I Love You Twice (Falling For Him Contemporary Romance Series Book 7) (8 page)

Melissa returned her attention to the new line dance moves. These were slightly more intricate and it took all of her concentration to keep up as the music started and the people around her moved in unison.

When the song ended, she looked up and froze in her tracks. Right in front of stood Ric! Her first boyfriend and the father of Happy. He was heading straight for her!
Oh my God! What is he doing here? How did he find me?

“Mellie, is this you?”

She could only stare at him with wide-open eyes, fright stamped on her features and in her eyes.

“Mellie, please can we talk?”

“No.” Melissa shook her head, and attempted to get away from him, but the dance floor was too full. He grabbed her shoulder. Her breath sped up and froze in her throat. She could feel herself shaking, and her vision dimmed. She was barely breathing.

“Mellie, please don’t run away.”

She attempted to nod; anything to get him away from her. He was already holding her shoulder, so what choice did she have? He steered her off the dance floor and over to a corner that was dimly lit and the music was quiet enough to talk. Finding her voice, she demanded, “What do you want?”

Nobody from her old town knew where she lives now. Her father was a mean old man, and a known troublemaker in their town. She hadn’t had the courage to confront him. Besides, she was still afraid of what he could do to her and Happy.

“Calm down, I just want to say ‘Hello’.”

“Hello. Can I leave now?” Melissa moved away from him, growing alarmed when he grabbed her shoulder again.

“Mellie, please. I’m sorry!”

“You should be! You ran away and left me to fight for myself.”

“I’m sorry. I was frightened. It was so sudden. The responsibility was too much. I wasn’t ready to have a baby back then. I was just a kid. Where is she, by the way?”

“That’s none of your business. Did you look for me?” Melissa slowly calmed down but didn’t let her guard down yet.
Is this merely a coincidence, or something more?

“No, I didn’t. I come here every few weeks.” Taking a breath, he continued, “Look. I came back to your parent’s house a few days after we broke up. Your father opened the door and threatened to beat me up like shit. You know him.”

Melissa sighed.
Yes, I know him.
She’d been the victim of his fists often enough. But Ric was big and strong, probably three inches taller than her father and a lot stronger. He’d worked as a construction worker and she’d never known him to shy away from a fight.

She remembered how his rough manners had impressed her. Probably the main reason she’d been attracted to him in the first place. She’d been looking for someone who could protect her from her dad.

Ric looked at her and grinned nervously, “Well, unbelievable, right? I mean I only wanted to talk to you! I got ready to punching him in the guts, I really did. But all of a sudden he threatened to call the cops if I ever showed up on his doorstep, or tried to see you, again.”

“The cops? For what?”
Her father had never been fond of the police, so what would cause him to bring them into this mess? And what for? Ric was a rough guy and had been in his share of fights, but nothing really bad – at least that she knew of.

“That’s what I asked too. See, you were barely seventeen at the time you found out you were pregnant. I had turned eighteen a few months prior to that.”

Melissa nodded her head, “I’m aware of how old we both were. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Mellie, it was technically illegal to sleep with you.”

She was shocked. Ric had never hurt her or slept with her against her will. She’d agreed.
“Oh my god! Why would he do that? What did he care anyway?”

“I have no idea, it’s not that he treated you well. Anyhow, he scared the shit out of me and I couldn’t risk him pressing charges. I’d been looking at a minimum of two to three years of prison.”

Ric continued to talk, “I figured you were better off without me. And I wouldn’t be of any use to you anyways if I was in prison. I wanted to let things settle down and come to see you after the baby was born. By then he’d be calmer, and you’d be over eighteen. But when I looked for you just after Christmas that year, you weren’t there and nobody knew anything.”

He looked very guilty and Melissa offered him a small measure of comfort by touching him slightly on the shoulder. It felt good. As if a big weight fell from her shoulders.
She’d been angry with Ric for the last three years, ever since the day he’d taken off. Now that her anger had slipped away, she felt – good. Lighter. At peace.

“Thank you. I’m not angry at you anymore.”

He appeared to be touched, and she noticed his eyes dampened. She remembered that soft side of him, that was hidden below his rough manners. He was a good guy; he’d just been too young back then. They’d both been too young!

Melissa smiled and thought of Dean. It was wrong to compare these two men, but Dean was so much more in every respect. He was even more than the adult and responsible version of Ric. Much more.

“Is she ok?” Ric asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“Happy? Yes, she’s fine. She’s adorable. Everyone loves her. Do you want to see a picture?”

He hesitated and then nodded, “I’d love to.”

Melissa showed him the picture she always carried in her purse.

“Cute little girl.”

She listened to his voice and watched his facial expressions. Did he feel something for the little girl in the picture? Would he claim his role as father? But there was no love or longing or any emotion in his eyes. Happy was just a cute little girl like any girl to him. Melissa breathed a sigh of relief.
He doesn’t care about Happy and doesn’t want to start seeing her.
She wouldn’t want him to. It was better to keep a distance to her past – and her father.

Ric was quiet for a few moments. Finally he offered, “Look, if you need money for her...”

Melissa shook her head, “No. We’re fine, but thanks for the offer.”

“Mellie, I’m engaged to be married soon. You remember Doreen? Unfortunately, she’s really jealous. She would never understand about Happy. Never.”

She remembered her from school. The two girls had never liked one another. Melissa remembered that Doreen had been crushing on Ric back then, but he’d chosen Melissa. Since that day, Doreen had outright hated her.

Melissa nodded her head to show that she understood. “It’s okay. I understand that you don’t want to be part of Happy’s life.”

“I don’t want to see you or her, but I do want to make sure you’re doing okay.”

Melissa heard what he hadn’t said.
My fiancé is a jealous bitch and would make my life miserable if I tried to make you or Happy even a peripheral part of mine!

“Mellie, there’s one more thing. Your father is going nuts. Your running away…”

“I didn’t run away, he kicked me out!”

He looked at her in disbelief, “He what?”

“He kicked me out, because I wouldn’t let him beat Happy.”

“You were so much braver than me! Well…he’s telling everyone that you ran away and that he’s going to take Happy away from you the moment he finds you, because you’re too irresponsible to have custody of her.”

“He can’t do that!”

“I have no idea. It’s what he’s telling around town every day. I guess he wants the child support money he’d get for her.”

A blonde woman looking upset came in looking for him and he quickly told Melissa, “I have to leave. Take care.”

Melissa watched him hurry over to the blonde.
Doreen, I presume?
She watched him disappear and then realized she was physically shaking! She clasped her hands together, hoping to still so that she could concentrate on unfreezing the rest of her body. Her fears about Happy, about her father finding them and her father’s ability to take her daughter away from her froze her into place.

Moments later Dean found her with a racing heart and the fear holding her in its grip.

Dean re-entered the club and headed back to the spot where he’d left Melissa. She wasn’t on the dance floor and he let his gaze roam the sidelines, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Seeing her across the room with a man holding her shoulder, he started in that direction.

The crowd was tremendous, and it took him almost ten minutes before he reached her side. “Melissa, here are you!” She didn’t immediately answer him and he grew concerned. Even in the half-darkness of the club he could see that she was in shock. Her face pale like a ghost and her eyes distant.

“What happened?” he inquired, placing a hand on her arm to gain her attention. She turned and looked at him, her dark eyes mired in terror. Rather than answer him, she simply shook her head.

“Who was that guy?”

“Ric.”

What?!
His jaw clenched and he barely resisted the urge to run after the guy and punch him hard. But now, his attention needed to be on Melissa. Softly, he asked, “Your ex?”

She nodded, still unable to speak. The guy must have shocked the hell out of her and he felt himself growing angrier. He wanted to beat him up and tell him to leave Melissa alone. She was his and he’d vowed to protect her! But instead of going after Ric, he decided with one look at her, to stay right her. She was so fragile and she needed him. He wouldn’t leave her alone for even one more second.

Dean softly touched her arm, “Come on, I’ll take you home.” That comment seemed to make her even more terrified. He was about to question her, when she stood up, placing her hand in his and allowed him to guide her out to his car.

After helping her into the passenger seat, he entered the vehicle and they sat there for several minutes. When he glanced over and saw her still battling her terror, he pulled her into his arms and embraced her. “Please tell me what happened, my angel.”

Slowly she relaxed into his arms and began to recount what had just happened.

Dean was relieved that Ric hadn’t harmed her. He couldn’t bear to see Melissa terrified like this. It was all his fault! He shouldn’t have left her alone.

She started sobbing again when she reached the part about her father threatening her. Dean rocked her in his arms like a baby, not sure what he could do. Being sweet and tender towards her, he grew angrier against her father than he could ever remember being. He was beyond angry, he was irate. But Dean did his best to conceal his anger and worry; focusing on calming her down and making her feel safe once again.

“Does your Dad know where you live?”

“No.”

“Do you think, Ric will tell him?”

“No.”

“Then you and Happy will be safe there for tonight. And tomorrow we can talk about the next steps.” Dean was sad that their fantastic day was ending on such a down note. He’d enjoyed spending it with Melissa and Happy, so much and he’d wanted to cap the day off with the perfect romantic ending – not like this.

Releasing her, he began the long drive back to Grandma Annie’s house. Neither of them spoke, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

When they were only halfway back to Lake Perry, Melissa reached over and placed her hand on his thigh.

That one touch sent pulses of electricity through his body and he scolded himself not to think about sex. He loved her so much. After hearing that her father posed a threat to her safety and that of Happy’s, he was more determined than ever to solve the problem.

“Look, my brother Trevor is a divorce lawyer, and he often has to deal with custody problems. He’ll know what we can do about your father. I’ll call him first thing tomorrow morning if you’ll let me.”

Melissa shook her head. “I don’t want to be a burden on your family. I don’t even know him.”

“Darling. My family will love you as much as I do. Please let us help.”

She didn’t fight him any further, her mind catching on the words he’d just said.

Dean could see the question in her eyes and reiterated his statement, “I do love you, you know? I’ve known it from the first moment we met, and every minute we’ve spent together has only made my love for you grow bigger and stronger. I’ve never met a woman like you before.”

Melissa looked at him with wonder upon her face, “Thank you. For everything.” When she moved her hand on his thigh, it was a miracle he didn’t drive them straight off the road. She was doing horrible things to his ability to concentrate!
She’s driving me crazy! I don’t know if I’ve ever been this aroused!

When they arrived home at Grandma Annie’s house, she stayed in her seat and placed a gentle, sweet kiss upon his lips. Meeting his eyes, she told him, “I would love nothing more than to go to your place, right now, and continue what we started earlier. Just like I promised to you. But I can’t. I have to be near Happy now. Please don’t be angry with me.”

Dean gave her a look filled with all of his desire and love, “My angel. How could I be angry with you? Maybe a little disappointed, but I wouldn’t want to keep you away from your daughter. We have our entire lives to make love.”

Melissa gave him a relieved look. She was so sweet. He loved her so much. Dean leaned over and kissed her once more before getting up to open the door for her. She slipped from the car and into the house, leaving him sad – and angry. Irate.  Not with her, with her father.

His first impulse was to drive straight to her father’s house and beat the shit out of him. With five brothers he was an expert in fistfights, they’d been fighting all the time as teenagers. Just like all siblings do. But even in his rage he managed to smile at himself.
You’re not 15 anymore. There are better ways to handle this. And you don’t even know where her father lives!

When he arrived back to his rental house, he looked at his watch. It was past one a.m. and he didn’t want to call his brother this late. Instead, he sent him a text - “Call me first thing in the morning. Dean.”

He was totally unprepared when his cell phone rang a few seconds later. Answering it, he smiled, “Hey, you’re still up.”

His brother Trevor laughed; Dean was the one who was usually asleep by 9 p.m., because he liked to get up before sunrise.

“What’s up? You’re so lovesick that you need to call your older brother?”

“Ah, Samantha told you.”

“What’d you think? The Armstrong grapevine works fast. By now everyone in the family should know.”

Dean nodded and then filled him in on the details concerning the threat towards Melissa and her little girl.

Trevor told him it was probably not worth worrying about, but he asked for more details just to be safe. “I’ll check it out and get back to you tomorrow before noon.”

Heading towards bed, Dean smiled as he realized how good it was to have such a large family and to know that he could rely completely on them. But his last thoughts went to Melissa and Happy.
I love them both so much!