Before Ryeland knew it, the summer had breezed by in an idyllic blur as he and Melody continued to lose themselves in each other. They saw each other almost every night, with the exception of the nights she spent with her mom. With Labor Day only a few weeks away, the night mountain air had grown colder, the leaves not too far from changing color. There were still a few weeks left of vacation season, but many families had already started heading home to prepare for the next school year. Ryeland and Melody weren’t without their own plans, and Ryeland knew soon enough he’d have to reopen the discussion with his father.
Over the course of the summer he studied while she perfected her chapters, and when she wasn’t writing she quizzed him. At times he even helped her plot. He loved her creative mind, her energy, the way she lit up when she talked about her stories. In fact, he loved everything about her and there was no denying how good they were together.
Originally, he hadn’t wanted to sneak around with her. She deserved better than that from him. But as their relationship progressed, grew far more serious, they kept things quiet, wanting nothing or no one to come between them—especially his parents. As long as Ryeland continued to practice tennis with Suzette and put on appearances for family functions, his folks had kept quiet about Melody, no doubt hoping he’d simply get her out of his system and leave her behind when he went to law school in the fall.
But today was the day he was scheduled to take his MCATs and if things went according to plan, he’d be moving to Toronto with Mel and changing his path. They’d talked about their future, about having a family together, and had even been looking at apartments online. He knew his folks would go bat-shit crazy if they knew and his father would cut him off, but thanks to Melody, he’d come to learn his freedom, and following his heart was something he needed to do. He hoped someday his father would warm to the idea of Ryeland following his own dreams and they could be friends.
He walked her way when he saw her coming from Wolf Lodge. She hurried toward him. He loved how her face lit up whenever she saw him. He grabbed her backpack and shouldered it, then dropped a kiss onto her mouth.
She kissed him back, so warm and passionate he knew if he didn’t break it they’d never make it to Jasper in time to take the test.
“Hey, baby,” he said, his heart pounding madly as he inched back. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, totally blown away by Melody and the things she made him feel. From the first time he gave her a ride, he knew they would be good together, but things were even better than he expected. So much better in fact, it scared him a little.
“You all set?” she asked.
“As ready as I’m going to be, I guess.”
She jumped into the passenger seat. “Do you want me to quiz you?”
“No, let’s just talk.”
He slid behind the wheel and pulled onto the road. Every time he looked at her he found her looking back, a beautiful smile on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“I’m excited for you.”
“Don’t be too excited. I haven’t passed yet.”
“You will. I have faith in you.”
His heart warmed and he reached for her hand. “So…” he said.
“Sooo…what?” she asked.
“Come on, tell me. Did Marcus like the first three chapters enough to send them off to the publisher?”
Her eyes went wide and she nodded rapidly. “He did!”
“That’s great, baby.” He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “They’re going to love it.”
She made a face that said she wasn’t so sure. “I need to get the ending finished. If they ask for more I have to have it ready.”
“You can do it. You brought your laptop to write while I’m testing, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s going to be great. I can see it now. I’ll work for the next year to support us while you write and get published, then I’ll go to medical school and you can support me.”
She laughed. “Uh, I’m not sure I’ll even be able to support your pinky at first.”
He laughed with her. “I don’t care. I’d rather be poor and happy with you than rich and without you.”
Melody leaned back in her seat, and as she stared at the road ahead, she smiled. Honestly, he’d never seen her so happy or content. They’d come a long way over the summer, growing closer. While they talked and shared everything, there was still a part of her she kept closed off. He wasn’t sure what had really happened that night in the hotel he’d heard so many rumors about, or why she was too afraid to tell him, but he hoped that one day she would spill and he could help slay her demons.
They talked quietly about their future and enjoyed the scenery as they drove to Jasper. When he reached the office tower where he’d be testing, he parked and drew a centering breath, realizing he was more nervous than he thought.
Melody leaned into him and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. Then she inched back and licked her lips.
“What was that for?” he asked, his cock thickening.
“Good luck.”
“Come here.” He grabbed her and pulled her close, his mouth crashing down on hers. “When I’m done today, I’m going to take you back to your place and have my way with you.”
She chuckled and said, “On one condition.”
“No conditions,” he growled. When she angled her head and lifted her chin in defiance, he gave an exaggerated exhale and asked, “Okay, what condition?”
“Well, I’m writing a very complicated sex scene with ropes, and I might need you to help me play it out so I get it right.”
“Jesus, Melody.” He fisted his hair. “You can’t say something like that to me before I’m about to test.”
She laughed. “Oops, sorry.”
She reached for her backpack from the rear seat but he turned and grabbed it for her. She gestured toward a coffee shop across the street. “I’ll be there writing.”
“Okay.” He gave her another kiss. “I’ll be a few hours.”
Ryeland watched her cross the street and once she was inside the coffee shop, he made his way to the testing center. He showed his ID and signed in and for the next four hours he, along with twenty other people, sat in front of a computer in their own little cubicles. Exhaustion pulled at him as he finished the third section a moment before he was timed out. He pushed back in his chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. At least everyone else who’d taken it looked as wrung out as he was.
Working to clear his head as he walked outside, daylight long gone, he crossed the road, anxious to see Melody, to take her back to her place and help her out with that scene, but the second he looked at her, and saw the panic on her face, his heart dropped into his stomach.
“Baby, what is it?” he asked.
She held her phone up. “Sattler texted me. My mom. She’s in the drunk tank.”
He grabbed her and pulled her close. “Oh Jesus.”
“I need to go get her.”
“Okay,” he said and guided her to his vehicle. She remained mostly quiet, nibbling her bottom lip nervously as he drove them back to Deerfield. When he parked outside the police station, Melody jumped from her seat and darted inside.
He finally caught up to her at the front counter, pleading with the officer behind it, but the woman insisted there was nothing she could do. Ryeland grabbed Melody and pulled her away.
“I can’t leave her in there, Ryeland,” she said.
“I know. I’ll call my father. He’ll know what to do.”
Her lashes fluttered and after a moment of hesitation, she gave a quick nod. “Okay.”
Ryeland pulled his phone from his pocket and punched in his dad’s number.
“Ryeland,” his father said, answering.
“Dad, can you come down to the police station? I need some help.”
“Are you in trouble?” his dad asked, his voice hard.
“No. Please just come.”
Silence lingered for a second, then his father said, “I’m on my way.”
He led Melody outside to wait, and she paced nervously. “I hate the thought of her in there,” she said, folding her arms around her chest and hugging herself.
“I know, baby. We’ll get her out.”
Ten minutes later both his mother and father exited their car. Melody stepped away from Ryeland, moving into the shadows as his mother rushed up the steps toward him. She looked him over, her worried gaze assessing him.
“Ryeland, are you okay? What’s going on? What happened?”
He gripped his mother’s arms to calm her. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“Then what is all this about?” his father asked, the calmness in his voice belying the anger brewing behind his hard eyes.
Ryeland looked past his mother’s shoulders to Melody, who was leaning against the brick wall, her gaze darting nervously between Ryeland and his father. “Melody needs your help. Her mother needs a lawyer to help get her out and I thought you could help.”
His mother and father both stiffened, their deadly glances zeroing in on Mel, who started shrinking in on herself.
“Ryeland—” his father began.
“I need you to help her,” Ryeland said, his voice low to showcase just how serious he was as he cut his father off. “I need you to do this.”
His father glared at him, something dark and worried moving over his face.
“Rita deserves what she gets,” his mother Eliza burst out and Ryeland’s head came back with a start. What the hell?
“Eliza,” his father said harshly. “Go wait in the car.”
“You know my mother?” Melody asked, her eyes narrowing as she turned toward Eliza.
“Stay away from this girl, Ryeland,” she continued to ramble as she shot a deadly glare Melody’s way. “She’s trouble. Like her mother.”
“Mom,” Ryeland bit out harshly and stood between his mother and Melody. He loved his mother but no way in hell was he going to stand there and let her talk about Melody like that.
“Eliza,” his father warned again.
Eliza went up on her toes and tried to look over Ryeland’s shoulder, her gaze shooting daggers. He shifted his position to prevent her from making eye contact with Melody. She made a huffing sound, then scampered off to the car.
“Ryeland, get in the car and take your mother home.”
Ryeland linked his hands together behind his head. “What, no? I’m not going anywhere.”
“You will if you want me to help.”
He turned to Melody who was staring at him with those haunted eyes of hers. Christ, he hadn’t seen her look like she had demons to slay in months now.
“Melody.” He grabbed her hands. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I need to get her out,” she said, her voice tight.
His father stood there glaring at him, his arms folded, his face hard, dangerous.
“Okay,” Ryeland finally said, conceding because this was what Melody needed. He turned and made his way to the car. He slid into the front seat, looked at his mother and asked, “How do you know Melody’s mother?”