Page 40 of Whiskey Reveals

Chapter 19

Melody had somany feelings running through her, she had no idea how to organize them all so she could think. But she kept on about her day as normal since she was afraid that she’d either forget something or push someone away if she stopped.

Both were her go-tos when it came to stress and dealing with the aftermath of the accident, and while she might have thought it helped once, it really hadn’t. So, instead, she found herself once again facing down the demons of her choices, but now she was afraid that she’d brought others into her pain, as well.

Melody stood in her studio, the quietness of the room almost deafening. Fox had left her alone to go get them something to eat from Dare’s as she worked, though she knew Loch was close by, watching. The brothers never let her go anywhere, or at least not very far, without one of them near her since they were wound just as tightly as she was.

She was on the final stretch, just one more night until the studio opened for her first dance class. While she was nervous, she was excited, as well. She’d put so much of her soul into this project, and now she would finally be able to what she’d dreamed of. Though the dream hadn’t been one in her mind after the accident, it was still the one finally coming true.

No matter what, Melody would do her best not to let the past come back for her and ruin what she had in the present. Only it wasn’t that easy, and she knew that whoever was leaving her those horrible gifts wasn’t finished yet. She knew she deserved far more than a few broken bones from the accident. But, somehow, she’d thought that maybe she would find a way to live her life as it was rather than constantly having to look over her shoulder.

Apparently, she’d been wrong.

But she couldn’t stop, couldn’t let this rule her life. Not anymore. And she kept telling herself that so she’d believe it. What she needed to do was get out of her head, finish up the final details so she was ready for tomorrow’s classes, and get home so she could relax with her grandmother and maybe even Fox if he stayed over again.

He was becoming so ingrained in her life, she knew she should worry, but with so much going on around her, it was hard to do that. She was falling for him, that much she knew. And while it should have worried her that everything was happening so fast, some part of her couldn’t really get that. Because it wasn’t as if they were in a normal relationship. They’d started off as a one-night stand that had turned to more and now was even greater than the two of them because they were having a baby. A small part of her worried that he was with her because of the baby and because he needed to protect her from whoever was after her—rather than because of what he felt for her inside. And she knew that was her own inner demons talking, but that didn’t make the words wrong.

And because she would start to cry if she kept thinking about that, she let the words swirl out of her brain and sat at her desk to finish up the last emails for the day. The week prior, she had sent out reminder notices about what equipment and costumes her students would need to bring with them for their first day since those were already posted when they signed up. She knew dancing was a financial burden for many families, and she would never require the best of the best, but she also wanted to make sure that everyone was prepared. Tonight’s email included a little bit more of that, as well as instructions for drop-off and pick-up times. While parents of the younger students would probably stay, she assumed that not everyone would be able to time-wise, and others would want to give their child space to learn.

Her mother had been at almost every single practice, a stage mom to rival all stage moms. She wouldn’t say a word during the practices, but when they got home, she had plenty to say about Melody’s ineptitude. She threw in sprinklings of how talented she had been and how much potential she had, but it always circled back to how Melody still had work to do even with her talent.

Melody would do her best to make sure her students were never put in that situation. It wouldn’t be easy, and she would probably make mistakes, but that was something she was good at.

Emails done, she decided to at least stretch out a bit and dance something simple on her new floors to use all the nervous energy bubbling inside her. When she started showing as the pregnancy developed, she wouldn’t be able to do this, but she at least wanted to keep her body in motion for now. She went to turn on her music and noticed a music box next to the sound system. Thinking it might be a gift from Fox, she bent down to open the lid. A soft melody began to play its chords, and it sent shivers down her spine.

She froze. That song…that familiar song.

Too familiar.

She had danced to it for hours with her friends, putting her sweat and her energy into fine-tuning it for their final program at Juilliard.

And she knew she didn’t have the song on her phone currently because she’d never wanted to hear it again. She swallowed hard and looked down at the player, noticing that it was unplugged, but then again, that wasn’t where the music was coming from. The haunting melody that would forever tighten its grip around her heart and soul was coming from her latest gift.

Someone was taunting her, and she was so damn scared.

Before she could look around and wonder if someone were watching her to get a reaction, the front door opened, and she screamed.

Fox dropped the bag of food and ran to her. “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t cry, but she did pull away from him, her hands shaking and her palms sweaty. “The music. I didn’t choose that song. I didn’t buy that music box. I thought maybe at first it was from you, but it couldn’t be, could it? Because you don’t know that song.”

Fox’s eyes widened before he glared at the music box. “How the hell did that get in here? Both doors were locked.”

“But the alarm isn’t on because I was sitting inside. Loch is going to update everything, but it’s not done yet. Someone could have picked the lock or found a way inside to leave that there. I don’t know, but we need to call the police. Because that’s the song I danced with my friends to the night they died. That’s the song we choreographed our final piece to as a group. There’s no guessing what this could be connected to, not with that song.”

Fox’s hands on her shoulders tightened for a bare instant before he let her go, his fingers trailing down her arms to grasp her hands. She let him hold her there, knowing she needed to be strong. Because while she valued her safety and the safety of her unborn child, she also valued Fox’s. What would’ve happened if he had been standing there when the person came in to bring the music box. Though more than likely, they had been watching the studio the whole time, waiting for her to be alone so they could drop it off. She would’ve noticed it when she first walked into the studio earlier that morning if it had been there overnight. At least she thought she would have. She didn’t know, though, and that was something she would have to tell the police. But despite it all, she truly didn’t want Fox to get hurt, and she was really afraid that’s what would happen.

So after the police came and went, taking her statement once again and making her a spectacle of her new town, she put her hand on Fox’s chest and let out a slow breath.

“What is it? I’m not going to let them hurt you. If that means I have to spend every single second by your side, I will.”

She shook her head, knowing that wasn’t the answer. Because in the end, she wouldn’t let Fox be hurt. “That’s not going to work, and both of us know it. I don’t want you to get hurt, Fox. Maybe you need to give me some space. Because we both know that whoever’s stalking me is watching you, too. They haven’t hurt me yet, but what if they hurt you to get to me? I can’t have that on my soul, Fox. I can’t let you get hurt because of me. You mean more to me than I thought possible, and if we keep going like we are, you’re going to get hurt. Maybe not by me. But by my past. I don’t want that to happen, Fox. Please don’t let that happen.”

Fox’s eyes widened before he took a step closer and ran his hand through her hair. “I’m going to let that pass because you’re scared. And I’m going to take away the fact that you care about me more than you thought possible. It’s something I’ll always treasure. But I’m not going away. If you need space because I’m being overbearing? That I can do. But I’m not leaving you. Whoever is stalking you will have to go through me. And I know you hate to hear that, but for one moment of your life, let someone else take care of you. You are so damn strong, but let me take care of you. Let me take care of our baby. I know you’re scared. Frankly, so am I. But we’ll get better locks, and my brother can work on security. The police and the town are on the lookout for anything out of the norm. And with so many tourists, you might think that would be hard, but this town is smart. I’m here to take care of you. So don’t push me away, Melody. I know you’re smart and you’re beautiful and you’re scared, but don’t push me away.”

“Fox…” She didn’t know what she might have said because there were no more words left. Because even though she wanted her space and wanted to push him away, she knew it wouldn’t help anything. She had taken a chance on this man, and he wasn’t letting her down. But with every breath she took, she felt as if she were the one letting him down.

“I can’t let you get hurt.”

“I can’t let you get hurt either. So let’s work together. Being apart and letting ourselves be alone for whoever this lunatic is won’t help anyone. But if you need some space from me physically, where I’m not sleeping in your bed and holding you close, I can do that. I know we’re moving pretty fast. But don’t push me out of your life because of this person. Because in some aspects, it feels like that’s what they want.”

“Okay,” she whispered, letting him hold her close after she’d spoken.

She hated the fact that this was happening at all. Because she was weak, because she didn’t want to let Fox go even though she should, she let him drive her home after they had closed up the studio. Loch and his team were working hard on security before they opened tomorrow, but she was still worried that she was putting Fox and her students in danger because of her past choices.

The house was quiet when she walked upstairs, Fox right behind her. He went into her room to get his notebook that he’d left behind before they made dinner, and she went to her grandmother’s room to say hello since the other woman hadn’t come downstairs when Melody and Fox called out. That wasn’t unusual, however, since her grandmother liked to take naps, and sometimes liked to read while drinking tea and got so engrossed in her story that she didn’t hear the outside world.

Melody knocked softly on her grandmother’s door. When there was no answer, she peeked her head in to make sure everything was okay. And then Melody screamed.

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