You'll Think of Me (6 page)

As his eyes narrowed to slits, Rhett shouted, “I really liked Anna, but she only had eyes for you, asshole. When you showed up, she thought she could convince you to unload Melanie. When you left to be with Mel, Anna walked out and it pissed me off so I kept my mouth shut. Anna thought we were going to have a threesome with her.” He stopped and took a breath. “Despite my lies, I think Melanie still loves you. Have you tried to talk to her about what we did?”

Cade growled. Betrayed by his best friend.
I think Melanie still loves you.
He scrubbed his hands over his head and shook. How could he be so blind?

Rhett plopped down onto the picnic table bench. “I don’t want to see you throw your life away because of a moment you had no control over, Cade. You need to talk to her and sort this shit out.”

Clenching his fists, Cade released the fury boiling in his system. “Talk to her? And tell her what? I saw hell up close and I’m not the man she remembers? I use sex to hide from real emotion? She’ll walk away in a heartbeat—again.” His stomach churned. A lump of rage, disgust and regret formed low in his gut.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Rhett gnashed his teeth.

“I thought you were my friend. What kind of ass are you?”

“A gigantic ass, but now I’m trying to make this right.” As he jumped from his perch on the bench, Rhett growled.

“You acted immature, you dumb fuck.” Cade snarled and pounded the bag again.
And Mel paid the price.
“I oughta break your legs.”

As he rubbed his forehead with the pads of his fingers, Rhett sat back down on the picnic table. “How about going after your girl, first? Tell her how you fucking feel.”

“What am I supposed to do when she leaves me because she learned the truth?”

“Give her the benefit of the doubt.” Rhett slapped Cade on the shoulder. “I believe you and Mels had better have a talk.”

“And what do I tell her?”

“Whatever is in of your heart before it’s too late and you can’t.”

Chapter Seven

After a shower and a silent stroll through the darkened house the next evening, Cade stopped outside Melanie’s former bedroom. The faintest hint of her perfume lingered and he closed his eyes to soak up the moment. Why push her away? Why not say the words he yearned to tell her? Because he didn’t want her to walk away. And yet, she had. Opening his eyes, he drew a deep breath.

Cade ambled down the stairs to the basement and towards Melanie’s dark room. Apparently she wasn’t coming by to retrieve the contents until later or until she found some muscle to help her move the equipment. Maybe some of her pictures still adorned the walls. Even the smell of her photographic chemicals would offer him comfort right now.

Once he opened the door, he yanked the cord and sent dim red light splashing across the room. He blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the low light. The scent of her chemicals wasn’t prevalent. The tubs looked clean, so she probably hadn’t worked in a while.

The images on the walls—kids on sleds, snow on the park benches, birds, dancers—knocked him for a loop. She’d begun taking pictures to occupy her time when he left for his various deployments and had developed into a high-quality photographer.

He shuffled across the room, careful not to bump anything, and touched the first photograph pinned into the corkboard—Melanie holding the remote for her camera and staring at something off in the distance. The wind caught her sheer blouse and moulded it across her breasts. Turgid nipples beckoned for his touch. A Mona Lisa smile tugged the corners of her mouth. The slight furrow of her brows and the despondent expression in her eyes gave her emotions away. Did he cause that the sadness? A red X covered the print. Why didn’t she like it? She looked gorgeous and sensual.

From the next image, Rhett smiled like a loon. Typical. Rhett couldn’t stand in front of a camera without making some stupid face or meaningless gesture. Cade shook his head and moved to the next print.

“Melanie, I forgot how talented you are.” He considered the lighthouse print with yellows and reds painted into the background of the stark image. “You make everything look beautiful and come down too hard on yourself.” Cade sighed and turned to leave. Being in her inner sanctum only deepened his sadness. “You let me take advantage of you sexually, but dammit, you were there. You’ve always been there.”

No more kidding around and no more stalling. He needed to talk to her. Climbing into his battered truck, Cade headed across town to Melanie’s new house. At the city limit sign, flashing lights flickered behind him. Two fire trucks rushed past his truck. He pulled off onto the gravel to allow the sheriff’s car and the ambulance wide berth. He shivered. The sirens reminded him of the warning alarms on the base. He scanned the landscape for smoke and fought the coil of tension in his belly. As he manoeuvred back onto the road, he hoped the person needing the rescue was okay.

Cornstalks rushed past him in a hunter green blur. The farms dotting the area barely registered in his field of vision. Cade gripped the steering wheel, nails digging into the faux leather cover. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face as he made the hard right onto Harwick Road. He knew exactly where her rental house was—fifth building on the left.

Cade hit the brakes and screeched to a stop, rocks from his skid crashed against the other vehicles with thumps and clunks he heard over the crowd.

What the fuck? Where’s Melanie
? He searched the small crowd. Three or four older people stood thirty feet away watching the flames, but no one looked remotely like Melanie. The smell of sulphur and gasoline permeated the air. “Where is she? Oh, God. Melanie!”

Instead of the tiny yellow ranch house, all he saw was black smoke blotting out the moon. Flames licked the roof of the porch and shot out of the windows, sending shattered glass crashing to the ground and bathing the fire fighters in the lethal shards. Exposed beams burned in the shape of a sinister grid where the shingles used to be. The birdbath and naked angel on either side of the stone walkway lay in pieces. The chunks of the former statuary scattered throughout the trampled flowerbeds.

Cade felt paralysed. He wanted to jump in and save her, but his legs seemed frozen. His heart beat a frantic tattoo in his tight chest. When had the air gotten so blasted thin? The faces of Tyler, Roy, and the other men in the convoy flashed across his mind. Back then, he’d let them perish because he couldn’t get to them. He refused to risk Melanie this way, but dammit, he couldn’t move.

I can’t be a coward for her. I need to save her.
The rational part of his brain took over, stopping him from doing something rash.
No, saving her meant letting the professionals do their jobs.

The blinding lights of the patrol cars made it hard to concentrate. The blaring sirens turned to white noise in his ears. The whisper of fingers clutching his sleeve tickled his arm. Cade turned. An older woman with an unnatural shade of auburn hair swiped her eyes with the back of her hand as she wept. Her makeup resembled that of a circus clown with pencilled-in brows and baby blue eye shadow. She dabbed her crimson lips with a crinkled tissue and pointed towards the wreckage. “The fire fighters will get her out. Have faith.”

Remnants of the lace curtains flapped through broken picture window. The melted vinyl siding sagged in spots, giving the house the appearance of a frown. The floral wreath on the front porch smouldered and dripped pieces of vine onto the concrete.

Moments later, one of the fire fighters scrambled out of the destroyed building with Melanie in his arms. Her hair fell in tangles around her pale face. Dirt marred her bare legs. Deep purple bruises and red blisters marked her arm. An EMT with a blue baseball cap emblazoned with the words ‘Life Squad’ lifted Melanie’s limp body onto a crisp, white stretcher. Cade grabbed Paulo by the collar and his belligerence set in. “I want to go with her. I have the right. You know me, Leighton.”

The paramedic shrugged him off and adjusted his navy work shirt. “Next of kin or her husband, Cade. You know I can’t make exceptions to hospital policy. I’m sorry, but you should’ve married her.”

She should’ve been his wife—not on the verge of death.

Clenching his fists, Cade shook his head sharply and strode to his truck. “I’ll follow her to the hospital. She won’t want to be alone. I won’t let her be alone.” He blinked back the sting in his eyes. Tears or smoke damage… Maybe heat damage from being too close to the blaze, he wasn’t sure. At this point, nothing made sense. All her developing chemicals remained in his basement. Had she tried to set up another dark room? No, she knew the capacities of the chemicals and treated each with care.

Driving like a madman, Cade rushed to the hospital, fearful that if he left her alone, he’d lose her without the chance to explain his true feelings.

In the hospital lobby, Cade began to pace. With nothing else to do but wait, thoughts whirled through his mind. How could he let her walk out the door and out of his life? How could he have her so close yet so far away? He squirmed in the sweat tightened T-shirt. Why didn’t he admit he loved her sooner? He spun around to make another pass and bumped into someone. “Sorry.”

“Cade, it’s me. Can we talk?” Deputy Hayden Marcum patted Cade’s shoulder. “How’s she holding up?”

Cade glared and cracked his neck. He couldn’t suppress his frustration, even to a good friend. “I told her to be careful with those damned chemicals. The acid she uses probably caused this.”

Hayden shook his head. He rubbed the thick outcropping of hair on his chin with the pads of his callused fingers. “I have my doubts. Fire Chief McLane didn’t see any evidence of photographic chemicals. Could be plenty of scenarios. Look, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Have there been any threats since you returned?”

Hunching over, Cade leaned on the row of black plastic seats. “No threats that I know of.”

Hayden flipped open a pocket-sized notebook and scribbled some notes. “None of the other houses went up and the scene reeked of gasoline. Lane thinks it was arson and has his team sifting through the wreckage as we speak.”

Cade shot death glares at the nurses’ station. Maybe if he looked down the corridor, he’d get an idea of Melanie’s condition. He returned his attention to Hayden and nodded. Wait? Did he just say arson? Blood pounded in his ears, drowning out the conversation and mechanical noises around him. “What do you mean ‘arson’? I figured Melanie dropped some of her chemicals while developing film and that’s what started the blaze. I know she’s careful, but accidents happen. When she’s in the zone, she forgets.”

Hayden shifted his feet. “You know her better than anyone.”

Cade made up his mind with the last revelation. If someone wanted to bother her, he’d take care of it. From now on, Melanie wouldn’t be alone. He’d make sure of it.

Never alone.

* * * *

Melanie opened her eyes and rolled her tongue around her dry mouth. Did she eat a wad of cotton? Bile rose in her throat. She covered her mouth and studied the lime green walls. Blisters and redness decorated the top of her right hand. She stared a moment. What the hell happened? How did she get to the hospital? Wasn’t she just working on her laptop? Where was her laptop? The beeping from one of the various monitors sounded like a bass drum thumping on her brain.

“Well, hello. You finally came around.”

She turned her attention to the sugary sweet voice and ran a shaky hand through her hair. Her joints ached. She flexed her jaw and rolled her shoulders. “How long was I out?”

The perky raven-haired nurse, whose badge declared her name was Claire, marked something on a clipboard. “Only about twenty minutes.” She adjusted one of the monitors. “But since you’re awake, would you like a visitor? He’s worn a hole in the floor of the waiting room.”

The pain in her head didn’t dissipate, but her spirit buoyed. “Cade?”

“Your one and only. Dr. Adams gave him clearance to visit for a bit.”

“Please?”

“I’ll corner him, but why don’t we talk a moment.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I have no idea.”

“There was a fire. You fell and suffered some smoke inhalation.” Claire patted the sheet. “You have a few first degree burns on your hands, but nothing serious. You’ll be good as new before you know it.”

Before Melanie fully processed the information, Claire stood and left the room. Thank God. She took a deep breath and winced. Her lungs and throat hurt like hell. She brushed away a lock of hair. Well crud. The top of her left hand looked like she brushed against hot metal. She didn’t remember cooking or being in the kitchen. Had she left the stove or her curling iron on?

“Did it work?” Ginnifer strolled into the room and crossed her arms. “Drama queen.”

Stunned, Melanie stared at the woman at the end of her bed. “Ginnifer. How’d you get in here?”

“You lit yourself on fire in order to win Cade back, didn’t you?” Ginnifer crossed her arms. Venom surged in her eyes.

Melanie cocked her head. Fire? “I was in the middle of a photography layout and apparently melted my laptop. My boss won’t be thrilled, I could’ve lost my job, and you think I set myself ablaze? Have you dropped your marbles?”

Ginnifer swooped to the side of the bed. Her blond curls fluttered about her face as she stuck her index finger in Melanie’s face. Her lips formed a tight, white line. Crow’s feet crinkled around her eyes, aging her beyond her twenty-four years. “Cade and I belong together. You had your chance and you walked away because you couldn’t trust him. Back off before I have to get serious. And I
will
get serious.”

With a frustrated frown, Melanie shook her head. “You are kidding.”

Ginnifer snorted. “Wanna bet, bitch? When he sees what a desperate and useless person you are, he’ll run the other way.” She threw her purse strap onto her shoulder and stomped out of the hospital room.

Melanie stared at the stitching on the crisp white sheet. What just happened? How would Cade find her worthless? Nothing made sense. Yes, she and Ginnifer would never be friends, but she couldn’t remember any reasons why Ginn would hate her. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. They wanted the same man. Still, the rage was a bit much.