Chapter 45 Melanie
MELANIE
I toss and turn all night. I don’t think Josh is sleeping much either, but I don’t say a word.
Only one thing runs through my mind. Nashville.
My dream that I’d tucked away, far in the back of my heart and mind when I lost everything all those years ago.
And now, I’m here, lying next to Josh, the world at my fingertips, and I’m petrified.
What about my dad?
I suppose I didn’t really think it would come to this.
I had no idea the concert would turn out the way it did.
I had no idea people would show up the way they did.
It probably has everything to do with the TikTok video.
But nonetheless, the concert was probably the best night of my life.
For the first time, maybe ever, I feel like I know where I belong.
Only now that it’s close enough for me to reach out and grab, I don’t know if I can. I slip out of bed, just after dawn.
Josh reaches for me in his sleep. “Where are you going?” he grumbles.
“Just for a walk,” I whisper. “Go back to sleep.”
He’s snoring again a moment later. I watch him from the doorway; his face is peaceful and boyish in sleep. Memories of his words last night echo in my mind: they want us to move to Nashville.
I pull on a hoodie and carry my shoes to the front door, being careful not to wake him. The morning air is cool, everything slicked with dew, still touched by night. Everything is quiet, as if the town is holding its breath before the day begins. I walk aimlessly, no destination in mind.
Cape May is different at this hour. No noise, no tourists.
Just the soft call of a seagull in the distance.
I pass by the bakery on Washington Street, still dark, but with the smell of bread rising.
I pass by the coffee shop, open for the earliest risers.
A bike leans against the side of The Ugly Mug, the place itself looking like it’s sleeping off the busy Saturday night.
Each familiar corner tugs at my heart.
This town raised me as much as my own parents. It’s the place where I learned to stand on my own two feet amidst heartache and loss. It’s the town where my childhood friends became family. How am I supposed to leave it all behind?
You can. And you will. If it comes to that. My dad’s words repeat in my brain like a highlight reel.
The thought of actually doing it fills me with a feeling of panic and possibility.
I walk past my old home, now a vacation rental. Sadness tugs at me, so I don’t linger. I walk up to Rotary Park, remembering all the times Josh and I played music there after school. Remembering how that music came alive again last night.
I’ve spent so much of my life doing the expected, because it felt safe and familiar.
Too afraid to chase what I really wanted.
But last night, his hand in mine, or that stage.
It was everything. I plop onto a cold bench just inside the park’s entrance, my eyes glued to the now-empty stage that held so much light and life only twelve hours ago. Promise.
I think about my dad, building something new with Joan, despite his age and his health concerns. I think about Sophie’s words to me yesterday: it’s your turn, Mel.
I take a breath, the kind that reaches all the way to the top of your ribs, and I let it out slowly.
Maybe Nashville isn’t goodbye. Maybe it’s the start of something new.
* * *
I sit on that park bench for what feels like hours before I rise, my joints stiff, and head toward home.
I stop at Coffee Tyme and pick up two iced lattes and a couple of muffins before heading back toward my apartment.
I find Josh, sitting on the couch, elbows to his knees, looking over some papers—a contract, no doubt.
He looks up the second he hears the door, eyes flicking toward me like he’s trying to read my thoughts.
“I thought maybe you got spooked,” he says, a half-laugh caught in his throat. “Took off.”
I sigh, avoiding his eyes for a moment before sitting down. “I just went for a walk. Needed some air.” I chew the inside of my cheek. “I was thinking of going down to our beach, having a picnic before it gets too hot.” I watch him closely. “Will you come with me?”
A slow, relieved smile spreads across Josh’s face. “I’d love to.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Josh pulls his truck into the crushed seashell parking lot and puts it in park. We’ve been quiet—pensive—the whole ride over. Like we’ve both got things we want to say and are figuring out how to say them.
Josh grabs his coffee and then reaches into the cab behind him for a flannel blanket. I carry the muffins and my own coffee, and we walk slowly up the path to the spot that’s always felt like ours.
The beach is nearly empty, the morning sun glinting off the water.
It smells of fresh salt air. Josh spreads out the blanket and we sit, kicking off our flip-flops.
I curl my toes through the cool sand, grounding myself.
We sit for a long moment, letting the wind move through us.
We watch the waves lapping at the shore, an egret diving for its breakfast.
Then we both speak at once.
“Listen,” Josh starts.
“I think we should—”
Josh lets out a husky laugh, running a hand through his hair.
I smile sheepishly, waiting for him to go first.
He exhales. “I was just going to say, if this isn’t what you want, we don’t have to do it. I can call Gary. We can tell them no.”
The way he looks at me is steady and sure. Like he’d give it all up for me in an instant.
“But this is your dream,” I whisper, feeling my eyes fill with tears. “You’ve worked so hard to get here.”
He shakes his head. “It was my dream. But dreams can change.” Josh tips my face toward his, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You’re my dream now, Mel. And if you’re not in it, I don’t want it.”
My chest tightens then, and for a moment I can’t speak. The wind rustles through my hair, and I watch the way his gaze lingers on my face, open and patient.
I bite back the smile threatening to give me away. “I want to go,” I say finally.
Josh’s lips twitch. “You… You want to go?”
I nod. “To Nashville. With you.”
He stills. For a long breath, he just looks at me, like he’s memorizing this exact moment. Finally, his palm finds my cheek, fingers tangling through my windblown hair.
“You want to move to Nashville with me?” he repeats, his voice raspy.
His lips hover over mine.
“Uh-huh,” I breathe.
He kisses me deeply then, letting his hands tangle in my hair like he never wants to let go. His mouth is warm, and our breaths mingle as his tongue dances over mine. It’s slow and savory, filled with relief. Filled with a promise of the future.
He pulls back, his forehead pressing to mine, and sucks in a deep breath. Then he pulls back to look at me, studying me, tracing his fingers along my jaw, around my lower lip.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asks, his voice low and cautious.
I nod, placing my hand over his beating heart. “I’d go anywhere with you,” I whisper. “You feel like home.”
The smile that blooms across his face then is one I’ve never seen—so full of hope it steals my breath away. It says, we found our way home.
“Okay,” he says, his voice hoarse. He pulls me close again and then we’re the only people in the world. I lean into his embrace, listening to the crashing of the waves, and inhaling the salty sea air.
And I savor it. All of it.
“Okay.”
Then
“Okay, fine.” I huffed, folding my arms across my chest. “Only if Josh wants to.”
“Only if Josh wants to what?” Josh asked, poking his head out the back door.
I sighed, rolling my eyes, working hard to hide my feelings for Josh from his sister.
“Cara wants to hear what we’ve been working on every day,” I said through clenched teeth.
Josh laughed, his eyes lit up. The truth is, the song had been perfected a long time ago.
Josh and I had been figuring out everything else…
like which parts of each other’s bodies drove each other crazy.
But Cara couldn’t know that. Our relationship was still a secret, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.
“Let me get my guitar,” he said, disappearing inside.
It was one of those late summer evenings where the sun lingered too long and everyone was desperate for nightfall just to cool things off.
Cara sat crossed-legged on the porch swing, sipping lemonade and swatting mosquitoes, completely unaware that the song she was about to hear wasn’t just any song. It was our song.
I waited as Josh fiddled with his guitar, tuning it. I watched him carefully, desperately wanting to tell him that my period was late and that I was so unbelievably in love with him but also terrified.
“This one is new,” he said, looking up. “Still rough.”
Cara laughed, rolling her eyes. “You two always say that.”
I moved next to him on the steps, our knees almost touching.
But I didn’t dare look at him as he strummed the first notes.
I kept my voice steady and then he joined in, his harmony wrapping around mine like it always did.
But we still didn’t make eye contact because every word of this song was a confession we couldn’t give.
Cara swayed, captivated by every line. When the song ended, she gaped at us. “That was like…a love song.”
My face heated and a wave of nausea surged through me.
Josh coughed. “Yeah. It was.”
“It’s like you lived it,” Cara said, clutching her glass of lemonade.
“It’s just a song,” I said tersely, desperate to hide my feelings for Josh.
Cara eyed me curiously, but she grinned. “Okay, okay. But how cool would it be if you two really did make it to Nashville one day? You’d be stars, I just know it. Your voices belong together.”
I smirked. “Okay, Cara.”
“Whatever. Thanks for playing it.” She hopped off the swing. “I’m going to go call Liam.”
She didn’t wait for a reply, just bounded inside, leaving Josh and me feeling all the things we didn’t dare say out loud.
“I’d do it, you know?” Josh murmured, brushing his knee against mine.
“Do what?” I frowned.
“Go to Nashville. With you. I bet we’d make it.” He grinned, something like hope dancing in his eyes.
I smiled faintly. “Maybe someday.”