A Reason to Love (21 page)

The phone went dead as he closed his eyes and considered what had happened a few minutes ago from Melanie’s perspective. Callie was right. He would’ve kicked ass and asked questions afterward. He rested his arms on the roof of the car and stared down the street trying to come up with a plan before getting into the car with Melanie.

It didn’t help that from his first night back in town Melanie had known he wasn’t happy seeing Nick and Callie together. Hell, he’d hated their relationship with every breath he took. It had taken him all this time to come around to the realization that he wasn’t jealous of Nick and Callie as much as he was jealous of what they had together. He could hardly blame Melanie for thinking . . . well, exactly what she’d been thinking. Add in the fact that the two of them had been operating under the no-demands, no-promises principle, and she probably thought she had no claim on his loyalty at all.

God, he sure had a talent for leaving a trail of disasters in his wake. He’d barely made peace with his oldest friend and the two men who were as close as brothers to him. Now he’d inadvertently hurt the one person who had been there for him every minute since his surprise return to Snowberry Creek. He had to make this right somehow.

He opened the back car door. “Come on, Mooch. Let’s go.”

•   •   •

The two of them rode in silence until they reached the last turn before her house. “If we have to talk, can we do it at your place? I really can’t face going home right now.”

He waited until another car passed and turned down the street that led to the cottage. “Sure, as long as you give me a two-minute start going in so I can do a quick sweep through the place for anything disgusting or embarrassing.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “O-kay, maybe we should go to my place.”

Obviously his attempt at a joke had fallen flat. “I was talking moldy pizza and dirty underwear, Melanie, nothing more.”

She sighed and stared out the passenger window. “I’m sorry, Spence. I don’t mean to be such a downer. Maybe you should drop me off at home.”

“Not happening, Mel. We need to talk. We can do that at Wolfe House or my place, your choice.”

When she didn’t answer, he continued straight for the cottage. No way he was going to leave her rattling around in that monstrosity of a house by herself. He’d never seen anyone who needed to be held more than she did right at that moment.

As soon as they were parked in his driveway, he got out and walked around to open her door for her. Taking Melanie’s hand, he led the way toward the porch with Mooch trailing along behind them.

He unlocked the door and stood back to let her go in first. She had just a hint of a twinkle in her eyes when she walked by him. “I thought you wanted a head start.”

Spence followed her into the small living room. “Maybe I decided you’re tough enough to handle anything you might stumble across in here.”

In truth, after all his years in the army, he normally kept the clutter to a minimum. Other than the paperback book he was reading, which was sitting by an empty glass on the coffee table, the room was pretty much just like it had been the day she’d given him the keys. If he’d been going to stay long-term, he might have made changes. But since living in the cottage was temporary at best, he couldn’t be bothered.

Spence headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Want something to drink? I’ve got beer, pop, and water.”

He’d already snagged a beer for himself and was reaching for a bottle of water for her when she finally answered, “A beer sounds good.”

She mumbled something afterward that sounded suspiciously like “a six-pack would be even better.”

Pretending he hadn’t heard the addendum, he popped the caps on the two beers and poured them into glasses. He never bothered with such niceties when he was alone, but Mel had been raised with a higher standard of manners than he had.

He wasn’t surprised to find her curled up on the end of the couch with Mooch back in her lap. She sat with her face buried in the dog’s fur as she scratched his back and murmured sweet nothings about how handsome the mutt was and how much she appreciated him keeping her company. Lucky dog.

Spence got one of the weird, lacy coasters the prior tenant had left behind and set Mel’s beer on it. Rather than do the polite thing and sit in the paisley-print-upholstered chair, he dropped down on the other end of the couch.

Spence reached over to give his buddy a quick pat on the back. “Dog, I wish I had your knack for charming the ladies.”

Melanie gave him a disbelieving look as she picked up her drink. “A handsome guy like you? I’m sure you’ve charmed more than your fair share of the female population over the years.”

She thought he was handsome? That shouldn’t please him quite as much as it did. It brought him back to the reason they were there.

“About what happened at the park.”

Even if he hadn’t seen Melanie wince, the death grip she had on her glass would’ve given her sudden rise in tension away. “Do we really have to do this?”

He ignored her question and picked up right where he’d left off. “I thought some context might help. As you know, I finally went through the house yesterday.”

Her expression immediately turned sympathetic. “Was it really awful?”

Leave it to Melanie to be more concerned about him than herself. “Not as bad as I thought it would be. Seeing the changes Nick and Callie have started making helped a lot. That gave me something else to concentrate on other than all of the old memories.”

“That’s good, Spence. I was worried about you.”

And he had known she would be, which oddly had also helped him get through it. “Afterward, I texted Nick and Leif to meet me at Liam’s bar, which is why I didn’t come right back here.”

Her eyes flared wide. “And how did that go?”

He couldn’t help grinning a little. “It helped clear the air between the three of us, although I won’t claim everything is back to normal. I don’t want to punch Nick anymore, so we definitely made progress.”

“Sounds like it.” Melanie studied him for a few seconds. “You’re letting them keep the house.”

“Yeah, I am.”

He took a long drink of his beer, hoping it would ease the sudden constriction in his throat. “The minute I walked into the house, I realized that it had stopped being home to me when my parents died. Since then, it’s just been a reminder of everything I’ve lost. While we were sitting in the bar, I asked Nick to tell me about what they had planned for the old place. He grabbed a napkin and started sketching it all out for me. You should have seen him. I’ve known Sarge for a long time, but I’ve never seen him look so excited about anything.”

Spence had slipped that napkin into his pocket when he stopped to drop money on the table. After he’d gotten back to the cottage last night, he tucked it away in a zipper compartment in his duffel. Why, he didn’t know, but it had seemed important at the time.

“So, I told Nick I’d have Troy transfer the title to them.”

“You’re just giving it to them?” Melanie didn’t sound all that surprised; more like that it was something she’d been expecting all along.

“Well, I would if they’d let me. That’s part of why Callie and I met up today. Nick had warned me they’d probably be making a counteroffer.”

So now they were to the hard part. “I told Nick that I wanted to talk to Callie without him around. I know the way I handled, or actually mishandled, everything when I came home hurt her. It was important to me to make amends if I could. Try to talk things out, this time in person, so maybe we could get back to the way it used to be between the two of us. Having Nick underfoot would only have complicated things.”

“How did the talk go?”

“Pretty well, all things considered. They won’t take the house unless I remain part owner of the bed-and-breakfast they’re going to open. They offered a seventy-five/twenty-five split in my favor. I got them to flip the percentages around, though. I wouldn’t even have taken that much if they weren’t so damn stubborn.”

“You’re a nice man, Spencer Lang.”

Melanie shoved Mooch off onto the floor and scooted closer to Spence’s end of the couch. “As long as we’re all making apologies, I should do that, too. When I saw the two of you together, I overreacted. I admit I’m jealous of how things are between you two, but then I guess I’ve always felt that way. It’s obvious that you had planned to build a life with Callie yourself and that you still have some pretty strong feelings for her. In fact, I’m pretty sure you even called me by her name when we kissed on my back steps the first time.”

Oh God, had he really done that? Evidently so, considering how hurt Melanie looked right now. “If I did something that unbelievably stupid, Melanie, I am so sorry. Yeah, maybe I did have some vague idea of a future with Callie in it, but that’s all it was. She and I are friends, but I swear that’s all we ever were or ever will be.”

He met Melanie in the middle of the couch, moving close enough that he could brush his fingers across her cheek. “To be honest, I don’t have all that much knowledge about how relationships are supposed to work. I’ve moved around a lot since enlisting in the army, not to mention being deployed three times. There was never a chance for anything long-term. Hell, there weren’t even all that many short-term things, either.”

To lighten the moment, he added, “Which I will deny with my last breath if you repeat any of this to Nick or Leif. They must continue to believe all of the lies I’ve told them on the subject.”

Melanie held up her fist with only her little finger poking up, her expression solemn. “I hereby pinkie-swear that all of this will remain confidential.”

He reciprocated, tangling his pinky with hers even though it was hard not to laugh. “I seem to remember my folks laughing about an old sitcom that had something called the ‘cone of silence.’ We’ll consider the cottage to be ours.”

“Fair enough.” Melanie held out her glass to clink against his. “Here’s to shared secrets and good friends.”

Relieved to see her looking happier, he took a deep breath and continued. “Anyway, what I’ve taken a long time to get around to say is that whenever I was with a woman, I was
with
only her. I might not be able to promise forever, but I could promise to be faithful for the duration.”

He leaned in close enough to brush his lips across Melanie’s. Hoping he wasn’t about to screw up the one good thing he’d found in a long time, he forced himself to be completely honest with her. “I told you up front that I don’t know how long I can stand to stay in Snowberry Creek, and that hasn’t changed. But as long as you and I are sleeping together, there won’t be anyone else for me. You have my word on that.”

She stared up at him with those pretty gray eyes, which always seemed to see right to the center of his soul. “I believe you even if I wish things could be different for us.”

Melanie reached up to trace the line of his jaw. “If circumstances were different, if neither of us had all this stuff hanging over our heads, do you think there might have been a chance for us? You know, long-term? Because I’ve got to tell you, Spence, that I’ve never had a relationship that feels quite so . . . right somehow.”

What could he say to that? That sometimes those same vague ideas of how his future might look someday now featured a beautiful redhead and a spotted dog? He also didn’t know what to make of the huge wave of relief that washed through him that she had reaffirmed her trust in him. “I would like to think so, Mel. For sure I’ve never felt so comfortable in so many ways with anybody else, not even Callie. The two of us have shared so much over the past few weeks.”

Melanie’s smile brightened a little. “Like ice cream in bed naked?”

Okay, that made him laugh. “Yeah, like that.”

He leaned in closer to brush a kiss across her lips again. “So we’re good? Even if long-term isn’t in the picture right now?”

Melanie carefully set her beer back down on the table, moving slowly as if she were struggling to find the words for what it was she wanted to say. He’d almost decided that she was about to tell him she wasn’t interested in continuing their relationship when she finally turned back to face him. The heat in her smile had a certain part of him on full alert, ready to leap into action. Then, wicked woman that she was, Melanie abandoned her end of the couch to straddle his lap. His brain quit working the second she rocked against his erection and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Then quiet, shy Melanie whispered right next to his ear, her warm breath sending a shiver straight through him, “So, what do you say to proving we can be so much better than just good?”

A
fter two long hours in his attorney’s office signing papers, Spence was ready for a break. He stopped to stare up at the clear blue sky above and breathed deeply of the cool morning air. The slight chill was one sign that summer was winding down. Another was the number of spiderwebs starting to pop up all over the place. Was it only the Pacific Northwest that marked the transition from summer to fall by the amount of arachnid artwork decorating fence railings and bushes? Heck, he’d even had a web spanning the rearview mirror on his Harley that morning.

Did the upcoming change in seasons also signal that it was time for him to be moving on? Would he already be packing if he had some plan in mind other than simply leaving Snowberry Creek?

His gut said it wasn’t that simple. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he strolled down the block to hang a right onto Main Street. As he looked around, it all seemed so normal, so familiar. Yeah, he had some bad memories connected with the place, but who didn’t have a few dark thoughts about their hometown? A few memories they’d just as soon forget? Look at Nick and Leif. There were reasons both of them had decided to settle in Snowberry Creek instead of going back to where they came from.

Frannie from the Creek Café spotted him and waved as he walked by. He waved back and wondered what kind of toxic chemicals it took to turn someone’s hair that violent shade of red. Even his sunglasses did little to tone it down, but that was Frannie at her best. He couldn’t even imagine the woman with her hair in any shade that approached a natural color.

The scent of roasting coffee drew him farther down the street. There was no way he could make it past Something’s Brewing without stopping in for a tall latte and some of those brownies Melanie loved so much. No doubt she’d complain about the effect they might have on her hips or some other bullshit reason why she shouldn’t eat them. He wouldn’t listen, because he liked her hips just fine. Especially when he was kneeling behind her as they . . .

“Hey, Spence, are you okay?”

He blinked and spotted Bridey looking at him with a slightly worried look on her face. There was no way he could explain that he’d drifted to a stop in the middle of the doorway because he got so caught up in the erotic memory of what he’d been doing with one of her best friends just last night. Twice.

When the truth wouldn’t work, go for the believable lie. “I just came from the lawyer’s office and thought of something I should’ve asked him.”

Her expression shifted to a bright smile. “That’s a good thing you’re doing for Nick and Callie, Spence. For that, whatever you want is on the house today.”

Greed went to war with good manners. Unfortunately, the wrong one won. “My first impulse is to ask for a tall, double-shot latte and one of every pastry you have in the case. Since that would be over-the-top greedy, I’ll settle for half a dozen of those brownies. I’ll let you spot me the coffee, but I’m paying for the chocolate, no arguments.”

She nodded and started transferring the pastries to a box while her assistant fixed his drink. He watched as Bridey piled the brownies on one side and then added a pair of cupcakes. As he reached for his wallet, he felt obligated to point out the obvious. “Bridey, I didn’t order those.”

She shot him a smug smile. “Never said you did. I tried a new recipe and thought maybe you’d be willing to give me some feedback.”

He already knew there was no use in arguing with her. “If you’re sure.”

Her boyfriend, Seth, strolled out of the kitchen. “She’s sure. She used to let me test all the new stuff, but she’s decided I’m prejudiced and no longer trusts my opinion.”

He grabbed Bridey for a quick hug and kiss. “Can I help that I like everything she does?”

Somehow Spence suspected Seth was no longer talking about cupcakes. That was okay. The man clearly adored Bridey. Over the years, Callie had kept him informed about their friends from high school, and he knew Bridey’s first marriage hadn’t turned out well. There was no mistaking that part of the heat in the pastry shop right now had nothing to do with the big ovens in the back.

It reminded him of the hunger that seemed to flare up every time he saw Melanie. Or hell, even thought of her. He picked up his coffee and the boxed goodies. Maybe he’d drop by her office and tempt her into leaving early with the promise of some hot sex and brownies.

Bridey gave him another considering look. “Spence, you had that exact same expression on your face when you walked in. I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but I’m betting it has nothing to do with your lawyer. In fact, I’m pretty sure if I could read your mind, it would leave me blushing.”

Spence didn’t bother to deny Bridey’s conclusion. He just grinned and winked at her. “I’ll let you know about the cupcakes next time I come in.”

“Do that, and tell Melanie hi for me.”

“Will do.”

•   •   •

Melanie stared at the letter from the bank. A second reading hadn’t changed a darn thing in the brief message. “Rejected” was the only word in the whole thing that really mattered. Oh, they tried to pretty it up with a bunch of other words like “regret” and “unfortunately” and “sincerely.” She wanted to scream. Now what was she going to do?

A knock on her office door brought her impending temper tantrum to a screeching halt. Maybe she should be grateful; all she felt was thwarted.

“Come in.”

The temp she’d hired through the local employment agency poked her head through the door. The young woman looked a bit confused at the moment. “There’s a Mr. Lang here to see you, Ms. Wolfe. He says he doesn’t have an appointment but that he does have brownies.”

Bless the man!

“That’s fine, Haley. Send him in.”

Spence came in carrying one of the distinctive blue boxes from Bridey’s shop. How many brownies had he bought her this time? No matter how often she told him that she shouldn’t, he just smiled and waved all that temptation right under her nose.

She casually dropped the letter from the bank on top of the tray full of papers on the corner of her desk, hoping he wouldn’t notice what it was. No such luck. The man had the instincts of a bloodhound. He dropped the box on her desk and stared right at the letter.

“You got the final answer from the bank.”

He wasn’t asking. He knew she’d been expecting to hear from the bank anytime now. She retrieved the piece of paper that might well herald the end for Wolfe Millworks and held it out to Spence’s outstretched hand. “It comes as no surprise that they said no.”

As Spence scanned the letter, his expression turned hard. “Assholes.”

She laughed. “Actually, they would say they were prudent businessmen.”

“Same thing if you ask me.” He tossed the paper back down on her desk. “So what’s your next step?”

At least she didn’t have to put up a brave front with him. “I’m not sure. I suspect that any other bank I’d talk to would come to the same conclusion, especially if they ask if I’ve been turned down for a loan lately.”

“It’s crazy they’d use one bank’s poor judgment as an excuse for their own.”

There was no use in pretending the chance of successfully obtaining a loan elsewhere was very high. “I can’t say for sure, but they all seem to follow the same criteria when it comes to handing out money. It’s like Mr. Lunt said, they don’t want to see the millworks close, but my lack of experience in running a company gives them pause.”

“Well, that sucks.” Spence dropped into one of the chairs facing her desk and propped his feet on the edge of her desk. Her father would’ve fainted at the sight, but it didn’t bother her. On the other hand, anyone else would think Spence was relaxed, but she knew him better than that. Despite the calm facade, his mind was working a hundred miles an hour.

While she waited for him to tell her what had him thinking so hard, she reached for the box he’d set in front of her. Flipping the lid open, she breathed in the rich, chocolaty smell of temptation. As if it had a mind of its own, her hand delved right in to pick up one of the brownies. What could she say? Obviously she was a person of weak character and no willpower. Besides, the letter from the bank definitely topped out on her chocolate emergency scale. She was entitled to splurge. But to be safe, she closed the box and pushed it back closer to Spence.

The movement must have caught his attention, because he nodded toward the box. “By the way, Bridey wants our feedback on the cupcakes. Seth said she no longer thinks he can be impartial when it comes to her baking. I bet the lucky bastard still gets to try everything before she puts it out for the general public. I think I’m jealous.”

Spence was kidding, but she had other reasons to be jealous of what Bridey and Seth had going for them. Yeah, their relationship had gone through a slight rough patch, but now the two were engaged and planning a wedding in the near future.

Did it make Melanie a bad person to be envious of her friends who had found the love of their lives in the past year?

Probably.

Maybe she wouldn’t feel that way if she hadn’t had her own taste of what it was like to be half of a whole, because that’s what she shared with Spence. They spent some nights in her bed, and some in his. He’d even taken to packing her a lunch before she left for work in the morning. Tonight was his turn to cook dinner, but she’d be right there pitching in to help.

In truth, they were really only playing at being a couple even if her heart didn’t seem to know that. They both knew he wasn’t likely to remain in Snowberry Creek for much longer. If the factory closed, she wouldn’t have anything left to tether her here in town, either. She had to wonder where the two of them would be in a year. Would they still be in touch? Rather than ask, she changed the topic.

“How did it go with Troy today? Did you run into some kind of snag?” Spence had been staring off into space, his eyebrows drawn down low and his green eyes looking a bit grim.

He didn’t answer immediately. When he finally did, the serious expression had vanished. “No, Troy had everything ready for me to sign, so it all went pretty much as expected. We took care of transferring the title of the house, set up the agreement on the bed-and-breakfast, and a bunch of other stuff.”

“That’s good.”

Although she didn’t really mean that. She secretly hated each step forward he took toward hopping on that Harley and riding out of town for good. At the same time, she could tell that things were getting better for Spence. It had been several days since he left her bed to go prowling the grounds in the darkness with Mooch tagging along for moral support. He had to know that his friends didn’t want to see him leave, especially her. Maybe now was a good time to test the waters and see how he reacted.

“Now that you’ve worked things out with Callie and Nick, have you given any more thought to staying here in Snowberry Creek? You know they don’t want you to leave, and they aren’t the only ones who feel that way.” She hesitated before adding, “I don’t want to see you go, either.”

He was already shaking his head. “That’s nice of you to say, Melanie, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’ve been thinking for a while now that the best thing for me would be to hit the road on the Harley and see where the highway takes me. I’ve been moving around so much over the past ten years that I’m not sure I can stay in one place for any length of time. I still have a few things to iron out with my attorney, but after that . . . well, we’ll see.”

He lapsed into silence again. This was the first time he’d mentioned having made any plans for leaving, and it hurt that he hadn’t mentioned them to her. Rather than bugging him for any further explanations she really didn’t want to hear, she polished off her brownie, gave herself a stern lecture on why she didn’t need another one, and went back to reviewing the work orders they had scheduled over the next few days. She was pleased to see that the numbers were up again.

Another ten minutes passed in silence. Suddenly, Spence’s boots hit the floor with a loud thump. When she looked up, he was already heading for the door. “Spence?”

He didn’t even slow down. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at dinner tonight. My place, right?”

“Yes, although I can cook if you’d rather.”

“Nope, I’ve got it covered. See you at sixish.”

Then he was gone. She hurried over to stand at the window to watch as he left the building with deliberate purpose, evidently a man on a mission. What was he up to now? Spence buckled on his helmet and straddled his motorcycle. As he circled the parking lot aiming for the exit, he looked straight up at her and waved. Busted—but what was going on with him? If necessary, she’d ply him with wine and hot sex to see if she could get him to open up to her.

For now, she needed to get back to work. Before sitting down, she carried the box with the rest of the brownies and the cupcakes over to the filing cabinet and locked it inside. Out of sight, out of mind. Right. It might only be her imagination, but she was pretty sure she could still smell the chocolate calling to her from across the room. Doing her best to ignore it, she began reviewing the short list of applicants to replace Mrs. Cuthbert.

•   •   •

Spence drove in circles for two hours, still trying to decide the best way to proceed. It would be complicated, far more so than convincing Callie to accept the house. Earlier, when he’d walked into Melanie’s office, he’d known immediately that the bank had turned her down. She’d done her best to put up a brave front, but he was learning to read her moods. The rejection had hurt her deeply. It had made him furious, to the point he’d had a hard time not heading straight for the bank to pound on somebody. That wouldn’t fix a damn thing, but he was a soldier and trained to protect what was important, what mattered, what was his.

And the bottom line was that Melanie Wolfe mattered.

So if he couldn’t fix her problem with his fists, maybe he could find another way. It would be tricky, for sure. He’d need Troy’s help again, because he was going to need a smoke screen if he was going to make this work.

His decision made, he turned back toward town in the hopes the attorney could see him again on short notice. This would be his one last mission before he left Snowberry Creek behind. He might not have a home here anymore. But before he left, at least he could make sure another one of his friends got what she needed.