CHAPTER 11
EVAN
Nightfall came and it was time to put the kids to bed. The gray clouds were looming over the cabin, but they hadn’t yet started dumping snow. Hadley was practically asleep on Melanie’s shoulder as she bounced her in her arms.
“Ready to go to bed, buddy?” I asked.
“No,” Liam said, yawning.
“That yawn says differently,” Melanie said.
“No sleep,” Liam said.
Hadley’s cheek was pressed into Melanie’s shoulder. She looked so peaceful resting on her new friend. It warmed my soul to watch them. I gathered Liam in my arms and took him back into his bedroom, and immediately he started trying to get away from me.
“No, Uncle Evan. No sleep,” he said.
“Not even with the alphabet song?” I asked.
“No!”
“What if Miss Melanie comes in here and sings it with me?” I asked.
I watched his eyes light up with joy just at the mention of it.
“Mew sing?” he asked.
“I can go ask. Let’s get your pajamas on and get you in bed and then I can go find her and ask.”
Liam fought me every step of the way, but I eventually had him in his pajamas. He wanted me to keep the light on just so he knew I had to come back, and I chuckled at his logic. He was smart, just like my brother, and the ache of loss quickly began to settle in.
But it alleviated itself the moment I walked into Hadley’s room.
“There you go, sweet girl,” Melanie said. “How does that feel?”
Hadley was stretching her arms as a massive yawn unhinged her jaw. The little girl clung to Melanie as she plucked her from the changing table and carried her over to the crib. I could hear Melanie singing something in Hadley’s ear as she slowly lowered my niece into her crib but it wasn’t until I took a step forward that I caught the last of the song.
“... you’ll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my Hadley away.”
She was singing the song I sang to Hadley every night, and I was stunned since she had revised and personalized it the exact same way I did.
“Oh, hey there,” Melanie said, whispering. “I think she’s almost asleep.”
We both watched as Hadley rustled around in her crib before she rolled over and closed her eyes. The beautiful woman before me slowly tiptoed from the crib over to where I was standing and then we trickled out into the hallway just as I shut the door behind us both. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“How do you know that song?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s a pretty common one. My father used to sing it to me and he’d add my name all the time. I was trying to keep her quiet since I heard Liam kicking up a bit of a tiff over having to go to bed.”
“He wants you to come and sing to him,” I said.
“Sure,” she said.
Her eyes rose to meet mine before she walked past me and down the hallway. I looked back at Hadley’s closed door and listened for her, making sure she didn’t cry for me or need anything else. I opened the door one last time and took a peek inside, watching as her small little chest rose and fell quickly with her breaths.
Then, I heard a small voice coming from around the corner.
“A, B, C, D, E, F, G…”
I walked down the hallway and peered into Liam’s room and watched as he curled up next to Melanie. She was singing his favorite song lightly in his ear while her hands ran through his hair. His eyes were already drooping as his hands pulled the covers up to his chin, content with the scenario he’d found himself in. It was interesting, the way we worked together as a team. The kids enjoyed her, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I started wondering how long I could get her to stay.
Would she stay if I asked?
“Goodnight, sweet boy,” Melanie said. “Get some rest.”
She bent down to kiss his forehead before she tucked him in tightly beneath the covers. I ushered her out of the room and shut off Liam’s light, then I escorted her down the hallway and she sat back down on the couch.
“Thanks for helping,” I said.
“It’s not a problem. They’re such sweet kids.”
I opened the fridge and grabbed us some beers before I walked back over to her. I set them down on the table before I cracked one open for her, and she took it with a smile on her face. We drank our first one in relative silence, with nothing but the fire crackling in front of us but, once we got halfway through our second round of beers, she finally piped up.
“Do you think you’ll always live out here?” Melanie asked.
“For a time, I thought so,” I said.
“But you don’t think that now?” she asked.
“There are just—some things that are up in the air. Depends on where they take me.”
“Well, your niece and nephew are beautiful kids. Their parents must be really proud.”
I wasn’t ready to open up about any of that. Not even to Melanie. The wound was still too raw.
“So, you grew up here?” I asked her, trying to change the subject.
She nodded. “Yep. My mom left us when I was just a baby and my dad bought our house up here and raised me in it. He wanted to get away from town and all the gossip.”
I looked over at her. “How was that? Growing up without a mother, I mean?” I was curious to have her take on it as I thought about the two children sleeping down the hall.
She thought for a moment before answering. “I mean, I guess it was fine. I don’t have any memories of it being any different. My dad is amazing and always did everything he could to make my life a good one. My best friend Layla’s mom stepped in whenever I had girl questions that my dad couldn’t answer. All in all, I don’t think I’m any worse for it,” she said.
I nodded, somewhat heartened by her answer. If Hadley could have a strong female figure to help with the things I didn’t have a clue about, she would be fine. I found myself wondering if Melanie could be that figure.
“So, you haven’t mentioned having a job you need to call since you’ve been stuck here. Are you working?” I asked, curious to know more about this beautiful creature.
She shook her head. “No. Not right now. I graduated from U of Montana last spring with a degree in Early Childhood Development. I want to be a preschool teacher. Problem is, there are no jobs in town here and I can’t really move at the moment.”
That explained her ease with the children. “Why can’t you move?”
Her brow furrowed ever so slightly. “My dad had a massive heart attack over the summer and I’m the only one he has to take care of him. He’s pretty weak still and needs to take his meds regularly. He keeps telling me to go, but I can’t just leave him. He would never leave me,” she said.
The more she talked, the more I was starting to admire this woman. Not only did she have a natural love for children, but she was giving up her own life to take care of her father.
“You’ve mentioned calling your dad a few times since you’ve been here. Is he okay? I can take the snowmobile over to your house if you need me to check in on him,” I heard myself offer.
Melanie smiled and it warmed my heart. “Thank you, Evan, but no. He’s actually doing okay. There’s plenty of food in the house and he’s figured out how to set the alarm to remind him to take his meds. It’s looking like he doesn’t need me as much as I thought he did.”
There was a tinge of sadness in her voice as I listened to her talk. I studied her face in profile as she stared into the fire and recognized the look almost immediately. Loneliness.
My loneliness had almost eaten me alive before those kids came to stay with me, and I could see the loneliness etched into her face.
I found myself wanting to do anything I could to make her feel better.
She grabbed for my beer bottle and our fingers touched again. That spark ignited, sending a chill ricocheting up my arm. It puckered the skin on my exposed forearm while her cheeks began to tint again but this time she reared up and walked away.
I couldn’t let the moment slip away again.
Especially since I didn’t know how long she would stay.
I heard the bottles clattering down onto the kitchen counter before her footsteps approached me from behind. She came around and stepped over me, trying to get back to her side of the couch. My hands were upon her hips before I could think my actions through, her body tumbling onto mine as her hands pressed into the swell of my chest.
She pressed against my muscles even as her eyes darted towards my lips.
We sat there in silence and I could feel her trembling in my lap. Her hands were still pressing against me, so I lightened my touch, letting her know that if she didn’t want this, it didn’t have to happen.
But even as her hands pressed into my chest, her lips slowly made their way toward mine.
The kiss was hesitant and guarded. Like she was feeling out what I would do. My hands gripped her hips and slowly scooted her closer, and her heat started radiating down onto my cock. Her plump lips massaged themselves against mine as the palms of her hands pressed into my chest, and soon she fisted her hands in my shirt to pull me closer. My arms slipped around her lower back, drawing her nearer to my raging cock. She was still shivering, still panting with an anxiety I couldn’t quite place.
But she moaned into my lips before she planted her knees into the couch, opening herself to me as her tongue found mine.
I could feel my cock throbbing against my jeans. I could feel my fingertips drifting underneath the hem of her sweatshirt. The softness of her skin was exactly how I’d imagined it would be and it sent electricity surging through my veins. I wanted her more than I could stand.
Her hands tugged at my flannel. I could feel her quivering fingertips trying to undo the buttons on my shirt. Her hips were grinding down into me, coaxing my cock more awake than it had ever been. I could feel it already leaking from its tip and, as my hands rushed up her back, I felt her pause.
I held every single carnal part of me back as she pulled taut.
“Melanie?” I asked. “Are you all right?”
But all she did was tremble before she slowly removed her hands from my shirt.
“Uncle Evan?”
Liam’s small voice pierced the room and Melanie went flying. She jumped off my lap and stood on her feet, her head whipping around on a swivel to see if he was in the room. She took off for the hallway as I groaned, running my hands through my hair as I tried to will my erection to go away. I could hear Melanie comforting Liam and trying to coax him into going back to sleep, but all I could think about was her reaction.
How tense she’d become the moment my hands raced up her back.
“I’m gonna get him some water,” I heard Melanie say.
I heard the water running for just a little bit before it shut off. I turned around and watched her as her eyes rose to mine. I could see them darkened with lust but, as the haze slowly cleared up, there was something else there that was slowly becoming familiar with her.
There was fear and I didn’t know what I’d done to scare her so badly.
“I’m gonna give this to Liam and then I’m gonna head to bed,” she said.
“Here, I can get it,” I said.
I got up and approached her and she took a small step back. It sank my heart knowing she was frightened of me for some reason. I reached my long arm out for the cup and she handed it over to me, our fingers brushing up against one another as the cup transferred ownership.
Her neck flushed at the contact just as tears rose to her eyes.
“Goodnight, Evan,” she said breathlessly.
Then, I watched her walk past me and stride down the hallway before I could even wish her a goodnight in return.