Page 43 of Ebbing Tides
I nodded. “If that's okay.”
She worried her bottom lip for a moment before replying, “Yeah, sure. Outside?”
My gaze dropped to the boys, who were clearly curious and skeptical once again. Then, looking back at her, I quickly nodded.
Melanie looked over her shoulder, back toward the kitchen, and said, “Stormy, Charlie, I'm going outside for a minute to talk to Max. Can you keep an eye on the boys?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Stormy answered, heading right away into the living room.
The black-haired body piercer, with a face heavily adorned with bits of metal through her nose and lips, flashed a smile in my direction, offering a little wave.
“Hey, Max.”
“Hi, Stormy.”
She dropped onto the middle couch cushion and patted either side of her. “Come on, kiddos. Let's see if there's something else on TV.”
Danny and Luke both walked away without question, but CJ lingered as Melanie came forward, her eyes on me with every step she took.
When she stood beside him, she laid a comforting hand on top of his head and said, “I'll be back in a few minutes, okay, sweetheart?”
Still, he kept his eyes on me. “You be back too?”
I lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “Not sure, buddy. We'll see if I have time before work.”
He twisted his little lips to one side, looking as though he had a question, but didn't know how to ask. But instead of saying anything more, he walked away and crawled onto Stormy's lap.
Melanie took the lead—she seemed to have a habit of doing that, and I couldn't say I minded following her silent orders one bit—and reached around me for the doorknob. She opened the door and stepped outside, leaving me to trail behind.
A gust of wind swept the stray hairs off her forehead as I closed the door behind me. She wrapped her arms around her middle, walking to the opening in the short stone wallsurrounding Charlie's property. Then she turned around, giving me her full attention.
She held eye contact with ferocity, and I narrowed my gaze.
“Are you mad at me?” I guessed.
“Why would I be mad?” she answered, her tone colder than the air around us.
“I don't know. I'm just getting the feeling that maybe you might be.”
She shook her head, forcing an air of nonchalance I couldn't begin to believe. “I have no reason to be mad at you. There's nothing to be mad about.”
I studied her for a moment longer, watching as her hardened facade quickly began to crumble. She sucked in a deep, quivering breath as she diverted her eyes to somewhere off in the distance. She tightened her arms and swallowed, blinking rapidly, and I thought … no, Iknewshe was trying to keep herself from crying.
“Melanie,” I said, taking a hesitant step toward her.
She sniffed, squeezed her eyes shut, and held up a hand, stopping me in my tracks. I watched her take a few deep breaths, my fists clenching and unclenching at my sides. An insatiable ache came over me to go to her, to wrap her in my arms and protect her from whatever was pulling her away from me. But I stood in place, respecting her need for distance and ignoring my desire for connection.
“You wanted to talk,” she reminded me, slowly lowering her hand and opening her eyes. Still, she wouldn't look at me. “What did you want to say?”
I kept the questions I wanted to ask now at bay and instead asked the one I'd rehearsed on the ride over. “Why did you leave last night?”
She huffed a humorless laugh, her arms tightening still. “I was never going tostay. I have to wake up early in the morning. I havekids, Max. I—”
“I understand that, but you rushed out of there like you couldn't stand the thought of being near me,” I said, not intending to sound like I was trying to argue with her, but there it was. Hot, fiery.Hurt… because, dammit, I had been. Iwas.
Her lips hung open as she shook her head. “I don't understand what you think is going to happen here. I feel like …” She swallowed and shrugged, holding her shoulders close to her ears. “I feel like you are hoping for something that is justnevergoing to happen.”
“Have I given you that impression?” I couldn't help but smile disbelievingly, my chuckle bitter and hurt. “Melanie, I haven't expected anything from this. Not at all. Should I remind you thatyouwere the one who showed up at my office? I could've let things go, I could've—”
