I was so tired of failing people.

“Just take them off, Jonah. I need to feel you against me. I need to know that you’re here.”

Having no barrier between Melanie and me was a prescription for a hard-on. She didn’t need more sex right now. She needed sleep, and so did I.

I sat up, removed my lounge pants, and then snuggled back against her, trying to ignore the throbbing in my groin. I kissed the back of her head. “Sleep now. I’m right here. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

She seemed restless for a few minutes, but finally settled down. When her breathing settled into a shallow rhythm, I finally joined her in sleep.

 

Saturday morning. Again I awoke in a strange bed, and Melanie was nowhere to be found. I got up, put on my discarded lounge pants, and walked to the kitchen. The same smell of my childhood breakfasts in the big ranch house drifted toward me.

Melanie was at the stove, cooking.

She turned when I walked into the room. “That’s the end of the bacon and eggs. I think we need to go shopping.”

“Okay.”

“Want some coffee?”

“Yeah. I’ll get it.”

I sat down at the table with my cup of coffee. In a few minutes, she brought me a plate of food.

I inhaled and took a bite. “Just as good as last night.”

“It’s Saturday, so I wanted to let you sleep. But I suppose there are no days off for you here on the ranch.”

I shook my head. “No, not really. But the three of us do tend to show up a little later on weekends. The guys know it. I won’t be missed.”

“Good.” She sat down next to me with her own plate and cup of coffee. “I need to go to my loft today. I can’t stay away from it forever.”

“You think you should call your insurance company first?”

“I texted my agent yesterday. An adjuster and a cop will meet me there this afternoon. It’s a crime scene, so the cop has to be there. I was wondering if…”

“I’d go with you?”

She nodded, and the lip biting began.

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to go back there alone. What time do you need to leave?”

“My appointment is at three.”

I looked down at my watch. “It’s only nine now, so we have some time.” I reached down and gave Lucy a pat on the head.

“So what do you normally do on Saturday?”

“I have to go to the office, see what’s going on, maybe get out in the pastures. But I’ll be back by one thirty or two, and you and I can then go to the city and meet the insurance guy at your loft.”

She looked down.

“Will you be okay here? Alone?”

“I have to be. I can’t have you missing your work for me.”

“Jade is home on Saturday. I can call her and have her come and stay with you. Marj might be free too, unless either Talon or Ryan has her doing something around the ranch.”

She shook her head. “It’s sweet of you to offer, but I won’t be a burden. I can’t be. That’s not…me.”

“The way you react after such a trauma doesn’t define who you are, Melanie. It’s perfectly normal to want someone with you.”

She forced a smile. “You’ve obviously been with a really great therapist.”

“Only the best in the world.”

She stood and took her plate to the sink. “I need to get groceries. Can I possibly borrow a car? I have no idea where mine is at the moment. I assume it’s still parked at the loft.”

“Are you sure you’re ready to venture out on your own? In a car?”

“I have to. I have to get back on the horse.” She laughed softly. “See, I’m speaking your language now.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” I wasn’t a natural rider like Talon and Ryan, but I had been riding horses since I was barely able to walk. “And of course you can borrow a car. I have three.”

“Okay. I’ll take a shower, and then I’ll drive into town and pick up some groceries for you.”

“You mean for us.”

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”

“Melanie, you can stay here as long as you need to. Take this day by day. Right now, getting into a car and going to town for groceries is a big step. Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”

“I hate taking you away from your work,” she said. “I can do this, Jonah. I need to do this.”

 

I finished my work at the ranch, texted Melanie to see if she was okay, and upon her response, I decided to go and see Talon at the main ranch house, since I still had an hour before Melanie and I had to leave to meet the insurance agent at her loft in Grand Junction. I needed to talk to Talon about Felicia. He and Jade had given her the weekend off, so I didn’t risk running into her. I wouldn’t know what to say to her.

I got to the main house and knocked. Talon’s mutt, Roger, came to the door, peering at me through the window, panting with a doggy smile on his face.

When no one answered the door, I let myself in. “Hey there, guy.” I knelt down and gave Roger a pet on his head. “Where is everybody?”

“Who’s there?” A woman’s voice came from the family room.

I walked through the foyer, through the kitchen, and down a few steps into the large family area. Jade’s mother, Brooke Bailey, sat on the sofa, her legs propped up. She wore a brace on one knee. She had shattered her knee in the car accident that had nearly taken her life.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you,” I said. “I’m just looking for Talon.”

“He and Jade went off somewhere,” Brooke said.

“Is Marj around?”

“No, she’s in town for her cooking class.”

Right. I had forgotten. Marjorie was now taking classes in the city. She left on Friday afternoons for an evening class, stayed for classes all day Saturday, and then drove home. She’d be home tonight.

“Anything I can do for you?” Brooke asked.

“No, thank you. Can I get you anything while I’m here? It must be hard for you to get around.”

She smiled. Brooke Bailey was still beautiful. I had nursed a major hard-on for her when I was a teen. Funny that she would turn out to be Jade’s mother. Her hair was still dark honey blond but now was cut short in a pixie style, rather than the silken locks flowing over her shoulders that she had worn during her modeling days.