Need You Now (Love in Unknown)

chapter 17





Caine let the whisky burn down his throat in one fast bolt.

He stared at the bottle in front of him. Three nights ago the large bottle had been completely full. Now less than a quarter of the amber colored liquid remained. A half dozen empty beer bottles kept the whisky bottle company on the coffee table. He wished he had ten more of each.

Three night ago his world came crashing down around his ears. He’d come to expect a lot of things in his life. He expected his parents to be judgmental. He expected Gage to show up when he needed him. He expected the town to gossip. Never in a million years did he expect Mel to tell him that.

The alcohol took the edge off of the anger, but it didn’t stop him from playing every second over and over in his mind. Pregnant. It roared through his head louder than the crowd at a Rangers’ home game. Over the years, he’d come up with a lot of explanations for what ended up being the straw to break the camel’s back. That never entered his radar. In those few minutes before she told him it was a false alarm, his mind had gone to a million places. The thought of Mel alone and pregnant scared the shit out of him. He’d been so careful every time they were together, but nothing was a guarantee. Had she thought about having an abortion? Giving the baby up for adoption? Damn it, how the hell could she keep something like that from him?

For months, he’d been working his ass off to earn her trust. Wooing her for, f*cksake! He’d done everything but grovel to get her to take him back and she kept something this big a secret. Didn’t matter that it turned out to be a false alarm. She should have called him and told him to come home. He’d have been there in a second if she’d asked.

He poured himself a shot of whisky and tossed it back. Behind him, he heard the front door open and slam shut. A brief flash of hope that it was Mel disappeared when he heard heavier footsteps on the tiles. A few seconds later his brother flopped onto the couch beside him.

“Seriously, man? How much of that shit have you had?” Gage snatched the whisky bottle up and placed it on the far side of the coffee table.

“Mind your own damn business, little brother,” Caine growled, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

Gage sighed. “Not gonna happen.”

Caine leaned his head back against the couch cushions. "You talked to Mel lately?"

“Since she broke up with you? Not really. She texted me to tell me the news, then said not to call because she didn't want me to be caught in the middle. Which is complete and total bullshit, because I was caught in the middle the day she agreed to go out with you. The first time."

“I know, and I'm sorry." Caine felt like someone had attached weights to every joint in his body. As much as he hated being apart from Mel, he hated that his brother had ended up torn between two people he cared about even more. HIs blood ran cold. Had Gage known about the pregnancy scare?

Gage’s voice was soft with sympathy. “What happened?”

Caine gritted his teeth, refusing to say anything.

“She told you about Andrew, didn't she?"

Caine narrowed his eyes. "She told me a while back. Of course, you already knew about him. What'd she tell you?"

“It's not so much what she told me as what she didn't tell me. I also heard some stuff from Micah. My professional opinion? Guy was an emotionally abusive jackass who needed a good thrashing."

“She tell you why she ended things between us back in college?” Caine couldn’t keep the accusatory note out of his voice.

Gage sent him a sharp look. “Not really. Just that she got some perspective while you were gone and figured out she had to end things. Why?”

Caine opened his mouth to tell him everything. To let it all spew out. But something stopped him. He couldn’t do that to Gage. He and Mel had been best friends for too long. Telling Gage that Mel kept something from him would only make things worse. “She brought it up again and said she couldn’t get past it. That she couldn’t rely on me. Can you believe that shit?”

The silence from his brother was deafening. Caine glared at Gage, reaching for a bottle of beer he’d started earlier.

“Say what you’re thinking. Not like you can piss me off anymore than I already am.”

Gage sat for another few minutes before replying. “Would you have relied on you back then? Admit it, Caine. You were a selfish jackass in college.”

Caine pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn’t been that bad. Yeah, he’d had fun and enjoyed himself. That’s what college was for. Maybe he drank too much and slept around until he hooked up with Mel. Big deal. If she called him and told him she thought she was pregnant, he would have come home to be with her, wouldn’t he? She’d mattered. He’d come over that day to make things permanent with her. Still…Tossing a pregnancy scare into the mix would have spooked anybody, but he’d have handled it. He’d have been there for her, to hell with his friends.

“I never gave her any reason to think that I wouldn’t be there for her when she needed me,” Caine said. “Just because I enjoyed myself in college doesn’t give her any reason to act like I’m no better than Andrew the Rat Bastard.”

“I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but if Mel broke up with you. She’s got a reason.” Gage propped his feet up on the coffee table, looking so relaxed Caine had to fight the urge to punch him. “The real question is: are you going to fight for her?”

He didn’t know the answer. Okay, deep down he did. But that part of him was drowned out right now by the wounded, betrayed caveman side that was mad as hell at Mel for doubting him. He did know that, if he were being honest with himself, he’d probably admit that he would have run like hell if she’d even said the word pregnancy to him ten years ago. None of that changed the fact that she kept a huge secret from him, then used it to hurt him.

“Do you think that Andrew guy could be the one behind all the vandalism?” He needed to think about something other than licking his wounds.

Gage hesitated, his mouth pulling in a flat line. He grabbed a throw pillow from behind his back and idly tossed it back and forth from one hand to the other. His brother couldn’t stay still to save his life. "Not sure yet. I've been trying to track him down, but no luck. Last thing I found was his fiancée dumped his cheating ass. I'm still digging. Without evidence, there's only so much I can look into."

Caine sighed. “Can you keep an eye on Mel for me? She's not going to let me protect her now, and I know she's in the line of fire." If the stupid town wasn't so full of gossips, he'd sleep outside her apartment to keep her safe if he had to. He loved her. He might hate her a little right now, but seeing her hurt was not an option. In fact, he was pretty sure Ethan Carr would come back to life just to kick his ass if he let that happen.

Gage caught the pillow after flipping it in the air. “You know I will. Micah and I are going to talk to her, see if she'll agree to go stay with her mom until this all blows over. At least that way she'll have Micah close and they can ride into town together."

Caine stood, rolling his head from side to side, fighting the knots in his shoulders that refused to go away. HIs head swam a little from the alcohol and lack of food. “Thanks. Someone needs to watch out for her stubborn ass.”

“You love her, don't you?" Gage's voice held a note of empathy. Caine knew his brother had some skeletons in his romantic closet, but he never talked about them. He knew enough to recognize someone who'd been burned pretty bad.

“Hard to stop.”

Gage got to his feet and put a hand on his shoulder, the warmth of brotherly support easing a little of the tension that had a hold of Caine. "Don't give up on her. It might take time, but she'll let you in."

#

“Melody, I don't give a damn what you want," Micah said, pulling her suitcases out of her closet. "Either you can pack your bags or I will.

Mel glared at her brother. Blood throbbed a painful tattoo in her forehead. Eight days. Eight days since she’d walked out of Caine's house. She’d gotten maybe four hours of sleep last night and even less the night before. All she did was toss and turn and talk circles around her decision. The first night she’d thrown off the covers and started to drive back to Fortune Hill at least five times. The second night, it was only four. Last night she got it down to an impressive two. Needless to say, having her brother and Gage barge into her apartment was not something she wanted to deal with at seven in the morning.

Letting Caine go sucked, but she’d done what she had to do. Maybe once they’d gotten rid of whoever was stalking her, she would explain everything to him. She wouldn’t blame him if he hated her forever though. The look of betrayal on his face before she left just about killed her. She saw it in her sleep every night and every time she felt like someone was stabbing her in the chest and carving out her heart.

All she wanted to do now was sleep and work. Compartmentalize. Be alone. She did her best on her own. Sure, she enjoyed being around people, having friends, but at heart she was an introvert. When she had wounds to lick like the gaping hole that had taken up residence in her chest, she didn’t want anyone else around her.

The men in her life didn’t want to hear that.

She yanked the bags away from her brother and tossed them back in the closet. “I’m not moving in with you and Mama. Not gonna happen. Move on.”

“Yes, you are.” Micah took the bags and threw them on her bed. When he started toward her dresser, she ran to stand in front of it so he couldn’t open any of the drawers. “It’s for your own good, little sister.”

Her own good? If she didn’t need to block the drawers, she’d probably try to pull her hair out. It had to be a genetic mutation. That should be her next study: the genetic mutation of the Alpha Male component of the Y-chromosome in the Texas male. Seriously, it had to rival the Incredible Hulk in size. “I’ll say this only once. I. Am. An. Adult. I love you for caring, but I can take care of myself.”

“Even adults need help sometimes.” Gage leaned against the doorjamb, hands tucked in his pockets in an attempt to stay neutral. Even arriving in a “neutral” capacity, he still had on his “Police Chief” hat. Somewhere along the way, Gage had assumed a mantle of quiet authority. Intellectually, she knew he was a cop, but it hadn’t fully hit her as much as it did now. The fact that he was even here told her Caine had kept his mouth shut, which she was grateful for. “With everything that’s going on, your brother and I would both feel more comfortable if you moved home for a little while. A month at the most.”

She shook her head. “I don’t care what would make y’all feel more comfortable. I’m not going to let whatever nut job who’s getting his jollies off by terrorizing me control my life and chase me out of my home.”

Her mouth opened, about to tell them about the phone calls, but she stopped. Stupid, tired brain. Bringing up the stupid phone calls wouldn’t help her cause. She thought about just melting to the floor and crying. It wouldn’t be productive or very adult, but it would feel so nice.

Before anyone could make another argument, the phone rang.

“Who’s calling you at this hour?” Micah asked, using the distraction to go to her closet. Dresses started to land on the bed before Mel could grab his arm to stop him.

Locked in a wrestling match with her brother, Mel glared over her shoulder at Gage. “Would you mind getting that? I left my phone on the counter and I don’t want a police officer to witness me murdering my older brother.”

“No bloodshed,” Gage warned as he went into the other room.

“You won’t murder me.” Micah grinned, easily fending her off. “If you did, you’d have to deal with Mama all by yourself.”

Mel snatched at the dress Micah held just out of her reach. “I’ll risk it if it means I don’t have to deal with one more alpha trying to control my life. Put the dress down!”

She managed to get the dress, but Micah quickly dashed to the dresser and started on her t-shirt drawer. Gage walked back into the room and stopped her before she could get past the door. To call the expression on his face stormy would be an understatement. Mel couldn’t remember ever seeing her easygoing friend so pissed off before. Not when his grandfather had died, not when his parents ignored him to go yet another party in Dallas.

“Who was on the phone?” Even as she said the words, she knew. Shit.

“Want to tell me why someone is calling you a bitch and a whore and using a cheap voice scrambler?” The barely restrained temper in Gage’s voice startled her a little.

Micah paused. “What?”

Gage held up her phone. “Picked up the phone. It was an unknown number. Before I could say anything, this person just started spewing bullshit, thinking I was Mel. And from the look on your face, I’m guessing this isn’t the first call like this, is it?”

“No.” Ignoring the jumble of clothes, she sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. “Probably won’t be the last, either.”

“Damn it, Melody.” Gage threw the phone on the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Fight or flight. Fight or flight. She tried to decide where to go with this. It took a lot to piss Gage off. It was one of the attributes that made him such a good cop. He took everything in with a cool, rational, comprehensive gaze before reacting. One misstep when he had that look in his eyes and that temper of his would let loose.

Mel looked him dead in the eyes. “Because I knew how you’d react. I knew you’d make a huge deal out of it. They’re just phone calls, Gage.”

“Just phone calls?" Wrong move. "Damn it, Melody. Maybe if they were 'just phone calls' I could understand keeping it to yourself. But it's more than that and you know it. I'd lay money that whoever keeps calling you is also the person who keeps vandalizing things. If you'd told me, I could have set up a trace or something.”

He said the last bit in the tone of exaggerated patience reserved for idiots or children, sending a flash of temper through Mel. One thing she hated even more than overbearing males was overbearing males who treated her like she was stupid. “Oh, come on, Gage. You really think they’re calling from a traceable number? If it’s the same whacko who’s been doing everything else, they’re using a pay-as-you-go phone each time and blocking the number. Telling you would have just made y’all hover more. Which you don’t need to do.”

She sighed. “Besides, they seemed to get worse when I started going out with Caine. Now that we’re through, maybe they’ll back off and leave me alone.”

“Bullshit, Mel.” Micah sat beside her on the bed. “Whoever is behind this is crazy and they’re not going to stop. We’re concerned. Get it through that thick head of yours. We love you. Loving someone means worrying about them. Staying here alone isn't safe for you. Besides, think of Mama. She's supposed to be relaxing, not worrying about you. And she'll worry if we tell her that someone is after you."

“Low blow.” Mel glared at her brother. She could argue with them on a lot of things, but threatening to tell Emma? She didn't stand a chance. Mama was already worried enough with the office and her car. Adding the phone calls would send her into full blown panic mode.

Gage unzipped the suitcase and pointed at it. "Pack. Now. I don't give a shit if it hurts your pride. I've got an idea who's behind the calls. Give me a week or two to check into things. If I don't have an answer after three, you can move back and I'll stop hovering."

A bargain. Tracing her finger along the ring of the quilt, she closed her eyes. Not the best she'd heard, but not the worst, either. She was surprised Gage even had an idea of who might be behind all of this. Maybe he was bluffing to get her to agree. Maybe he wasn't. Either way, Micah would tell their mother if she didn't move home at least for a little while. And what difference did it really make? No matter where she was, she'd work. Work and try to forget.

Without a word, she stood and packed under their dark gazes. They could be mad at her all they wanted. She was mad at them, too. And just like every other fight they'd had, they'd get over it. She just hoped like hell they’d eventually learn to stop treating her like a kid someday.

She went, but she refused to alter her hours any. Work kept her sane. She had articles to keep her busy and patients were a steady stream now. Any time her thoughts strayed to Caine, she found a new project to work on. Anna just about tanned her hide when she reorganized the supply closet early one morning. Up at sunrise and home close to midnight. Mel felt a little bad, but sitting at home with her family wasn't an option. Too much time to think

Dragging a little, she let herself into the kitchen as quietly as possible. Two weeks of going full throttle might be catching up with her a little.

“Working late again?” Micah’s voice made her jump at least a foot in the air.

“Jesus H. Christ, Micah! Don’t you know better than to lurk in the kitchen scaring people half to death?" She set her purse down on the table and slid out of her heels. A day full of patients and an evening full of research, she was worn out and her feet ached like a nympho in a room full of priests.

Her brother got up and took a plate out of the oven. “Kept this warm for you. Just because you're trying to work yourself into the ground doesn't mean you have to starve to death, too."

“Thanks.” She took the warm plate heaped with lasagna and green beans and garlic bread saturated in butter. "I had some fruit earlier, but I am kinda hungry now."

He sat down across from her. "Mel, you've been living here two weeks and you've made it home in time for dinner all of three times. You can't keep this up. It's not healthy."

She jerked her chin. "Which of us has the letters 'M' and 'D' after their name again? I know what my limits are, big brother. I'm fine."

“You’re not fine, Melody and you don’t need us to tell you that.”

Mel flinched guiltily at her mother’s tone. Despite the fact that they’d shared a roof for two weeks, Mel had managed to avoid talking to her mother about her break up with Caine. As guilty as she felt about keeping her pregnancy scare from Caine, she felt even worse for not telling her mom. If they sat down to talk, Mel knew she couldn’t keep the secret anymore. She’d cave in and spill everything and break her mother’s heart all over again.

Emma pulled her robe tighter around her as she moved toward the table. The frayed cuffs reminded Mel of her dad and how he’d always offer to replace it. Mama always declined, saying that replacing the robe would mean losing the memories that came with it. Memories of loving her husband, feeding her children. Memories Mel would probably never get to have because she’d alienated the only man she could see herself marrying.

Mel took a bite of the food Micah had saved for her, knowing her mother was fretting about her health. That’s what Mama did—fret.

“I am fine. Just busy, Mama. Being a doctor isn’t a nine-to-five gig.”

“Horse pucky.” Emma sat beside her daughter. "I'd believe that if you were a surgeon or an ER doctor. I’ve known Josiah Booth for fifty years and in all that time, he came home late a handful of times. You are avoiding, missy, and you might as well admit it.”

“Avoiding what?”

Mel knew as soon as the words left her mouth that she couldn’t fake it, not with her mama. To cover it up and buy herself more time, she took a huge bite of the steaming pasta.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mel saw Micah exchange a look with Emma before rolling his eyes. As much of a pain in the butt as her brother was, his heart was in the right place. He loved just as fiercely as their father had, and refused to accept anything less than the best from his family. "You know damn well what you're avoiding, squirt. This is classic Mel behavior. You make a mistake and you bury yourself in your work."

“Whatever.” Mel kept her attention on her plate. "I just have some articles that are taking a lot of time to research and the days are filling up, so I have to work after hours."

“That might be the excuse you've convinced yourself to believe, sweetheart, but I recognize avoidance when I see it." The edge of steel lacing her mother’s voice surprised Mel. She hadn't heard her so in control in a long time. "Remember, I did the same thing for a whole year before I broke down."

Mel blushed guiltily. Mama was good, she’d give her that. "I'm not working that hard, Mama. I just like to keep busy."

“Busy, my ass,” Micah growled. "I see you, Mel. You get up at the crack of dawn to go to work and come home after ten, so worn out you look ready to drop on the stairs. Sleep like the dead, then get up and repeat. It's not good for you."

“However did I make it through med school without you hovering over me, brother dear?" Mel snapped, dropping her fork. "My work is important and I enjoy it. Just back off, okay?"

Emma shook her head, cover Mel’s hand with her own. "It's time to stop hiding. Unless I'm losing my touch, I'd say you're working so hard so you don't have to think about how much you miss a certain mayor. Am I right?"

Mel shrugged, fighting the urge to jerk away from the comfort of her mother’s touch. She didn’t deserve comfort. All comfort would do was break her down. "Everyone deals with break-ups in different ways. My way is just more productive than others."

“But why did you break up with him? You both seemed so in love." Emma's hand tightened around Mel’s.

Mel fought back the lump of emotions that clogged her throat. She had to keep things basic and brief. Caine was like a son to her mother and she didn’t want to ruin that. “There's just a lot of history between us, Mama. Not all of it good. We’ve hurt each other a lot. Besides, Caine's a Maddox. He needs one of those perfect Stepford wives who will host parties and run charities in her spare time. That's not me. Never has been, never will be."

“I never thought you had such a low opinion of Caine, sweetheart.” Emma’s quiet admonishment surprised Mel more than if she’d yelled at her.

“What do you mean ‘low’?” Mel asked. It was time for her to gloss over the truth a bit. “He’s too good for me, Mama. He’s a Maddox, for Christ’s sake. I’m the daughter of a baker. Our lives are just too different. He needs a wife who won’t have to sacrifice her career to be a politician’s wife.”

Micah brought his fist down on the table hard enough to rattle the fork on Mel's plate. "That's the biggest load of crap, Mel, and you damn well know it. Caine and Gage have never, ever, given a shit about stuff like that. They chose us. Caine doesn't care about the society stuff his parents do. He and Gage escaped here because they hated playing those parts. He might be mayor of Unknown, but Caine isn't the kind of Maddox man his parents wanted. He's a good guy who loves you."

“And he is not too good for you, young lady." Emma looked back and forth between both of her children. "This goes for both of you. Never think anyone is too good for you. If they love and respect you and you love and respect them, that's the only thing that should matter. Family, background, jobs. Those are all outside factors. They should work around your love, not the other way around."

Mel pursed her lips, chewing the inside of her mouth. She tried to pull back from her mother, but Emma’s grip remained firm. Mel knew she was caving. She wanted everything back to the way it was just as much as her family did. “Even if you were right, I screwed things up already. I've been a bitch to him. I doubt Caine would ever want to speak to me again."

Micah winked at her, brotherly teasing in his eyes. "Give him a chance. Bet if you went over to Town Hall tomorrow once you're done working yourself to death, you'd find him in his office doing the exact same thing."

Standing up, Emma kissed Mel’s hair, then Micah’s. “I love you both. And I’m sorry that I haven’t been here for you like I should have been. Starting now, I will be.”

Mel sat in silence with her brother, thoughts and doubts spinning around in her head. She’d ended things to protect Caine and it seemed to have worked. There hadn’t been a phone call or anything else since she moved home and Merna’s Matches officially confirmed she and Caine were over. Maybe it was time for her to start considering how she could get her guy back.