Chapter 12
Mel hurried through the campus towards the Jeep, unlocking the door and tossing her bags into the back.
She was seriously wishing she’d never started the MBA program.
She’d just spent the last four hours in the library researching information for her final synopsis paper that was due in a little over a week.
The only good thing was Jordan was still out of town and couldn’t see how much time she was spending on schoolwork and not on the company, not that he’d complain about it, most likely he’d do the opposite and tell her to not worry about the office at all and send her home to sleep.
She was halfway home when the car began to sputter and then the entire thing just died.
The dash went dark, the headlights clicked off, and she slowly eased it to the side of the road attempting to turn on the hazard lights but even they wouldn’t work.
She climbed out and opened the hood, stepping back when a huge puff of smoke attacked the air.
Mel might have grown up with a male as a best friend and as a pool shark, but she didn’t know the first thing about cars, and certainly not when they puffed smoke.
She didn’t see anything on fire which she was thankful for and got back in to find her phone.
This wasn’t that bad of a situation, she’d call roadside service and then Tate to come pick her up, easy, no fuss.
She looked up the number on the insurance card and dialed but nothing happened.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She groaned as the signal bars flashed on and off and she heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. It sent her walking towards the front of the car then to the back and tried up and down both sides of the road before she got a tiny signal and tried the number again.
“We’re sorry all circuits are busy at this time…
please try your call again,” a voice said before cutting off and she cursed.
She tried again and again before the entire signal went down and no matter where she walked she couldn’t get it back.
Splatters of rain hit the ground, and she ran back to the Jeep to keep from getting soaked.
She grabbed Jordan’s sweatshirt from the backseat and pulled it on as she shivered after the icy cold drops that’d struck her.
“Okay so I should have listened to Jordan and let him buy me a new car,” she told the rain as it began to pelt down onto the windshield even harder.
It was almost an hour before she saw a pair of lights coming down the road. A part of her wanted to flag them down but the sane part of her told her to stay firmly inside the vehicle with the doors locked. The last thing she needed was for some psycho to try and grab her.
The car drove past, and she saw the tail lights come on as it stopped, pulling over to the side of the road and reversing until it was just in front of her.
“Please don’t be some crazy man who kills women during storms,” she whispered as the driver’s door opened.
Mel couldn’t tell much from the form as the person got out and hurried back to her door. They lifted a flashlight allowing her to catch a glimpse of their face and she relaxed a bit as they knocked on the window. She opened the door a crack since the windows were operated by power and she had none.
“Melinda?” Devon stated glancing at the raised hood. “Couldn’t pick a better night to break down could you?”
“Or a worse spot, no cell service.”
“It’s down all over town too, lighting hit a tower and took out the power grid for them from what I heard. Can I give you a ride?”
“That’d be great,” she said pushing aside her caution that she barely knew the guy and grabbed her bags from the backseat.
“Which way?” he asked once they were in his car and out of the freezing rain.
“Depends…where are you headed? I don’t want to take you too far out of your way, and I have family in all directions I can crash with for the night.”
“I was headed towards Chaney. A few of us rent a house out there because it’s cheaper than in town.”
“Home it is then,” she said giving him directions as they got closer. They were pulling into the driveway when the radio began to play a severe storm warning.
“A little late for that wouldn’t you say?” Devon stated before a large piece of hail smashed into his windshield. “Holy hell.”
“I think we’ll be safer inside,” Mel told him as she dug out her keys and grabbed her bags.
“I’ll be fine,” he countered until another piece of hail smacked into the hood of his car leaving behind a dent. “On the other hand…”
“Thought so,” she said pushing the door open and making a dash for the covered entrance.
She had the door unlocked before he reached her side and she quickly went in to get out of the rain.
She pulled off Jordan’s sweatshirt and tossed it into the laundry room before grabbing a couple towels giving one to Devon.
“Thanks.”
“Least I can do considering I very likely could have been stuck in the Jeep all night. Guess Jordan’s going to get his way about getting me a new one,” she stated before going into her bedroom and grabbing some dry clothes.
She changed quickly then headed down the hallway to the ‘man cave’ and grabbed some of Tate’s old things.
Devon was about the same size he used to be, and they had to be better than sitting around in wet clothes.
“Here, these should fit.”
“Thanks,” he said cautiously.
“Don’t worry, Jordan’s not going to come barging in attempting to take your head off for wearing his clothes. They’re my friend Tate’s old things. He spent as much time here during school as he did at his house and these are some of the leftovers that he can’t fit into any longer.”
“Good to know,” he said before moving into the bathroom.
She grabbed the skillet from the cabinet and opened the fridge; there was some meat in it that needed to be used and there was no point in starving while the storm raged on outside keeping them here.
Devon came back out of the bathroom, and she hid a chuckle by opening the pantry door.
It was so strange to see someone else wearing Tate’s things.
“I take it that’s Jordan and Tate,” he said nodding towards the wedding picture sitting on the end of the counter between the living room and the kitchen.
“Yup, the other one’s Nicole, Jordan’s sister and mother of my new godson.”
“And no one thought it was strange that you were only seventeen?” he asked putting the picture back down and coming into the kitchen.
“I’m sure they did but it was soon replaced when it became obvious that I wasn’t pregnant and that Jordan and I…I guess we were made for each other.”
“So it’d seem,” he stated watching her as she finished making dinner. “Where is he?”
“Cincinnati, there’s a college up there who wants to use the same sort of program Whitmore is and he went up to lay the groundwork for them.
We’re debating about providing the crew to oversee it but it’s a long way from home.
” She put a plate down for him and made herself one before settling down on the stool at the other end of the island.
“There’s beer, soda, water, and tea in the fridge, help yourself. ”
He grabbed a soda and then sat down before tucking into the food.
“Man, is there anything you can’t do?” he asked lifting his fork in a salute to her.
“Fix a car. I’ve been cooking since I was old enough to reach the stovetop. I got sick of TV dinners and canned pastas, so I picked up a cookbook from the library and read through it. Tate was my guinea pig for new recipes and would quickly inform me what was good and what wasn’t.”
“Do you know I’ve never heard you explain something, tell a story or discuss yourself without hearing about Tate or Jordan?”
“I’m not really surprised,” she admitted knowing some people just didn’t get it.
“Tate’s my best friend and until Jordan he was the only person who knew my secret.
He kept me grounded, out of trouble, and the foster system.
Whereas Jordan…he’s been my partner and biggest fan for the last six years.
I couldn’t separate myself from them even if I wanted to which I certainly don’t even want to try. ”
“But what about you? Isn’t there anything you do that’s just yours? You work with both of them, all three of you have similar degrees and you’re an upcoming architect just like Jordan.”
“You think I can’t do anything without them, is that it?” she asked.
“Seems that way from the outside looking in, even your wedding picture shows it. You’re leaning into Jordan, but your hand’s wrapped in Tate’s still.”
“It may seem strange but then again you probably grew up with two parents who bugged the hell out of you about where you were what you were doing.”
“Okay you got me. Mom and Dad are still happily married after thirty years,” Devon stated with a shrug as he avoided her gaze. “But so-what?”
“I grew up without my dad. I have no idea who he even is and my mother…the first time I can clearly recall her forgetting my birthday was when I turned seven. That’s also the first time she disappeared for two days leaving me by myself.
I was seven, alone and miserable until Tate showed up at my door, dragged me down to the pizza parlor and we ordered some disgusting pizza.
I mean anchovies, banana, green pepper, pepperoni all mashed together disgusting. ”
“Okay that sounds horrible.”