One Night with Sole Regret 06 Tell Me (15 page)

Beau
groaned and snorted, his big brown eyes fixed on the door.

“You okay?” Melanie asked. “Do you want something to drink?”

He nodded. Shook his head. Took Melanie’s hand and tugged her into the chair beside him. She sat and held his hand. Both his hands and hers were sticky with blood and her pretty dress was ruined, but she wasn’t being a girl about it at all. She was definitely a strong woman, the kind he needed at his side.

“I hate waiting,” she said.

“Thanks for driving,” he said. “And for realizing she was still alive. I thought… I thought she was dead.”

“I thought you were going to beat the shit out of th
at boy.”

“He needs someone to beat the shit out of him. Fifteen years old and
already driving drunk. What’s he going to be like in his twenties? I should probably call the sheriff and send him after the kid to make sure he doesn’t get behind the wheel again. Hopefully, he’s still looking for those keys.”

Melanie chuckled softly.
“I think that will keep him occupied for a couple hours. Do you want to use my phone?” She pulled it from her purse and handed it to Gabe, who struggled to hold the massive dog on his lap and dial for an emergency operator. Within minutes he was assured that someone would head toward his place and check things out. Yet he still didn’t feel he’d done enough. He’d done more than he had when he hadn’t stopped his friend Joey from driving drunk. One moment of adolescent courage just might have saved Joey’s life.

“Is something
else bothering you?” Melanie asked. “You know it wasn’t your fault that Lady got hit.”

He did feel responsible for Lady, but that wasn’t all that was bothering him.
Gabe’s sole regret in life was that he hadn’t taken Joey’s keys from him when he’d had the chance. He’d had let his friend get behind the wheel, drunk. Gabe glanced at Melanie, who offered him an encouraging smile. He didn’t like to talk about Joey. But Gabe wanted to share things, meaningful things, with Melanie. He trusted her. He liked her as his friend as well as his lover. And after the way she’d supported him this afternoon and continued to support him, he might even be in love with her. Maybe he’d feel better if he talked about the thing with Joey. People he’d grown up with knew the story, but he hadn’t shared it with anyone in recent years. It hurt too much.

“I’m torn up about Lady getting hurt,” he said. That was no lie. Just saying it made his chest constrict and his eyes burn with unshed tears. It was easier for him to choke down his feelings when he didn’t talk. “That kid, though,
” he said, his voice breathless with emotion. “That stupid fucking kid reminded me of something that happened when I was in high school. Something that ended tragically. Something I might have prevented.”

She didn
’t speak, but looked at him expectantly and squeezed his hand in reassurance.

“We were down by the
lake, me and a bunch of the band-kids, having a good time—laughing and talking, listening to music. A few of the guys were drinking. I was… uh… trying to get this girl’s attention, but my braces and knobby knees had some strange repelling force on her. Like anti-gravity.”

“I’m sure you were adorable,” Melanie said with a grin.

“Yeah, right.” He snorted. “One of the other drummers in the band, Joey Turner, had about five beers too many and said he wanted to crash the popular kids’ party. The one none of us had been invited to. He tried to get me to go with him. He had no business driving, Mel. He was completely wasted. Otherwise he wouldn’t have even wanted to crash the popular kids’ party. But I was sure if this girl I liked had another wine cooler or two, she’d start to think of me as doable. I was trying so hard to be doable. So instead of taking Joey’s keys or driving him, I let him go. Let him get in that fucking car and drive. He hit a tree about two miles down the road.” Gabe watched Melanie, searching for her reaction. “He didn’t have to die, Mel.”

Her eyes
glittered with tears that sparkled in the dim waiting room, and she sucked one side of her bottom lip into her mouth, worrying it between her teeth. After a moment, she released a sigh. “I never know what to say at times like these,” she said, a hitch to her voice. “In that situation, I’m sure I’d feel guilty too. Even though he made the decision to get behind the wheel, and it’s not really your fault, I’m sure it must feel like it is.” She took a breath. “I said the wrong thing, didn’t I?”

“No
. You telling me it wasn’t my fault, saying I shouldn’t beat myself up about it, wouldn’t change the way I feel. I’m glad you understand why it’s unbearable for me.”

“
I do understand. I think that’s why I try so hard to keep Nikki out of trouble. For her benefit, yes. But also for mine. So I don’t have to feel guilty if something bad happens to her. That’s horrible, isn’t it? Selfish and…” She glanced at the waiting room door. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be talking about me at all right now. Not after all you’ve been through today.”

Her hand reached to
ward his jaw, but she snatched it back and stared at its red-streaked surface in horror. “I’m going to go use the restroom real quick. Will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes?”

He chuckled, touched by her unnecessary concern. “I’ll be fine. I’m tougher than I look.”

She eyed the tattoos on the side of his head speculatively. “I kind of doubt that.”

After she’d gone, he
checked out the blood on his hands and clothes too. He went to wash up in the men’s room, leaving Beau to rest on the waiting room floor. The shirt he’d wrapped Lady in was completely ruined, so instead of putting it back on, he tossed it in the garbage. He washed his hands and belly in the small porcelain sink, but no amount of blotting his jeans with a wet paper towel lessened the stains.

When he returned to the waiting room, Melanie
smiled at him. At least he thought she did. It was hard to see her face around the giant yellow dog on her lap. Gabe leaned over the beast to steal a kiss from his lady friend, and a big slobbery tongue wet the undersides of their chins in a series of enthusiastic licks. Melanie drew away, laughing.

“Save those kisses for Lady, big guy,” she said, giving
Beau a scratch behind the ears. “She’s going to need them.”

Gabe wiped dog drool from his chin with the back of his wrist
and took the empty seat beside Melanie.

“I can’t feel my legs,” she said.

“Beau,” Gabe said. “Get down.”

The dog groaned and then hopped
to the floor and lay at Gabe’s feet, still as stone. He rested his head on his front paws and turned a watchful gaze to the door.

“
Aw, he misses her, doesn’t he?” Melanie said. “Did you get both dogs at the same time?”

Gabe shook his head.
“Beau is five years older than Lady; she’s only two. Still a pup, really. I had another lab before her. A beautiful chocolate female named Sweetie. She was the most docile and loving dog I ever met. Beau still mourns for her, don’t you, big guy?”

Beau
blew out a breath that made his jowls shudder.

“Did she die?” Melanie asked.

Gabe nodded, his heart constricting in his chest again. “Got tangled up with a wild hog.”

“I’m sorry, Gabe. I can tell your dogs mean a lot to you.”

“That transparent, am I?”

She smiled. “Maybe a little.”

Beau suddenly jumped to his feet and eyed the doorway intently. A moment later, the veterinarian strode into the waiting room. Her reassuring smile did amazing things to reduce Gabe’s level of anxiety.

“L
ady should pull through,” Dr. Nelson said. “Her liver is swollen, so I’m going to keep her here at least overnight. We’ll see how she feels tomorrow. Her side needed stitches due to a long laceration, and her foreleg has been set. She’ll be in a cast for several weeks. I didn’t see any signs of neck or head trauma, but she will definitely be sore for a week or so.”

A week
during which Gabe had to be on the road with the band, but he nodded. “Can I see her?”

“For a few minutes. She’s sedated, so she won’t know you’re there.”

Lady was asleep on the exam table, the fur shaved from her side and dozens of stitches running the length of her dark skin. The assistant was wrapping her leg in gauze for her cast. Gabe stroked Lady’s soft ears and told her to be a good dog, though he decided she could chew as many shoes and steal as much fried chicken as she wanted if she made it through her ordeal. He wouldn’t even yell at her.

On the way back to Gabe’s ranch, Melanie checked her phone for messages. She hadn’t received a single
call, email, or text from Nikki in over twenty-four hours. Melanie would have liked to believe that her friend had finally discovered tact and had allowed Melanie to enjoy her weekend with Gabe undisturbed, but she knew Nikki better than that. Either Nikki was having too much fun to bother checking in—unlikely, because when she was having
that
much fun she liked to brag—or something was wrong. Very wrong. Dread settled in Melanie’s stomach, and she couldn’t shake it. She sent Nikki a text, asking her to please check in because she was starting to worry. Melanie anxiously waited for the answering smart-ass response, but seconds became minutes and her text was marked
delivered
, but not
read
. Maybe Nikki had forgotten to charge her phone. Though that wasn’t likely. Nikki might
forget
to pay her bills or fill up her car with gas, but she never forgot to charge her phone.

“Everything okay?” Gabe asked.

Melanie peered around Beau, who was sharing her seat. Well, sharing wasn’t really the dog’s forte. He was
hogging
her seat.

“I don’t know. I’m really starting to worry about Nikki. It’s not like her to not bug me about something for this length of time.”

“She’s probably just having a good time in New Orleans.” He grinned at her reassuringly. “It’s easy to lose track of time in the Big Easy.”

Melanie prayed he was right. Prayed Nikki was all right.

“We’ll be back in New Orleans day after tomorrow,” he reminded her. “I’ll show you what I mean then.”

“What are you going to do with Lady while you’re on the road?”

His brow scrunched. “I’ll think of something. The guys keep bringing their women on the bus; surely they won’t protest if I bring along my own Lady.”

“But I have to work on Monday.” Unfortunately. She’d love to spend more time with Gabe. Hell, she’d love to spend all of her time with Gabe.
But she had a life in Kansas. And she wasn’t missing it at all.

“I meant
the dog.”

Oh. So that
was where his loyalties lay. She scowled.

“I wish you could travel with me too,” he said hastily. “Do you have any vacation time saved up?”

She felt marginally better. Very marginally. “A little.”

“Could I interest you in wasting it all on me?”

She craned her neck to try to see around the eighty-pound hairball panting and drooling all over the dashboard. Didn’t dogs like to sit by the window? Apparently this one preferred a front and center view with the air conditioning vent blowing cold air at his throat.

“You might,” she said.

“You could join the tour for a couple days, which isn’t very pleasant once the novelty wears off.”

She couldn’t tell if he was trying to dissuade her from joining the tour or sincerely thought she wouldn’t enjoy riding on the bus with him.

“Or you can visit me at my place again. It’s usually calm and peaceful. Today has just been a day from Hell.”

Despite the emergency with Lady, Melanie had to admit she liked being a part
of his day-to-day life. She loved his home. Loved his dogs. Loved… Well, she didn’t want to get ahead of herself with thoughts like that.

“Or,” he said, “
we can take off somewhere, just the two of us, and have a real vacation.”

“Like where?” she asked. She so rarely got out of Kansas. She’d always wanted to travel, but had never found the time or a
likeminded individual who wanted to travel with her.

“Anywhere. You pick. Our last option would be hanging out at your place for a few days.”

She cringed. Now that didn’t sound like fun. “I think it would be fun to go someplace unique.”

“
Are you talking The Bahamas-unique or Antarctica-unique?”

She instantly knew where she wanted to go. The place she’d been dreaming of
visiting since she’d seen the movie
The Gladiator
.

“
How about Rome-unique.”

He made a sound of interest—a short
mmm
. “I’ve never been to Rome,” he said. “Rome it is.”

Really? Was she really going to live her dream of seeing the
coliseum at Gabe’s side? If a wall of beige fur hadn’t separated them, she would have hugged him.

“But
that’ll have to wait until the tour is over,” he said. “I don’t have enough time off between gigs to do a proper vacation.”

“When is the tour over?” she asked.

“November.”

“November?” She scowled. “I won’t get to see you until November?” This dating
a touring rock star thing was a challenge she hoped she’d live through. Just being away from him for five days had been torture. What would it be like to not be able to see him for weeks or months? She’d go mad.

“We’ll see each other,” he said. “Just in small bites. You might discover that’s all of me you can handle in one setting.”

“Gabriel Banner, I want to eat you whole. Trust me, I can handle being with you for extended periods of time.”

He chuckled and turned off the highw
ay onto the gravel road that led to his home.

When they
pulled into the driveway, the first thing Melanie noticed was that the beat-up pickup was no longer parked along the side of the road.

“I hope to God that little fucker didn’t find those keys and drive,” Gabe said. “I should have pocketed them instead.”

Melanie opened the door and shooed the massive form of Beau out of the truck so she could actually interact with the man who was so obviously in turmoil.

“Don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart. You had to take care of Lady first. There was no time to make sure that kid did the responsible thing. You did what you could under the circumstances. You even called the police.”

Gabe didn’t look at her. Instead he dropped his face into his hands and scrubbed at his eyes.

“I love my dog and
all, she means the world to me, but…” He huffed out a heavy breath and dropped his hands to reach for the door handle.

She caught his arm before he could escape. “You can talk to me, Gabe. I want you talk to me. Whatever it is, you can tell me, okay?”

“Can I tell you that you really need a shower? You smell like dog.”

She let him off the hook—for now—by rolling her eyes and offering him a half grin. He’d tell her when he was ready. She hoped. She really wanted to build a relationship with him and that couldn’t happen if he didn’t trust her with his baggage. Hell, she had
Nikki
for a best friend. If she couldn’t handle Gabe’s baggage, no one could.

“I might be tempted into taking a shower,” she said, suddenly self-conscious about the dried blood on her
dress. The legs of Gabe’s jeans were covered with it as well. “If you’ll join me.”

“Melanie Anderson, I’m starting to think you only have one thing on your mind.”

“If you think it’s seeing you naked,” she said hotly and then grinned, “guilty as charged.”

She honestly didn’t want to shower with him just to see him naked
; she wanted his defenses down. She wanted to get tangled up in more than his arms. Soul bared, heart exposed, she wanted all of him. He opened up when he made love; that’s what had sealed the deal for her. That’s what kept her coming back for more, those brief glimpses of what he usually tried to hide behind tattoos and a foot-high mohawk.

She hoped
that one day she wouldn’t have to seduce him to lay his heart open to her, but she’d stick with what worked for now.

He leaned across the seat and claimed her mouth in a soft, loving kiss that set her heart aflutter. “Thanks for being wonderful you,” he said
, lifting a hand to brush a stray curl behind her ear. She turned her face to kiss his palm and caught a strong whiff of dog on his hand. She crinkled her nose.

“About that shower” she said.

He laughed, climbed out of the truck, and grabbed her around the waist, hauling her out through the driver-side door.

He
slammed the door and carried her toward the house, getting an eyeful of her stockings and thighs as her skirt slid to her waist. She didn’t bother to make herself presentable.

“Looking good, Miss Melanie.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose in his throat. His neck didn’t smell like dog at all. It smelled like Gabe. She nuzzled closer and breathed him in.

“
Beau!” Gabe called when they reached the porch.

She lifted her
head to search for the dog and saw him nosing around the spot where Lady had lay in the grass after she’d been hit.

“Come on, boy. Let’s go inside where it’s cool.”

The dog gave Gabe a morose look and flopped down in the grass, his chin resting on his large paws.

“We’ll bring her home as soon as she’s better, buddy. Come on.”

Beau ignored his master. Gabe sighed, walked to the porch, and set Melanie on her feet. “I’ll have to get him. You can get that shower going,” he suggested.

Melanie nodded, but made no move to go into the house. She watched Gabe cross the yard and
drop down next to his dog. She couldn’t hear what he was saying as he stroked Beau’s velvety ears, but after a moment, the dog rose to his feet and collected Lady’s discarded ball from the ditch. Gabe stood and waited for Beau to return to him and they walked side by side to the house.

Melanie didn’t know why she found the two of them so touching. She’d never had a dog
, so she found the obvious connection between man and beast hard to comprehend. Obviously Beau didn’t know what was being said to him, but the tone of Gabe’s voice and his soothing hand had somehow reached the animal. She’d probably have just grabbed the dog by the collar hand hauled him into the house. Or scolded him for disobeying. Gabe’s way was better. Lots better.

What a truly remarkable man.

His face brightened and his lips stretched into a smile when he noticed her watching him, but his eyes were hidden under the shadow of his baseball cap. She felt those eyes on hers, though. Felt some connection between them that she couldn’t explain. She was in over her head with this guy and found that realization wonderful, amazing, and scary as hell.