Chapter 19
Melinda turned the truck down Adam’s street after stopping at the pharmacy for his prescriptions and an impulse toy for Skye. “I’ll drop you at your place and then walk home.”
“Are you kidding?” Adam asked. “It’s a couple of miles.”
She wouldn’t look at him. “The fresh air will do me good.”
Melinda could feel Adam staring at her. “Mel. You’re not going anywhere until you talk to me.”
The timber of his voice almost brought her to tears. “Adam, please.” She slowed and turned on the blinker. After parking, she held up the key ring and asked, “Which one is for the apartment?”
“It’s not locked.” He pushed the door open with his good hand and a foot. “Are you coming up at least?”
Curious to see how he lived propelled her forward. “I’m going to get you settled and make sure you’re comfortable.” She led the way up the outside staircase. “This must be fun in the winter.”
“It wasn’t too bad, just start at the top and push the snow over the side of the stairs.”
Melinda noticed he took the stairs very slowly. Worried about him, she asked, “Adam, do you need help?”
Curtly he said, “No. I’m fine.”
She turned the doorknob and pushed it opened. A little fur ball rushed toward them. Melinda scooped her up and gave her a kiss on top of her head. “Your daddy got hurt today, so you need to be very gentle with him.”
She glanced around the spacious and tidy room. “Nice place.” This certainly didn’t look like the typical bachelor pad. It was simply furnished with a dash of color here and there. It even had curtains.
“It’s comfortable.” He slumped into the recliner.
“Can I help you get your work boots off?” She started to bend over.
“NO!”
Stunned by Adam shouting the single word, she stumbled backward. “I’m sorry.”
“Mel, I’m sorry.” He dropped his chin towards his chest. “It’s been a rough day and for now I just want to chill.” He pointed to the sofa. “Would you grab me a pillow so I can elevate my hand?”
“Here you go.” She handed him two slender pillows. “Are you comfortable? Should I adjust the AC?”
“I’m good.” He looked at her. “Please sit down, you don’t need to fuss over me.”
She picked up Skye and perched on the edge of the sofa. “Can I get you something to drink, water?”
“You can tell me what was going on when I found you crying in the waiting room.”
Mel concentrated on petting Skye. She wouldn’t look at him in the eye. “It was nothing, really.”
“Bull.”
She lifted her face. Her eyes locked on his. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.” That one-word answer was almost her undoing.
She took a deep breath and blinked away the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “The last time I was in an emergency room was the day John died.”
“Mel,” he exhaled, “I had no idea.”
She looked away. Struggling to keep her voice steady, she continued, “I told you he was hit by a drunk driver.” She clenched her hands, her nails biting into the palms of her hands. “The jerk came flying down the road, swerved to supposedly miss a squirrel, and he hit John.” She wiped away the tears that she could no longer control. “He never regained consciousness.”
She pushed to tell Adam the rest of the story. “His partner picked me up from our house. When I got there, I knew it was bad, really bad, but I never dreamt he wouldn’t make it. I saw him for a brief moment, I was holding his hand until the doctor asked me to wait outside the room. While he was examining John, he coded. They did everything they could, but his internal injuries were just too severe.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked. She choked out the words, “I never got to tell him I loved him or kiss him goodbye.”
Adam held open his arm and beckoned her to him. In two quick steps she rushed to the warmth of his embrace. He held her in his lap while she cried. After her tears had run dry, she put a hand on his chest. She could feel the flush rise in her cheeks.
“Adam, I am so sorry.” She tried to get up, but he held her close.
He kissed her temple as if to soothe away the agonizing memory. “Thank you for telling me.”
Humbled by the sincerity of his statement, she said, “I haven’t talked about that day to anyone, other than Will and Rob, John’s partner, right after the funeral.”
“You told Will?”
She sighed. “Yeah. He was easy to talk to.”
“You’ve had that bottled up inside of you all this time?” He brushed her damp cheeks with his thumb.
“It’s not something I want to remember.”
“I believe that sharing your pain with a friend helps to lessen the burden of carrying it alone.” He took her hand. “I’m here if you ever want to talk about anything. Your secrets are safe with me.”
She slipped from his lap. “Thank you.” Unsure what else to say, she changed the subject. “I’ll get you some water, maybe a snack? Those pain pills can do a number on your stomach.”
He nodded. “There are some cookies in the cabinet next to the sink.”
She was happy to escape his intense gaze. What was she thinking, blubbering all over him and telling him about John’s death?
Skye came mewling into the kitchen and walked in between and around Melinda’s ankles. “Hey, sweetie pie, what do you need?”
The kitten gazed up at her. Mew, mew, she squeaked.
Melinda wanted to laugh, but she didn’t have the heart. Instead she found some kitten treats on the counter and shook out a couple into the palm of her hand. “Here you go. Snack time for you and your dad.”
Adam was dumbfounded. He had no idea what really had happened to Mel’s husband until now. His injury was nothing compared to her heartbreak. He’d lost a partial limb, she’d lost the love of her life. He wondered, did she have family to support her, either hers or his?
“Mel?” he called out.
She poked her head out of the kitchen. “Can I bring you something else?”
“Do you have any plans? Maybe you’d like to stay for dinner. I don’t feel like being alone.”
She seemed to debate for a half a second before giving him a tentative smile. “Sure, I can pick up a pizza or something.” She frowned. “Shoot. I need my car.”
“Stacey will be home soon, or you can take my truck.” He grimaced as he tried to use the lever to raise the footrest on the recliner.
“Here, I can help with that.” Melinda walked toward him.
He was concerned there was a slight chance she might see his foot so he thought fast. “You know, I’m thinking sitting upright would be best. Keep my hand straight and all.” He held his hand up and Mel helped him reposition the pillows. He relaxed and gave her a tight smile. At least that’s how it felt to him. “Any idea when I can take another pain pill?”
“Two more hours.” She went back into the kitchen and brought him a glass of milk and a plate of Oreos. “Maybe this will distract you.”
He reached over, pulled the side table closer and smirked. “My dunking hand is out of commission, but I’ll do my best.”
She set the plate within easy reach. Prowling around his apartment, she picked up a framed photo. “This is a nice one of you and Will.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You look pretty spiffy.”
Adam chuckled. “I don’t think anyone has ever said a Marine in his dress uniform is spiffy.”
“I’m sure someone has at some point in time, but a man in uniform always looks good.” She dropped her eyes. He guessed she was thinking of John. Melinda hadn’t completely dealt with her grief yet. Of that he was sure.
“I’m really sorry about your husband.”
Her eyes met his, they were clouded with sorrow. “Me too.” She shrugged as if to indicate the pain wasn’t raw. “Some days are better than others, I’m not going to lie. Today the hospital was unexpectedly tough.” She sat on the edge of the couch.
“You shouldn’t have driven me.”
With a shake of her head, she said, “I’m glad I did. I had to confront it at some point.”
“Did you have support from his family after the accident?”
“John has a brother, Joe, but they had a falling out. He seemed to get into trouble all the time, choosing to live on the wrong side of the law. John tried to help him. When I called to tell him about what had happened, Joe informed me he wasn’t coming to the funeral.”
With a low whistle Adam said, “That’s cold.”
“I feel bad for Joe. He’ll never have the chance to reconnect with John.”
“Did John regret the relationship with his brother?”
Melinda nodded. “Of course, but as a cop he had to take a hard line with Joe. But I can tell you this, if Joe had called John to say he wanted to get clean, my husband would have dropped everything to help him.”
“He sounds like a good man.”
The corners of Melinda’s mouth turned upward. “He was the best. They broke the mold when they made him.” She leaned back against the cushions. “We had the best life.”
“I’m sorry.” He waited half a beat. “But you still have time, to start over. Who knows, you might meet a great guy who wants to have a bunch of kids.”
“We’ve talked about this, Adam. I can’t.”
Keeping his voice steady, he asked, “Do you think John would want you to spend the rest of your life alone?”
“I have a great life. Wonderful friends. I can travel where I like. I’m financially comfortable.”
“If you can find anyone a great match, you should seriously consider finding someone for yourself. At least someone to go to the movies with, or maybe out to dinner occasionally, and what about vacationing to some exotic part of the world? That would be great fun with someone special.” Adam wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to convince her to date.
She gave a soft chuckle. “Well, a funny thing happened this week. One of my clients called to ask me out. Even after I found him a great match, he asked me to think about it.”
Adam felt his jaw clench. “And then what happened?”
“I very politely turned him down and encouraged him to go out on the date. I think they’re going to get along very well.”
Adam said, “We’re friends, right?”
She laughed. “Good friends. But Nick and I are not friends. Besides, I’m sure the last thing you’d think about is hitting on me. I’m not your type at all.”