Page 84 of The Thief

She gently slammed it. “Whatever you say, husband.”

He planted a kiss on her mouth and squeezed her tush.

Melody flirted with him a little more before branching away to collect her bags. I helped, grabbing a few shopping bags from a net in their truck bed.

“I like that you kept your roots dark.” I admired the way the cotton-candy pink blended seamlessly into her natural brown hair.

“Usually I hate showing my roots,” she admitted, lugging a big bag over the edge. “But the colorist talked me into it since my natural hair was growing out anyhow. I’ve always done my own hair, so it was fun to watch her process. She gave me some good tips.” Mel chucked her heavy bag at Archer. “Here you go, champ.”

“What the hell do you got in this thing, girl?” His bicep flexed when he hefted the bag. “You were only gone four nights.”

She pulled another heavy bag out from the back. “I had to bring all my sex toys.”

Lakota sputtered out a laugh.

Melody slung the last bag over her shoulder and stumbled backward before catching her balance. “My mom loves giving me stuff she finds when out shopping, especially fabric samples for clothing. She gets bombarded with samples from locals who want to do business with me. Some of them send me blue jeans, hoping I’ll hire them to make custom designs.” Melody leaned over like a hunchback from the weight of her bag and trudged toward the front sidewalk.

Lakota and Tak unloaded a few pieces of furniture from the white truck.

“Hope’s mother had gifts for us,” Tak said with disdain.

Hope collected her bags and let him walk ahead of her. “It was a sweet gesture. She restored them herself.”

“Your father had much to say about it,” Tak grumbled while hiking up the steps with the rocking chair in front of him.

Hope joined Melody and me. “My mother never meant any harm in giving us gifts. We have a new home, and she worked tirelessly on these two pieces for the past month. It was Mother’s Day, so Father made a fuss about Mother giving out all the presents. This is not a holiday we ever celebrate.” Hope giggled as we ascended the stairs. “Then Tak went out and purchased a new horse for my mother. You should have seen my father’s face when they trotted up the driveway. Men are silly creatures.”

Over my shoulder, I glimpsed Melody tipping backward from the weight of her bag. I reached out, but Salem rushed behind her just in time to break her fall. He confiscated her heavy bag when she regained her balance.

“I’ve got it,” she insisted, reaching for the strap.

Salem marched up the steps ahead of her. “This will save me the trip of getting my medical bag out. Don’t you think?” He breezed in ahead of us.

Melody snorted. “He’s hilarious and doesn’t even realize it.”

“What’s wrong?” Hope asked me. “You seem dispirited this morning. Doesn’t she, Mel?”

Melody collected a shopping bag from my hands and analyzed my face. “Anything happen while we were gone?”

Tak and Lakota interrupted our conversation when they emerged from inside, Tak rolling a heavy-duty flatbed dolly behind him. We leaned on the porch railing and watched them lower the tailgate on the pickup. After jumping in, Tak cut the rope and tarp away from a large object.

“What in the world?” I craned my neck, wondering what they had in there.

Hope branched away and opened the door. “That’s the new safe. They’re going to break their backs carrying it inside.”

Melody watched them with the same enthusiasm as kids watching monkeys at the zoo. “We tried to get them to pay extra for delivery, but did they listen? Noo,” she said in a singsong voice. “The mind boggles.”

“It’s a good thing Joy and I did the furniture shopping,” I added. “We booked delivery.”

Melody snorted. “Just wait until the truck arrives. I’ll bet you my pink sofa they won’t let the workers do their job.”

Tak and Lakota grunted while pushing the safe to the end of the truck.

“Get out and catch it,” Tak said.

Lakota stood and blew out a harsh breath. “You catch it.”

“What crawled up your trousers?”

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