I nodded. “No problem. I can probably get away anytime. I’ve got guys I trust seeing to the day-to-day stuff, and we’ll only be gone a day or two. I just need to have Dolores check my calendar.”
“You want to fly or drive?”
I thought for a moment. It was about a four-hour trip. Maybe a road trip with my brother was just what I needed. “Why don’t we drive? We won’t have to rent a car when we get there.”
“Works for me,” Talon said. “We’ll leave as soon as we can. Check in with Dolores. And oddly, I got a phone call from Melanie’s secretary earlier today. Said she had to cancel my appointments for the next three weeks.”
I jolted. Of course I couldn’t tell Talon anything about what Melanie told me, but the mention of her name stirred me. Where was she? She should’ve come out by now.
“Excuse me for a minute, guys,” I said.
I walked briskly back to my bedroom. “Melanie?” I said softly as I walked in. I checked the sitting area, the bathroom, even the walk-in closet, since I’d caught her in there earlier.
She was nowhere to be found.
I walked back to the kitchen. “Did you see Melanie leave? She’s not here.”
Both Talon and Jade shook their heads.
“That’s strange. Wouldn’t we have noticed if she walked out?”
“Maybe not,” Jade said. “We were kind of all involved in the whole blood and DNA thing.”
“I don’t understand why she would leave,” I said.
“I think she was probably embarrassed,” Talon said. “I mean, we did catch you guys naked. What was going on here, anyway?”
“That’s still none of your business,” I said.
“Hey, it’s no big deal. She’s a great woman. I know you have the hots for her. But…I thought you were seeing her as a therapist.”
“I told you, this isn’t any of your business.”
“Joe, it’s okay to date her. Really. I don’t mind.”
“I wouldn’t care if you did mind, Talon, but we’re not dating.”
“Okay, then I don’t care if you fuck her either.”
I clenched my teeth. For some reason, the idea that he thought Melanie was just a fuck to me got my ire up. “I’m not fucking her either.”
That was one big goddamned lie. But it struck me that I really didn’t know what was going on between Melanie and me. Did I want a relationship with her? I wasn’t really ready to have a relationship. So why had I started this?
Because something about her drew me. Like we were kindred spirits or something. Both struggling with guilt, both needing an outlet.
Is that what I was to her? An outlet?
She had come to me today, needing comfort. But as soon as things got a little uncomfortable, she had bailed.
The thought slid into me like a knife in the heart. Her embarrassment over the situation had been more important than coming out to meet Jade and to be with me.
What would I have done if the situation had been reversed?
Truthfully, I didn’t know.
Well, it was clear. She wasn’t interested in being a part of my life past fucking. I would have to be okay with that. After all, I was pretty much in the same boat that she was.
At any rate, she had made a choice. I would not push it.
No woman was worth that. If she couldn’t sit down with my brother, whom she knew, and my most likely future sister-in-law when she was welcome, and neither of them minded, perhaps whatever was between us should be over.
I’d let myself get close. But she’d only been using me.
Nope. No more Melanie Carmichael.
I just hoped I could get my body to go along with my mind.
I sent a quick text to Dolores at the office to check on my schedule for the next week or so. She texted back that she could move some things around to free me up for a couple of days.
“Good news,” I said to Talon. “Dolores says I’m free. When do you want to leave?”
“How about tonight? We can take turns driving and see Wendy tomorrow morning.”
“Works for me.” I quickly texted Dolores again, letting her know.
“I just texted Wendy, as well,” Jade said. “She says she can meet with you guys tomorrow. I’ll get you the address. It’s her mother’s home in Denver.”
“You sure you’ll be okay without me for a few days?” Talon said to Jade.
She laughed. “We’ll be fine. Marj and I haven’t had any girl time for a while. Maybe I’ll slip my mother a Valium, and Marj and I can hang out.”
“No parties without me, blue eyes.” Talon smiled.
And I smiled. Seeing my brother smile warmed my heart every time. I had seen more smiles out of him in the last three months than I had in the last twenty-five years.
Damn, that felt good.
A road trip with my brother was just what the doctor—even though she had disappeared and would no longer be a part of my life—had ordered.
Chapter Thirty
Melanie
It was near six p.m. when I got home to my loft. The package from the hardware store sat on my passenger seat, taunting me the entire way home. I might never put its contents to use. In fact, I probably wouldn’t.
So why had I made the purchase?