I quirked an eyebrow at her statement and she giggled.
“I was wearing a long shirt. Which reminds me, one of your shirts is hanging out to dry in your room.”
“Ah, gotcha,” I said.
“I steamed his sinuses open and he coughed up a lot of stuff before I put him to bed. He’s not happy with me for suctioning out his nose, but he’ll get over it.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it covered.”
“For the most part. How was town?” she asked.
“Same old, same old. I got some medicine and more soup and popsicles for the kids. And I unloaded more wood into the—out back.”
Melanie looked at me with a hesitant stare before she nodded.
“I’m glad you had a productive day,” she said.
“Melanie, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I took her hand and led her over to the couch before I sat us both down.
She smiled at me before she scooted into the crook of my body.
“You know, before you showed up on my porch, I was content to while away my years alone in this cabin. Well, with the kids, of course.”
She shifted and looked up at me. “What are you saying?”
I sighed. “I didn’t just move up here to try and escape my drug addiction. I moved here because I had resigned myself to never falling in love again; to never needing anyone again. After Elise left me, I figured that was it: my one chance to be happy. Then, when the kids came to live with me after my brother died, I knew that I couldn’t bring just anyone around them. I had decided to remain alone.”
“And I showed up and threw a big old monkey wrench into that plan, didn’t I?” she asked.
“You did. At first, I have to admit, I couldn’t wait for the snow to melt enough for you to get the hell out of here and leave me to my self-imposed exile, but then it did melt and I didn’t want you to go.”
She looked up at me sweetly and my heart sang.
“I know you have a hard time trusting people, and I need you to know that I understand. I get it. I haven’t trusted anyone until you came along. With your sassy little attitude and that cute little giggle of yours.”
I looked down and watched her cheeks fill with a healthy flush.
“What I’m trying to say, Melanie, is that I want you to let me in.”
I felt her stiffen and pull away before I reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Look at me,” I said.
She slowly turned her fearful gaze toward me, but she didn’t make a move to run.
“I’m falling in love with you,” I said.
“What?” she asked breathlessly.
“I’m falling in love with you, and all I want you to do is let me in. That’s all I’m asking. You don’t have to love me back right now—or even love me back ever. But I trust you. And I know after last night that you trust me, too. All I’m asking is that you let me in. That you try.”
I watched tears rise to her eyes before her breaths started becoming shorter. Her eyes flickered around the room before they settled on the door, and I knew what she was thinking. She was feeling cornered again and her flight response was kicking in. If I didn’t find a way to diffuse the situation, I might lose her forever.
“I’m not trying to corner you, Melanie,” I said. “I’m trying to get you to see that you can talk to me. That it’s okay. That I understand. Melanie, look at me.”
Her trembling body stayed seated next to me even though her hand slipped from mine.
“You are not damaged goods,” I said.
The shocked look that rolled across her face told me everything I needed to know. Tears spilled down her cheeks and I reached out, catching them with my thumb as they ran across the apple of her cheeks. She was violently shaking, not from being cold or frightened. But from hearing the words she’d longed to hear for so many years of her life.
“You are not damaged goods,” I said again.
I watched the dam break and held her as she shook and cried in my arms. I brushed her hair back from her forehead and just kept repeating that she was safe. Finally, her sobs calmed and her breathing returned to normal. She sat back and looked at me, her beautiful face streaked with tears and her vibrant blue eyes rimmed with red.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m ready.”
CHAPTER 30
MELANIE
My head was pounding when I woke up the next morning. I had told Evan everything the night before. Told him how I’d been abducted in the parking lot one night while getting into my car after class. I told him how the guy had taken me to his hovel in a thick grove of trees and tied me up in his shed and terrorized me for two days.