Chapter 3
three
. . .
Bridger
“I like my Fridays with my unc-ee,” Melody said, ice cream dripping down her chin. I leaned forward and wiped her face clean. I brought my niece to Sweet Scoops every Friday afternoon.
It was our thing.
She was four years old, and one of the greatest joys of my life. It had been that way since the day she was born. My cousin Archer was more like a brother, and when he became a dad, we all stepped up. Especially seeing as he was doing it on his own.
I was nervous at first about being around a baby, but Melody just sort of fit from the moment I met her, which was saying a lot because most people didn’t fit with me.
“Yeah? I like it, too.” I leaned back in the chair, crossing my feet at the ankles.
“And we’re going to go see the pumpkins before the patch closes?” She set her spoon down in the bowl and smiled up at me.
“If my girl wants to go to the pumpkin patch, that’s what we’ll do.”
Thanksgiving had come early this year, so the town had decided to keep the local pumpkin patch open until the end of the month.
“Daddy said I have too many pumpkins already,” she admitted, because the little angel didn’t have a sneaky bone in her body.
“I think Daddy will be fine with it. We can just go look and see what you think, plus they have the games that you like there.”
“I thought you don’t like games?” she asked.
“I don’t. But I love you, and you like games.”
“You think I’m going to like kindergarten?” Her dark brown eyes narrowed as she looked at me, completely changing the subject. She’d been talking about this lately, as she’d be starting big girl school next year.
“I think you’ll like it. You’re one of the smartest kids I know.” I winked at her.
“You know lots of kids, Unc-ee?”
I chuckled. “You and Beefcake. The two smartest kids around.”
Cutler, my nephew, went by the nickname “Beefcake.” He was a few years older than Melody. My sister, Emerson, had adopted him and married his father, Nash. He was probably the coolest kid I’d ever met, and he and Melody were both rock stars in my eyes.
She nodded in agreement. “Beefcake told me that I’ll make lots of friends at school. What if the kids don’t like me?”
“They’ll like you. You’re very likable,” I said. It was true.
“Do you got lots of friends?” She had the slightest twang to her speech, which made it sound like she was from the south.
“I’ve got enough. I don’t really have a need for a lot of friends.”
“I think you’re very nice, and you’re my best friend.” She moved from her chair to her feet, stepping right in front of me and holding her arms in the air for me to lift her onto my lap.
This fucking kid.
She owned me.
She was all sugar and sweetness.
Her hand landed on my cheek, and her lips turned up in the corners. She had two buns on top of her head, both lopsided and falling out. “And I like your furry face.”
I had to laugh. “I probably need a shave, huh?”
“I like you how you are, Unc-ee.”
“I like you how you are, too, little monster.” I kissed her cheek and pushed to my feet. “Let’s go see some pumpkins.”
I zipped her coat up and took her hand, leading her outside to walk the short distance down to the pumpkin patch.
Rosewood River was getting chilly now that winter was around the corner, and every storefront downtown was decorated with hay bales and pumpkins and all that festive shit.
That would be changing as soon as December rolled in.
We turned the corner, and Melody started clapping when she saw the big slide and the horses.
I’d laughed last week when she’d wanted to ride the small horse in a little circle they’d set up, when I had a ranch with a stable and a horse that was all her own.
I guess the excitement of riding one you didn’t know was the allure.
But today she had her sights set on going down the slide and looking at the pumpkins.
I bought a pile of tickets and stood at the bottom of the slide as she went and climbed the steps to the top. She waved at me and then came sliding down. The sun was just starting to go down, and I knew Archer would want her home for dinner soon.
I put my arms out, and she barreled into me.
“Hey, that’s my friend over there!” She pushed back and started waving. “Hi, Millie. You remember me? It’s me, Melody.”
I groaned when I glanced over my shoulder and saw Emilia Taylor standing a few feet away with some friends.
She smiled at my niece, holding a hand up as her gaze slowly moved in my direction. Her entire body language shifted as her shoulders squared. Her smile dropped when her gaze found mine.
“That’s Millie, my flower lady, Unc-ee. Can I go say hi?” Melody asked, and I blew out a frustrated breath because she was the one person I had a hard time saying no to. And now she had a fucking nickname for this woman?
“We need to grab a pumpkin and then get you home for dinner,” I grunted as Emilia moved in our direction, and I sensed her discomfort.
“Hey, Melody, I didn’t want to leave without giving you a quick hug,” she said, bending all the way down and wrapping her arms around my niece.
“Hi, Millie! You want to get a pumpkin with me and my unc-ee?”
“Oh, thank you, I, um, I’m here with some friends, so I need to get back.
But you have fun. I hope you find a good one,” she said as she moved to stand, and then proceeded to step back and trip over her own damn feet.
I didn’t have time to think—I acted on instinct alone and jolted forward, just as she started to lose her balance.
One hand slipped behind her back and the other gripped her upper arm as I caught her mid-fall.
She gasped as both of her hands found my shoulders, and she steadied herself.
Melody clapped her hands together excitedly. “Unc-ee is the best, isn’t he?”
Emilia quickly removed her hands as if she’d just been burned, and her cheeks were bright pink. She tucked her long dark hair behind her ears and gave me a curt nod. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t want you to take Melody down with you,” I growled, because it was all I could think to say.
We didn’t like one another, that was no secret.
But I wasn’t a complete dick. I wouldn’t let someone hit the pavement on my watch.
Even if it was Emilia Taylor.
So, I’d use the excuse of coming to the rescue all in the name of my niece.
Emilia huffed out a breath. “Right. Got it. Have fun looking for pumpkins, Melody.”
She stormed away, and my eyes followed as she rejoined her friends. It irritated me the way her jeans hugged her perfect peach-shaped ass just right.
“Daddy gets me pink flowers every Saturday, and I love going to see Millie at the flower shop,” she said as I took her hand in mine, and we walked toward the pumpkins.
I glanced down to see a text from Archer asking when we’d be back, and I replied that we were heading that way soon.
“You deserve flowers every week,” was all I could think to say. “Daddy just texted, so let’s grab a pumpkin and get you home, all right?”
“Yes!” She fist-pumped the sky, and then spent the next fifteen minutes becoming emotionally attached to three different pumpkins.
All oddly shaped with marks and discoloring.
She insisted that the large, flat, discolored pumpkin was extra special because he was sitting all by himself.
The round white pumpkin covered with dents was also her favorite because she was certain it was a girl, and she had marks on her from helping all her friends and falling down in the process.
And lastly, the yellow pumpkin with warts covering the top of it earned a special place in her heart because it reminded her of when Uncle Rafe took a shovel to the head from Lulu, and he got a big bump on his head, and maybe this pumpkin needed some love.
How she gathered entire stories from looking at these odd-shaped pumpkins was beyond me.
But her gaze narrowed as she looked among the three of them, even asking me to put them beside one another so she could decide which one needed a home the most. Her big chocolate-brown eyes narrowed as she studied each one, like she was preparing to do a lifesaving surgical procedure on them.
“How about we take all three of them home?” I finally said when I realized she would not be making this decision in our lifetime.
“Unc-ee, we can’t do that. Daddy won’t be happy.” She shook her head with concern.
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.” I grabbed all three of the pumpkin misfits and went to the register to pay.
Melody talked the entire drive home about how she was going to name them and make them part of the family.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, she’d already come up with names as well as hopes and dreams for their futures.
I unbuckled her, set her feet on the ground, and handed her the round white one. She’d named that one Millie, after her favorite florist, who apparently helped everyone in town by giving them flowers, and then she remembered how she almost fell at the pumpkin patch.
I took the pumpkin covered in warts—which she’d named Uncle Rafe, for obvious reasons—as well as grabbing the big one, which she’d named Unc-ee, after me. Because apparently, she noticed that I also preferred sitting by myself.
The sky was dark now and the air had gotten even chillier, so I hustled her toward the door, which her father had just pulled open.
“There you are,” Archer said. “And I see we brought more pumpkins home.”
Melody explained all of their names and the reasons they had to come home with her, and he listened intently, all while shooting a glare at me.
We set the pumpkins on the bench in their foyer, and he took her coat off and told her to go wash her hands for dinner.
“You want to stay? We’ve got plenty,” he said. “And I made some hot chocolate.”
“Nah. I need to get home. I’ve got some work to do,” I said. “But I’ll have a quick cup of hot chocolate and say goodbye to my girl.”
He led the way to the kitchen, and I followed. “You didn’t need to get her pumpkins. She has plenty.”
“Have you seen the way she chooses a pumpkin? It’s like she’s finding a new family member.
” I chuckled as he poured me a glass of cocoa and handed it to me.
“Plus, the whole damn town is in an uproar that pumpkin sales are down because Thanksgiving came early this year. Consider it a contribution to the local economy.”
He barked out a laugh just as Melody came around the corner. He poured some soup in their bowls, then pulled some cornbread out of the oven.
“Daddy, Unc-ee saved my friend Millie,” Melody announced as she took her seat at the table.
Archer raised a brow as he looked at me. “Emilia Taylor?”
“Yep. We saw her at the patch.” A wide grin spread across her adorable face.
“Really? That’s interesting, Unc-ee.” He grinned at me, because my entire family knew how I felt about Emilia. “How exactly did we save the flower lady?”
I took another sip of the warm chocolate and rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t that deep. She almost fell on top of Melody, and I stopped it from happening.”
Archer roared out a laugh. “Of course you make it about Melody.”
“Unc-ee loves me. But we like Millie, too,” she said.
Speak for yourself, kid.
“That’s right, little monster. Unc-ee loves you.” I rinsed my mug in the sink and kissed the top of her head. “Have a nice dinner. I’ll see you both later.”
“Be on the lookout for any damsels in distress,” Archer said as he followed me to the front door, laughter bellowing from him. “Maybe you’re finally getting over this vendetta against Emilia, huh?”
“When you can show me that she isn’t writing this bullshit about our family, I’ll let it go.” I shrugged. “Until then, the vendetta lives on.”
He shook his head and chuckled. “Thanks for spoiling my girl.”
“Always.” I clapped him on the shoulder before holding my hand in a wave over my head and heading out the door.
Back home for some peace and quiet.
Just the way I liked it.