Betting on Love (2 page)

The girls cheered and giggled as they locked their arms around the bar and each other.

“Okay. Here I go.” In an attempt to keep her dress as clean as possible, she continued to grip the satiny material with her left hand and pushed bar after bar with her right.

The kids squealed with delight, and before Melody had a chance to think through her actions, she hopped onto the merry-go-round with them. The wind felt amazing whipping through her hair, and she bellowed out along with the children. Losing her grip on the bar, she started to slip, and the little guy grabbed hold of her arm. “I got ya,” he said. His face grimaced as he held tight to her arm.

She smiled at the youngster. “Thanks, buddy.” It was nice to see a boy who was so chivalrous. Her experience with the male gender had been that most of them didn’t even begin to have that quality.

As the merry-go-round started to slow down, a figure in the parking lot caught her gaze. Her cheeks warmed when she was able to make out the confused expression on Addy’s brother’s face. Embarrassment welled in her chest at how silly she must appear. A grown woman should never jump and scream on a merry-go-round in a satin bridesmaid dress. And to do so in front of Drew Wilson only made matters worse.
That man knows how to get under my skin like no one I’ve ever known before.

Lifting her chin, Melody determined she would not allow the man to make her feel uncomfortable, inferior, or whatever it was she felt every time she was around him. She hopped up and brushed the dirt and wrinkles from the shiny dress.

“Push us again!” one of the twins squealed.

Melody smiled down at them, noting how much they looked like their grandmother. “I’m afraid I need to help the grown-ups finish packing things into the cars.”

“Ah,” the girls groaned.

The little guy jumped off and lifted his left hand in the air as if to stop traffic. “It’s okay.” He grabbed the bar with his right hand. “I’ll push.”

Melody lifted her hand to high-five the child. “Thanks, buddy.”

If she ever had a son, she would teach him to be as kind to girls as this little one was. She sighed. She loved children, but there was no way she’d ever have a son to raise. She wasn’t willing to date, let alone marry, any man.

The boy smacked her hand then focused back on the merry-go-round. Melody turned back toward Drew. She noted the humor etched on his expression and couldn’t decipher if he was inwardly laughing at her or amused by her. She didn’t particularly want him to be either. The man had been nothing but a half-empty glass and a condescending chauvinist since she arrived in River Run. He’d made it abundantly clear he didn’t believe women could do mechanic work as well as men. Given the chance, she’d have no problem showing him different. She averted her gaze and walked past him.

“Melody.”

She stopped when he said her name. There was no telling what smart-aleck comment he would have to say about her playing on the merry-go-round with the kids. She turned and looked at him, ready to verbally spar in any way necessary.

“Mom’s grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for all of us. She already has everything ready.” He looked away from her, and she wondered why he seemed suddenly uncomfortable. “I’m supposed to tell you to come.”

“I was planning on it.”

“Did he tell you we’re gonna play cornhole, too?” Mike walked up beside Drew and patted his shoulder. “The only person who’s ever beat Drew just left on his honeymoon.”

Her heart filled with excitement, and the thought of beating Drew Wilson at the game sent it to pounding. “I love cornhole. I haven’t played in ages.”

Mike raised one eyebrow. “You any good?”

Teasing, Melody blew on her knuckles then brushed her shoulder. “Back home I was town champion two years in a row.”

Drew grunted and rolled his eyes.

Fire blazed through Melody’s veins at the man’s pompous attitude. She wished she’d known they’d be playing cornhole. She’d have practiced a bit to ensure she whipped up on Drew Wilson. The man desperately needed to be knocked down a few pegs. “Maybe you and I will have a chance to play, Drew.”

He gazed back at her. Challenge lit his eyes. “I’m sure we will.”

Melody couldn’t help but watch Drew as he glowered in the far corner of his family living room. Pride puffed up her chest and filled her gut. So much so, she couldn’t even finish the hot dog she’d started eating.

Gracie sat beside Melody. Her plate was filled with a loaded grilled hamburger; potato salad made by Drew’s mom, Amanda; and her aunt Renee’s coleslaw. The food was delicious, and Melody wished she had room in her stomach to finish off her plate.

“Where’s that big boy of yours?” Melody asked.

Gracie pointed her fork toward Wyatt, who was making his way to Drew and Mike. “His dad’s letting me eat first.”

“I would have held him while you ate.”

“You need to eat, too.” She took a bite of potato salad then wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Besides, Drew probably needs cheering up after you whipped him twice at cornhole.”

Indescribable satisfaction swelled within her. “That man needed to be knocked down a few notches. He’s entirely too cocky.”

Gracie laughed and swatted her hand. “Aw, Drew’s a great guy. He just always wins at everything. After a while, you can’t blame the guy for simply expecting it.”

Melody remembered the mixed expression of shock and horror on Drew’s face when she sank the corn kernel–filled beanbag into the hole for her first win. “Then I’m glad I could help him get a taste of losing.”

Gracie lifted her fork in the air and shook it back and forth. “Be careful, Melody. You know what the Bible says—pride comes before a fall.”

Melody tried not to roll her eyes. She didn’t know what the Bible said, and she really didn’t care, either. It had been abundantly clear in the months she’d spent living with her aunt and uncle that they were Holy Rollers. Evidently, years before, when her mom and dad were still married, before her dad skipped out on them, her mom had been religious as well. But Melody had very few remembrances of church or the Bible or God. Her mom worked too hard and too many hours to worry about spending time with Melody, let alone fret about going to church. Her mom had given up on God and everything else when her dad left, so He must not be that great.

Melody pointed toward Drew. “You saw how the overgrown boy acted. He practically stomped off after I beat him the second time. He hasn’t even so much as looked at me since. No ‘good game,’ ‘congratulations,’ or anything.”

Gracie pushed a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. Melody felt a niggling of jealousy at Gracie’s beautiful light hair, eyes, and complexion. Everything about the woman was feminine and dainty. Though she was on the short side and she had a small frame, Melody felt like a dark-haired, dark-eyed workhorse beside her new friend. “He has definitely been acting strange the last few months. Probably because his little sister just married one of his best friends.”

“Or maybe he’s just a male chauvinist pig.”

Gracie frowned. “You have Drew pegged wrong. He’s a good Christian man.” She took a drink of her sweet tea. “By the way, are you planning to come to church tomorrow?”

Melody wrinkled her nose. Church seemed to be all everyone in this town ever talked about. She’d agreed to go a few times with her aunt and uncle, but she didn’t really care much for it. All the preacher ever talked about was having a personal relationship with the Lord. Well, she’d done just fine without that personal relationship for twenty-four years. Why would she all of a sudden have to have it now? “I don’t know.”

“Afterward, you could come over for lunch then take a look at our car.”

Melody squinted. “I thought Christians were supposed to rest on Sunday.”

Gracie leaned toward her. “Will I be able to convince you to come to church if I promise you can look at my car?”

Melody grinned at Gracie’s sneaky motives. “Possibly.”

Gracie smacked her leg. “Then by all means, after church you can come look at my car.”

Melody shook her head. Since she’d moved to River Run, she’d been working as much as she could to build up her name as a trustworthy mechanic in the area, and Gracie knew she’d like to have the good word of the owner of the town’s hardware store. “Fine. I’ll be there.”

Drew grabbed the supplies for the house he was going to build then walked up to the counter of the hardware store. In just a few more days he’d have the ground leveled; then he and his friends could start working on the foundation. Having bought the land from his dad several years before, Drew had finally saved enough money to build a modest home.

After fixing up the cabin Nick had built on his land, Drew had no doubt he and his friends had the know-how to build a small home. Unlike Nick, Drew wasn’t in a rush. They could work on it a bit at a time until it was done. He’d have his own place and no debt. He could use his money as God guided instead of forking it all over to a bank.

“This all you need?” Wyatt scanned the first item.

Drew nodded. “For now anyway.”

Wyatt picked up the spark plug and furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s this for?”

“The dump truck. I’m pretty sure that’s all that’s wrong with her.”

“Is it broken or just not running well?”

“Won’t start up like it should.”

“Are you sure it’s just a spark plug? Melody came over to the house yesterday after church, and she fixed Gracie’s car in no time flat. I was sure it was—”

Drew lifted his hand as he peered at his friend. “I believe I know a bit more about vehicles than you.”

Wyatt raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, don’t be so defensive, man. I wasn’t insulting your abilities. I was just saying Melody really seems to know what she’s talking about—”

Drew clenched his hand then pounded the counter with the side of his fist. “And you don’t think I do?”

“What is the matter with you, Drew? Why does she get on your nerves so bad?”

Drew thought of Melody in the long silver dress she wore as Addy’s bridesmaid. She’d looked amazing with the sides of her thick, dark hair tied in a knot at the back of her head and the rest of it flowing in long curls down her back. Her dark eyes held such depth and mystery. When she walked down the aisle, for a moment, Drew nearly lost his breath.

Then he’d watched her play with the kids on the merry-go-round. Her expression and body language had been of complete freedom and bliss. Her laughter rang through the breeze with the children’s, and he’d found himself again drawn to her as he’d never been drawn to a woman before.

Then she’d challenged him to cornhole. The Melody he’d seen when she first arrived in River Run exposed herself. Melody couldn’t simply have fun with the game. She had to win. She had to gloat. Sure, the gloating had only come from her expression, not her lips. Still, Drew had noted it all the same.

She was the same way when it came to mechanics. She had to prove to everyone that she was the best, that they should trust their transportation to her and no one else. And after years of looking after the vehicles of his family and friends, he took offense to her waltzing into River Run and stomping all over his toes.

Drew finally looked at Wyatt. “The woman thinks she knows everything.”

“You mean about vehicles?”

Drew nodded his head. “That’s one thing she thinks she knows it all about.”

Wyatt leaned forward against the counter. “She
is
a nationally certified diesel mechanic.”

Drew rolled his eyes. “Who cares?”

“And she’s good.”

“A lot of people are good. I’m good.”

Wyatt lifted one eyebrow. “Are you jealous of a
girl
, Drew Wilson?”

Drew folded his arms across his chest and growled. “Do I need to whip some sense into you? It’s been a few years since I’ve done it, but you know I can. Of course I’m not jealous of her. It’s her cocky attitude that gets on my nerves.”

“She did beat you at cornhole.” Wyatt’s mouth curved upward just a tad on the left side, and Drew felt a real urge to punch his friend in the face. Wyatt lifted two fingers in the air. “Twice.”

Anger boiled within Drew, and he pointed his finger at Wyatt. “Now, look here…”

Wyatt backed away from the counter. “Actually, you two are a whole lot alike. You’re both so stinkin’ competitive. Have to be the best at everything. But you’re a Christian, and she’s not.”

Drew’s fury started to simmer. He knew Melody wasn’t a Christian. Addy had prayed for her every night at the dinner table before she and Nick got married.

Wyatt continued. “Gracie prays for her constantly. She really likes Melody, but the woman’s got some kind of wall all built up around her. She doesn’t want to let anyone in. Not even Gracie, and you know how easy it is for people to open up to Gracie.”

Drew blew out a long breath. “Addy feels the same way. Nick said Melody was raised by her mom, just the two of them. I guess her mom had to work a lot of hours. Nick said he thought things were kind of hard for Melody.”

Anger washed across Wyatt’s face as he handed the receipt to Drew. “As long as I have breath in this body, I’ll do everything I can to take care of Gracie and our son. I’d never leave her to fend for herself. I don’t understand a man who could do that.”