Melanie met Sarah’s eyes. “It’s not that kind of loss. It should be, I guess. But I didn’t know Todd very long. That sounds awful, doesn’t it?”
“No, it sounds honest.”
“I wanted to find him for Jace, you know? I’d put off telling Todd about Jace because I always thought there’d be a better time to tell him. I was fooling myself. I should have told him right away.”
“You didn’t know he would die.”
“No, but I knew what the right thing to do was and I didn’t do it.”
Sarah nodded and said, “Well, this confirms it. You’re human. You make mistakes just like the rest of us.”
Melanie stood up. “Don’t. Don’t brush aside what I did.”
Sarah joined her. “I’m not, but I don’t want to see you beat yourself up over something you can’t do anything about.” When Melanie didn’t say anything, Sarah asked, “What did Charles say when you told him?”
“I didn’t.”
“Did you tell him why you were there?”
Melanie turned away from Sarah and walked across the room. “Yes.”
“But you didn’t tell him about finding Todd? I thought the two of you were . . . that you had . . .”
“We were together, but it’s over.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It didn’t work out. That’s it. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
Sarah went to stand in front of Melanie. “So what are you going to do now?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing left I can do.”
Chewing her bottom lip, Sarah said, “There is always something . . .”
Feeling cornered and raw from the day, Melanie snapped, “I can’t handle your eternal optimism right now. It’s been a long day. I’m exhausted. Can we just drop this? Please.”
With a slight frown, Sarah walked to the door. “David is still at the main house. Do you want me to send him over?”
“I don’t want to talk to anyone about anything, okay? Just leave me alone.” Melanie’s voice rose with agitation.
“Mama?” Jace called from his upstairs bedroom.
With her hand on the screen door, Sarah said earnestly, “I’m sorry, Mel. I didn’t mean to come over and upset you.”
Melanie called up the stairs to assure Jace that she was fine, then turned to Sarah. “No. I’m sorry. Thank you for coming. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I must be overtired. I don’t want to think about anything anymore today.”
With a nod, Sarah said gently, “It’s okay to give yourself a day, Mel, but then you have to pick yourself back up and go on.”
“I will,” Melanie said just to make her friend feel better.
“See you tomorrow?” Sarah asked hopefully.
“Jace has school, so I’ll be up there right after he leaves.”
Sarah stepped outside but lingered on the other side of the screen. “It’s going to be okay.”
Melanie nodded, thanked Sarah again for coming, and closed the door.
The next morning, Melanie was cleaning the breakfast dishes in the kitchen of the main house when her boss, Tony Carlton, walked into the room. She resumed what she was doing. Tony wasn’t the type to engage in idle discourse. Although he’d opened up a lot since meeting Sarah, he would never be the chatty type, and Melanie was comfortable with the relationship they’d had for years: cohabitating without much actual interaction.
He surprised her by coming to stand beside her and taking his hat off. “I don’t think you should work here anymore, Melanie,” he said in his gruff Texan drawl.
Melanie dropped the plate in her hands and it smashed into pieces at her feet. Neither of them moved. “Are you firing me?”
Tony tossed his hat onto the table a few feet away. He leaned back on the counter and took his time choosing his words. “You don’t belong here anymore.”
Swallowing hard, Melanie walked to the closet, took out a dustpan and broom, and began to clear away the mess she’d made. She had known this day would come. Tony didn’t need a housekeeper anymore. He had Sarah now. Had she gone home upset with Melanie last night? If so, that was enough to make a man like Tony ask her to leave. He didn’t like any sort of drama on his ranch. “I understand.” She dumped the broken glass into the trash and removed her apron.
Tony swore under his breath. “You’ll be better off.”
Unable to meet his eyes, Melanie said, “Don’t dress it up like something it isn’t. You want me to leave, so I’ll go. But don’t try to make it look like you’re doing it for me. I’m happy here.”
A sad expression crossed Tony’s face. “You have to get on with your life. Just as I have.”
“Do you want the house back?” Melanie asked. Tony had given her the deed to her home, but that had been when he’d expected her to keep working there. If he did, Melanie wasn’t sure what that would mean for her. Although she’d made up with her parents, she didn’t feel that she could go back there. No job. No house.
Things definitely have a way of going from bad to worse before they get better.
David walked in and stopped just inside the door. “So this is where everyone is. Anything going on I should know about?”
Tony retrieved his hat. “I was just telling Melanie that she needs to find another job.”
David looked back and forth between them. “Why the hell would you say that, Tony?”
Melanie tried not to show how the announcement had shaken her. She shrugged. “He says it’s for my own good.”
David turned on Tony. “Where is she supposed to go?”
Tony frowned. “I never said she had to move.”
Melanie let out a breath of relief.
“But you don’t want her working here anymore?”
“She’s better than this.” He met Melanie’s eyes across the room. “You are. You’re no housekeeper. You’re too smart for that. Go back to school. You went to college once, didn’t you?”
Emotion swelled in Melanie. “I couldn’t afford it even if I wanted to.”
Tony shrugged. “Shoot, we could probably pay your tuition with the sale of one horse.”
His generosity floored Melanie. “I couldn’t accept . . .”
Tony turned to his ranch manager. “David, you’re real good at talking people into things. Tell her that she needs to do this.”
“I’d say you’re doing a good job of convincing her without me.”
“Convincing who to do what?” Sarah asked as she entered the kitchen.
Tony walked over to his fiancée and kissed her lightly on the lips before saying, “Melanie is going back to school.”
Sarah smiled up at Tony. “I knew you could talk her into it.”
“I can’t let you pay for school for me,” Melanie protested.
Sarah shared a look with Tony, then said, “This is what you do for family.”
“I’m not . . .” Melanie started to say, then stopped herself. Although they weren’t related by blood, Sarah was right. These people had become her family. She would have done anything for them, and it was humbling to see they felt the same way about her. Starting over was scary, but it held the hope of a better life for Jace as well as herself. “I’ll pay you back every penny.”
Tony said, “How about if you settle the bill by cooking for us now and then? Have you tasted Sarah’s cooking?”
Sarah made a face and said, “You said it was getting better.”
He kissed her upturned nose. “Because I love you.”
Melanie shook her head at the pair and smiled for the first time that day. There were many parts of her life that still felt wrong, but this—this was right.
After Tony and David left, Sarah remained in the kitchen and helped Melanie finish cleaning it. “I hope you’re not upset that I told Tony about what happened with Todd.”
“How could I be upset? Thank you.”
“I told you things were going to be okay,” Sarah said in her usual optimistic tone.
Melanie rea
ched out and hugged her. “Don’t change, Sarah. Don’t let anyone ever change you.”
A week after returning from New York, Melanie sat in the shade of a tree late one afternoon and watched her son work a horse by riding him around barrels that had been set up in a small field. The large smile on Jace’s face told her that he was where he belonged.
While she’d been away, he’d shadowed Tony extensively, or so David had told her, and they’d gotten on better than anyone had expected. Sarah’s influence extended into how Tony interacted with everyone on the ranch, and it was a beautiful thing to see. She’d brought love and laughter into Tony’s life and it had spread across the ranch—and had indeed sparked a feeling of family among people who had worked closely but kept their distance from each other for years.
Now Jace shadowed Tony everywhere, asking him a million questions and practicing whatever Tony suggested. It was a challenge to keep him on the ground and cleaned off long enough to get him to school each day. He raced home, did his chores, then hopped back on whichever horse Tony said he could “work” that day.
Even though Tony wasn’t what most would consider a warm man, Jace hero-worshipped him. He and David had been Jace’s only male role models since he was born. Overcome by emotion, Melanie swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. The closest thing to a father he’ll ever have.
She jumped when Sarah plopped down in the grass beside her. “So are you ready to meet Jace’s grandparents?”
“As much as I’ll ever be,” Melanie answered. She knew exactly what Sarah was referring to.
She’d called Todd’s parents again. The conversation played again in her head, as vivid now as if she’d just hung up from talking with them.
“My name is Melanie. I called the other day looking for your son, Todd.”
“Yes,” his mother had said cautiously. “I remember you.”
“I have something I need to tell you.”
“Could you hold on please?” The woman had called her husband to her side and put Melanie on speakerphone.
“What does she want?” Todd’s father asked.
“I don’t know,” his mother answered as if Melanie weren’t right there listening. “But I want you to hear it.” It was as if she knew that what she was about to hear would change all their lives forever.
“Melanie, is that what you said your name was?” the father asked.
“Yes,” Melanie had responded slowly. “I . . . um . . .” Melanie stopped and started again. “Your son and I dated for a very short time in college. Right before he graduated. I gave him a—”
“If you’re looking for anything you’d like returned, it’s all boxed up back at our house. Leave me your number and I’ll contact you when we’re there again.”
In a much softer tone, the mother said, “We don’t like to be there much since we lost Todd. Too many memories.”
Melanie said softly, “I understand. This isn’t about anything I want back.”
The father interrupted, “Why don’t you just tell us whatever it is you called to say. My wife gets upset when it comes to anything that has to do with Todd. So let’s not drag this out.”
Melanie took a deep breath and said, “My son, Jace, is your grandson.”
“Did she just say . . . ?” Todd’s mother asked, her voice rising with emotion.
“Deborah, don’t get excited about this. We don’t know her. We don’t know if she’s lying. Todd never mentioned a Melanie.”
“We didn’t date long.”
“But what if she’s telling the truth?” the mother said urgently, her voice thick with tears. “Oh my God. We could have a grandchild.”
“Do you have any proof that Todd was the father?” the father asked in a firm tone.
Melanie shook her head even though they couldn’t see her. “Are you on a cell phone?”
“Yes,” the mother replied, sounding confused by her question.
Melanie scrolled through her phone and sent a message to their phone. “I just sent you a photo of Jace.”
There was a long pause, then the sound of the mother crying. “He looks just like Todd did at that age.”
“We should do a blood test to be sure . . .”
The mother said, “I don’t need a test to tell me those are our son’s eyes and his smile. That’s our grandson.”
“When can we see him?” the father asked.
Melanie swayed.
No going back now.
“We live in Texas on a horse ranch. You’re welcome to come for a visit.”
“Did Todd know about his son?” the father demanded.
“No.” Melanie whispered the truth. “I never told him.”
The man muted his phone for a second, then came back and said, “We weren’t coming back for another month, but we could fly back early. Where are you located?”
“I have a small house in Fort Mavis.”
“We’ll stay in the nearest town.” He’d sounded like he was about to hang up, but the mother took the phone from him.
“Melanie?”
With tears in her eyes, Melanie answered, “Yes?”
“Thank you. Thank you for calling us.”
Melanie said, “I’m sorry it took me so long.”
“Don’t be sorry, Melanie. You just gave me a piece of my son back. You don’t know what that means.”
Long after the call had ended, Todd’s mother’s words had haunted Melanie.
Please, this time, let this have been the right thing to do.
Waving to catch her attention, Sarah called Melanie back to the present. “So I spoke to Charlie again today.”
Melanie kept her eyes on her son. “How is he?”
“Miserable. I wish you’d let me tell him why you don’t want to talk to him.” Sarah picked up some grass and tossed it into the air as she spoke. “That is, if you know why. I’m still not sure I understand.”
With a sigh, Melanie looked at her friend. “Your brother is a wonderful guy, but we’re too different.”
“He doesn’t like to talk about anything that bothers him. You don’t like to talk about anything that bothers you. Yeah, you’re so different.”
Melanie turned back to watch Jace. “Did he ask about me?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean anything. He expects me to gush and tell him everything. Even I can’t believe I haven’t.”
“Well, thank you for that. I’m not ready to talk to him yet.”
“Did you sign up for the interior design course?” Sarah asked, deciding to drop a topic that was going nowhere.
Melanie smiled with relief at the change of subject. “Yes, I can’t wait to create beautiful spaces again. I even started keeping a notebook again of designs I like.” She turned and winked at Sarah. “Unlike your journal, I’m not worried if Jace sees it.”
Sarah blushed. Melanie knew she should probably let her friend forget the time Jace had repurposed her notebook, which was filled with Sarah’s first attempts at writing erotica, as his coloring book. Luckily, he could only read a few words at the time.
As Sarah continued to turn various shades of embarrassment, Melanie said, “I forgot how much I loved the creative process. I enjoy taking the ordinary and making it beautiful.”
Sarah smiled. “Speaking of beautiful, I can’t get over how good you look. Tony says he liked you better before because now his ranch hands are having difficulty concentrating on their training sessions. They get all moony eyed when they see you.”
Melanie blushed again. “It’s just makeup and a few dresses.”
“No, it’s more than that, Mel. It’s a confidence.” Sarah stood slowly and brushed off the dirt from her jeans. “I know it’s none of my business, but you really should call Charles. He deserves to know why you left.”
“Why?” Melanie said angrily. “You said he doesn’t even ask after me.”
“Exactly.”
Melanie sighed. “I want to, but after how I left . . . I don’t know what to say excep
t that I’m sorry. Most likely he’s already moved on, and I’d only be rehashing something he’d rather not. I don’t know what I should do. I can’t think about anything else right now besides Jace’s grandparents coming here. What if they’re horrible people? What if contacting them was a mistake?”
“No one is going to let anything bad happen to Jace. Tony will throw them right off the ranch if they so much as breathe funny at either of you. And with my brother, I can’t guarantee what he’ll say—especially not after you disappeared without a word—but you should give him a chance. He’s hurting just like you are. I don’t need all the details of what happened between you two to know that. Love is terrifying sometimes. It requires a leap of faith. And you’re right—it may not work out. But ask yourself, What if it could? What if making a phone call this time could change everything?”
With that, Sarah turned and walked back toward the main house.
Melanie thought for a long time about what Sarah had said. She’d been too afraid to contact Todd, and the consequences for that decision were hefty. She was moving forward in so many areas of her life, perhaps this was another she needed to address.
She took out her cell phone and stared down at it in her hand. She swiped it on and scrolled for Charles’s number.
Her finger hovered over the “Call” button.
There was the sound of boy and horse disagreeing and then a thud as Jace hit the ground. Melanie pocketed her phone and was behind him in a heartbeat. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
He stood up and brushed himself off. “Mama, I just fell.”
There was a small scrape on his cheek. “You cut yourself.”
He touched it, wiped the blood on his finger, looked at it, and said, “A little blood never stopped a real cowboy.”
Melanie shook her head and pulled him into her arms. “No, but his mother did. Help me put that horse away for tonight. It’s time for dinner.”
“You’re choking me, Mama.”
She released him. Jace straightened his small, proud body and settled his hat low on his head, the way she’d seen Tony do a hundred times. She wanted to keep him little forever, but Sarah was right. He was growing up fast.
Life is going to change with or without my help.