Need You Now (Love in Unknown)

chapter 13





Mel leaned against the cabinet in the old kitchen cum staff lounge at Unknown Family Clinic and took a long drink of water.

“Anna, did you start blackmailing people to get them to come in?”

The older woman smiled as she pulled two cartons of yogurt out of the ancient refrigerator and handed one to Mel. “Honey, I’m good, but I’m not that good.”

Mel opened the yogurt and dug around in the drawer beside her hip until she found a spoon. “Then did my mother and Jemma start some sort of campaign? Today we’ve already seen double the number of patients we saw all last week.”

“Oh, honey.” Anna laughed, taking a seat at the small butcher block table. “You don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Mel took quick bites of her yogurt. She had exactly two minute before her next appointment.

Anna sat there, looking like the cat who ate the canary. “I think you’ll find out soon. Your two o’clock is Claudia McGarry. I’ve never known that woman to keep quiet about anything.”

Frowning, Mel scarfed down the rest of the yogurt and hurried into the waiting room. A sour expression on her face, Sandra held out a file. Mel took the file and scanned the small room until she found the elderly woman whose name matched the file. “Hi, Mrs. McGarry. You want to come with me back to one of the exam rooms?”

Mrs. McGarry nodded, one boney hand clutching the top of her parrot-headed cane. As soon as they entered the only ground floor exam room, Mrs. McGarry took a seat on the exam table and fixed Mel with a mischievous look. “That little snot at the front desk certainly doesn’t like you. If looks could kill, girly.”

“Oh.” Mel had to work very hard to keep her professionally neutral face on. “Well. There are a number of people in this town who aren’t too pleased to have me back.”

“Your mother certainly isn’t one of them.” Claudia McGarry, though old enough to be Mel’s grandmother, spent a great deal of time with Emma Carr on various committees and clubs over the years. “She’s so proud of you.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” Mel said, helping Mrs. McGarry out of her sweater.

Mrs. McGarry took several deep breaths as Mel used her stethoscope to listen to the steady thump-thump of her heart. “I must say, I’m glad to see that Maddox boy with such a nice, local girl.”

“You mean the mayor?” Mel took out a pen and made a few notes in the chart.

“Don’t play coy with me, missy.” Mrs. McGarry let out a cackle. “You and Caine Maddox make quite the couple. Everyone around here just loves that boy. Both of the Maddox boys grew up right thanks to those parents of yours.”

Mel felt a smile tug at her lips. “What’s the scuttlebutt, Mrs. McG? You and Mama the only ones happy about me and Caine?”

“Well, all of those silly women who hang around the baseball games to swoon over our esteemed mayor and police chief aren’t too happy that Caine’s off the market, but everyone else is pleased as punch.”

Fastening a blood pressure cuff around Mrs. McGarry’s thin arm, Mel raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

Mrs. McGarry sat still, but a grin caused the wrinkles on her face to bunch up underneath her eyes. “Really. For years, we’ve worried that Caine would end up like his father, married to some piece of plastic from Houston or Dallas. He’s never showed much interest in a local girl until now.”

“I thought people in town didn’t like having me here.” Mel used her flashlight to check the responsiveness of her patient’s pupils. “Up until this week, it’s looked like a ghost town around here.”

“Oh, tush.” Mrs. McGarry waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not like they didn’t like you, dear, they just didn’t know what to make of you. You’re a good girl and a very smart girl. You’re something new around here. New scares a lot of people and they needed time to get used to you. I haven’t seen that waiting room so full since before Doc Booth qualified for his senior discount at the movie theater.”

Mel continued with her exam, a small smile on her face. So that’s what happened. You start dating the favorite son and people who thought you were a freak suddenly realize you’re more normal than they thought. She knew she should be annoyed by this fact, but she was too tired to care. Caine was busy with stuff with his uncle’s firm and with town business, so she hadn’t seen him in the last few days. That didn’t stop Merna’s Matches from posting about their comings and goings and the fact that she received a small flower or chocolate delivery at the office every day, much to Sandra’s chagrin.

It also didn’t stop him from calling her when he got home each night. Usually, she was already curled up in bed with a book when her phone would sing “As Time Goes By.” She’d answer and they’d talk. Most nights he was too tired to do more than talk about his day, but last night, he’d been feeling a little playful. Phone sex, while not nearly as enjoyable as real sex, could still wear a girl out. Combined with back to back patients, she didn’t have the energy to be irritated by the fact that her social life was what was helping her professional life.

She could only be grateful for it. Caine opened the door, but she would be the one to keep it open. Loyal patients like Mrs. McGarry would be the ones to keep it open. For the first time since she left town as a scared seventeen-year-old, she felt like she had found her place in a group. She was the town doctor who happened to be dating the town mayor and the town was okay with that. Life might not be so bad.

#

For the third time that day, Caine wished he’d convinced Emma Carr to schedule the cookout for sometime other than right after one of his baseball games. He didn’t even have time to run home and shower or change out of his grubby jeans and jersey. Sure, he’d known Mel’s family all of his life, but he hadn’t been over to their house for dinner in years, and never as Mel’s boyfriend.

Boyfriend. He still couldn’t get used to how good that sounded.

Luckily, Gage was just as grubby as he was. “Did you really have to drive us over here in this ridiculous thing?”

Caine pulled the Mayor Mobile up the Carrs’ driveway. “Well, we would have looked stupid showing up on your bike, and my truck was at Town Hall.”

“This is seriously the least dignified method of transportation known to man,” Gage grumbled, levering himself out of the cart.

Caine began to walk up the driveway. “Nah. Unicycles are way worse.”

He knocked on the door. Growing up, he and Gage used to come and go as they pleased, but it felt weird to do that now. He’d visited the house a few times since Micah had come back to town, but this visit was different than all of the others.

“Caine! So good to see you, honey.” Emma Carr greeted him with the same warm hospitality she had since he’d shown up with Micah when he was a scrawny six-year-old. She even leaned up and kissed his cheek, after she hugged Gage. “Micah and Melody are already in the back. Now that you’re here, we can toss the chicken on the grill.”

“Thanks for inviting me, Emma.” Emma led them through the house. Not much had changed. The furniture was updated, but the atmosphere was the same as he remembered. Warm. Open. You knew the minute you walked in that a family who loved each other lived here.

“Please. You’re family. We’re always happy to have you here.” The backyard looked like something lout of a movie. Neatly cut grass. Flower beds brimming with colorful blooms. Tree house still up in the tree even after all these years. In one corner of the flagstone patio stood an umbrella-shaded picnic table. Mel, looking fresh and lovely in khaki capris and a floaty blue top, threw a baseball to her nephew. Jax wore the same look of intense concentration Mel did when she wanted to do something exactly right the first time. He’d first seen it when helping her ride her bike for the first time.

“Caine!” A big smile broke across her face. While they’d talked on the phone every night before bed, he’d been too busy with several deals at Town Hall to see her. He hadn’t realized exactly how much he’d missed her until now.

He took long strides toward her until he could wrap his arms around her and kiss her. “Hello, sunshine. Been too long since I got to do that.”

Leaning in again, he would have stolen another kiss if there hadn’t been a dramatic gagging sound behind Mel. Gage joined Jax in sticking his finger down his throat. “Gross,” Jax said. “Why are you kissing her? Girls have cooties.”

Mel pulled away, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s hair and shove Gage. “As a medical professional, I can tell you without a doubt that the type of ‘cooties’ you think I have are not real.”

Micah stood by the grill, not looking thrilled to see him. Out of the corner of his eye, Caine saw Mel and Gage start up another game of catch with Jax.

“Micah. How’re things at the bakery?”

“Fine, I guess.” Micah turned to check the chicken breasts sizzling over the coals. “Been busy? Didn’t see you around town much this week.”

Caine accepted the beer his friend held out, hoping it was a peace offering. He didn’t want bad blood between them because of his relationship with Mel. “Yeah, we’re working on finalizing budgets and planning the town museum Jemma’s been pushing for all these years. Wrapped it up yesterday, actually.”

They stood in silence, both of them staring at the grill for several moments, drinking their beers. “Jax settling in okay?”

“It’s a big change for both of us, but I think he’ll be all right in a few months.” Micah faced him, arms crossed. To anyone else, the stance might have been intimidating, but Caine had learned a long time ago not to back down. Micah had always outweighed him and Gage, but he was all talk. Well, mostly. “I meant what I said at your house, Caine. Don’t hurt my sister.”

Caine sipped the beer, studying his friend. “I don’t plan to. Get used to having me around for family dinners.”

Micah let out a bark of laughter. “What’s one more? Gage already eats enough to feed an army.”

“Hey, now.” Gage ambled over the game of catch. “I only eat enough for a platoon. Maybe a battalion. And it’s your fault I eat so much. Getting to eat the best food in town? For free? Makes my lonely frozen dinners look like dog food.”

Underneath the big tree, the game of catch had deteriorated to Mel chasing Jax in circles, threatening to give him cooties. Caine smiled at the sight, imagining a tiny version of Mel joining the game, brown curls flying around her chubby cheeks. Through the kitchen window, they could see Emma puttering around with the side dishes. This was how things were supposed to be.

“Those frozen meals are dog, man,” Micah said. “It’s a good thing Unknown isn’t a hotbed of crime. With the nourishment you get from those things, Jax could probably take you.”

“Whatever.” Gage leaned his long body against the porch railing. “So, you two still trying to intimidate each other, or can we all go back to being friends again?”

Caine waiting for Micah to respond. Finally, Micah shrugged. “As long as there are no more secrets, I think we’re good. Oh, and I call dibs on your help if he does something stupid.”

“You’d use my own brother against me? Ouch, man. That hurts.” Caine put a hand to his chest in mock pain. He expected Gage to take Micah’s side, though. If situations were reversed, he’d beat the crap out of Gage for hurting Mel. She was his girlfriend, but she’d been their girl first. “Good thing I don’t plan to let her go.”

“She’s here to settle down, you know.” Micah pulled ears of corn off the grill, putting them on a plate Gage held out for him, then moved to the chicken. “Might be your chance. Don’t waste it. And don’t hurt her.”

#

Mel watched Caine carefully as they sat down to eat. He sat across from her, right next to Jax. In true Maddox fashion, he conversed easily with her family. He and Micah argued back and forth about the Texas Rangers’ chances at the playoffs this year, with Gage tossing in color commentary between mouthfuls of food.

“Emma, how are things that Education Foundation? Plans for the fundraiser coming along?” Caine’s question obviously pleased her mother.

“Things are going well, considering who’s in charge of it.” Emma’s tart reply brought a smile to Caine’s handsome face. His whole face lit up when he smiled, really smiled. He had his company smile and then he had his real smile. The real smile curled Mel’s toes and reminded her why she’d first become attracted to him. But when the company smile came out, he became a true Maddox. And that side of him worried her a little.

“Mrs. Holloway is certainly opinionated. I’m dealing with her on the museum project.” Caine winked at Emma. “Let’s just say I’ll be happy when the museum is open. So will my secretary.”

Emma chuckled. “I’m sure Maisie has practically taken up residence in your office, trying to make sure every detail is perfect.”

“Well, I certainly would prefer you or Jemma as the head of the committee. High maintenance women like Mrs. Holloway give me flashbacks of all those meetings Mother held at the house when I was a kid." Caine gave an exaggerated shudder.

Mel laughed at him, throwing a chip. "Like you ever had to suffer through too many of those. You and Gage might as well have lived here when we were kids."

He threw the chip back. He looked so relaxed and comfortable, the sun glinting off of a bad case of hat hair. It really was unfair for him to be this attractive even in the midst of this awful Texas heat. "I still had to run the gauntlet to escape. It was worse when I came home from boarding school. They all grilled me for hours."

“You went to boarding school?” Jax wrinkled his little nose. “What for?”

Caine looked over at her nephew. "Well, my dad and my mom weren't very happy people, and they decided that they didn't like me growing up in Unknown, so they sent me away to a fancy school up north. But you want to know a secret?"

Jax nodded, almost eagerly. Mel hadn't seen him show this much interest in anyone besides his dad since he’d moved here. Caine had obviously made an impression on her stoic nephew.

“Boarding school sucked. The food was lousy, the boys were jerks. But the absolute worst part? My brother, your aunt, and your dad weren't there." Caine met her gaze. Would she ever stop getting this warm tingly feeling every time he looked at her like that? "Life without your best friends is miserable."

Jax frowned at him. "You're best friends with a girl? Why? All the girls at my school are stupid."

“A lot of girls are pretty stupid. But your aunt isn't. She was always pretty cool." He pointed to the big oak tree in the corner of the yard where an ancient tree house still sat amidst the branches. "She helped us build the tree house, remember?"

Mel jumped in. "He means they used me as cheap labor to bring them sodas and fetch nails. Jerks wouldn't let me do anything fun like use a hammer. And then they had the nerve to put up a sign that said 'No Girls Allowed.'"

“We had to have some place to escape to," Micah protested. "You were such a little pest, always following us around, begging to play with us."

“Hey, I always let you up," Caine said.

Gage snorted from beside her. “You were such a wimp.”

“Being nice does not make him a wimp," she argued.

Caine shrugged, his eyes all soft and tender. Warmth sluiced through her, mixing with a healthy dose of desire. "What can I say? Those big eyes would look up, all teary and sad, and I couldn't say no. That's lesson one of being a guy, little man. Girls will use tears to get what they want. And it works."

She stuck her tongue out at him, making Jax laugh. "Aunt Mel's cool, I guess. But I don't want a friend that's a girl if it means I have to kiss her like you did when you got here. Yuck!"

“You’ll think differently someday," Emma warned. "Caine used to think girls were gross and now look at him."

Jax didn't look convinced, but Mel was. Whatever their past, Caine truly wanted to be with her now. That thought kept playing over and over in her head even after dinner was over, even though she tried to distract herself by helping clean up.

“Careful, Mel-bell. You're drooling, and we used up all of the paper towels to clean up Jax's soda spill earlier."

Gage’s voice startled her. She had been standing at the sink, rinsing off some of the dishes while Caine and Micah worked with Jax on his batting stance. She'd gotten a little distracted, watching the way Caine's biceps pulled on the soft gray fabric of his t-shirt. "I wasn't drooling. That's just dish water."

“Right, sure. And you couldn't take your eyes off of him all through dinner." He snickered, picking up dishes and starting to load them into the dishwasher. "I can't remember the last time I saw him this happy."

Mel felt her cheeks flush. "It’s so weird. Having him here. The place is the same, the people are the same, but the dynamic is different."

Gage took a dish from her. His grey eyes didn't leave her face. This man. He’d always been there for her, was always supportive. "Good different or bad different?"

“Good different." She didn't hesitate. Aside from her dad's absence, the changes felt right. A natural progression. "The only thing that could make it better would be to see you and Micah get out there in the dating world."

That earned her a disgusted face. "True sign of someone who is completely smitten. Trying to inflict your happiness on everyone else."

“I'm not...smitten." Smitten sounded like a silly little girl's emotions.

Shaking his head, Gage crossed his arms over his chest, a knowing smile on his handsome face. If she looked closely, she could see the resemblance between him and Caine. The line of the jaw, the curve of his mouth. It wasn't overt, but it was still there. The years she’d spent trying to block her memories of Caine had dimmed the impact of how much the Maddox boys were alike. “Come on, now, Mel-bell. This is me. I know you. I know him. You're both so stubborn. If you'd just stopped fighting it, you could have been happy years ago."

“I've been happy." Mel sighed. "Maybe not as happy as I am now, sure. But as much as I care for him, I don't need your brother to be happy."

It was true. She loved being with Caine, but she wasn't about to have her happiness depend on him. She was home. She had a great family, a wonderful best friend, and the job she’d always wanted. Happiness had been around before Caine Maddox and it would be around after him. She looked back out the window in time to see him lift a giggling Jax over his head. Who was she kidding? God help her, Caine might be the only person who turned her happiness into joy.