Chapter Ten
Melanie
Melanie woke up, and stretched. She had been at her parents’ house for two days now. The hospital had decided to allow the interns a small break for Thanksgiving. She had spent most of those two days catching up on sleep. When she wasn’t sleeping she was thinking of Tye. Hell even during her sleep she was dreaming of him. Dreaming of how it felt when he kissed her, the way his hands felt when he gripped her hips.
“Damn.” She shook herself out of the memory and pulled herself up in her childhood bed. Today was actually Thanksgiving Day, and she could already smell her mom’s hard work in the kitchen. Melanie may not have wanted to spend her time in the house cooking like her mom, but her mom excelled at it.
Melanie stole a glance at her phone while she was getting ready. She hadn’t heard from Tye since she left town. After his confession that she was his mate she had fled. Aside from the work they had to do together at the hospital she had stayed away from him. He had also taken pains to respect her need for distance. He no longer found ways to touch her or be close to her. He never asked her to come over and study any more either.
Her mind was blurry from all of her different emotions. She was relieved at not having the constant pressure of figuring out how she felt about him. At the same time, she missed him, and her heart was screaming that she did in fact know how she felt about him. It was all such a mess. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but that would require speaking to him. Could Shifters and humans be together? This whole mate thing sounded like it should just be a Shifter thing.
She looked at her phone again. Still nothing. She knew it would stay that way too. He was leaving it in her hands to move the relationship forward. She threw the phone across her room. Stupid bear.
“Melanie. Honey? Are you okay I just heard a loud noise?”
Melanie threw her door open for her mom. Her mom had her hair pulled up in a ponytail, and she was already covered in flour. She looked happy though. Melanie wondered if her mom had ever regretted her decision to be a homemaker.
“I’m fine mom. Just knocked some stuff off my dresser. How’s the cooking going?”
“Great. The turkey’s been in the oven since three in the morning. I’m working on the desserts now. Dinner will still be around five. Your father invited some of his associates over.”
Melanie didn’t like the sound of that.
“Who?”
Her mom looked down and started brushing flour off of her shirt. Melanie knew she was trying to delay answering the question. She didn’t know why she asked. She knew exactly who her dad had invited over, and why. She was already dreading the dinner ahead.
“Never mind. Do you need any help?” Her mom laughed at her question. She blushed a little. She wasn’t much of a cook, but she could certainly follow instructions.
“I can chop, mix or maybe even taste test if you don’t trust me to do the hard parts.”
“That sounds wonderful honey. Come on I’ll show you how to make your grandma’s secret no bake cookie recipe.”
Melanie followed her mom down to the kitchen. It looked like a tornado had torn through the place. Her mom handed her a recipe card with very specific instructions for making the no bake cookies. She read through it twice, and then decided it was best to just dive in. Once she got all the ingredients gathered she went to work boiling, and whisking.
Her mom and her worked well together. The meal was pretty well done, or at least shoved in one of the four ovens her mom had in the giant kitchen. There were still a few hours until dinner would be served. Her mom and her talked and laughed. She couldn’t remember a time when they had such a great time together.
Her dad walked in then, he had been camped out in his man cave watching football all day.
“Smells wonderful Lucy. You outdo yourself every year. Melanie, I see you’re learning some tricks from the best.”
“Mom may have divulged a few family secrets.” She laughed as she dipped her hand in the cookie jar.
“I’m glad to see you showing interest in some more domestic traits. Have you caught up on all your sleep yet?”
Her dad was making a dig at her, and she knew it. She decided to ignore it though. She knew her mom hated their fighting, and she didn’t want to ruin their good day with silly bantering.
“I feel much better today. Mom said you invited over some friends this year.”
“Yes, I invited the Carr’s over for dinner. Ethan is excited to see you. I trust that you will be welcoming.”
Welcoming. That was her dad’s way of saying you better play nice in front of his guests. No way in hell was she playing this game with her today. She was so sick of the game. The thought of sitting through an even of playing nice with Ethan, while he tried his best to pick her up made her stomach curl. There was only one man she wanted touching her. She smiled now thinking of Tye, and the way he touched her.
“Of course.”
“Very good. Well I’ll leave you ladies to it then.” Her dad leaned over and gave her mom a kiss on the forehead. Her mom smiled softly, and then went back to chopping onions for her dressing. Melanie hoped her mom was truly as happy as she seemed. Maybe it was time her dad got a taste of his own medicine. Melanie excused herself and ran upstairs.