CHAPTER 19
EVAN
I couldn’t figure this woman out. I wanted to. I wanted to know why she was so weird about my working in the shed and why she kept prying about my brother. But it was like each of us was waiting for the other to open up first. I wasn’t sure if I could let her in until she let me in, but it felt like she was playing that same game. It was exhausting, especially when I actually wanted to get to know her.
She was hiding something though, and I was determined to figure out what it was.
She got weird every time I mentioned I was going to the shed, which was odd. Why would a shed elicit that kind of reaction? None of it helped with my trust issues and, even though I wanted to let my guard down with her, I found it hard. Her body was so easy to succumb to. My fingertips hummed, begging for a connection with her whenever I passed her body.
And yet, we were still strangers, both seemingly hell-bent on waiting for the other to crack.
I got back to the cabin with everything in tow and saw Melanie playing with Liam through the window. The sight warmed my soul and made my heart beat rapidly in my chest. The kids were so happy when she was around, and if anything, it was them that would make me trust her. She was good for them, and something in my gut told me they were good for her.
I walked into the cabin and sat everything down. I was gone much longer than I’d wanted to be, which meant I couldn’t start on any of my projects. If I got going now I wouldn’t have time to break for dinner because I’d want to finish what I started.
“Everything go okay?” Melanie asked.
Something about her tone rose my hackles. It was almost as if she was nervous. “Yep. Found everything I needed. I was gone longer than I thought, though, so I won’t be working today,” I said.
“In that case, I think I’ll go on home,” she said.
“Mew leaving?” Liam asked.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but I gotta go see my dad,” she said.
“You know you can stay for dinner if you’d like. Or come back for it,” I said.
“Not tonight, thanks,” she said.
She seemed distant and it was beginning to worry me.
“Were the kids okay while I was gone?” I asked.
“They were angels, as always,” she said, as she pulled on her coat.
“Did something happen?” I asked.
She threw a glance my way and held my gaze, but the look on her face was hesitant. The brightness in her eyes had faded and in its place was something that bordered on accusatory.
What the hell had happened while I was gone?
“Melanie. Are you sure you’re all right?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said.
I wanted to believe her, but my mind was screaming at me not to. But before I could get a word in edgewise, she was out the door and headed to her car. She didn’t kiss the kids on the head like she normally did and a sinking feeling overtook me.
I had to figure out what had happened while I was in town.
Liam pressed his face against the glass, whimpering as he watched Melanie’s car back down the driveway. Hadley’s eyes were watering and I went to scoop her out of her playpen, but my mind was focused elsewhere. I gave her a few minutes to get down the mountain before I went into my room to get my cell phone. I was going to call her to see if she would talk to me that way, but I noticed the ringer on my phone had been silenced.
I never put my phone on silent because I’d never hear my alarm go off in the morning.
Scrolling through the text messages I had, I came upon one that Mike had sent. My eyes flickered across it quickly before I sighed, and that was when it hit me. If my phone had been ringing off the hook and bothering her, she probably came back here to silence it. Which meant she probably saw Mike’s text.
Which busted me in the lie I’d been telling her about the kids.
“Shit,” I mumbled.
I called her cell phone but got no answer which didn’t shock me one bit. I left her alone and tried a few minutes later, at least hoping she’d let me know she got back home okay. But she didn’t answer and I was getting frustrated, so, I sent her a text message.
“Dinner’s at six if you want to come back for it. Maybe when we sit down, we can talk?”
I was shocked when I got a response a few minutes later.
“Needed to get home. I’m just a babysitter, not a live-in nanny.”
Hadley was cuddling into my neck as I gripped my phone, trying my best to keep my emotions at bay. I needed to tell her what was really going on, but I didn’t want to do that over the phone.
Whether she came back to dinner or not, it was time for me to get cooking. I sat Hadley in her high chair and gave her a few toys before I sat Liam in front of a movie. I pulled out marinated chicken to grill up in a pan before I started mashing up potatoes, and just as I was done making the fresh green beans there was a knock at the door.
Liam’s head turned on a dime from the television, his eyes lit up.
“Mew?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, buddy. Hold on.”
Wiping my hands off, I set everything to simmer to keep it warm. The chicken was still baking and I hadn’t set the table yet, though it was close to six o’clock. I opened the door and was surprised to find Melanie standing there.
I was profoundly relieved she had come back.
“We need to talk,” she said to me as she stepped over the threshold.
“We will, I promise,” I said to her as she brushed past me.
Liam attacked her as soon as she was in the room, wrapping his arms around her legs and holding on. She picked the boy up in her arms and carried him back into the house. She set him down at his spot at the table before she shed her coat and hung it up. Her bag was dropped off to the side as she started setting the table, and I could tell how weary she was. Her shoulders were slouched and her posture was hunched a bit.
I wanted to take some of that weight off her any way I could.
Loading the table with food, I brought everything out while Melanie fetched glasses for drinks, then we all sat down and began to eat. Everyone was silent, enjoying the dinner I’d prepared as Liam’s movie droned on in the background. But my eyes were on Melanie and the far-off daze that had settled in behind her eyes.
“Can I break the silence?” I asked.
Melanie connected her eyes with mine, letting me know I had her attention.
“Look, I saw the notification on my phone. I think it’s what you saw when you went to turn the ringer down.”
“I did,” she said.
“I want to talk with you about it. I just don’t want to do it in front of the kids.”
Her eyes studied me closely before she slowly nodded her head.
“This isn’t what you think it is,” I said.
“I’d really like to believe that,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice that pulled at my gut.
We finished dinner in awkward silence.
The kids started getting sleepy after their stomachs were full, so Melanie set about putting them down for bed. She got them changed and dressed while I put up the food and washed the dishes, and once she was done I cut off the light in the kitchen. She was standing in the hallway, listening for any signs of the kids calling on her for something.
I couldn’t stand this awkwardness between us any longer.
I motioned for her to meet me on the couch and she did, though she sat as far on the opposite end as possible. I knew I needed to start talking fast before I lost her again.
“Liam and Hadley are not my biological kids, but I am their legal guardian,” I said.
She turned her gaze on me and waited patiently for me to continue.
“A few months ago, my brother and his wife died and I became the kids’ guardian,” I said.
“How did it happen?” she asked softly.
“A trucker fell asleep at the wheel. My brother died instantly. His wife, Melissa, died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.”
Melanie scooted closer to me and took my hand in hers. I was relieved and comforted by her warmth.
“I was already out here when it happened. Shit with work and just—stuff.”
“What stuff?” she asked.
“Uncle Evan?” Liam’s voice broke my concentration, though I was glad for it. Telling Melanie about my brother’s death was one thing, but I didn’t have the strength to delve into all my past fuck-ups just yet.
“What buddy?” I asked, pushing to my feet.
“I had a bad dream,” Liam said, rubbing his little eyes tiredly.
I scooped him up in my arms and carried him back to bed. I stroked his back and assured him that he was safe and I sang him his alphabet song until he fell back to sleep.
When I stepped out into the hallway, I found Melanie standing there waiting for me. Without warning, she rose onto her toes, wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a passionate kiss.