27. Melanie
CHAPTER 27
Melanie
The dull ache behind my eyes made it hard to focus. Fortunately, it had been a quiet day. The guys were all busy in the garage, the parts we were expecting had arrived, and no grumpy customers had waltzed in to give anyone a piece of their mind.
That last one was particularly fortunate. I probably didn’t have the patience to be diplomatic if someone was being an idiot. Even if they were a customer.
My real career didn’t involve customer service for a reason.
I rubbed my temples, hoping to ease some of the tension. Sleep had been hard to come by the past couple nights. As if nightmares weren’t bad enough, I’d been hit with a bout of insomnia. It was a special kind of torture to lie in bed, unable to fall asleep, only to be jolted awake by a nightmare hours later.
Not fun.
Ollie walked into the lobby from the garage and handed me an order form. His eyebrows drew in. “You all right?”
“Fine.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. “Why? ”
“No reason. You look fine.” He turned and walked out, like he was suddenly in a hurry to get back to work.
I scowled at the door, but I wasn’t really offended. Concealer wasn’t enough to hide the dark circles under my eyes. Fortunately, it was Friday, and almost time for me to go home.
The door to the garage opened again, and Luke walked in. I couldn’t help the smile that crossed my face. He looked delicious in his T-shirt and jeans, and the way his eyes roved over me made my stomach tingle.
He leaned down to place a soft kiss on my lips. “Heading home soon?”
I nodded. “It’s about that time.”
“I was hoping to hang out tonight, but my dad needs help with something up at the house.”
“That’s fine.”
“Are you sure?” He trailed a finger down my cheek. “Won’t you miss me?”
I would, but I wasn’t about to admit it too easily. “Why do you think I’d miss you?”
“Because you can’t get enough of me.”
“Way to be full of yourself.”
He leaned down so his lips brushed my ear as he spoke in a growly whisper. “I think you want to be full of me.”
Scrunching my shoulders, I giggled. The man actually made me giggle. It was an outrage. Playfully, I pushed him away. “Get out of here. I don’t even like you.”
He grinned.
“Are you sure your ribs are okay?”
“You’re cute when you admit you care about me.”
I scoffed. “I just don’t want you to re-injure yourself. Then I’ll be stuck driving you around for the next month.”
“I’ve been following doctor’s orders.”
I stood and gently ran my fingers across his ribs. “How are they feeling today? ”
“Better.”
“Good.”
He leaned in and kissed me again. “If I’m done early enough, I’ll call you.”
“That’s okay. I’m probably going to bed early.”
His brow furrowed with concern, and he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Are you sure? You look tired.”
I leaned away. “I don’t think we’ve progressed to that level of honesty. Compliments only.”
“I didn’t say you looked bad.”
“Tired is code for awful.”
With a slight shake of his head, he rolled his eyes. “Tired or not, you’re beautiful.”
“That’s better.” I tilted my chin up, and he kissed me again. “Fine, I’ll miss you tonight.”
The corners of his lips turned up as he took a step toward the door. “I know.”
He left, and after forwarding the phone to voicemail, I gathered up my things and headed home.
I spent the afternoon too tired and headachy to do much. Taking a nap was an option, but a risky one. It might make my insomnia worse. The last thing I needed was to sleep too hard and wake up dehydrated with no idea what day it was, only to stare at the ceiling all night.
Been there.
But it wasn’t just fatigue that was bothering me. I had a hard time sitting still and found myself wandering around the house, peeking out the windows. My shoulders were tense, and no matter how many deep breaths I took, my heart kept beating too fast.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was scared. I’d been scared since we heard about the abductions.
It made me angry. I didn’t want to be afraid again. I hated feeling weak and helpless. What had happened to me had been traumatic. I’d come to terms with that. It was okay to experience alarm when I heard about a similar incident or when something reminded me of my abduction. But it had been two days, and I was still so jumpy. Every little noise set me on edge, especially when I was alone.
I glanced at the clock. A little after seven. I’d been driving myself crazy for hours. What I really wanted was Luke, but he was busy. I didn’t want to lean on him too much anyway. We were giving things a real try, but we’d only just begun. I didn’t want to be the needy girlfriend who couldn’t be alone.
Instead, I called Sharla to see what she and Nathan were up to.
“Hey,” she answered. “What’s going on?”
I could hear background noise, like she was in a car. “Nothing much. Just wondering what you guys are doing. Hot date tonight?”
“Actually, yes.” Her voice sounded almost giddy. “Your parents took the kids for the weekend. Nathan surprised me with a trip to the coast. We’re on our way to a cabin in Jetty Beach.”
“Aw, how sweet is that?”
“I know, I’m so excited. I haven’t been to the beach in so long. Plus, the forecast is amazing. Low seventies and breezy all weekend.”
“That sounds like heaven.”
“It will be. How are you? Are you doing all right?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? You can’t even see the dark circles under my eyes.”
“Dark circles are the worst. I have a great concealer if you want to try it.”
“Send me a link.”
“I will. But… are you?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Are you worried about the Luke thing? I know you weren’t around when Luke and I dated, but I can assure you it was an absolute train wreck. I’m surprised no one is staging an intervention now that people know we’re dating again.”
“That’s just you being dramatic, right?”
“More or less.”
“Thought so. No, haven’t you heard about the women who were abducted? It’s all over town.”
“Oh, that. Yes, I heard.”
“I just wondered if it might be bothering you. You know, since it was so close.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I closed my eyes for a moment. “It’s not bothering me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I didn’t know why I was lying to her. “I feel awful for the victims, of course. But it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“Okay,” she said, but I couldn’t tell if she believed me. “Listen, I know we’re out of town, but if you need to talk or anything, don’t hesitate.”
“No,” Nathan said in the background. “Hesitate. Call Mom first.”
“Nathan, stop,” she said.
I laughed. “Tell your husband not to worry. I won’t interrupt your sex-cation.”
She laughed. “You should go hang out with your mom and dad and the kids, though. They’d love that. Although I think they’re going to the drive-in tonight.”
“I might do that tomorrow. Have a great weekend.”
“Thanks, Mel. You too.”
I ended the call and put my phone down with a sigh. Good for Nathan. I’d always been proud of him for being such a good husband and father. I hoped they had a nice time at the beach.
As for me, I’d be fine. I didn’t need anyone’s help.
The slight texture in the ceiling above my bed was starting to look like constellations. I picked out dots and connected them, trying to create designs. And what was up with constellations, anyway? Some were clearly shapes, but others? I didn’t understand how ancient people could see giant animals in the night sky based on a few points of light.
My mind had been wandering like that for hours as sleep eluded me. Again.
I checked the time. After midnight. Letting out a long breath, I pressed my fingers against my temples and rubbed my eyes. What was it going to take to get my brain to shut off and my body to finally sleep?
My phone buzzed. That was odd. Who would be texting me in the middle of the night?
Luke: Are you awake?
Me: Unfortunately.
Luke: Answer your door.
A second later, I heard a knock.
I got up and walked through the dark house to open the front door. Luke stood there, illuminated by the porch light.
“Can I come in?” he asked, his voice soft.
“Sure.”
I stepped aside, then shut and locked the door behind him.
He slipped a hand around my waist and drew me against him. His mouth came to mine in a gentle kiss.
“What are you doing here so late?” I asked.
“Sorry about that. Helping my dad turned into dinner and board games.”
“It’s fine. We didn’t have plans.”
“I know.” He brushed my hair back from my face and lifted my chin. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you? ”
“We’ve been over this. You’re supposed to tell me I’m a beautiful mess, not that I need sleep.”
“I’m not talking about how you look. And you are a beautiful mess, whether you’ve been sleeping or not.”
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what? That—”
He placed a fingertip on my lips, cutting me off. “You’re mine, which means I take care of you.” He clasped my hand and tugged me toward the bedroom. “Let’s go. Bedtime, princess.”
“Believe it or not, sex doesn’t solve all of a woman’s problems.”
“That’s not why I’m here.” He paused and glanced at me. “Although if you start something, I’m certainly not saying no.”
“It’s the middle of the night. If you’re not here for sex, why are you here?”
He led me into my bedroom and shut the door. “To help you sleep. I figured it might be easier if you’re not alone.”
I stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. He was serious. I hadn’t even told him I was having trouble sleeping. He just knew. And he was going to do what he could to fix it.
“Really?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Of course. Look, I know you don’t like to admit when something is hard, so you don’t have to. And if you want to kick me out, I’ll go.”
“No, don’t go.”
He smiled and stripped down to his boxer briefs. We got into bed, and he slipped an arm around my waist, drawing my back to his front.
The warmth of his embrace and feel of his slow breathing were like magic, unraveling the tension in my body. My eyes were heavy, so I let them close.
And for the first time in days, I felt safe.