Three Down the Aisle (14 page)

“She will be,” Melanie assured him. “It will just take time and patience.”

“You heard Ms. Sinclair. We’re running out of time.”

“Talk to the teacher. Explain the situation. Talk to Kevin’s mother. Since she’s a single mom, surely she’ll understand and help to stop Kevin from tormenting Jessie about not having a mom. And if you can explain to Jessie how badly Kevin must feel about not having a dad, maybe you can avert another incident like this one.”

“But if it’s not this, it will be something else. And if it’s not Kevin, it will be some other kid,” Mike said. “Jessie doesn’t cope well with disappointment. Any
thing can set her off. Not getting the color crayon she wants, not getting the teacher’s attention the instant she wants it, not getting to go to a party. Everyday life is filled with endless possibilities for disaster.” He lifted his gaze to Melanie’s and saw that her eyes were filled with sympathy.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It must be so difficult for both of you.”

“I’m just sorry you got dragged into it. You never did say how that happened.”

“Jessie asked for me,” Melanie said.

“Really?” Mike wasn’t sure how to interpret that. Jessie trusted very few people. Her attachment to Melanie was obviously stronger than he’d realized, maybe too strong.

“When Ms. Sinclair couldn’t reach you, she called Pam, and Pam said she thought you wouldn’t mind if I at least came to the school to try to calm Jessie down.” Melanie studied him. “Was that okay? Did I overstep?”

“Of course not. Thank you for doing that. I try never to be out of cell phone range when Jessie’s at school, but sometimes I can’t help it. Things have been going so well lately that I didn’t think it would be a problem if I rode out to a new job site for a couple of hours.”

Melanie regarded him sympathetically. “Mike, there’s not a parent on earth who could be more caring and attentive than you are. Don’t beat yourself up over this. Sometimes things just happen. I’m glad I was around and could help.”

“At least you see now why I’ve shied away from relationships. I can’t drag someone else into this situation. It’s too unpredictable. Jessie’s too volatile for me to expect someone else to take her on. Forget all that
stuff I said to you the other night. You were smart to turn me down flat.”

Melanie gave him an incredulous look. “You think you and Jessie are too much trouble? Is that what you’re saying? Do you honestly think that had anything at all to do with why I said no?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not to me. Jessie has some problems, sure, but she’s a wonderful, smart, funny little girl. Any woman would be lucky to have the two of you.”

“How can you say that after what happened today?”

“Because it’s true,” she said fiercely. “Good grief, Mike, no one’s perfect. No relationship is smooth every second. There are bound to be bumps and heartaches and problems of one sort or another. As for kids, sooner or later they’re going to stir up trouble, whether it’s the terrible twos or the traumatic teens or sometime in between, it’s a guarantee they’re going to make parents want to tear their hair out. Getting through all that just makes the relationship stronger.”

He knew she was trying to be kind and reassuring, but he didn’t buy it. People bolted when the going got tough. That was what Linda had done. She’d chosen drugs, convinced that they would give her the pleasure that her marriage didn’t. He’d taken off with Jessie rather than fighting to keep their marriage afloat.

Maybe Melanie was made of sterner stuff. Maybe she would stick it out the first few times Jessie caused problems, but over the long haul? He doubted it. He sure as hell couldn’t risk it. Besides, if he cared about Melanie at all, why would he put her through that?

“Look, Jessie will be waking up soon. Maybe you should go,” he said stiffly.

Melanie looked for a moment as if she might argue,
but then she stood up and started for the door, her expression sad.

Mike thought he was going to get her out of there before she saw that his heart was breaking, but she turned back, then crossed the room and leaned down to press her lips to his. She didn’t linger, but his pulse raced just the same.

“I’ll be expecting Jessie after school tomorrow,” she said quietly but emphatically.

He stared at her. “What?”

“She and I have a date for a makeover. Obviously today’s a bad day. Even if she were up to it, she shouldn’t be rewarded for bad behavior, so I’m changing the date till tomorrow. Bottom line, I’m not breaking that promise.” She gave him a warning look. “And neither are you.”

“Come on, Melanie,” he protested. “You can’t want to do that after all this.”

“Yes, I can,” she said. “In fact, I want to do it more than ever. Three-thirty, Mike. Don’t stand me up.” She gave him another hard look and added, “Don’t disappoint your daughter.”

Now there was the clincher, he thought, staring at her. She knew he wouldn’t be able to disappoint Jessie, not ever. When had Melanie learned to push his buttons so cleverly?

“We’ll be there,” he conceded reluctantly.

She beamed at him. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

And then she was gone, leaving him filled with the oddest sense that maybe, just maybe, he’d gotten it all wrong. Maybe, rather than scaring her off, today’s mess had almost convinced her to stay.

He smiled despite everything. Wouldn’t that be just about the closest thing to a miracle he’d ever had any reason to hope for?

M
elanie was mad as spit by the time she got home from Mike’s. The idea that Mike and Jessie were too much trouble, too undeserving of love, was ludicrous. The man was an idiot! A loving, doting father, but an idiot nonetheless! How could he even think that was the reason she didn’t want to be with him? How shallow did he think she was?

She was muttering under her breath about his stupidity when she got out of her car and realized that Pam was sitting on the porch steps watching her with undisguised amusement.

“Something—or someone—upset you?” Pam inquired.

Melanie considered being discreet but chucked the idea. Maybe Pam could help her make sense of what had just happened. After all, she and Jeff were Mike’s best friends. They’d known him and Jessie for years.

“Mike,” Melanie said succinctly. “Who else?”

“He is a stubborn one, all right. What did he do now?”

“Did you know that he’s convinced himself that he and Jessie are too much for any woman to take on? That’s why he doesn’t get involved with anyone.”

Pam nodded slowly. “I’d guessed as much, though he’s never actually admitted it to me. I suppose it makes sense, given what he’s been through, first with Linda and now with Jessie’s behavior problems.”

“Why the dickens haven’t you told him he’s crazy?” Melanie demanded. “Someone needs to get through that thick skull of his before he ruins his life.”

Pam chuckled. “I don’t think hearing it from me is going to convince him. He thinks I’ll say anything to get him to date again. He’s going to need proof from a woman who’s brave enough to ignore all of his No Trespassing signs.” She regarded Melanie speculatively. “Are you that woman? Or has he already scared you off?”

Melanie sank down on the step beside her. That was the issue, wasn’t it? Was she playing a game here or, after everything she’d told Mike about going, was she really willing to put her heart on the line? Her ambivalence had nothing to do with Mike and Jessie being too much trouble. They were wonderful. It was her own self-doubt that was keeping her from getting in any deeper.

“I honestly don’t know,” she finally admitted.

“Then don’t get his hopes up,” Pam advised. “If you do and then change your mind, it will destroy any chance he ever has of believing in love.”

Melanie scowled at Pam. “Gee, pile on the pressure, why don’t you?”

Pam regarded her with absolutely no evidence of pity
or contrition. “There’s something you need to understand, Melanie. I like you. I’d like to be your friend, but right now Mike’s my first priority. He and Jessie have been through enough. Jessie’s a thousand percent better than she was when they first got here, but as you saw today, she still has her moments. Another upheaval in her life could destroy whatever fragile progress she’s made. The same goes for Mike. Can you imagine what it must have been like for him to have this darling little child depending on him and to have his wife say—through her actions, anyway—that they weren’t enough?”

“No, I can’t,” Melanie said with a sigh. She knew all too well how badly rejection and betrayal stung.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them. The sun had finally broken through the clouds, providing a faint warmth against the earlier chill, but even so, Melanie shivered.

Pam turned to her. “So, what’s holding you back? Why won’t you let yourself get serious about Mike?”

“Long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

Melanie shook her head. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Was it that awful? Are you still in love with someone else?”

“Hardly,” she said with undisguised bitterness. “I just don’t want you to know what an idiot I was.”

Pam regarded her intently, then chuckled. “A really, really bad choice, huh?”

“You have no idea.”

“Does Mike know?”

Melanie nodded.

“That’s good. Can I say one more thing before I go?”

Melanie doubted if she could stop her. “Sure.”

“Mike could never be a bad choice. He’s one of the best guys around, along with Jeff, of course.”

Melanie grinned. “Of course.”

“You’d be a fool to let him get away,” Pam persisted.

It wouldn’t be the first time in her life Melanie had been a fool where love was concerned. But there was no comparing Mike with Jeremy. Even she could see that.

Still…stay here? Because that was what loving Mike would mean. Was she ready to make such a drastic change in her life? Was she ready to trust—especially after only a few brief weeks—that this time she’d finally gotten it right? Six long months hadn’t been enough for her to figure out that Jeremy was lying to her and cheating on his wife. She’d had to be slapped in the face with that one.

“Think about it. That’s all I’m asking,” Pam said. “Now I’d better get out of here before Jeff comes looking for me. He wouldn’t be happy if he knew I was over here meddling again.”

Melanie grinned. “I’m glad you came, though. After this afternoon, it was good to come home to a friendly face.”

“If you ever need someone to listen, give me a call. I’m known for my excellent, if slightly biased, advice.”

“I may take you up on that,” Melanie told her.

In fact, before all was said and done, she had a hunch she was going to need all the advice she could get. She might even be forced to call in her sisters, though only as a last resort. When it came to love, they rarely agreed on anything. In fact, the only time they were all in complete agreement was when one of their own needed moral support. Then they banded together like a bunch
of protective mother hens. It was a reassuring unity, but Melanie knew that in the end this decision had to be completely and totally her own.

“Heard Jessie had a rough day yesterday,” Jeff commented when he and Mike took a break from planting shrubs around a new home.

“Pam, I suppose,” Mike said. There were times—like now—when he regretted making hers the first name after his own on his emergency contact list at Jessie’s school. At the time he’d filled out that form, though, she’d seemed like a godsend.

“Of course,” Jeff confirmed. “She told me the school had called her, and then she stopped by to see Melanie on her way home.”

Mike frowned at that. “Oh?”

Jeff gave him an apologetic look. “I know. I told her she needed to stay out of it, but you know Pam. She cares about you guys. She thinks she’s looking out for your interests.”

“I’m sure she does,” Mike said dryly. Pam had a reputation for good intentions. Unfortunately, they sometimes went awry, like the time she’d fixed up a friend with one of the nursery’s customers, only to discover afterward that the man was already involved with the woman’s best friend. Needless to say there had been three people very unhappy with her over that one.

“Is Jessie okay today?” Jeff asked, wisely changing the subject.

“She seemed fine when I dropped her off at school.” He still wasn’t sure how to take the fact that she’d insisted he drop her off a block away, rather than in front of the door. Had she taken his advice to heart about being more considerate of Kevin’s feelings or was she
merely trying to prove that she wasn’t a baby? He suspected the latter.

Still it had given him an odd feeling to sit in the car down the street and watch her walk that final block all by herself. Only when she was safely inside had he finally driven off, aware that they’d reached a milestone. Jessie was growing up, whether he liked it or not.

It was going to be even stranger to take her over to Melanie’s this afternoon and leave her there for whatever pint-size spa day Melanie had in mind. Her cries for Melanie during the incident at school yesterday had shaken him. She’d never called out for anyone other than him before. Was that yet another sign that her world was growing or was it a warning that her attachment to Melanie was becoming too deep? He had no idea how to interpret it.

“Hey,” Jeff said. “Where’d you go? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Jessie’s spending the afternoon with Melanie,” he said.

“Is that some sort of a problem?” Jeff asked.

“I wish to hell I knew.”

“You want those two to get along, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

Understanding finally dawned on Jeff’s face. “But you’re terrified Melanie will leave and break Jessie’s heart?”

“Something like that.”

“And yours?” Jeff guessed.

“Jessie’s my only concern,” Mike insisted.

“Liar. Who’re you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”

Mike gave him a rueful look. “That one’s gotten a little muddy.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you could do a lot worse than inviting Melanie D’Angelo into your life.”

“That’s the problem,” Mike said wearily. “I’ve already done worse. I’m not sure I could go through that kind of emotional chaos again. And Melanie’s not exactly jumping for joy at the prospect, so maybe it would be smarter not to pursue it.”

“What if you don’t have to go through any sort of chaos?” Jeff asked philosophically. “What if Melanie’s as perfect as you think she is, and the future’s filled with unparalleled happiness? Are you willing to miss out on all that because you’re scared of history repeating itself?”

Unfortunately, Mike had lived with the kind of fear Jeff was describing for a lot of years now. He’d been acting on it, keeping away from the dangers of another failed relationship. Old habits were tough to break…even when the potential rewards were extraordinary.

“I guess I’ll figure that out when the time comes,” he told Jeff.

“Don’t look now, pal, but the time has come.”

Mike sighed heavily. Yeah, he’d heard the clock ticking himself.

Mike dropped Jessie off at Melanie’s at three-thirty with a promise to be back after all the girlie stuff was over. Jessie had already raced to the bathroom to see the selection of nail polish and hair ribbons Melanie had set out. Mike, however, hadn’t budged from just inside the door. His troubled gaze kept drifting down the hall as if he wanted to follow his daughter and make sure she was okay.

“You can stay, if you’d like,” Melanie offered, her
sympathy stirring for him. It was plain as day that he was having trouble letting go.

“No way,” he said, then drew himself up. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“She will be,” Melanie assured him. “And I have your cell phone number. I’ll call if anything comes up that I can’t handle.”

He nodded. “When I come back, I’ll bring that pizza you were talking about the other day, one loaded with everything,” he promised. “Thanks for doing this for her.”

“No problem,” Melanie insisted. “It will be fun.”

He finally made a move toward the door, then hesitated, obviously reluctant to leave. “Sometimes she needs a lot of patience, especially when she gets tired.”

Melanie saw the genuine anxiety in his eyes and fell just a little bit more in love with him at that moment. At this rate, there was going to be no turning back, probably way before she was ready for any commitment.

She put her hand on his arm, felt the muscle tense, then relax. “We’ll be fine,” she assured him, echoing his words. “I won’t lose patience with her.”

“I know that. It’s just that I don’t leave her with strangers much.”

“I’m hardly a stranger.”

“I know and she wanted to do this. She was really excited when I told her it was still on. She was afraid you wouldn’t want her after what happened yesterday.”

“Mike, stop fretting. It’s only going to be a couple of hours,” she said. “We’re going to be so busy the time will fly by.”

“Two hours,” he said as if he were clinging to the thought. “Make sure she knows I’ll be back in two hours. I told her, but she may need to hear it again.”

“I’ll tell her.”

He still looked uneasy. “Maybe I should stay, after all,” he said. “I could work in the yard. She wouldn’t even have to know I’m here unless something happens.”

Melanie realized then that his concern ran much deeper than some sort of father-daughter separation anxiety. He’d spent six years devoting himself to Jessie and her behavior problems. Letting go was going to be as difficult for him as it was for her.

“If you want to do that, it’s okay with me,” Melanie told him. “But something tells me you need this break as much as Jessie does.”

He rocked back on his heels, considering her words. “Yeah, I guess I do,” he admitted.

He gave her a plaintive look that made her heart twist.

“She’s growing up, isn’t she?” he asked, his tone oddly sad.

Melanie bit back a grin. “She is, but she has a long way to go. She’ll still be your little girl for a while yet.”

He gave her a resigned smile. “I guess I’d better get used to this, though.”

“Today’s a good time to start,” she told him. “I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”

Only after she’d watched him walk to his car and take one last glance back at the house did she fully realize the magnitude of what had just transpired. Mike Mikelewski had entrusted her with the most precious thing in his life.

Whatever doubts she’d been harboring about him or about her own judgment vanished. Seeing his heart in his eyes like that was all she needed. The last bit of protective wall around Melanie’s heart crumbled. She was in love with him, and she’d been right…there was no turning back.

Mike couldn’t figure out what to do with himself. He had two hours to kill, time he normally would have spent with his daughter.

He was barely out of Melanie’s driveway when he was tempted to pick up his cell phone and call to see how the two of them were doing. He resisted the temptation, because he didn’t want to look like more of an overprotective idiot than he had earlier.

He jumped when the cell phone rang. Heart thudding, he grabbed it, sure that calamity had struck already. Jessie had probably painted the bathroom with nail polish while he and Melanie were talking. Or she’d gotten hold of the scissors and chopped off her own hair. His imagination ran wild, until he realized the voice on the other end of the line wasn’t Melanie’s.

“Meet me at the Graingers,” Jeff said without preamble.

“Now?” Mike asked, his heartbeat slowing to normal. “I just left there an hour ago.”