CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Addy was in bed, which gave Melanie time to sit at her kitchen table, her laptop open, and the printed spreadsheet next to it.
She’d called three people on the list. Two hadn’t answered, but with the third she’d had a nice conversation with a woman who’d graduated from high school the year before her.
Sarah Jacoby told her what she remembered of the bootlegger, which wasn’t much.
But they’d chatted and Melanie learned Sarah also had a daughter in first grade who attended a different elementary school in Sisters.
They made tentative plans for a play date.
The next number was one Delaney had texted her earlier that day.
Greg Delano. Memories of Greg were indistinct.
Medium height, medium build, sandy hair.
He’d been on the football team but hadn’t stood out.
Part of the jock crowd, she remembered him as more of a follower who’d remained in Chase Bradford’s shadow.
As with the other men she’d called, there was that moment when she wondered if the person she was calling was the attacker. The man responsible for creating the jagged line dividing her life into before and after. Pushing aside the thoughts, she dialed the number.
Forty minutes later, she disconnected the call, mind spinning. When it rang in her hand she startled, fumbling the phone.
Gage’s name flashed on the caller ID.
“Hey.”
“Melanie.” Gage’s voice instantly grounded her, stopping the spinning thoughts. “Want some company?”
“This is becoming a regular occurrence.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I’m having a hard time keeping an emotional distance from you.” The words were easier to say over the phone than if he was standing in front of her.
“Yeah, same. Doesn’t keep me from wanting to be with you, though.”
“Come on over, but Addy won’t be happy if she finds out you were here or, god forbid, Pancake.”
“We’ll be quiet.” His statement was followed up by a knock at the slider. “We’re here.”
She couldn’t stop her grin as she slid open the door. “That was mighty quick.”
“We were counting on you saying yes.”
Pancake nosed her way past Melanie. Gage slid the door shut behind them, shutting out the cold. His gaze on hers, he pulled her into a kiss so dreamy it made her sigh when he finally released her.
Judging by his heavy-lidded gaze, Gage was equally affected. “I missed you today.”
“I texted you. You texted me. About a dozen times.”
He shook his head. “Not the same.” He nipped her lips again before she moved back. It was then that she noticed the bag decorated with a smiling apple in his hand.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“If you think it’s apple pie cinnamon rolls from Cider Mill Farm, you’d be correct.”
“We better hide the evidence or we’ll be in trouble. Addy and I brought some home when we visited the farm and Addy’s decided they’re her favorite treat, even better than the cider donuts, which were also a hit.”
“I’ve got the kid covered. There’s one for her too.”
Melanie filled the electric kettle while Gage got mugs and plates from the cupboard. Pancake planted her butt next to the table, head moving back and forth as she watched them.
Melanie ripped open a treat pouch she’d picked up at the grocery store. “Hey there, Pancake. I’ve got something for you.” She picked out a bone-shaped dog cookie and offered it to Pancake, who settled with it on the rug in front of the slider.
“How did your meetings go today?” Gage had texted that morning to say he had back-to-back-to-back video conferences scheduled with his team and prospective clients.
“All good. One of the potentials is a solid yes, the other is considering her options. I’m confident she’ll go with us.”
“Why’d you choose this line of work?” She eyed the huge rolls he took out of the bag. “Half for me.”
He shrugged as he got a knife. “I know myself well enough to know it’s a way of doing what I couldn’t as a kid.”
She poured hot water over teabags, then leaned back against the counter to study him. “A way of protecting people?”
“Yeah.”
“Who needed protection when you were a boy?”
He leaned against the counter beside her. “My dad died when I was a little older than Addy. Killed by a drunk driver.”
“Oh no. Your family must’ve been devastated.”
“We were. It was hardest on my mom. I was old enough to realize she was struggling, but couldn’t figure out how to help her.”
Moving in front of him, she laid her hands on his chest. His dark eyes held a storm of emotion.
“You can’t think you could’ve protected your dad from a drunk driver. Or your mom from that pain.”
“Our emotional baggage isn’t always rational. I remember Mom wrecked with grief and nothing I could do made it better. My sister Janie was a toddler and needed to be looked after. I tried my best to protect her, but she died too.”
“What happened to Janie?”
His gaze was on his fingers as he threaded them through her hair. “Fucking cancer when she was twelve. Her diagnosis was acute myelogenous leukemia.”
Melanie took his hands, holding them to her chest as she moved between his legs. She understood him enough to know revealing vulnerability wasn’t something he did easily.
“Oh Gage. I can’t imagine how awful that was for you and your mom. How old were you when Janie died?”
“Seventeen. And yeah, it was hard. Janie always seemed frail, even when she was a baby. I remember sneaking into her room at night to sleep with her because I was worried she’d need me, and I wouldn’t be there for her.
Then there was a period when she was five or six and she would sleepwalk.
I was afraid she’d fall down the stairs so I’d sleep on the floor in front of her door.
Figured she’d have to get past me to get to the stairs. ”
“But she still died.”
“Yeah, she did.”
“And your partner died.”
He nodded. Melanie let go of his hands so she could wrap her arms around him. It felt perfectly natural when his arms circled her, cradling her against him, her head tucked under his chin.
“You’re hardwired to be a protector, Gage. You won’t like it, but I think it’s noble.”
He shook his head and held her closer. She had the uneasy feeling that her feelings for him were speeding past like and admiration and catapulting straight into love. She’d always safeguarded her heart, but Gage had managed to blast through those fortifications as if they were made with balsa wood.
“You feel it, Mel? What’s between us?”
How could she deny it? Face pressed to his chest, she nodded. “It’s so damn scary.”
“I know. It’s scary for me too,” he whispered. “I won’t let you down.”
Listening to the steady beating of his heart, she held tight. He gave really good hugs. She wanted to believe he wouldn’t let her down. It was hard when a voice in her head kept reminding her to be cautious, to be careful about trusting someone, that the stakes were too high.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that until he loosened his hold and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Tea’s getting cold.”
She pushed aside the spreadsheet and her laptop. They brought the steaming mugs and plated cinnamon rolls to the table.
“You were making calls this evening. Turn up anything?”
“As a matter of fact.” Melanie forked up a bite of pastry and groaned as she chewed. “Let it be said, Cam is a genius. Apple pie cinnamon rolls are the best.”
“Agreed.”
She sipped her tea. “Still no response from Grafton.”
“His access to email will be limited, and he may not have a way to respond. Generally, emails are printed and delivered to the inmate.”
She sighed. “It’s worth a try. But I did make contact with someone else on our list. I talked with Greg Delano. He was on the football team and a friend of Chase’s.”
“What’d you find out?”
“He lives in Denver and confirmed he’d hung out with Rhonda Lockwood at the bootlegger. Turns out Greg always had a thing for Rhonda and when she showed up that night without Josh, he figured it was his chance.”
“They hooked up?”
“They did. In the back of his daddy’s Chevy pickup where Greg had a sleeping bag.”
“Romantic.”
“Only the best. Rhonda had come to the bootlegger with Josie Whitlock. Those two were the heart of their own little mean-girl pack at school.”
“I know Josie. She worked at Easy Money until Owen fired her.”
“I bet she hit on you.”
“Big time. Not my type.”
“According to Greg, he and Rhonda climbed into the bed of his pickup while Josie paired up with Chase.”
“They’re not the first teenagers to do the deed at a party. Why do you think Rhonda refused to admit she’d been with Delano?”
“Because she’d lied to Josh Lockwood and said she was staying home that night with a headache. According to Greg, Rhonda and Josh had only recently gotten back together after breaking up a month or so before.”
She waited expectantly for him to say something. “Aren’t you going to ask why this is important?”
Gage chewed thoughtfully. “If I had to speculate, it’s because she got pregnant.”
Melanie gaped at him. “How’d you guess?”
He shrugged. “Has to be something big if she’s still nervous about it after all these years. Delano didn’t stand up for her?”
“He wanted to. Greg says Rhonda came to his house a couple weeks after they’d been together.
She’d found out she was pregnant and was a hot mess.
He had a big-time crush on her and figured a baby meant they’d be together.
Since he’d committed to the navy and was set to go to boot camp after graduation, he felt he could support her and a baby. He wanted to marry her.”
“I take it Rhonda didn’t want that.” Gage pushed his plate away.
“Nope. Greg sounds bitter. He thinks she decided Josh Lockwood’s prospects were better than his. Josh was popular and was on his way to becoming valedictorian, his family was wealthy, or at least everybody thought so.