Make Me Melt (2 page)

After an eleven-month
tour of duty, his unit had been called back to the States seven weeks early.
The downside was that they would most likely be returning to the sandbox sooner
rather than later. 

With his pack
hunkered back over his shoulder, his trudged his way through the snow until he
reached the main road. His family home – the only one he’d ever known – sat on
the far edge of town. It was closest to the Rocky Mountain range, which sat
just east of their small town, and their back yard had the best view for some
of the early morning sunrises that swept over the mountain tops. 

As he walked along
the main road he saw the Barnett homestead in the distance. Smoke poured out
from the top of the chimney into the white winter sky. The image brought a
small smile to his face as he recalled many winter afternoons similar to these.
He and his brother would come home after spending most of their day building
snow forts until they were nearly frozen. No matter how cold they were, their
mother always made them a cup of hot cocoa, steaming hot and loaded with mini
marshmallows. 

Oh, these hometown
winters. Temperature wise they weren’t much different from the ones he
experienced in The Stan, but there was something about a Colorado winter that
seemed more beautiful than the average snow blanketed place. The mountains,
their trees, even their wildlife all somehow managed to adapt to the harsh
winters found on the western slope. 

As he reached the
street sign that announced he was entering Dove Creek, Colorado – population
876, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of nostalgia for the town he was always
in a hurry to get out of in his younger days. Now that he was older at thirty
one, he appreciated his upbringing. He might not have had a lot—in fact, some
years his family scraped by. They had each other, though. That was more than
most people did. He’d just been too young and stupid to realize it back then.

Once he reached the
front yard of his childhood home, he stopped for a moment and took in the modest
two story building. The paint appeared to be flaking off in certain areas, an
obvious side effect of the unforgiving Colorado climate. The evergreen tree
that he’d helped his brother plant when he was in grade school now stood mature
and full on the side of the garage. 

His old basketball
hoop still hung above the garage, but the net was frayed, with more of it gone
than what remained. One of the black painted shutters, which decorated either
side of their windows, was missing from the living room.

The home itself
looked cozy, even though it was apparent to even the most casual observer that
the place had not been kept up since his father passed
 
away several years earlier.

Four years had passed
since his father died. Being the strong and dependable type who fought hard
against his cancer, he always thought he’d live forever. Having Jack Barnett as
a father had helped mold Michael into the man he’d become.  

He walked through the
fresh snow of the front sidewalk and took the three steps up to the porch. He
knocked once, waited and then rang the bell. 

The sweetest woman voice
he’d ever known shouted to him from the other side of the door. “Just a
minute.” 

He took his pack off
of his back and set it down on the stoop just as his mother opened the
door. 

Wiping her hands with
a towel she began greeting her visitor. “Sorry about that. I’ve been bak—”She
stopped in mid-sentence, opened the glass storm door and continued, “Michael?
Oh my god!”

“Hi, Mom,” he said. She
hugged him tightly and nearly squeezed the air right out of him. “I missed you
too, Mom.” 

Pulling away, she
held her youngest son’s face in her hands. “Michael. I can’t believe you’re here.
Why are you here?” 

“Surprise.” 

“Well, what a
surprise indeed. You are a stinker, Michael Jack Barnett. Why didn’t you tell
your mother you were coming to town? I would have picked you up at the
airport.”

“That would have
ruined the surprise.” He smiled and kissed his mother on the cheek. 

“Now come inside and
get out of the cold.”

He stepped inside and
stomped the snow off his boots. Then he removed his jacket and walked toward
the fireplace. The living room looked the same as it had the last time he’d
seen it. The same family photograph taken eons ago hung above the mantle. The
shelves on either side of the stone fireplace wall were littered with family
photos both old and very old. 

“You have some
explaining to do, young man.” His mother told him. “Sit down and relax.”

He sat on the couch
next to his mother. She took his hands in hers and squeezed them. For being so
small they were as strong and warm as he remembered. Even though her once fair
skin no longer looked as smooth as it once did, she still was the most
beautiful woman he had ever known. 

“So, how long have
you been planning this little surprise?”

“About two weeks. We
found out we were heading out early. I could have called, but you’ve been
bugging me to come home for Christmas so I figured I’d surprise you. Flew into
Denver last night and chartered a small plane this morning.”

“One heck of a
surprise it was, too. I’d be mad at you if I wasn’t so happy. You always were
the most mischievous of my boys.”

“Hard to live up to
the saint, Jack Jr. Speaking of Mister Perfect, where’s he at? I assume he’s
making it here for the holidays as well?” 

“Oh, you know your
brother: he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to eat some of my Christmas fixings.
He should be here tomorrow.”

“Perfect, I have a
whole night to consider how I’d like to torment him.” 

“Oh, you stop. You be
nice. He’s bringing a girl home with him this year.”

“A girl, huh? Sounds
serious, Ma. Have you approved this one? I know how you are about your boys,” he
teased, knowing full well his mother only wanted the both of them happy and
popping out grandbabies for her to spoil. 

“Oh, you stop. Her
name is Kaylee and they’ve been dating for about six months now. He really
seems to like her. So you behave.”

“Ma? Me? I’m an
angel. You know that.” 

She gave her son an
amused look. “Mmm hmm. Sure you are. Now, do you want some hot cocoa? That must
have been a cold walk from the airport. Hang on, wait right here. I can make
some up real quick.” 

He grinned at his
mom. At four feet eleven inches tall she was a little fireball of energy and a
force to be reckoned with if anyone ever made her mad. But to him she was just Mom. 

“That sounds great,
Mom. Thanks.” 

Chapter Three

Vicky sat across the
table from her mom while they ate a quiet dinner. She wasn’t sure why, but she
felt so awkward being back home. Her mother had been nothing but welcoming to
her since she’d arrived earlier that afternoon. Still, she couldn’t erase the
feeling of being the odd man out on a dinner date.

“Is your soup not
okay?” Connie Browning asked her daughter. 

“Huh? Oh, no. It’s
fine, Mom. Sorry. I must be tired from traveling.” 

Connie set her spoon
down and wiped her mouth with a napkin before returning it to her lap.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?” 

“Yes, Mom.” 

“I know you keep saying
that. But, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re not doing as well as you’d
like me to think you are.”

She cringed. The last
thing she wanted to do was have this conversation for the umpteenth time. It
was obvious that her mom was worried about her. It was all she talked about
every time they spoke. The topic had long since gotten old. 

“Mom, please not
tonight, okay?”

“Honey, if not
tonight then when? It’s not good for you to hold all of this in? I know you’re
hurting over the divorce. But—”

“That’s just it, Mom.
I’m not hurting over the divorce. At all. I know you think I am. I know you
think I should be. But I am not. And you constantly worrying and asking me
twenty questions only makes me dread talking to you.”

Connie sat there,
staring at her daughter with her mouth hung open, apparently in shock from her
daughter’s snappy retort. 

She sighed. “Look,
Mom. I’m sorry, but I’m sick to death of talking about the divorce. Our
marriage was over long before the divorce became final. I’ve moved on. Why
can’t you let me move on?” 

Reaching across the
table, Connie covered her daughter’s hand with her own. “Sweetie, I know you’ve
always been strong. But I’ve been through a divorce. I know how devastating it
can be.”

And there it is. 

This conversation was
the exact one that she had been dreading since the moment she agreed to come
home to Dove Creek for Christmas. 

It was no secret that
Vicky’s father ran out on them when she was only a baby. Supposedly he had been
a spoiled rich kid from Winter Park, a popular ski and resort town on the
eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. 

The rumor said that
he had spent a summer in Dove Creek working off some community service hours
after unintentionally setting a forest fire. The damage hadn’t been great and
no buildings were destroyed in the blaze, but the presiding judge had wanted to
send a strong message to anyone who thought they could behave so carelessly.
So, after a summer of working on updating the town’s water treatment facility,
the handsome stranger swept Connie Browning off her feet with grand gestures of
romance and promises of a better life. 

All that had changed
once Connie got pregnant and his community service hours were completed. He
soon left town without a word to her mother and it wasn’t until later that a
representative of the family came to pay Connie a visit. His family had offered
Connie a generous nest egg to help raise her unborn child. 

While her mom never
spoke of it directly with her, Vicky had heard from the gossiping gals in town
that life hadn’t been easy on her mother. She’d given birth to her unwed and
shortly thereafter began dating one of the much less desirables that lived on
the outskirts of Delores County. He’d been a heavy drinker and spent his spare
time either skirting around on her mom or beating her up. Both physically and
mentally Connie Browning had been beaten down by two men before she reached the
age of twenty one years old. Being forced to grow up too fast had jaded her to
both men and life. And ever since she’d distanced herself from getting too
close to anyone. 

Throughout the years
growing up in Dove Creek everyone knew and understood Connie’s overprotective
nature with her daughter. Whether it was pity or empathy, they understood why
she behaved like a hawk protecting her young. Vicky understood it as well. The
problem seemed to be that Connie didn’t realize that her daughter wasn’t a
little girl anymore. 

“Mom, can we not get
into this right now. Please? Come on, it’s Christmas. At least it will be in
three days. Can’t we just enjoy the holiday without all of this other stuff?”

“Honey, it’s
important we get it out. You can’t hold things in like that. I know from which
I speak.”

“I know you do, Mom.
And I love you for worrying about me so. But I keep telling you that I’m fine and
you don’t believe me. I don’t know what else you want to hear.”

“I want to hear how
you feel. I want you to know that I’m here for you. I love you, baby.” 

“Mom.” She took a
calming breath. “I know that you do. And I love you, too. You’ve been the best
mom I ever could have asked for. But I really am okay. My marriage didn’t work.
Maybe I should be sad. Maybe I should even be mad. I don’t know. I’m not,
though. If that makes me strange then so be it, but I can’t pretend to be
something that I’m not.”

“Okay.” Connie held
up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, I’m just trying to help.” 

“I know. But in the
process you’re driving me crazy. I love you. But I am okay. I actually am
better than okay. I don’t think I was truly happy with Brian. And obviously he
wasn’t happy with me either.” 

“He should have never
cheated on you. He took a vow.” 

“So what if he did?
If I can move on and get over it, you have to let me,” she pleaded. 

Connie dropped her
head down, looking at the floor while she shook it from side to side before
lifting it back up to face her daughter. “You’re right. Gee….” She wiped at
tears that began spilling from her eyes. “You’re absolutely right. I’ve been so
worried about you that I stopped listening to you. I’m sorry, baby.” 

“It’s okay, Mom.” 

“No, it isn’t. I mean
look at us. You’re finally home for Christmas for the first time in over a
decade and I am doing nothing but dwelling on things that I should let you
leave in the past.”

“Really, it’s
okay.” 

Smiling, Connie
tilted her head to one side. “When did my little baby become so grown up?”

“A long time ago,
Mom. You just never noticed because you were always trying to put bricks on my
head to keep me from growing up.”