The Keeping (39 page)

Ryne allowed her
to pull away fractionally, the threat hanging in the air between
them. He could hear her heart pounding, her rapid breathing. There
was an aura of hurt and fear and anger around her; it was exactly
as he had planned.

She stared up at
him for a moment, then spat in his face and pulled herself
completely free. He made no move to grab her nor to wipe the
spittle from his cheek.

“You bastard.”

“And don’t you
forget it.” He winked, blew her a kiss, and walked away,
nonchalantly grabbing a socket wrench and started to loosen the
nuts on the next wheel he needed to change. His sensitive hearing
conveyed the story that unfolded behind him. Melody stood watching
him, her breathing ragged. There was a slight hitch to it, as if
she’d like to cry, but wouldn’t allow herself the luxury. Finally,
he heard her spin on her heel and stalk away muttering obscenities
about him under her breath.

Once she was out
of hearing range, he let the tool fall lifelessly to the ground.
The sound of metal hitting cement echoed through the cavernous
space of the garage. It was a cold, lonely sound and reminded him
that he stood alone in the dim and damp space. He ran his hands
through his hair. That had been God awful. Hurting her like that
was the last thing he’d wanted to do, but there was no other way.
She couldn’t be here when the Loberos arrived. And the longer she
stayed, the more attached his wolf got to her.

The beast inside
him had been wily these past few days; first convincing him there
was a logical reason to keep Melody around, then encouraging him to
agree to the interview. Supposedly, he was to have been determining
her motives... In actual fact he’d done only the barest minimum
with regards to investigating. Instead, his wolf had led him into a
crazy relationship with the woman, one that should never have even
started.

He compressed his
lips. It was over and done with now; he’d sent her on her way and
hopefully she wasn’t masochistic enough to return. So far, she’d
given no indication that she knew about werewolves. As long as it
stayed that way, he could let her live. He had a few contacts in
Chicago that he’d use to keep loose tabs on her activities. If it
looked like she was going to head back to Smythston or start
investigating him again, well—his hands clenched into fists—that
would be have to be the end of her.

*****

Mel walked with
quick angry steps down the length of Stump River’s main street. She
wished it was longer because she was quite sure that two blocks
wouldn’t be sufficient for her to have vented her anger or to get a
handle on the sense of betrayal that filled her soul. How dare he
just cancel the interview? How dare he say she was only
‘moderately’ entertaining? And as for spreading her legs! Could he
have been any cruder than that? While they had never really
exchanged tender words, she’d somehow believed there were some
gentler feelings growing between them. Now, after the way he’d just
used her... Blinking rapidly, she pushed back the tears. He wasn’t
worth ruining her mascara over! The man was a jerk, a bastard and
a...a... well, she couldn’t think of anything else at the moment,
but when she did, she’d add it to the list.

She was storming
up the other side of the street now and Ruth’s was right ahead.
Well, she’d better make her call to Aldrich and tell the miserable
man she was heading home. At least she was angry enough that there
was nothing he could say that would upset her any more than she
already was.

Pulling open the
door with more force than necessary, she went to the pay phone and
jabbed at the buttons as she dialled his number. It only rang twice
before he picked up. Giving him no time to talk she launched into
her speech.

“Mr. Aldrich, it’s
Mel Greene. I’m leaving Stump River and I’ll be back in Chicago in
a few days. I’ll contact you then.”

“Can I assume that
your trip has been successful and you’ve met your objective? That
you’ve discovered the necessary information regarding Mr.
Taylor?”

She gave a short,
ironic chuckle. “Oh yeah. I’ve discovered lots about Ryne
Taylor.”

“Good. I’m both
surprised and pleased to hear that. I’ll see you in a few
days.”

She didn’t bother
to correct his assumption that what she’d discovered about Ryne was
relevant to her assignment. “Right. Bye, Mr. Aldrich.” She hung up
and then wondered why she always felt the need to say ‘bye’ when
she didn’t even like the man. Damn her mother for instilling
manners into her subconscious!

Turning abruptly,
she walked right into Lucy. The woman appeared to just be arriving
for her shift.

“Fancy seeing you
here this early, Mel. You’re going to throw my whole day off
schedule.”

“Sorry. My plans
for the day took an unexpected turn and I had to make my phone call
earlier than planned.” Mel wandered over to her usual seat and
plopped down, crossing her arms in front of her.

Lucy automatically
set a cup in front of her and then headed towards the back to hang
up her coat. She called a question over her shoulder. “I’ve been
meaning to ask you, who is it that you call every day? Not that
it’s any of my business, I’m just wondering.”

“It’s this guy
named Aldrich. He’s sort of like my supervisor and I hate calling
him. He’s always super critical and never happy about anything I
tell him.” Mel shouted her response at Lucy’s back.

Ruth poked her
head out of the kitchen at that moment, spied Mel, and started
wringing her hands. “Mel, what are you doing here? You’re never
early! Oh this just messes up everything.” She seemed agitated and
kept peering into the kitchen behind her.

Taken aback, Mel
apologized. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to leave?”

“No, no need to do
that.” Ruth wiped her hands on her apron and took a deep
breath.

“Are you sure,
because I could just...” Mel started to stand and Ruth rushed
forward shaking her head.

“Don’t do that
dear, it’s just...” She paused and then burst into speech. “It’s
just that Al and I planned on surprising you. I went on the
internet and found a bunch of recipes and Al and I’ve been
practising making those fancy coffees you’re always talking about.
We were all set to surprise you today. When you asked for one, I
was going to be ready to hand one over.”

“Oh, Ruth, that’s
so sweet of you.” Mel stood and gave the woman a hug, wincing when
her arm came in contact with Ruth’s boney frame. “Where’s Al, I
want to thank him, too.”

“Oh, he’s out back
arguing with our meat supplier; the hamburger has been too greasy
lately. He’ll be out shortly.”

Mel sat back down,
absentmindedly rubbing her arm.

Lucy returned and
noticed the gesture. “Hey, how’s your arm doing?”

“Still sore.” Mel
extended the limb and was surprised to see that it showed red
around the edges of the bandage.

“That doesn’t look
good. I think you’re developing a bit of an infection.” Ruth shook
her head. “I have some antibiotic cream in the back that will fix
it right up. I’ll just go get it.”

After Ruth had
doctored the wound to her satisfaction, Al appeared and Mel thanked
him for his efforts in learning how to make ‘fancy coffee.’

“Nothing’s too
good for my favourite girl.” He rubbed his chin self-consciously,
but then grinned sheepishly at her. “You liven things up around
here. Ruth and I reckon we’re in a bit of a rut.”

“That’s right.”
Ruth nodded, beaming. “We’re going to try to expand our customers’
horizons and make some special dinners every Saturday and Sunday.
Maybe even fold the napkins all fancy like I see in the restaurants
on my soap operas.”

Al rolled his eyes
at this comment, but said nothing, merely grunting that he had to
return to the kitchen to start work on the lunch menu. Ruth
followed, after insisting that Mel keep the antibiotic cream, just
in case.

Mel watched them
go sadly. “I’m going to miss them.”

“Miss them? Are
you leaving?” Lucy looked up from the silverware she was wrapping
in napkins.

“Yeah, it’s time I
headed back home.”

“But, you’ve not
finished your interview with Ryne, have you?”

“No. He changed
his mind and isn’t granting me one.”

“Why that dirty
bastard.” Lucy glared across the street to where Ryne was backing a
car out of the service bay.

“My sentiments
exactly, but it will be nice to get back home.” Mel tried to sound
positive, but in truth the idea of her dumpy little apartment
surrounded by concrete, pollution and too many people held little
appeal.

“I’d like to go to
Chicago some time. It must be pretty exciting.” Lucy sounded
wistful and on the spur of the moment Mel made an offer.

“Would you like to
come back with me for a visit? You can stay with me and I can show
you the sights.”

Lucy’s whole face
lit up. “Do you mean that?”

“Sure, why not?”
The more Mel thought about the idea, the better it seemed. She
didn’t really want to go back to Chicago, but if Lucy was with her,
it wouldn’t be so bad. “Can you get some time off? Maybe a
week?”

“It shouldn’t be a
problem. I haven’t taken a vacation in years. Let me just go check
with Ruth and Al and then I’ll call Armand. Oh, I’m so excited!”
Lucy hurried out back, grinning ear to ear.

With Lucy gone,
Mel allowed herself a few minutes of doubt and self-pity. She was
really in a pickle now. Once she was home in Chicago, Aldrich would
want to know what she’d found out and when the article might be
ready. He wouldn’t be pleased to learn that there was no article
because Ryne had backed out. And then there was the whole issue of
the cash advance. Last time the subject came up, Aldrich had
basically said that if she didn’t produce, she’d have to return
everything. All expenses would have to come out of her own pocket.
Unfortunately, said pocket had nothing in it.

She caught herself
chewing on her thumbnail, but was too worried to feel guilty about
falling back into old habits. Staring across the street, she
wondered if she dared ask Ryne one more time. Maybe if she begged
and told him that she really needed to earn the money this article
would bring... No. She couldn’t do it. Not only would it be
pointless, but her pride wouldn’t allow her to grovel like that,
not after the way he had treated her.

There had to be
another solution, but what?

Chapter
28

Lucy was ecstatic
about being able to get some time off work and with amazing ease.
Mel obtained another ticket to Chicago, even though it did mean
rebooking for Friday rather than Saturday. It was almost a ten hour
drive to Toronto, but by taking turns behind the wheel, they’d get
there in plenty of time to catch their flight if they left by mid
afternoon.

While Lucy packed,
Mel headed back to the Gazette to say her goodbyes to Beth. She
offered to pay rent for the rest of the week, but Beth had refused,
saying it wasn’t fair for her to pay when she wouldn’t be using the
cabin. Mel didn’t argue the point, since she was in serious doubt
as to her finances. If Greyson started legal proceedings in an
attempt to retrieve the entire advance, she didn’t know how she was
going to survive. Hopefully, she could get her waitressing jobs
back, but all thoughts of finishing her education in the near
future would have to be put on hold. On top of that, the rent on
her apartment was only paid until the end of the month, after which
she’d be searching for friends who had couches she could crash
on.

Mel drove back to
the cabin to do her own packing, spending much of the drive mulling
over various scenarios for her future; none of them were very
appealing. She’d known she was taking a gamble when she accepted
this job, but it had seemed like such a perfect opportunity. After
years of scraping by, she thought her life was finally turning
around. Instead, she was in a worse mess than ever.

A depressed
feeling settled over her as she parked the car in front of the
cabin and climbed out. She stood for a moment looking around,
knowing she’d miss the place. Surprisingly, she had come to enjoy
the peace and solitude the location offered. Far from feeling that
she was in the middle of nowhere, there was a certain sense of
homecoming once she got over the initial culture shock. The sounds
of the birds, watching the trees slowly turn green as spring
deepened, the fresh air... There really wasn’t anything about this
experience that she hadn’t enjoyed—well, except for her encounter
with the wolves and that jerk, Ryne.

Just thinking of
him made her blood boil and she straightened and slammed her car
door shut. The sound echoed through the quiet, and was followed by
the sound of someone calling her name. A quick visual search
located Josh near the rear of the cabin, his hand raised in
greeting. Mel waved back and then watched as he bent over to pick
something up before walking towards her. She waited for him to get
within earshot before calling out.

“Hi, Josh. Beth
said you might be doing some work outside the cabins. I see she was
right.”

“Yep, too nice a
day to be stuck inside so I thought I’d just do a bit of tidying up
and start to get ready for the summer visitors.” He coughed and
looked a bit embarrassed. “Er...I found something under the bushes
back there that you might want to take care of.”

“Really? What
would that be?” Mel couldn’t think of anything outside that would
concern her, but took a step towards where Josh had been
working.

“Oh, you don’t
have to go get it. I have it here.” He finished crossing the
distance between them and handed her a rumpled bundle. It appeared
to be a set of men’s clothing. Hesitantly, Mel accepted the
offering, not sure why Josh thought she needed to ‘take care of
them.’