Page 6 of Forbidden Secrets
It was hard being the new kid.Melanie could only hope the first graders weren’t cliquish and would accept Addy for the terrific kid she was.For her first day, Melanie had wanted to drive her to school, but Addy’d been excited to ride the bus and then delighted when Pancake had joined them on their walk up the lane.
The kids from the house at the top of the road had been at the bus stop.The little girl was Olivia and her brother, Jordy.“He’s nine and I’m six,” Olivia told Addy.
Melanie’d been as thrilled as Addy when they’d learned Olivia was also in Mrs.Delgado’s class.
The bus pulled away and Melanie waved while Pancake let out an unhappy howl.She dropped her hand on the dog’s head.“You and me both, friend.”
Melanie trudged up the driveway and around to the back patio.She paused to soak up the moment.She’d done it.She had a place where Addy could have the childhood she deserved.A place where her daughter could run wild and do kid things.
There was a barn with a run-down chicken coop.No chickens now, and to avoid being asked about them twenty times a day, she was waiting to tell Addy, but they’d get chicks once the weather warmed in the spring.Which would give her the time to work on repairs.
Then there was the fenced garden.She had so many plans for that.Add in the creek and the big oak tree in the yard with the tire swing, and there was so much for her little girl to explore and do.
Sure, they were a bit out of town and cell coverage was iffy and the house needed work.Lots of work.Runs to the grocery store would take longer.Addy would be taking the bus to school.But Melanie was determined this place would be good for them and worth every penny she’d scrimped and saved for years to afford.
In the house with a cup of tea, she considered the pile of carefully labeled boxes stacked in a corner of the living room.As much as she wanted to unpack, she resisted the temptation.Answering emails and fulfilling her social media obligations were the priority.Those chores were aspects of being a writer she didn’t hate but didn’t exactly love either.
At ten o’clock Melanie closed the lid to her laptop, tipping her head to stretch her neck.Posts were scheduled for the week, she’d responded to messages from readers, and sent an email to her editor.A half hour later, showered and with jeans replacing joggers for a trip to town, she was ready to go.Post office, hardware store, bank, then grocery store.If she could complete all her errands and be back by lunchtime, she’d have a couple hours to work on her manuscript before the bus brought Addy home.Maybe there’d be time to tackle unpacking a couple boxes before dinner.
She drove her smallish SUV along the winding road that connected Bluebell Lane to the town of Sisters and wondered again if she’d made the right choice in returning to her hometown.She’d been seventeen when she left Sisters.She and her mom had moved to Portland after her world had imploded.
She’d worked with her therapist to process and manage the memories—the hood thrown over her head, the sexual assault—but that didn’t mean they didn’t sometimes show up like a movie reel playing on repeat in her head.
Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend” blared from her phone, a welcome break from her tortured thoughts.Esmeralda Padilla was her go-to for getting out of her head.
Melanie tapped the accept button on her steering wheel.“Hey, friend.”
“Mel, guess what?I have adate.A real date that’s not a sympathy date.”
Melanie smiled as her friend’s voice filled the car.“A non-sympathy date is awesome.”Sweet and kind and radiating girl-next-door charm, Esme never had trouble attracting attention.The problem was her inability to say no.She hated hurting anyone’s feelings, which had led to too many dates completely lacking in sparkage.
“That’s the best part.It was totally organic,” Esme gushed.“Isla and I were at the park and he was there with his daughter.His name is Andres and he’s a single dad.He works from home doing tech work.We met up at the park a few more times and yesterday he asked me out.We still have to work out what day, but I’m excited.”
“I can tell you like him.”
“I do.But I’m shutting up about him until I give you the post-date analysis because I don’t want to jinx it.”Esme took a breath.“Tell me all about you and my Addy and how you’re surviving up in the mountains.”
She made it sound like moving to Sisters meant leaving civilization behind.
“Sisters is not the wilderness, Esme, as you’ll see when you visit.”
“You don’t exactly live in town, right?So it’s really the wilderness.”
“Not in town, but I’m not out in the middle of the woods, either.Promise.”
“Have you seen a bear?Remember that reel I shared with you?That bear got into someone’s car and made a stinking mess.I read up on it and bears break into cars because they’re looking for food.Make sure you don’t leave snacks in the car.”
“Got it, no snacks.There’s really nothing to worry about.”Esme was convinced living in the mountains was a constant battle of human versus nature.She regularly forwarded Mel videos of wild animals doing all sorts of crazy things, usually because the people involved were being stupid.
“We’re settling in.Mom and Paul have helped a lot.Our closest neighbor has a goofy golden retriever who visits.Addy adores her.”Melanie shared Pancake’s antics with the penguin and had Esme giggling over the phone.“And all that was after Addy had let her in the house and she wolfed down a croissant.”
“I want to meet this dog.What are her owners like?”
For having only spoken to Gage on two occasions, he’d certainly taken up a lot of space in her head the past couple days.
“As far as I know, only one owner.Male.I’d guess the younger side of mid-thirties.Addy asked him straight out if he was married.He’s not.
“Hmm.Single man with a dog.What’s he like?”Esme had a sparkly-hearts-and-rainbows romantic streak and Melanie already knew where this was heading.
