You'll Think of Me (7 page)

The clomp of heavy boots on linoleum brought her from her stupor.

“Remember she’s fragile, Cade,” Claire shouted from the hallway.

The noise stopped as Cade rounded the corner. A look of relief and concern washed over him, softening the creases on his face. “Melanie.”

Claire appeared in the doorway and tapped her foot. “You have an hour. I’ll send Vicky down to escort you out if you overstay the welcome.”

Sneering, he threw a one-fingered salute towards the door. Melanie felt a smile tug the corners of her mouth. She loved Cade, even his belligerence, but the words stayed rooted on the tip of her tongue. So why couldn’t she tell him how she felt? Because concern wasn’t the same as devotion and desire.

He turned to her and crossed the room in two long strides, but stopped short of the bed. “Melly, baby, what happened?”

“Which day?” She held open her hand. When he stood rooted to the spot, her brows knotted together and her shoulders sagged. She probably looked as bad as she felt and it made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. He wouldn’t find her attractive in such a broken down state. She berated herself for even thinking he still wanted her. Although she wanted to crawl inside his safe warmth, they needed to talk first.

When he grabbed a chair and he scooted next to her bedside, her heart flip-flopped. His large hand swallowed her tiny uninjured hand. The touch sent pinpricks of excitement through her system. Oh, now this wasn’t fair. He was the only man who made her feel desirable. He held her heart, but he didn’t love her. Why was life so cruel some times?

He rubbed the top of her right hand with his thumb. “I want to know what happened to us, but first, I need to know what happened to cause the fire. Were you setting up a new dark room?”

She shook her head. Did he just say ‘us’? Why was there a catch in his voice? Her tongue felt sixteen sizes too big as she tried to speak. “I sat at the table, working on a retouch job for Gerilyn MacDonald on my laptop. I heard glass break, so I got up to see what it was. But instead of a finding a broken window, a rush of heat knocked me down. Was that the fire?”

Was it her imagination, the drugs, or did his eyes shimmer with unshed tears? Could she be getting past his barriers? He pressed her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “It’s the middle of August, everything’s hot. Try to remember. Did you have the air conditioning on?”

She toyed with the hem of the sheet and tried to focus. “Are you playing amateur cop? Or are you doing this for me?”

“Only for you, Melanie.”

Her heart leapt
. Progress.
She could handle his answer. His interest was better than outright dismissal. “I had the windows open to let the breeze in because it was such a beautiful day, but I distinctly remember stepping on the glass.” Her gaze met his. Her chin quivered and emotions she couldn’t control spilled forth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to quell the overwhelming fear. “Cade, I’m scared.”

He squeezed her hand and kissed her knuckles once more. A smile curled the corners of his mouth. He rubbed her knuckles against his cheek. “No one’s gonna hurt you.”

Tears pricked her eyes. “Thank you.”

But I want you to love me…

Chapter Eight

Cade covered her lips with his in a scorching kiss; a soul kiss. Basking in his nearness, Melanie gasped. Her skin tingled with twin sensations of pleasure and pain. The throbbing in her muscles receded.

She closed her eyes and let the feelings of desire and longing wash over her. His tongue tangled with hers and the taste of mint rolled around her mouth. She moaned and he swallowed it along with his own groan. She didn’t care if they got caught—the risk was worth the reward. She couldn’t pull away from the heat drawing her to his body.

But as much as she wanted to get lost in him, her body hurt. The injuries packed one hell of a punch. Besides the pain, they needed to talk. What could she say?
I was wrong to move out.
No. Leaving had felt right at the time.
I want you for more than sex?
And risk having him withdraw…again? She fisted her hands in his shirt. No, she refused to let him hide any longer.

When he pulled away, Cade hovered a whisper away from her lips. “I’m taking you home. We need to finish this, but not here and not now.”

“You’re right, but right now, we need to talk.”
Just open up for a second, please.

“Later.” Cade’s attention jerked to the hallway. His hands stilled on hers. ”The doctor’s coming.”

A deep voice echoed in the small room and interrupted her response. “Well, how are we this evening, Ms. Roberts? Oh, I didn’t know you still had company.” Smoothing his hands on his crisp white lab coat, the doctor shrank back towards the door. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Gasping again, she covered her face with her hand to hide her shock and her flushed cheeks. Good grief, they’d been caught.

Cade gave Melanie a wink and moved to the nearby chair. A wide grin slide across his lips. “Hiya, doc, I’m Cade.”

The young man cleared his throat. His voice cracked. “I know who you are. I helped patch you and your friend Rhett up when he flipped his truck three summers ago.”

Cade opened his mouth to answer. “He’s my best friend,” Melanie said, effectively shutting him up. He’d probably spin a yarn to stay in the room and she could only guess how creative he’d get.

The doctor frowned. “Oh, I see. I really don’t want to discuss this in front of—”

Melanie folded her arms. Forget protocol. She needed her solid wall of strength. “Tell me what you need to, but I’d rather he stayed.”

Although he remained quiet, Cade smirked. Melanie bit back a grin. Her heart pounded. She liked being strong on her own and yet still having Cade to fall back on.

While he fiddled with the papers in her chart, Dr. Adams cleared his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Ms. Roberts, I want to keep you here overnight for observation. You sustained a contusion to your parietal bone. In layman’s terms, you suffered a goose egg on the back of your head. Do you remember the details of the fire?”

She willed her brain to think about anything other than her clandestine kiss with Cade and how much she yearned to make love to him. Why move from bliss to the horror of the fire? Scorching kisses didn’t come her way very often. Melanie garnered all her strength to face her demon head-on. “I remember being blasted by a wall of heat, but I don’t know where it came from. I wanted to move, but it was so hot.”

“Ms. Roberts, the burns on your hand and arms are first and second degree burns. You’ll have some scarring, but it should be minimal.” Dr. Adams made some notations on the chart. “I’m sending you home tomorrow with a prescription for silver sulfadiazine. You’ll need someone to help take care of you until the wounds heal. I can give you a referral to the Butler Outpatient Service.”

She squared her shoulders and curled her lip in a sneer. “I’m twenty-six. I can take care of myself.”

“I never thought otherwise. The burns will need to stay mobilised and clean, so you won’t have full use of left hand for a short period of time.”

Melanie squeezed Cade’s hand. “Thank you."

The doctor ruffled through the papers and stuck the folder under his arm. “If there’s no questions, I’ll be back to check on you during my next set of rounds.”

Someone in the hallway spoke. “Can we stop in for a minute?”

Why did the voice sound familiar? Melanie looked at Cade, who shrugged. A dark-haired man, poked his head around the corner. “Hello, photographer of my dreams!”

Melanie burst out laughing until she noticed Cade sitting at attention. Did Cade sense something she didn’t? “Cade, this is the writer, Rusty Fontana. I work for him, as a personal photographer.”

A perky brunette elbowed past Rusty and surged forward. “Hey, kid. We heard about the fire. Are you okay?”

Kicking the chair against the wall with a thud, Cade stood. Melanie swore she heard him growl. “Cade. This is Rusty’s wife and my other boss, Jojo Morris, the actress.”

“She is the love of my life.” Rusty curled his arm around his wife.

“I’m meeting a real life author and a movie star!” The doctor shook hands with the famous couple. “I have your calendar on my wall.” His voice cracked.

“I’m glad you liked the images.”

Melanie covered her giggles with her hand. Jojo probably met people who swooned over her image every day, yet she acted like it was someone else scantily clad on the page. After Rusty and Jojo each gave him an autograph, Dr. Adams dipped his head to Melanie. “Rest and I’ll come back later. Nice to meet you all.” He raced out the door.

Cade clenched his fists and moved back to the chair.

“He’s interesting.” With a nod, Rusty stuck out his hand. “Are you Cade? Melanie said you’re in the Air Force. I researched pilots for ‘Junkies’. It’s good to meet one of our brave boys.”

Offering a small wave, Jojo grinned. “She does speak highly of you.”

“Thanks.” Cade blushed. The tips of his ears tinged red.

Jojo squeezed his biceps and leaned in close. “I also talked to Tad Martin, my pilot. Since I started loaning out the jet, I need more than once a week service. Are you interested?”

“You want me to work for you?” Cade inched away from Jojo. “On a jet?”

“I suppose I could switch to a turbo prop, but I kinda like the Lear.” She patted his hand. “Tad tells me you’re a top-notch mechanic.”

“Um, thank you.”

“I don’t want anyone else and since I hear your home for the duration, I’ll wait you out.”

“What time do you want me to arrive for work?” A blush crept down Cade’s muscle-corded neck beyond his collar.

“Well, one thing is settled, anyway.” Dipping her head to meet his gaze, Jojo folded her arms. “I don’t need you until after Mel’s on her feet, so consider it an early vacation.”

“Cade, are you on an extended leave?” Melanie raised her brows. She wished she knew the problem. If the fire wasn’t the root issue, then what did he want to hide?

Cade spoke in low tones. “I’ll explain later. I need to get coffee.”

A bright grin lit Rusty face. “You know where the coffee machine is? I’m dying for a cup. We don’t have any in the house since Corinna was born. I’ll follow you.”

The colour drained from Cade’s cheeks, even as Rusty dragged him out of the room.

Folding her hands, Jojo plopped into the chair next to the bed. “Are you going to make it?”

Melanie directed her attention back to the perky actress. She couldn’t help the chuckle escaping her lips. “What do you mean? I’m still kicking.”

A lock of hair swept over her eyes as Jojo smirked. “I meant him. Your man’s head over heels for you and acting like a tiger ready to pounce.”

Melanie swatted her hand in the air. “He’s overly protective.”

“And in love.”

Melanie fumbled with a response. “Well…”
Yeah right
. God, she wanted Jojo to be right.

“Trust me. I’ve been down that road. I’m sure Rusty’s down the hall giving him every reason to jump headlong into marriage, if he hasn’t spooked him first. Give him coffee and he’s wound up for the rest of the night. Cade seems like the strong but silent type.”

“Yeah, well, there’s something on his mind, but I can’t seem to figure him out.” Seemed like a trend as of late.

“You will. He’s going to be a great addition to the team. I wanted someone I could trust to work on my jet since the incident with the stalker.”

“A stalker? Wow.” Melanie spun the ruby ring around her finger. “You have led a colourful life.”

“Enough about men.” Jojo laced her fingers together and switched subjects. “I saw your outline for the publicity sitting. I like the black and white look. I saw your work with the McMurray family on your website. Tonya was right. I cried.”

In a futile attempt to reign in her surprise, Melanie nibbled her bottom lip and bit back a grin. “I’m glad you liked it.”

Jojo nodded. “If you can do even a little of that for me and Rusty, I’ll be forever in your debt. I never liked looking at myself in pictures.”

“But you’re a star? You always look good.” Melanie allowed the full-blown smile. “I mean, I’ll make sure I capture you in the best light and the most flattering pose.” Making people look good in portraits, now
that
was her forte. When Jojo stood next to Rusty, she glowed. Melanie suppressed a twinge of jealousy. Would she and Cade ever have a secure future together? Not until he told her what lingered on his mind or Ginnifer got out of the picture.

Melanie cocked her head. She could hear Cade in pleasant conversation with Rusty. They laughed! She plopped back against the pillows. Warmth zinged across her nerve endings. It had been so long since she’d heard the low timbre of his laugh—she’d almost forgotten what it sounded like. She drew a long breath and puffed it out. If she managed nothing else, she’d get him to laugh more often.

Her good feeling doused a bit when Rusty bounded into the room first. “Hello, my love!”

As Jojo stood, Rusty dragged her into his embrace. She giggled. “He’s a goof, but I love him.”

Pressing a kiss to her temple, Rusty wriggled his brows. “Care to show me later?”

Cade shuffled past Rusty and winked at Melanie. The warmth in her body shifted into high heat. A blush crept up her neck and singed her ears.

“We’d better go.” As Jojo bent to hug Melanie, she murmured, “Take it easy on him.”

Rusty chuckled. “Why don’t you bring him along to the next shoot so we can debate NASCAR?”

Once Rusty and Jojo left Melanie and Cade alone in the hospital room, Melanie held out her hand. Her strength began to crack. She needed his reassurance, his warmth. She needed Cade. To drown in him so their wounded souls could heal together. “Don’t leave me.”

“You got me all night long.” Cade leaned in close, dragging the chair with him. “According to the chief fire investigator, it was arson. He thinks someone threw a Molotov cocktail into the house and soaked the front door in gasoline. Sherriff Garrison and our buddy Deputy Marcum persuaded Claire to let me stick around despite the fact that I’m not a blood relation.” He banged the arms of the poorly stuffed mustard-coloured lounge chair. “So this is my bed until Dr. Adams releases you. Rhett wanted to come, but decided he’d better keep an eye on the house. He sends his love.”