Page 46 of All Inn Thyme
“Earth to Mellie,” Beth calls.
I shake my head to come back to the here and now.
“Where were you?” she asks as she plops into one of the Adirondack chairs and reaches for one of the throw blankets over the back.
“Just thinking about when you first got here and how happy you and Evan are now,” I say with a smile. “Look at you, you’re having a baby!”
“We’re really happy,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing her belly with one hand. “It was all worth it.”
“Oh, I forgot.” I reach beside my chair for a thermal mug of tea and hand it to her.
“Thanks.” She smiles gratefully. “I miss wine.”
“You’ll have it again before you know it.”
Logan drops off Allie and she hops out of the car. “Hey, ladies… I brought the wine. And a strawberry lemonade for you, Beth.”
We all wave at Logan as he drives off.
“Alright, well at least I’ll be well-hydrated tonight.” She reaches over to take that too and grins.
“How’s the bakery coming along?” I ask.
“Oh, it’s fine, but we’ll get to that later. We have a 911 with Ty. Now spill.”
“I have to tell you guys something. And it’s probably going to freak you out.”
“Okay?” Allie says hesitantly.
I think about where to begin so I can tell them without freaking them out or them feeling like I wasn’t honest. I think maybe I’ll just tell them a little and not everything.
“Okay, I know you both know I don’t talk about before I came to the inn…” I twist my hands in my lap nervously and look between the two of them.
“It’s okay,” Beth encourages me, reaching over and rubbing my back. “We all have our past stuff. You know I had my past that I had to work through with Evan.”
I was with Beth when she went through her past trauma and grief that she’d been hanging onto when she got here to the inn. She was able to work it out, and her and Evan are so happy now. The inn has become a sanctuary for so many of us, a refuge to find a new family or, for some of us, to start over.
I’m not sure how to talk about this, but it’s getting easier, so I just go for it. “I came here to get away from my abusive husband. He’s very dangerous,” I whisper, not even sure why I’m trying to be quiet. I clear my throat before continuing, “He hurt us, mostly me, repeatedly, and kept us locked in our house. Evan’s friend happened to be our neighbor, and he got us out by linking us up with Evan, and then Evan brought us here to the inn.”
Their faces are a mix of shock and horror as I continue, “Mellie and Kase aren’t our real names. I’m on the run, and we’re considered missing people.”
“Holy shit,” Allie says, her eyes wide.
“I’m glad you’re here and safe,” Beth says. She’s not as freaked out as I thought she would be, so I am betting Evan has told her some of the story.
“Did Evan ever tell you?”
“Not really. I only knew something had happened, and that he was keeping you safe.”
“Yeah, he’s really the best,” I say with a sad smile.
“He really is. He loves you both so much. We all do, Mellie. No matter where you came from or what happened, you belong here with us now. We’re family.”
Now I’m wiping a tear from my eye and taking a deep breath.
“Hold up. Where’s this asshole now?” Allie says angrily. “He needs to be dealt with.”
“He’s still in Mississippi. He’s a dirty cop who uses and deals drugs on the side.”
