Page 54 of Melody

“Maybe,” he responded. “But I kind of get the feeling that you’re looking at everything in black and white. It’s like my therapist tells me—we usually have lots more options than we think we do, but we let ourselves feel trapped and then make shitty decisions. Maybe coming to my place in Charlotte isn’t a good idea…but leaving Silver City might not be, either.”

Oh…he was so tempting. These past few months with him—especially the pastweek—had opened her eyes to the possibility that not all men were abusive, uncaring assholes. There were good guys out there—men like her dad, like Kyle…even like Al—who didn’t feel like the world was theirs to conquer, that women were there merely as accessories or playthings.

Kyle had made her feel so much better about life—and leaving him right now felt like it would dishonor everything they’d experienced together.

“I guess I could wait till morning—but I don’t feel safe here.”

“I’ll stay here with you—and then, if you still feel like leaving in the morning is your only option, I’ll do my best to make sure you get out of town safely.”

It was time to be completely honest. “Thank you. Uh…my car is a liability.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tommy said that was how he found me—because of my car.”

“Son of a bitch. What kind of car do you drive?”

“It’s a Saturn. It’s been a good little car—but if that’s how he found me, I’m going to have to get rid of it soon.”

“I have an idea.” Kyle pulled back a bit so that she could look up at him. “What if we traded cars? I could transfer the title to you so you could trade it in for something else whenever you needed to.”

“I couldn’t do that, Kyle. You love that car.”

“Yeah, but…you’re way more important than a car. If it saves your life, it’s worth it.”

She couldn’t take his car from him, tempting though it might be—but she wasn’t going to argue with him right now. The main thing she had to do was make sure no one had an eye on her car when she left—and, if they did, she had to figure out a way to lose them. In a town like Silver City, that might not be so easy.

If shedidn’ttrade cars, she should probably leave under the cover of darkness.

But maybe Kyle was right…maybe she had other options that she hadn’t considered yet. Right now, she believed she had only one: get the hell out of here as quickly as she could—but she also knew that a good night’s rest seemed to reset her brain, allowing her to approach problems fresh, with the ability to assess them better.

Besides, she also needed time to say goodbye to this man. Earlier, when she’d planned to dash without saying another word, leaving would have been easy. Now, though, she too needed to wrap her mind around it while pulling her heart’s tendrils away.

“Okay. I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Now…I have two questions.”

She forced a smile at him, trying to relax. “Okay.”

“First…should I call youScarlettorMelody?”

He was so sweet. Over the last few months, her fake name had grown on her, much like a beloved nickname. It had become part of her, part of this new identity. On the other hand, she’d beenMelodyher whole life. That was the name on her parents’ lips when they spoke to her or about her—and it was the name her friends and acquaintances from her past life had known her by.

On the other hand, it was the nameTommyknew her by.

“How about you call meTink?”

“Hell, yeah.” Kyle gave her a soft, sweet kiss and she was able to almost let all her tension go.

“What was your second question?”

“What should I order from DoorDash?”

Scarlett almost laughed. “I don’t think I’m hungry.”

“You saying this decision is up to me?”

“I think so.”

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