that you’re a cowboy…a rancher. Melody’s voice once again whispered in his head.

  “I don’t know,” he answered Maddie truthfully. “I need to think about a lot of things before I make any decisions.”

  “I’m gonna make me a bowl of cereal, and while I eat I could help you make the decisions,” Maddie replied.

  Hank laughed. “Unfortunately, this is a decision I need to make on my own.” He was surprised to discover that the idea of another ranch filled him with excitement instead of the grief he’d once felt when contemplating life on a ranch.

  Melody had been right about several things. He didn’t want to be a bodyguard. He wanted to get back to the land where he belonged.

  He had been punishing himself in some kind of crazy survivor-guilt way by selling off the ranch and choosing a job that would never make him truly happy. And he wasn’t the only one who had been paying for his bad decisions. Maddie had paid as well.

  “How was Melody this morning?” he asked. The anger that had driven him out of Lainie’s place the day before was gone, replaced by a wistful sense of loss.

  “She was good. She was leaving to go have breakfast with Fred. He’s gonna be her new stepdaddy.” Maddie carefully poured a mound of cereal into a bowl.

  She should be safe going to Fred’s, Hank thought. It was daytime and there would be people out and about. There was no reason for him to be concerned. He reached for the morning paper and pulled off the plastic wrap.

  “Daddy?” Maddie sidled up next to him. “Someday maybe could you get me a stepmommy?”

  Instantly a vision of Melody filled his head. He saw her brushing Maddie’s hair and laughing in delight at something Maddie had said. She would be a good mother someday, but she’d told him from the very beginning she was just in Cotter Creek long enough to find her sister’s killer.

  She had no interest in a long-term relationship. He’d been nothing more to her than a summer fling, a salve against the wound of loss that Lainie’s murder had left behind.

  “Daddy?”

  Maddie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts and he forced a smile as he realized she was waiting for an answer to her question. “I don’t know. Maybe someday,” he replied and was pleased that she seemed satisfied with that.

  As Maddie focused on her cereal, Hank pulled the paper in front of him and opened it. Splashed across the front page was a huge photo of Fred Morrison and a construction worker in a hard hat. The headline read: Strip Mall Grand Opening in a Week.

  “I’ve seen him before,” Maddie said as she looked at the picture.

  “Who?”

  She stabbed a little finger at Fred’s face. “I’ve seen him before.”

  Hank frowned. “That’s the man who’s going to be Melody’s stepdaddy. Where have you seen him?”

  “At Lainie’s.”

  Hank stared at his daughter in confusion. “You must be mistaken. Fred has never been to Lainie’s place.”

  “Yes, he has,” Maddie contradicted. “I saw him one night when I was coming here from Grandma’s. He knocked on her door and she let him in.”

  Hank stared at her, his mind racing. He was sure Melody had told him Fred had never been inside Lainie’s place. A faint chill strolled up his spine. Why would Fred lie about something like that?

  Chapter Fourteen

  Fred Morrison’s home was located at the north edge of Cotter Creek on ten acres of prime pasture, but there was nothing remotely farmlike about the house itself.

  It was a huge three-story house that shouted money and success. It had always intrigued Melody that a single man could live alone in such opulence.

  There was a part of her that admired the fact that her mother hadn’t been seduced by the financial aspects of marrying Fred. It would have been easy for the single mother of two young girls to give in to Fred and have financial security, but Rita hadn’t succumbed to the easy route.

  Melody pulled her car around the circle drive and parked in front of the massive double doors. She hoped Fred wasn’t planning anything elaborate for her mother’s birthday. Rita wasn’t one for grandiose gestures and would prefer a quiet dinner as a celebration.

  The storm clouds that had been in the distance earlier had moved overhead, hanging low and dark and ominous.

  Fred answered her knock. Clad in a white apron he offered her a bright smile as he gestured her inside. “Hope you brought your appetite,” he said. “I’ve been working in the kitchen since dawn.”

  “And something smells wonderful,” she exclaimed. “But you really didn’t have to go to all this trouble.”

  “Nonsense, I love to cook whenever I get the opportunity. I keep telling your mother if she marries me she’ll never have to cook again.” Together they walked toward the back of the house where the kitchen was located.

  As they passed one of the rooms, Mike the painter poked his head out and waved with a friendly smile. “Hey, Melody, how you doing?”

  “Mike is working in my office,” Fred explained. “After we eat I’ll show you what’s being done in there.”

  The kitchen was a large room with a cozy eat-in alcove. He motioned her to the table, which was set with attractive blue-patterned plates. Orange juice was already in the glasses and Melody sat down and took a sip.

  “What happened to your cheek?” he asked as he headed toward the oven.

  “Oh, it’s nothing. I just scraped it when I was moving some things.” She reached up self-consciously and touched the nearly healed wound.

  “I realized after I spoke to you that it was Lainie who loved my apple crepes and you preferred my applecinnamon muffins, so I changed my menu plan.” Fred opened the oven door and bent to look inside, then closed it with a frown. “And it’s going to be a few minutes still before the muffins are done.”

  “You mentioned you were planning something for Mom’s birthday? We could talk about that while we wait,” she suggested.r />
  He joined her at the table and she noticed his sleek silver cane was nowhere to be seen. She’d never known for sure why he used it, suspected that it was more for ornament than need.

  “I was thinking maybe something in the back garden here.” He pointed out the window to the gardens in the distance. “We could have it catered, something simple but elegant. Perhaps about fifty or seventy-five guests.”

  Melody laughed. “Fred, my mother doesn’t know that many people.” She sobered. “And given what’s happened in the past couple of weeks I don’t really think she’ll be up for a big party.”

  Fred frowned. “Given what’s happened, I think a big party is exactly what she needs,” he countered. “She’s spent a lifetime worrying about Lainie and now she doesn’t have to worry anymore.”

  Melody sat back in her seat and stared at him. She’d never known Fred to be so insensitive before. He smiled apologetically, as if reading her thoughts. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. But you know how trying Lainie could be and all she was talking about before her death was having a baby. God, what a nightmare that would have been.”

  A faint alarm of apprehension went off in Melody’s head. She told herself not to be ridiculous, that this was Fred…Fred! The man who had been in their lives for years, the man who loved her mother to distraction.

  “Come on, let me show you what Mike’s doing in my office. We have a few more minutes before the muffins are finished.”

  She shoved away the crazy disquiet and stood to follow him out of the room. She was just on edge, spooked because this was the first time she’d been out since her attack.

  Fred’s office was a large room with a stone fireplace at one end and an ornate mahogany desk in front of it. The floor was covered with drop cloths and Mike lowered a paintbrush as they entered.

  “As you can see, I’m having that beige wall painted a deep burgundy. Then I’ve ordered two wingback chairs to go in front of the fireplace, and we’ll move the desk over there.” He pointed to the other side of the room. “I wanted to pretty up the room a bit for when your mother moves in.”