A Hero to Rescue Me (Hero's Crossing) (4 page)

If she made it through this, Melanie would congratulate herself with the biggest bowl of Ben and Jerry’s known to man. She and Abigail had followed Chase to Lexington and the Whitaker Bank Ballpark, home of the Lexington Legends.

Chase had met them precisely at four, just like he’d said he would. He’d helped Abigail settle into the backseat, her seat belt securely fastened, then held the door as Melanie climbed into her car. But not before catching her gaze with his. For a moment, she just knew he was going to kiss her, but Abigail’s insistence they “get a move on” prevented it. Instead, he grinned at her—that mind-scrambling grin—and gave her a chaste peck on the cheek. As she thought about it now, her cheek still tingled where his lips had pressed against them.

When she pulled into the parking area, she followed Chase closely. He made sure they parked side by side, paying for the parking beforehand, then grinned at them as they exited the car.

“You ready for a game, little princess?” Chase called her by the nickname she’d told him she wanted in her letters. The difference between him and Dan was so profound, it was scary to think Melanie had put up with Dan’s indifference to the child she thought of as a daughter for so long.

“Buy me some peanuts and Craaaaaacker Jaaaaacks…” Abigail sang, so off key the song was almost unrecognizable. Then Chase joined her. “I don’t care if I never get baaaaaak…”

“Lord, you two…”

Abigail looked up at her, eyes wide and innocent looking. “Don’t you like our singing, Mommy Melanie?”

“Of course I do, dear. At least I like yours. Chase is a bit off key.”

“I am not!” Chase looked so indignant, Melanie almost felt bad. “Tell her, Princess Abbie.”

The little girl tilted her head, her fingers absently tapping at her bottom lip, probably in a gesture she’d seen from Melanie. “Well, you
do
sound a little bad. Not
really
bad, though. Just a little.”

“Why, you little imp!” Chase snagged the little girl. She squealed as he tossed her over his shoulder and tickled her ribs. Abigail kicked and thrashed, obviously loving the game.

It was then Melanie noticed an attractive older couple flanked by three good-looking men. The men all looked enough like Chase there was no mistaking these five people were his family.

“Put the child down and slowly back away.” The biggest of the three younger men said, face serious.

“You gonna make me, Rick? Little Princess here has it coming.”

Rick raised an eyebrow. “And what did Little Princess do to the big bad pararescue officer?”

Chase raised his chin indignantly, his arm still soundly around Abigail’s waist as he held her over his shoulder. “She told me I sang ‘a little bad.’ Tell her. I’m a great singer!”

“I see,” Rick offered. “Well, I can’t argue with her on that count.”

Abigail giggled. “See? I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

“You’d take the Little Princess’s side over mine? Not cool, Bro… Not cool.”

Chase put Abigail down and the child promptly raised her hands for him to pick her up, which he did. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly on the cheek. “I don’t care if you sing badly. You can still sing with me anytime you want.”

Chase’s mother put her hand over her mouth, looking as if she might cry. The older woman looked up at her husband, who promptly wrapped his arms around her. The boys immediately moved in front of them, offering their hands in introduction, as well as giving the couple a moment to recover.

Rick, Mike, and Steve. All three military or ex-military, all three as charming as their younger brother.

By the time introductions had finished, Chase’s mother and father stepped forward. “You’ll have to excuse us,” his father said. “This is all a bit overwhelming.”

Melanie stiffened, trying not to let the panic show. If they were going to say something about her or Abigail being black, she’d probably throw up. To be so close to having Chase in her life for the long haul only to have it taken away by careless words would be too much for her to handle.

With his words, Mrs. Carver burst into tears, lunging for Melanie and throwing her arms around her with more strength than the slightly built woman had a right to have. “It’s so very good to finally meet you,” she managed through her tears. “I don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t found Chase.”

Too stunned for words, Melanie simply hugged the older woman back, unexpectedly near tears herself. Without question, these were good people.

Abigail, unused to seeing Melanie upset, wiggled from Chase’s arms, running to Melanie and wrapping her arms around her waist. “Mommy?”

“Oh, baby.” Melanie laughed through her tears, leaning down to hug the child. “I’m fine. I’m just happy.” She indicated the older woman. “This is Chase’s mother.”

“My name’s Vivian,” she said. “And I’m very pleased to meet you, Princess Abbie.”

Mollified, Abigail flashed Vivian a winning smile, obviously pleased the woman had referred to her as “
Princess
Abbie.”

“Leland Carver,” Vivian’s husband said as he approached her. Automatically, Melanie held out her hand in greeting, but the older man pushed it away with a grin and enfolded her in his strong arms. “Not going to greet the woman who saved my son’s life with a handshake,” he said gruffly, gripping her shoulders when he pulled away, a kind smile making the corner of his eyes crinkle just like his son’s. “Consider yourself part of the family, young lady.”

Looking at Chase for direction, he laughed and took her hand. “Melanie was concerned you might not…accept her so readily.”

Vivian looked absolutely scandalized, and Melanie elbowed Chase in the ribs. “I can’t believe you said that!” she hissed at him, but he and his brothers only chuckled at her.

“One thing you’ll learn about Mama,” Mike offered, “is that, as long as her boys are happy, and treated well, she could give a damn what race, nationality, religion, or social standing anyone is from. In this case, I think you could be a transgendered hooker and she would have welcomed you with open arms.” He seemed to think about that statement a moment then amended, “Well, with a handshake at least. The hooker thing might be a bit much even for her.”

“Mommy Melanie? What’s a hooker?”

“Mike Carver, you are not too old for me to beat your behind!” Vivian gave her son a stern look while everyone else snickered. “Come here, Abigail.” Vivian reached out her hand for the child. Let’s you and me take your Mommy Melanie and find our seats. We’ll let the”—she looked pointedly at Mike—“
gentlemen
bring the refreshments.”

“But I want to know—”

“Where the mascot is so you can have your picture taken?” Melanie interrupted the child smoothly, knowing she’d never let it go unless distracted. “Probably inside the stadium. If you want to find out, we have to get inside.”

“I’ll catch up to you in a minute,” Chase called out, giving her a “thumbs up” sign. When he did catch up to them, she’d probably kill him for deserting her with his mother.

They found their seats easy enough. Behind home plate, ten rows up. When they were settled, Vivian turned to her, a quizzical look on her face.

“Chase tells me you’re an accountant?”

Melanie stiffened. How much had Chase related to his mother? She might really have to kill him.

“I am. I’m most familiar with billing and payroll. I worked for a law firm in my home town.”

“Worked? Does that mean you’d be available? Because I’m in desperate need at the moment.” Without waiting for Melanie to answer, Vivian continued. “My husband and I, along with Mike, own a group of apartment complexes. I’ve been doing the accounting, but my health isn’t what it used to be and the doctors want me to retire. I’ve been looking for a replacement, but I’ve not found anyone I trust. Do you think that, if I let you look things over, you’d be willing to help me out? Even if it’s just part time, if you couldn’t commit until you were comfortable with the arrangement, it would get my doctors, and Leland, off my back.”

Blinking rapidly, Melanie gaped at the older woman. “But, you don’t even know me. Are you sure you’d want to trust me with something like this?”

“Oh, absolutely! There’s no way you’d be the type of person to take advantage of an old woman. If you were, you’d never have continued a correspondence with my son for as long as you did. As I recall, he told me you sent him a care package filled with all kinds of wonderful things every single month without fail. That’s not the act a woman capable of theft by deception.”

“Well, I’d say I’d have to think about it, but the truth is, I really need the job. I don’t know what Chase told you about my situation, and at the moment I really don’t care. This is something I’d really need to relocate for, isn’t it?”

Vivian pursed her lips, thinking for a moment. “You know, I might be able to help there. We have an apartment that has recently been vacated and we’ve not yet filled it. I can set you up there if you want. I’m sure you’ll want to check it out first. It’s being cleaned in the morning, so why not come by tomorrow afternoon? You can look around and see if it suits you.” Vivian blinked then before adding, “You
are
staying in Lexington tonight, aren’t you? I mean, it will be well after ten before the game is over. You aren’t planning on trying to drive back tonight. Right?”

“To be honest, I hadn’t given it much thought. We packed a bag, but I hadn’t decided one way or the other. I suppose you’re right. We should stay. In which case looking at the apartment tomorrow will be the perfect option.” Melanie smiled, feeling a strange sense of belonging she’d never felt with anyone since her sister had passed away.

Lord help her, she was in way over her head. This easy acceptance and feeling of family from a total stranger hit her hard. Until this very moment, she hadn’t realized just how lonely she was.

The men chose that moment to show up, causing Abigail to squeal and run straight for Chase and his armload of goodies. Not only had they brought food, but souvenirs as well. Loads of them. Ball hats. T-shirts. The obligatory foam finger. And the freaking mascot was in tow, currently making a fuss over Abigail like she was their number one fan.

“Holy crap!” Melanie gaped. “Did you guys buy out the whole freaking place?”

“No. I’m pretty sure there’s one T-shirt left in a box someplace,” Rick supplied. “It was too small even for Dad, so we left it.”

Like Leland was a small man. He was only small in comparison to his sons. All of them seemed to be larger than life, muscle-packed, and totally devoted to their family and each other.

Leland head-slapped Rick, not saying a word. The younger man gave an exaggerated wince but winked at Abigail when she giggled.

The next couple of hours were filled with laughter. Abigail heckled the opposing team’s batter with unabashed relish. In fact, she was so enthusiastic the entire section got involved with Abigail leading it all. Even the players grinned at her antics, giving her a thumbs up every time a batter struck out. To say the child was completely into the game was an understatement, to say the least.

During the seventh inning stretch, Abigail was selected to lead the whole stadium in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” while perched on Rick’s shoulders. Once again, she sang horribly off key, but with so much gusto she charmed every single person there, including the home-team players
and
the players on the opposing team. All of them shook her hand, patted her on the head, and signed her T-shirt.

Looking at the events unfolding around her, at these strangers treating Abigail like she was a beloved child of their own, everything in Melanie’s life clicked into place. These were people worthy of her loyalty and respect. Somehow, she knew she already had theirs. No questions asked. They had effectively accepted her and Abigail as one of them. None of them would ever suggest she give Abigail over to Social Services or another family to raise her.