Need You Now (Love in Unknown)

chapter 12





Caine met his brother coming out of Town Hall Monday morning looking a little grim. “Rough day?”

“Stupid judge. Let a guy off with a warning on his third DUI. Had to arrest the guy again last night.” Gage shook his head. “Makes it difficult to do my job when the judge gets lazy.”

They started walking side by side, a habit they’d developed when either of them needed to let off steam. As they walked, Caine began to notice people they passed turning and looking at him, then whispering to their friends. At first, Caine shook it off, reminding himself that people in town always liked to talk about the Maddox boys. But it persisted, and the looks he received ranged from disgust to amusement.

He turned to his brother. "Have I missed something? Do I have toilet paper on my shoe?"

“You worked at home all yesterday, didn't you?" Gage guessed, his shoulders slumping a little.

“Yeah. What happened?” A bad feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. It was serious gossip if Gage knew about it. The police chief tried to keep himself separate from rumors, just to be on the safe side. At most, he checked Merna’s Matches in the morning to make sure his latest rendezvous hadn’t made it on the radar. Gage took pride in his ability to outsmart that stupid blog.

Gage glared at a group of old women as they passed, heads together, eyes darting in their direction. "Apparently, people started to put two and two together when you and Mel were looking a little cozy in the dugout on Saturday. Some people saw you go pick her up afterwards. All of that got back to Merna's Matches and rumors started flying. So now, you guys are the new headline of the Unknown social page."

“Shit.” Caine sighed. “I’m an idiot. I wanted to make a statement, but I’d hoped Merna’s would be a little slower than this. Mel hasn’t even told her mom or Micah yet.”

“What, that you've started dating? Or any of it?"

Caine purposely changed directions when they started down the street in front of Carr's Cakes. Micah had looked plenty pissed Saturday night when Mel hustled him out of the apartment. Best not to run into him for a few days. "Any of it. She never told them that we dated in college, so they don't know that we've gotten back together."

“Well, the whole town knows you're together now." Gage said the words with a hint of disgust. They both resented town gossip, especially since it always seemed to cycle back to focus on their family. Made life difficult, especially when their father couldn't keep it in his pants for more than a few weeks. Even if he was the most powerful man in Unknown, Joe Maddox couldn't intimidate people into ignoring the fact that he tried to sleep with anything in a skirt while ignoring his wife. The newspaper predecessor of Merna's Matches blog had a field day every time their dad slipped up.

“What are they saying, exactly?” The last thing he needed was for everything to get twisted against Mel. He knew the Baseball Mom Fan Club would be pissed. He didn’t want any of the vitriol that he and Caine saw heaped on their dad’s flings to be sent Mel’s way. If anything, he had hoped that letting everyone know that she was his girlfriend would make things easier for her in town. The women of this town could either be their greatest advocates or drive them apart. He’d seen it happen over and over again to other couples.

Gage hesitated. Not good. "It's all mixed. Some people are thrilled to see you dating a local girl. Most of Emma Carr's cronies are ecstatic. But there are some women, especially the ones our age, who are bitter. Your fan club's all been holding out hope that you'd come to your senses and sweep one of them off their feet. The worst are the ones who teased Mel when we were kids. There's a lot of speculation about how the town geek managed to land the most eligible bachelor."

“A blind man could see how.” Caine scowled. “Stupid, nosy idiots.”

Mel was everything a man could want in a woman. Beautiful, smart, compassionate. Sassy and sexy as hell. Just the thought of her stirred something deep inside him, made him want to run up to her apartment and wrap her in his arms. He wanted the town to back her, to be on her side. She’d grown up here. Her family had been a part of the town for almost as long as his. Why couldn’t everyone just accept her as she was?

“Caine, you know I'm glad you're happy and everything, but I've got to tell you, I'm worried, too." Gage looked up at the sky, the sun breaking through the shady trees along the sidewalk. "Be careful with her. For both your sakes. The last thing I want to do is have to see her fall apart if y'all split up."

He’d known being the intermediary would be hard for his brother, but he hadn't thought too much about it. "I can't speak for her, but I'm in this for as long as she'll have me. I'd never hurt her, Gage. Never."

“You might not. But they would.” He nodded toward a group of women, all around the age of thirty, huddled together talking.

Caine’s mind went back to the clinic and her car. Someone in town didn't want Mel here. But he refused to let her go. He'd just have to make sure everyone knew that she wasn't going anywhere because he needed her too much.

#

Monday afternoon, Mel rushed around trying to leave the office early. Her mother had sent a text telling her dinner was at six and she better not be late. Quite honestly, she was surprised the summons hadn’t come sooner. She seriously doubted her mom didn’t know about the date with Caine. Gage had texted her just after lunch to give her the heads up that it had spread beyond the confines of Merna’s Matches into The Piece of Gossip of the week. Gossip— the one thing she hadn’t missed about Unknown. It might not have been nearly as bad without Merna’s Matches. Still, she should have been prepared for it. Dating the mayor, who also happened to be a member of the founding family, wasn’t exactly laying low.

The phone rang as she shut down her computer for the day. Great. Maybe it was a patient and she could put off this dinner for a little while. “Unknown Clinic, Dr. Carr speaking.”

“You bitch. Stay away from him. Leave town now. Or else."

She immediately slammed the phone down. Again? Really? At least this time it seemed to be about Caine. The voice sounded a little different than before. Maybe it was just one of the Fan Club. Lord knew they’d given her enough death stares when she drove by on her way to work this morning. Still, these phone calls were getting seriously old. She made a mental note to casually bring them up to Gage and see what he could do. Maybe. Or she could always change her number. That at least would save her from the overprotective smothering that was bound to happen the second she told him.

Shaking off the unsettling feeling that always lingered after the creepy calls, Mel drove to her mother’s house, ready for the inquisition. “Hello?” she called, letting herself into the big kitchen. Savory scents of homemade mac and cheese filled the air, drawing her in. “Anybody home?”

Her mother’s graying head popped around the corner. Mischief twinkled in her hazel eyes. “Well, if it isn’t my daughter, the mayor’s girlfriend. I feel so honored to be graced by your presence.”

“Very funny, Mama.” Mel went over and kissed her mother’s cheek.

Emma reached up to thump Mel on the back of the head. “Now, I want to know why I had to hear that my sweet daughter was dating Caine Maddox from the darn internet? I expected better from you. Especially since I’ve gone to all the trouble to arrange these dates for you.”

Mel winced. Okay, she probably should have said something about the date to her mom. But telling her mom would have meant dealing with the confusion that she just couldn’t shake when it came to Caine. Even now she was trying to find her way out of the tangled emotions. Still, the time for avoidance had passed. Best to lay it all out, once and for all.

“I’m sorry. Really I am.” She did her best to look contrite. “I’ll tell you and Micah everything over dinner. Promise.”

Micah came in just then, Jax trailing behind him, face buried in his video game. “Hi, handsome,” she said, pulling her nephew into a hug and making him squirm. “Is that mac and cheese almost ready? I’m starving.”

Her brother just grunted and went to pull the dish out of the oven. Guess somebody still wasn’t too happy with her. Oh, well. He’d be even less happy once she told him that this wasn’t the first time she and Caine were in a relationship. Good thing the roof was pretty secure, because Micah’s temper might blow it off before the night was over. Mel helped her mother set the table and poured iced tea for the adults before taking the seat in front of the window that had been hers all her life.

“Now tell us everything.” Emma nodded after everyone had been served. Jax had been allowed to keep his game on while he ate this once so the adults could talk without interruption.

Mel rolled her head around her neck. Time was up. She chose her words carefully, hoping that she could gloss over some things for her mom’s sake. “It’s a long story, Mama. But the first thing you should know is that Caine and I have dated before. At Brown. It wasn’t a big deal. Just a really casual thing between friends.”

Micah’s jaw tightened, but he went on stoically eating his dinner. Uh-oh. A slow boil was always worse than a quick outburst with him. She’d lay bets that her brother picked up on what she meant by that last bit, but hopefully her mom wouldn’t.

Hurt flashed in Emma’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Scared, I guess. It all felt a bit like a dream.” She took a bite of her dinner, buying herself a few seconds to find the best way to explain. “I was in a big city, away from everybody I knew. Then the guy I’d idolized for years found me and wanted to be with me. I knew if I told you, Micah and Dad would have freaked out. Said he was too old, too experienced for me. In hindsight, he probably was. But I wanted him. And I think I liked the whole secret aspect of it."

“Damn right I would have been concerned,” Micah said. “Still am. He might be one of my oldest friends, but he’s still a Maddox, Mel. You know what his family’s like.”

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. If you'll recall, he's also someone we've known forever. Someone you used to think of as your best friend."

“Why did you end things?” Emma asked, no judgment in her voice. Her mother always waited to hear all of the facts before expressing an opinion.

Mel took a deep breath, deciding how much to tell them. She felt a large twinge of guilt, knowing her mom would be hurt by some of what she had to say. “We got together February of my freshmen year. I enjoyed being with Caine, but we were so different. Dad…Dad found out when he came to pick me up from school in May. We talked and he made me see that Caine was just a distraction. He was good to me, but not good for me.”

“Did you transfer schools because of him?” Her mother’s voice was faint, her brows furrowed. “You told me it’s because you didn’t fit in at Brown.”

“That was true. Everyone I knew at Brown, I knew because of Caine and they were all so superficial. And UNC was a much better choice for me.”

“But why did your father keep it from me?”

Mel’s heart clenched. She couldn’t tell her mom the real reason her dad kept this from her, not even now. The pain of it would be too much for her. “I asked him to. I was embarrassed. You both raised me to wait to be with a man who I loved and who valued me. Back then, Caine was the opposite of that. And I didn’t want you to think any less of him either.”

“And what makes you think that it’ll work out now?” Micah asked after several minutes of silence.

“We’ve both changed in the last ten years. I’m in a different place now. Caine’s grown up a lot.” Mel lifted her chin. “I’m done with school. Caine’s become a really great guy. He could be the one. We’ve always felt connected and I want to see what happens.”

Micah scowled at his food, brooding. She knew his pride was stinging a bit and his protective side wasn’t ready to get over the fact that his little sister was dating his best friend. She turned her attention to her mother. More than anything, Emma looked hurt, just as Mel knew she would be. Growing up, Mel had shared everything with her. Keeping her first boyfriend a secret must have come as a shock and dragging her father into the secret made it a million times worse.

The smile Emma mustered up was forced, but Mel appreciated the effort. “Did you have a good time on your date last night? Everyone's trying to guess where he took you."

“They’ll never guess.” She took another bite of her dinner then sipped her tea. "He took me out to Race's Drive-In. We had a picnic and watched the first Star Wars movie."

Emma frowned. "Star Wars? That's not really a date movie, is it?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Mel saw her brother soften a bit. "It's the first movie Dad took us to at the drive-in. One of Mel's favorites."

“Oh. Well, isn't that sweet." Emma patted Mel's hand. "He's a good boy, in spite of his family. I remember how much Micah and Gage missed him when he went away to school. But I never suspected you cared for him that way."

“Girls like me never stood a chance with guys like him, especially back then. Better to keep it a secret than let everyone know what a hopeless case I was."

Emma shook her head in maternal disapproval. “I hope he’s worthy of you, sweetheart.”

Micah nodded. "He better be. Otherwise Gage and I will beat him until he's nothing but a walking bruise."

Mel ignored her brother. "He's very good to me, Mama. Trust me."

“Why don't you invite him to go on a picnic with us next weekend?" Emma suggested. "I haven't seen much of him since he moved back to town, and I'm sure it will do your brother good to see the two of you together."

“We’ll see, Mama.” Mel didn't know if that was a good idea. From the look on her brother's face, she knew he wouldn't accept this new relationship easily. He'd never seen her date anyone, let alone his best friend. It would be hard, but he'd have to deal.

She tried to talk to him while they did dishes. "I really am sorry I didn't tell you. I just... Back then, I needed something that was just mine. Didn't want big brother to come swooping in to save the day."

“Mel, I get needing to stand on your own two feet. But it's been ten years. That's a long time to keep a secret from your family." Micah loaded dishes into the dishwasher with a bit more force than necessary.

“I don't have a good excuse, except that after it was over, I didn't want to think about it. Hurt too much." Mel put the salt and pepper back into the spice cabinet, keeping her back to her brother.

She heard him snort derisively. "He should have told me. Back then, he should have told me. I asked him to watch out for you and instead he goes behind my back?"

Mel turned around, glaring at her brother. His temper was flaring in his eyes again. "It was as much my idea as it was his. I don't want you laying into him for something that happened ten years ago."

Micah didn't flinch; his eyes didn't waver. His jaw tightened. He had control of his anger, but her brother still seemed more pissed off by this than she’d expected. "Best Friend Code, Rule Nine, Subsection C. The female adherent to the code won't interfere in disputes between the male adherents. This is between me and Caine and I'll handle it the way I see fit.”

She couldn't help groaning. If things went the way she thought they would, she’d need to stock up on a lot more ice packs and band-aids. Men.

#

Caine couldn’t say he was surprised by the pounding on his door Monday evening.

He and Gage had been watching the baseball game and eating pizzas when his phone rang.

“I could be wrong, but I think my brother is probably heading over to your place for a…discussion.” Mel sounded a little breathless and a lot agitated. “Things at dinner went as well as could be expected, but he just left here with a bug up his ass. Looked like he turned the truck your way.”

Caine bit back a curse. He'd hoped that they didn't have to do this, but he knew it was inevitable. No Texas brother worth his salt would let this go without at least making his opinion known. "Thanks for the heads up."

“Please, Caine. Both of you try to remember that you're adults and that throwing punches never helped anyone, okay?"

He knew as well as she did that he and Micah would handle things their way, no matter what she asked. But he could still try to reassure her. "I’ll try my best. It'll be all right. I promise that whatever happens, Micah and I will get past it tonight."

Now, with Mel's brother banging on the door, he said a silent prayer that he could keep that promise. Caine opened the door for Micah, unsurprised to see a glower on his best friend's face. "Micah. What a surprise. You want to come in for a beer?"

“A beer?” Micah pushed his way in, his temper almost as dark as his hair. "Yeah, sure. Or, we could talk about how you dated my baby sister behind my back after Dad and I asked you to watch out for her."

Caine sighed and led the way to the living room where Gage relaxed on the couch. "You always get straight to the point, don't you?"

“When it comes to my family? Damn straight, I do. So what's your excuse?" Micah crossed his arms across his chest, unmovable, determined.

Caine held up his hands. "No excuse. We were young and I... Hell, I don't know. I guess I didn't want anything interfering with what I had with Mel."

“Interfering?" Micah's dry laugh told Caine just how pissed he really was. "Gee, Maddox, I wonder why we would interfere. Maybe it’s because my sister was barely eighteen. Or it's possible we'd have come up there and kicked your ass because she'd never had a boyfriend. Jesus, Caine. She wasn't ready to handle a guy like you back then."

Ten years didn't make a difference. Not to a brother like Micah. He'd always been fiercely protective of his little sister. Then again, they all were. Guilt and temper duked it out inside Caine. He knew he'd messed up, but he couldn't regret what he had with Mel. "That's a load of shit, and you know it. Mel's never been like other girls. We've all known that since she was little. I was a selfish ass back then, but I’ve always tried to do what's in her best interest."

“Her best interest?" Micah's face contorted. "Your job was to protect her from guys like you, not to screw her and break her heart."

Gage vaulted the couch to stand between them, a restraining hand on Micah's shoulder. "Out of line, Micah. You know Caine wouldn't treat Mel like that, no matter what his reputation was back then."

The baker tried to shake his friend's hand off but Caine saw Gage’s grip tighten. "Back off, Gage. This is between me and Caine."

“It's between all of us." Gage's voice took on a hard edge. Caine knew he'd put his brother in an impossible situation. He'd known it back then, too.

“I didn't break her heart. She broke up with me. Hell, I came back from my vacation that summer wanting to commit, give us a real chance. We’d probably be married by now if I had my way.”

Shit. Caine couldn’t believe he’d just said that.

He saw it all, almost in slow motion. Since walking through the door, Micah'd barely had control over his temper. Caine had seen Ethan Carr do the same thing on a number of occasions after dealing with difficult customers or having to listen to local politics. Before Caine could move, Micah shook free of Gage's hold and his fist collided with Caine's face—a clean, solid punch to the jaw.

Pain blinded Caine for a moment, spots dancing behind his eyes. He shook his head a little, trying to de-scramble his thoughts. Coming back into focus, he clenched his own fists, then unclenched them to gingerly touch his jaw. "I let you have that punch for free. Try it again, I won't let you off."

“She was only eighteen! Jesus, were you that much of an idiot?" Micah shook out his hand, obviously in pain, too. "No wonder she broke up with you. You were her first boyfriend and she wasn't even out of college. Neither of you were ready for that kind of commitment back then."

Caine knew Micah was right. Of course he did. Ten years ago, he'd been impulsive, caught between the heady feeling of being with a girl who fascinated him and the invincible high of living the life of a trust fund baby. Looking back, he was more than a little in love with her back then. He still was. He couldn't regret that, even if it lost him his best friend. "Maybe you're right. Can't go back and time and find out. All I can do is move forward with Mel. We're taking things slowly for her sake.”

“She tell you about Andrew?" Micah's jaw tightened and relaxed, the frown still etched deeply on his face. Even with his own jaw on fire, Caine respected the hell out of his friend. He took care of his sister, even when she was too stubborn to appreciate it. Hell, that protectiveness was what had landed Caine in this mess in the first place. If Micah and Ethan hadn't asked him to take care of Mel, he never would have seen her as anything more than his best friend's little sister.

“Yeah, she did." Mel’s vulnerability as she’d told him flashed before him again. He briefly entertained the thought of Micah going with him up to North Carolina to beat the crap out of Dr. Dickhead, but he doubted that would sit well with Mel. "She trusts me. You used to trust me too, remember?"

Micah nodded, some of the tension easing out of his body. "Hard to trust a guy who seduced my baby sister behind my back."

“Like it or not, it was ten years ago, man." Caine snorted. Some of his guilt eased a little. He was putting up a front, but Micah had gotten the anger out of his system. "Last time I checked we weren't in one of Mel's historical romance novels. 'Seduced' her? We were in a normal relationship. Just like we are now."

“Normal? With Mel?" Micah's laugh was full of brotherly affection. "Yeah, right. Listen, you hurt her or try to turn her into one of those robot bimbos you used to date, that punch will seem like a mosquito bite."

“I won't hurt her. Ever. I'm going to give her some time, but I do love her. If things go as planned, I'll spend the rest of my life letting her know that she's the best thing that ever happened to me."

He waited, holding his breath. If his friend threw another punch, he'd have to return it and he didn't want to do that. Micah had been the brother of his heart for most of his life. He didn't want to start their relationship as potential brothers-in-law with a fistfight.

“Why didn't you say anything? To me or Dad? Hell, Mom didn't even know."

“She asked me not to, Micah. For the first time, she got to be on her own." The guilt for not telling his friend beat out the throbbing of his jaw. "Y'all always took such good care of her. Protected her. I guess I thought that if she wanted to exert her independence by not telling you about us, what was the harm? After I graduated, we'd come home and tell everyone and your parents would be thrilled. I thought your dad would be pissed at first, but I never expected him to be as angry as he was. He read me the riot act and I never saw it coming. Dumb, right?”

“Not dumb," Gage put in. "Naive. A bit selfish, maybe. But not dumb."

Gage. His brother and Mel's best friend. He'd always known he had his support, but having him there backing him with Micah felt good. Micah's eyes flicked to Gage. "You knew?"

Gage nodded, his face grim. "I wanted to tell you, but Mel forbid it. Best Friend Code, man. She wouldn't budge."

“Best Friend Code?" Caine frowned. He'd always wondered why his brother had never said a word to the Carrs about his relationship with Mel.

Micah snorted. "Something we came up with not long after you left. The Three Musketeers had to protect each other. So we came up with rules. First rule: Always keep a promise to your Best Friend. That's the one she invoked, wasn't it?"

“She’s the genius, remember?"

“Maybe I should punch you, too." Micah's mouth tilted up in a half smile.

Gage shrugged, leaning against the back of the couch. "You could. But then I'd have to arrest you for assaulting a police officer."

“Oh, so you get punched and he gets arrested, but I get punched and you just stand there?" Caine shook his head. "Some brother you are."

He held out his hand and Micah shook it. Tightening his grip, Caine looked his friend dead in the eyes. "Friends?”

“We’ll see. How about that beer?”