Three days later, Josiah thought he was going to go insane.
He was home and just about everyone in Silver Bell Falls had stopped by to see him. It was a good thing—a great thing!—but he was beginning to get a little stir crazy.
“Dude, you seriously need to relax.”
Looking over at his friend Dean Hughes, Josiah frowned. “That’s all I’ve been doing—relaxing. I hate it. I need to be up and doing something. Anything!”
Dean simply laughed softly. “We were all afraid of this.”
Josiah simply arched a dark brow at the comment.
“Look, we all know how involved you are in the community and you’re a great sheriff. And as much as I hate to say it…we’ve all been taking bets on how long you were going to stay at home before you started complaining.”
“He was complaining three hours after he got shot,” Melanie commented as she put a plate of cookies down on the table for the men to share. Then she winked at Josiah. “The nurses at the hospital were glad to see him go.”
Dean laughed again. “Really? Our mild-mannered sheriff upset some of the fine citizens of Silver Bell?”
“Let’s just say there’s been a decrease in his fan club,” Melanie teased.
“Ah-ha! So you admit I have a fan club!” Josiah quipped.
But Melanie simply pat his cheek and gave him a serene smile. “Sure. If that will make you feel better, then yes. You have a fan club.”
While he knew she was just saying it to make him happy, he’d still count it as a victory—something he didn’t have a lot of this week.
“Josiah, you have to give yourself time to heal. I know it sucks and you’re anxious to get back to work but…you’re not going to be of any use to anyone if you’re in pain,” Dean said reasonably.
And while he knew his friend was right, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Actually, everyone who came through their house and visited him in the hospital had all said the same thing, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. If just one person would agree with him—even if it didn’t lead to him going back to work any sooner—he’d still feel better.
“It’s my left shoulder,” Josiah argued. “I’m right-handed. I can still do almost everything that I need to do. What is the big deal about going down to the station and being in my office and just…supervising?”
“You can’t drive,” Melanie reminded him. “And Dr. Cooper said you need to give your body time to heal properly. There’s still a risk for infection. Can’t you just…?” Her words were cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. She excused herself and took the call in the other room.
“Melanie’s right,” Dean said.
“Then I need something to do,” he grumbled. “I can only read and watch TV for so long. Mel’s got a book she’s working on and I can’t monopolize all her time.”
“There isn’t anything I can do or say that’s going to make you feel better,” Dean said after a minute. “I get your frustration but you have to trust that the doctors know what they’re talking about.”
“Yeah. I know.” He went to slouch in his seat but it pulled at the wound and he hissed with pain.
Dean leaned forward and snatched up a cookie. “And that should be an immediate reminder of why you need to take it easy.”
“Okay, fine. Distract me. How’s Abby? How’s Maya?”
Relaxing back in his chair, Dean smiled. “They are deep in dance mode for the big Christmas recital. Practice has already begun and there is a lot of pink tulle around my house.”
Dean’s wife owned a dance studio in town and when he had gotten custody of his niece after his sister died, he had been introduced to Abby and the world of ballet. They had gotten married just after Christmas last year and he’d never seen his friend look so happy.
“Isn’t there always?” Josiah teased.
Nodding, Dean reached for another cookie. “Definitely, but whenever there’s a recital in the works, it seems to multiply.”
“And you love every minute of it.”
“Damn right I do.”
“So what’s next for you guys? You know, after recital season is over.”
Dean shrugged. “We’re looking to move into a bigger house. We want to stay close to town so Maya won’t have to change schools but…it’s time to find a place that’s ours—that all three of us have a say in.” He looked around the room. “I love what you and Melanie built here. It’s bright and open and it’s kind of what we’re thinking of.”
“If you’re not in a hurry then you should consider building. I swear there were times when it made us crazy, but in the end, the results were worth it.”
Another shrug. “Maybe. Although now that we’ve almost got our first year of marriage under our belts, I think we can take on the task of possibly designing our own place. I’m sure Abby would love to have dance space, Maya wants a playroom of her own, and…” He paused. “And we’re going to need a nursery.”
It took Josiah a minute to comprehend what Dean was saying but when he did, he couldn’t help but smile and reach out a hand to him. “Really? That’s great news! Congratulations!”
With a grin, Dean shook his hand. “Thanks. We’re just starting to tell people but Abby’s about eight weeks along. She’s feeling good and other than worrying about how she’ll teach classes when she’s further along, we’re both really excited. Maya is too.”
And that right there was what Josiah wanted more than anything with Melanie, to be married and settled in and starting a family. He wasn’t about to add the whole starting a family thing to their plates when they had yet to decide on a wedding date, but it was there in the back of his mind.
“So when is the…”
“Sorry about that,” Melanie said as she breezed back into the room. She looked a little frazzled and Josiah’s attention was immediately on her.
“Is everything okay?”
Without making eye contact with him, she sat down and fidgeted with her hair. “Uh-huh. Everything’s fine.” Smiling at Dean, she asked, “How are your girls doing?”
Dean must have sensed that something was up too because he glanced at Josiah before responding. He told her the news about the baby and while Melanie squealed with excitement, Josiah still felt like something was up. Who was on the phone? What was it about? It was obvious that she wasn’t going to talk about it while they had company so he had no choice but to bide his time.
Twenty minutes later, with Dean out the door, Josiah immediately pounced. “Now can we talk about what upset you on the phone?”
****
Frowning, Melanie sat down on the sofa and looked at Josiah. “It was Christine on the phone.” It wasn’t unusual for her editor to call her, but when she did it was normally to discuss edits or deadlines. She wasn’t due for either of those things.
“What did she want? You’re on track with this book and you’re done with the edits on the last manuscript so…what’s going on?”
If this were any other time, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell him. But with the shooting and him being so miserable…well…the timing of this call really sucked.
“There’s been some interest in the movie rights to my first book,” she said carefully. “Actually, we’ve been in talks with a production company for a couple of months now.”
Josiah’s eyes went wide. “What? Why haven’t you said anything?” Then he smiled. “This is amazing news!”
Melanie could feel herself blush. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up. You hear of this sort of thing all the time and more often than not, it doesn’t amount to anything.”
“But still, Mel, this time it could!”
She nodded. “That’s why Christine was calling. We have an offer and they are motivated to start filming in the spring.” With a soft sigh, she looked at him helplessly. “She wants me to go to Manhattan and meet with her and the producers to sign contracts.”
“That’s fantastic!” He stood and walked over to her and gently pulled her to her feet with his good arm. Wrapping it around her, he said, “I’m so proud of you!”
Mindful of his wounds, Melanie gently hugged him back. This was really good news for her—for her career—but she hated the thought of traveling right now and leaving Josiah home alone. On the few trips she’d had to make to meet with Christine, he’d never come with her. It was always easier for her to go alone and he didn’t particularly enjoy walking around the crowded city—especially when she was in meetings all day. He was quite possibly the only person who couldn’t find something to do in the city that never slept.
Go figure.
Together, they sat down on the sofa. “So when do you need to go?” he asked. “Is there a rush?”
“I think if I said I couldn’t go right now, Christine would do what she could to reschedule. But as it stands right now, she’s got a meeting scheduled for Monday.”
“Okay, wow. That’s five days away.” He looked at her expectantly. “You’re gonna go, right?”
She hesitated ever-so-slightly and Josiah immediately jumped on it.
“You don’t have to worry about me and I certainly don’t want you missing out on such an important meeting because of me. I’m fine, Mel. Everyone is making more of a big deal out of this than they need to. Even the doctor said he couldn’t believe what a clean wound it is—the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. I just have to baby my shoulder for a few weeks.”
“Josiah, I know that but it doesn’t mean I want to just pick up and leave you so soon. Your arm is in a sling and there are a lot of things you still can’t do on your own. I mean…you can’t drive and you certainly can’t cook with just one hand. What if you needed help with something and I wasn’t here and…”
“Okay, okay, okay,” he said softly, soothingly. “I get it. I do. And as much as I appreciate how you want to take care of me, Mel, you have a job to do and you need to be able to do it. I’m sure your dad could come and stay with me. It won’t be a big deal.”
“It’s a big deal to me,” she murmured. Studying him hard, she said, “If I was injured, would you leave?”
Melanie didn’t even have to wait for his answer. She saw it in his eyes.
Never.
He would never leave her.
“Don’t ask me to,” she said firmly. “If I have to, I can Skype the meeting with Christine. I told her what was going on here and she understands. We’ve handled contract negotiations via email before and we can do it again.”
And they had. Granted, they were standard publishing contracts that she’d been signing with her publisher for years and there wasn’t anything new other than more money in advances, but Melanie still felt confident they could handle movie negotiations the same way. She would talk to Christine beforehand and talk about what they were offering and if she had any counter offer and see how much creative control she was going to have and…it should all be okay, right? What benefit could there possibly be to her going and meeting with these people in person?
And on top of that, there was so much for Melanie to be handling here at home. Besides taking care of Josiah, she did still have a book to write. If she took time off to go to Manhattan, chances are she’d go a few days before the meeting and stay for a day or two after to take in the city and it was time away from her keyboard that she really couldn’t afford to take.
And as if that wasn’t enough, they still had a wedding to start planning.
Josiah shifted beside her, his dark eyes studying her.
“What? What are you looking at?”
He gave her a lazy grin. “You looked like you were thinking about something pretty hard there for a minute.”
Why deny it? Josiah was scary-good at reading her. “I guess I’m just working it all out in my head—the reasons not to go. We live in a day and age where meetings can be held without everyone involved being in the same room, so really, it makes things so much easier.”
“Mel…”
“And Christine is always telling me how I am easily distracted. Like all the time. No doubt if I step away from this book for four or five days, it will take me weeks before I get my groove back. And nobody wants that. Things are going well—the words are flowing and I feel like I’m finally in my characters’ heads and it would be crazy of me to think it will all just come back after an extended break.”
“Mel…” he repeated with a sigh.
“And we still haven’t picked a wedding date!”
That one seemed to shut him up.
Literally.
His mouth snapped shut.
Nodding and smiling with just a hint of victory, she went on. “That’s right. We still have to look at the calendar and pick a date. I haven’t forgotten that, have you?”
He mutely shook his head.
“And—again—if we don’t sit down and do this now like we had planned, it will get pushed aside and then what? Then it will be months or even another year before we talk about it again.”
“I don’t think that will happen,” he argued lightly.
“But you never know! With the distraction of this trip and then the contract and then the book and then the movie…where will it end, Josiah? What happened to you on Sunday should teach us that life is precious. We shouldn’t put off tomorrow what we can do today! We need to stop wasting time and take care of the things that matter most!”
She was spiraling; she knew she was spiraling and yet she couldn’t stop.
“You are what matters most to me!” she cried, taking his good hand in hers. “Why would I go to Manhattan and leave you when you need me? Why would I stop being productive at my job when I don’t have to?”
This time he did stop her. “Mel, sweetheart, you need to relax a bit. I don’t think you’ve taken a breath in over a minute.”
She realized she was a bit breathless…
“But you get what I’m saying, right?” she questioned.
“I do, but…I don’t know. I still think you should go. It’s been a while since you’ve taken a trip and for all you know, the time away will help with your creativity.”
“My creativity is just fine right now, whereas you are not.”
Rolling his eyes, he squeezed her hand. “I love you, Mel, and I love the way you take care of me, but you’re worrying for nothing. I’m a grown man and I can take care of myself.” Then he shrugged. “You know, if your dad can come and stay though, that would be great.”
He had a point, dammit. Her father would come and stay with Josiah in a heartbeat. The two of them would be just fine for a few days and really, she didn’t need to take a lot of extra time.
Although…Christmas shopping in Manhattan was kind of awesome.
No! she chided herself. You can go on this trip strictly for business. There was no time for pleasure. Josiah needs you!
With a small sigh, she knew he was right. She’d call her dad and ask him to come and stay for a few days. And he’d agree even though he had a job he had to go to and that would mean Josiah would be on his own most of the day. No doubt he’d try to go down to the station if left to his own devices and…
Wait.
She didn’t have to leave him home alone.
He could come to the city with her! They could have a little romantic getaway!
With a happy gasp, she looked at him with a big smile. “Come with me!”