Page 46 of Christmas with Three Cowboys

13

Melissa

Darla is out until the evening running the last of the errands before the weekend while the guys are handling the southern gate issue. I thought I’d feel weird being in the house all by myself, but it’s nice. The halls are decked, the air is loaded with a soft hint of apple and cinnamon, the candles burn gently in their brushed bronze trays, and I’m almost done decorating the Christmas tree.

My heart is so full, overflowing with a warm kind of sweetness. And I’m honored and humbled that they asked me to do this. When Kyle brought the Douglas fir in earlier this afternoon, I was beside myself. Heck, I almost cried when he told me Colton and his brothers were “kindly asking” me to decorate it. Of course, the guys knew it would make me so happy.

Once Kyle supplied me with the ornament boxes, I was ready to get to work.

“Lord, you look so pretty,” I tell the tree, now mounted in the living room by the eastern window.

Mug in hand, I freeze when someone knocks on the door. I know to keep the doors locked when I’m alone, and there are motion sensors and cameras everywhere, so the guys know if somebody comes through the gates. Whoever is on the porch right now, the Averys or their ranch hands can’t be too far behind.

“Who is it?” I call out.

But there’s no answer, just a second knock.

I set the mug down and cautiously walk to the door. One look through the peephole, and I can feel my insides burning. An unpleasant heat washes over me as I break into a cold sweat—an odd sensation I’d hoped never to feel again.

“Jake,” I say with a trembling voice as I open the door. “What the hell are you doing here? How’d you find me?”

He looks different, meeker. He hasn’t gotten much sleep lately judging by the dark circles under his eyes. His oversized black woolen coat makes him appear thin. His legs look like two sticks coming out of a barrel. He’s clearly had a rough few years.

Good.

“Hey, Melissa,” he says, his voice soft, his smile friendly. “I wasn’t sure I’d found the right ranch, but I saw you with the cattle the other day and—”

“That was you,” I gasp, “by the gate?”

“Yeah,” he chuckles. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to come by unannounced. I just wanted to see you.” He looks me up and down. “You look wonderful.”

Once the initial shock wears off, the anger I thought I’d bottled up and hidden somewhere in the recesses of my consciousness,somewhere deep and dark enough that it would never see the light of day again comes back with a vengeance.

Every muscle in my body tenses, fury loading my fists with an itch to hit him, to throw things at his head, to pummel him into a bloody, lifeless mess who I once thought I’d raise a family with. Unbelievable.

“What the fuck do you want?” I ask, my tone clipped.

“You’re angry; I get it,” he says. “But if you’ll just let me explain—”

“Explain what? You framed me!” I shout, my rage at a maximum level. “I went to prison because of you, you asshole!”

Jake takes a deep breath and nods with an infuriating sort of piety. “I did you wrong and dirty, Melissa. And I need to apologize first and foremost.”

“I was sentenced to five years in prison. My record is forever blemished. There’s no apology in this world that will ever fix what you did to me. Those were your drugs!”

“And we’re in trouble, Melissa,” he interrupts. “That’s why I’m here.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I manage.

It’s cold outside. A rising wind blows through the house, bringing some of the snow in with it.

Jake notices me shivering in the doorway. “Can I come in? We need to talk. I swear I come in peace,” he says.

“Fine,” I reply with clattering teeth.

The guys should be on their way back anyway. But just to be sure, I take the phone Colton gave me out of my jeans pocket and briefly text him while Jake steps into the hallway and politely shuts the door behind him. My instincts are on fire, but I’m not sure what the danger is—Jake was never violent, nor did he ever threaten me in any way. For as long as I can remember, he was soft and well mannered, and that doesn’t seem to have changed. It’s just his shitty character that I’ve become aware of.

“Okay, I am sorry,” he says. “I am so sorry for what I had to do. But I didn’t have a choice, I swear, Melissa.”

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