by Steena Marie
If you stay, we could have girl time! It’s been too long.
Girl time. That sounded promising and the perfect opportunity maybe for Melissa to confide in Becky about Wade. She needed someone to talk to and help plan his return home. Who was she kidding? She needed someone to help her out of the hole she’d dug herself into and it didn’t look like Parker was that person anymore.
It’s a date! I have something I need to tell you anyways. There. She’d done it. Now she couldn’t back down even if she’d wanted to. Becky wouldn’t let her.
Is this the deep dark secret you’ve been keeping for years and can’t bear the weight of anymore? Please tell me it’s something good?
Deep dark secret? How did Becky know?
8
Nikki
After Parker had left the night before—late, considering neither of them was in a hurry for him to leave—Nikki had lain awake for hours to think about what he’d told her about Melissa and Wade.
It was crazy. All of it was absolutely insane. But as the hours ticked by and she tossed and turned, slowly Nikki came to some sort of understanding about why Melissa would rather the world think Wade had left her. It was a no-win situation for her, and as a mother, Nikki could relate to wanting to protect her child as much as possible from the fallout of the accident.
And it made so much sense about why Melissa wasn’t entirely pleased with Nikki’s presence in Parker’s life. Not only had he assumed the role of the male figure for Abby, he’d also in a way assumed that role for Melissa, too. And even if it wasn’t romantic the way Parker claimed—and Nikki believed him—it was still a relationship and it would need to be respected.
At least that was the decision Nikki came to right before she finally drifted off.
The next morning, she didn’t have time to think about the whole Melissa and Parker situation right away. Ryan was up and tore down the stairs for breakfast before he headed out to spend the day with his dad.
“Slow down, buddy.” Nikki shook her head. She smiled and she stepped out of Ryan’s way as he raced through the kitchen for the second time. “What are you looking for?”
“I want to show Dad the new app I got the other day and I can’t find my iPod.”
“I’m sure it’s here somewhere.” The truth was, Nikki had no idea where it might be. Ryan always misplaced his things. It could be anywhere. “Where was the last place you saw it?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Can you just text it, Mom?”
“Text it? Since when do you have text? And why didn’t I know about it?”
“Mom. Seriously.” Ryan reached past her at the sink and grabbed her phone. “Parker set it up for me last week. Don’t worry—it only works on the Wi-Fi.”
Nikki watched as Ryan used her phone to send himself a text message. “Wait, we have Wi-Fi?” She didn’t mean it to come out as dumb as it sounded. She knew she had Internet access. But she’d just assumed it was confined to her computer and her desk. There’d never been a reason for Wi-Fi in the house because she did all her work at her desk. “Why?”
“Because it’s 2014. That’s why.”
Nikki couldn’t help it; she laughed. “That’s true. But seriously, how did it happen and…why?”
At the beeping sound across the room, Ryan smiled triumphantly as he dug his iPod out from the depths of his school bag. “Because I needed text, obviously.” He grinned and in that moment looked so much like his father that it took Nikki’s breath away. Ryan had really come into his own since they’d moved to Halfway, and she knew that Matt was a large part of that. As was Parker, who’d been such a good influence in more ways than just the Wi-Fi scenario.
“Well, it’s probably a good thing,” she agreed. “I guess this means I can take my laptop and work from the couch now.”
Ryan looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I guess.”
“And I can get a hold of you and call you down for dinner.”
Ryan rolled his eyes again.
“And…”
“Okay, Mom.” He held up his hand and Nikki laughed. “I get it.”
“I was just pointing out all the benefits of Wi-Fi is all.” She smirked. “I was agreeing with you.”
“Whatever.” They both turned at the sound of a truck when it pulled into the yard. “That’s probably Dad.”
Sure enough, it was Matt’s truck. He hopped out of the cab of his truck and made his way to the front door, where he knocked once before Nikki waved through the window for him to come in.
“Hey Dad!” Ryan rushed across the room but stopped himself before he gave his father a hug. He fist bumped him instead and Nikki felt a little tug in her heart. He was growing up so quickly. “I just need to grab a few things and we can go, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
“We can text you to tell you to hurry up,” Nikki chimed in with a grin that got yet another eye roll, this time with a sigh as Ryan ran off. She laughed as he left the room.
“What was that all about?”
“Apparently Parker set us up with Wi-Fi and Ryan was trying to convince me why it was so great, so I was helping.” She added the last word with another giggle.
“Seriously? You didn’t have Wi-Fi? You do realize it’s—”
“2014. I know.”
“And you’re a web designer. Aren’t web people usually up on this kind of thing?”
“There was no need for it.” Nikki waved her hand to dismiss the conversation. “Anyway, how’s Becky feeling?”
Matt got a strange look on his face and glanced away. “She’s fine.”
“Fine? Last night you said she was really sick.” Without asking whether he wanted one, Nikki put a cup of coffee in front of Matt. He accepted it with a nod of thanks. “Must have been a twenty-four-hour thing then, huh?”
“Must have been.”
She watched him closely. His left eyebrow twitched up and he rubbed his nose. He’d never been a good liar. He was definitely keeping something from her.
She shook her head and with a sigh, put her hands on her hips. “Spill.”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
His protest died on his lips when he saw the way she looked at him. “How do you do that?”
“You’re way too easy to read.” Nikki laughed. “Now tell me what’s going on.”
Matt shook his head. “Can’t.” He held up a hand to ward off her protests. “But Becky can. I think she’s having a bit of a girl’s day.” He used his fingers for quotes. “Why don’t you head over there later? If you don’t have any plans, that is.” He gave her a side-glance that implied a whole lot more than words could have said.
“If you’re talking about Parker…”
“You know I am.” Matt took a sip of his coffee and smiled behind his mug. Once again, Nikki marveled at how easy it was between them now. She never would have guessed it could be so good after everything that had happened. “You two are getting pretty serious, aren’t you?”
Nikki shrugged. The truth was, she didn’t know. She’d like to think so and most of the time she did think so. But they’d been together awhile now and she was just finding out about Melissa. And even though he’d told her, Nikki couldn’t help but feel a little let down that he’d waited so long to say something. If he felt as serious about her as she felt about him, wouldn’t he have been totally honest with her by now? And if they were serious, then wasn’t it time their relationship moved forward? At least a little bit? She sighed and exhaled hard.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like the sound of a woman in a happy relationship.” Matt put his mug down and met her eyes. “Wanna talk about anything?”
“Not really,” she lied. She did want to talk. But there was no way she could tell Melissa’s secret to Matt. No, she’d have to talk to Melissa about that. And then maybe she’d feel some sort of reassurance that things with Parker really were as platonic and helpful as he’d said they were. “But I will go see Becky today.” She forced a smile to her fa
ce. “Parker’s helping out at the flower shop and I don’t really feel like doing any work. This will be a great excuse to get out of the house.”
Before Matt could pry any further, Ryan bound down the stairs. “You two have fun. Matt, I’ll call you later about dropping him off.”
“Okay, Mom. But you know you could call me if I had a phone?”
Nikki shook her head and it was her turn to roll her eyes. “Keep dreaming, kiddo. Go. Enjoy your day.”
“You too, Nikki.” Matt gave her one last look before he offered her a friendly smile and headed out.
***
She hadn’t been invited to Becky’s house, not really. But it wouldn’t matter. Their friendship was back on solid ground now after so many years, even if it was different. Nikki was sure Becky wouldn’t mind her crashing a little get-together. Since surely her invitation must have gotten lost, she thought with only the slightest air of annoyance as she pulled into the yard at the Christmas tree farm and saw Melissa’s car parked out front of the house.
When Becky opened the door, she looked surprised to see her. She also looked as if she’d been crying. But she recovered quickly from her shock and pushed open the screen door, before she pulled Nikki into a hug. “What a surprise. It’s good to see you.”
“Well, Matt said you were feeling better.” She stopped herself before asking her outright what was going on, but added, “And he said you were having a bit of a ladies’ day and I should come out. So here I am.”
Becky’s face split into a smile. “Of course you should come out. I’m glad you did. Come in. We were just going to try some coffee cake that I made for the blog. Would you like a piece?”
“Would I? Of course.” Nobody turned down Becky’s baking. Nobody.
Nikki followed Becky into the kitchen where she expected to see a few women, but it was only Melissa at the large oak table. She quickly wiped her eyes and gave a smile anyone could tell was forced. “Nikki. Hi.”
“Hi.” Nikki glanced between the two women. What was going on? “Is everything okay here? I hope I didn’t—”
“No. I was telling—”
“I just told her—”
Melissa and Becky spoke at once.
“You were both telling secrets?” Nikki tried to smile, but she couldn’t help the prick of jealousy she felt. Becky was telling Melissa her secrets now?
“Well, I just…” Melissa broke out into tears.
“She is just so happy with my news,” Becky covered quickly. It was clearly a distraction. And it worked.
Nikki spun her head around to see Becky lit up in a smile, her hand on her stomach.
“No.”
Becky nodded.
“Oh my God!” Nikki flew across the space and pulled her friend into a tight hug before she quickly released her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t.”
“I’m not going to break, Nikki.” Becky laughed and twisted out of Nikki’s arms. “But there is a very good chance that I’m going to be sick, so don’t squeeze too tight. This morning sickness is going to kill me.”
“I keep telling her it’s a good sign,” Melissa said. “It means the baby’s healthy.”
“I know, I know.” Becky waved Nikki over to the table, where she poured Nikki a cup of tea. “And of course that’s my first concern. It’s always my first concern.” Nikki nodded. With Becky’s history of miscarriages, of course that was the thought on everyone’s mind. “But I’m past the three-month mark now and it can stop any day.”
The women all nodded sympathetically, although for Nikki, her pregnancy had been so easy, she thankfully hadn’t experienced any morning sickness at all. Of course, it could be different if she got pregnant now. That thought came out of nowhere. She certainly hadn’t thought of more children, but that was before things started to get serious with Parker. Maybe…she shook her head to clear the idea. There’d be time to think about all that later.
Thinking about Parker reminded Nikki of what he’d said the night before about Melissa. She glanced across the table right as Melissa lifted her head to meet Nikki’s gaze. Her red rimmed eyes reminded Nikki that she’d burst into tears only a moment ago. “Is everything okay, Melissa? You look like…well, is there anything you want to talk about? I’m really sorry about everything with Parker yesterday. I didn’t realize that Wade—” Nikki stopped herself abruptly before she said too much.
Melissa narrowed her eyes. “Didn’t realize what?”
“Oh, just that…well, you know…”
Nikki could have smacked herself. She’d said too much. Way too much. And judging by the way Melissa glared at her, she thought so too.
She reached for a piece of the coffee cake and quickly stuffed some in her mouth. “This is really good, Becky,” she said through a full mouth. “Is it a new recipe?”
“What do you know?”
Melissa’s voice was hard. Nikki swallowed the cake before she turned back to face the other woman.
“What did Parker tell you?”
Nikki glanced quickly between Melissa and Becky. “Maybe this isn’t—”
“She knows everything.” Melissa’s voice was clipped tightly. “Because I told her. It was my story to tell. Not Parker’s.”
“He was worried about you is all,” Nikki said quickly. “And he didn’t want me to think that—”
“So it was about you.” Melissa stood. The chair scraped loudly in the room as she shoved it back. “It wasn’t about me at all. Or what was best for my daughter. I should have known.” She pulled her purse strap over her arm. “Thank you for the tea, Becky.”
Nikki jumped to her feet. She couldn’t let Melissa leave. Not when she was so upset. The problem was, she didn’t know what to say to her to make it okay. “Melissa, don’t go.” She took a step towards her. “I know it must be so hard what you’re going through and Parker’s been so great to help out with Abby and everything. I didn’t realize that our relationship made that harder and I’m really sorry. I—”
“You have no idea what I’m going through.” Tears spilled down Melissa’s cheeks, but it was easy to see they were tears of anger. Nikki took a reflexive step back. “You have no idea at all,” Melissa said again before she walked past her.
Nikki flinched when the front door slammed. She looked at Becky, who simply shook her head. That hadn’t gone at all the way she’d hoped, and she had a feeling that things were only going to get worse.
9
Melissa
How dare he!
Her vision clouded from tears, Melissa gripped the door handle to her vehicle and bent over. An agonizing sob tore through her body.
Parker had no right. No right. How could he betray her like that? How?
“Melissa, wait!” She heard Nikki’s voice call her from the house.
Hearing Nikki’s voice forced Melissa to push down everything she felt. She was not going to let that woman see the damage her words had caused. So she made herself stand but she didn’t turn.
“Please, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Melissa heard the lie in Nikki’s voice.
“Didn’t what? Come on, let’s be honest here.” She turned and faced the woman her brother-in-law had betrayed her trust for. “Why did you come out here today? Now? Did you know I was going to be here? What? You couldn’t stand the thought that I’m friends with Becky, so you had to come out and get in the middle of that too?” She spat the words out, uncaring whether what she said was the truth or not.
“Of course not!” Nikki’s eyes grew round and the shock on her face told Melissa she’d gone too far, that she’d been unfair with her accusations. “Matt said…” She turned towards the house. “Becky…I just… God, I’m so sorry.”
Melissa shook her head, Nikki’s pleas falling on deaf ears.
“Let’s make one thing clear, shall we? What happens in my life has no bearing on yours. I do not care if you are dating Parker or even sleeping with him. Hell, I don’t care what you are to him. To me, you’re
nothing. Understand? NOTHING.” Melissa barely restrained herself from screaming at Nikki.
“That’s not fair.” Nikki visibly strengthened in front of Melissa and walked towards her. “You’re hurt. I get it. But you don’t get to lash out at me because of it.”
“Really? You’re going to tell me what I can and can not do? Next you’ll be telling me the mistake I made with Wade, right? Like you can talk.” Melissa wiped at the tears that continued to run down her face, hating herself for showing any weakness to Nikki.
Melissa didn’t understand where this anger was coming from and there was a part of her that felt horrible for taking it out on Nikki. She was about to apologize for her anger but stopped at the fury she saw in Nikki’s gaze.
“I made a mistake. But at least I owned up to it. And I’m doing all that I can to correct it. You have no right to throw that in my face. And I’m trying here, Melissa. I’m trying. You’re mad. I get it. But Parker didn’t betray you. You placed him in a difficult position…or did you never think of that?”
“What are you talking about?” What position did she place Parker in?
“Couples don’t keep secrets from each other.” Nikki’s voice had lowered as she said the words, the space between them shortened.
Melissa looked over to the porch; Becky stood there, her arms wrapped around her body. She thought about her conversation with her friend, not just the understanding she’d received but the honesty too.
You’ve made a mess of things, Mel, Becky had said. And she was right. She knew that. But still…Parker had betrayed her. The least he could have done was talk to her first, tell her what he intended to do. Give her a heads-up that his girlfriend knew her deepest and darkest secret.
“This wasn’t Parker’s secret to tell.” Melissa sighed, the anger that had filled her suddenly gone.
