Defying the Odds (21 page)

She laughed. “I know, sounds weird, but it does work. I used to bathe in the stuff so much I spent four years walking round smelling like a sweets bakery. I tested it for
ya
—many times.”

He felt his heart drop when he realized
why
Melody used to douse herself in a home remedy for bruises. There was a man out there who’d hit this beautiful woman enough times that she flinched when someone grabbed her arm or came at her too fast.

How inhuman did this Justin have to be that he could willingly hurt someone as open, sweet, and genuinely kind as Melody? Clay bruised people for a living, and he couldn’t possibly fathom how anyone could raise a fist and hurt
her
. It literally boggled his mind, but it was suddenly very real to him in a way it hadn’t been before, and he stood there physically aching over her past. He wished he had a way to erase it, but he didn’t.

“What’s wrong?” Melody
frowned,
making it obvious she sensed the change in him. “Do you have a headache? I know headaches like that get worse when you stand up.”

He nodded mutely, not wanting to do anything that damaged the blanket of coziness that had fallen over them since the fight. He knew it was a gift that Melody felt comfortable enough around him to openly talk about the darker sides of her past, and he wanted to keep it like that. He’d be damned if he gave her a reason to censor herself just because he couldn’t stand the thought of her suffering.

“You want one of those pills the doctor gave
ya
?”

Clay shook his head, still fighting the horrible realization that someone used to hurt Melody. Maybe it was really falling in love with her that brought it home. Maybe it was
needing
her like air or admiring her for being everything he wasn’t. Whatever it was, he had to swallow past the lump in his throat before he could speak. “I don’t like those pills.”

“But the doctor—”

Still fighting with the rush of emotion, Clay blurted out, “My mama used to crush up pills like that and inject ’
em
into her veins at the coffee table. I don’t like ’
em
.”

“Oh.” Melody gaped for one long moment before she recovered and turned to look into the main area of the suite. “I think I saw something else on the counter out there.”

“I know I got ibuprofen somewhere.”

“Then I’ll get that for you,” Melody said with a soft smile. “You
wanna
start the bath?”

“That’s a good plan,” Clay agreed, still feeling dazed.

Clay did as told and headed to the other bathroom to start the bath. He stood there holding his hand under the big, curved gold faucet as he tried to pull himself together. He wanted to shake it all off and pretend nothing bad had ever happened to Melody, but couldn’t. When Melody came into the bathroom, holding out a bottle of water triumphantly, he had to force a smile.

“Ibuprofen.”
She opened her hand and showed off two white pills. “To cure what ails
ya
.”

He took the pills from her. “Thank you.”

“It was easy enough.” Melody crawled into the big tub without preamble, looking excited. “Would you believe I
ain’t
never
been in a Jacuzzi? I certainly never took a bath in one.”

Clay swallowed the pills. Then his smile turned genuine as he watched Melody sink into the tub with a low groan of pleasure. Her hair floated in the steaming water, looking like spun silk dancing around her.

“Dang, this thing is deep. I hope I don’t drown.” Melody gave him a teasing smirk as she took off her glasses and set them on the edge of the tub. “I don’t swim.”

“I swim,” Clay said warmly, staring down at her as she stretched out in the tub. He admired her beautiful body beneath the ripples of water and battled once again with the rush of unaccustomed emotion. He hadn’t thought it was possible to care for someone as deeply as he did for Melody, and the vulnerability terrified him. He’d do anything to protect her. “I won’t let
ya
drown.”

“Where’d you learn how to swim?” she asked as Clay climbed into the tub.

Melody scooted forward, letting him settle in behind her. Then she leaned back against his chest and put her feet up on the rim of the tub. She heaved a contented sigh and turned her head on his chest. It was obvious she was still sleepy and not as inclined to wake up early like he was.

“
Ain’t
you ever looked around the Cellar?” Clay asked curiously. “It’s got an indoor pool.”

“Yeah?” she asked in a heavy voice. “I never noticed it. That’s odd.”

“It used to be a rec center. We got swimming lessons all year long and a Jacuzzi.”

“That’s a pretty fancy place to own.” Melody reached behind her, grabbing one of his hands and pulling it around her until it was resting over the soft plane of her stomach. “How’d you buy it?”

“They were
gonna
close it down, and that place was a haven for us when
were
growing up. We couldn’t just let it rot to the ground. Wyatt, Jules, and me went in together and bought it. It was looking rough by then and cost more to remodel than to buy it. We renamed it because it was a brand-new place when we were done.”

“Dang, you three must be loaded if you’re fixing up big rec centers with pools and Jacuzzis.”

“We do all right,” Clay confirmed. “But the Cellar doesn’t make us much. We were happy when it started to break even every month. Now we make a little profit, but it’s really a labor of love.”

“I think that’s nice. I’m sure Garnet appreciates you for it.” Melody sighed, sounding more asleep than awake.

Clay let her lie against him in silence. The tub was huge, but with both of them taking up space, it filled up fast. He had to shake Melody when it reached the point that the water needed to be turned off. The way she jerked from his gentle nudge made it obvious she’d fallen asleep. She stretched out her legs, struggling to turn off the faucet with her feet in a way that was comical enough to make Clay laugh out loud.

Melody finally gave up, laughing with him as she leaned forward and turned off the faucet by hand.

She fell back against him with a huff. “Darn faucet. I
ain’t
never
seen a tub I couldn’t turn off with my feet.”

“Is this a specialized skill you’ve developed?” Clay
asked,
the mirth still heavy in his voice because he’d never once attempted to manipulate a faucet with his feet.

“Yes, it is,” Melody said with another laugh. “I love baths, and I’ve become an expert at taking them. I used to have a big garden tub in Ohio, and it was the only highlight of being married to Justin. That tub was my escape. It didn’t have jets, though. How’d
ya
turn them on?”

Clay turned around, searching for a button to turn on the jets rather than focus on the sinking feeling in his chest that blossomed once more. He found the button and pushed it, making the big bathtub burst to life.

Melody actually squealed in excitement as she placed her feet over the jets at the front of the tub. “If I was sad ’bout not having a tub at my little place back home, I’m real broken over it now. I could get used to this.”

Hot tubs reminded Clay of sports medicine, and he wasn’t overly thrilled with them. Being in one usually meant he was hurting pretty damn badly, but he was excited for Melody. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying the experience, and he had to admit lying in the bubbling hot water with her snuggled naked against him could easily change his mind about them.

He tried to focus on those things, the good things, rather than the tightness in his chest, but it wasn’t working. Clay couldn’t seem to stop himself from dragging it out in the open, because he didn’t want any walls up between them.

“Mel.” He finally sighed in defeat. “Will you tell me ’bout Justin?”

Melody turned around, looking surprised rather than affronted. “What’d you
wanna
know?”

Clay shrugged, feeling shy. “I
dunno
, just anything—everything. Does that make me an asshole?”

Melody considered him, her green eyes, so stark when they weren’t hidden behind her glasses, seeming distant. “No, you’re not an asshole. It’s just
not,
you know…a nice story.”

He wrapped both arms back around her and held tight because he knew her past was haunted and he felt guilty for asking. When he was uncomfortable, he tended to get silent. This time he found himself actually wishing for Wyatt’s gift of gab because he couldn’t think of anything to say to make things better as Melody turned around and settled against his chest once more.

“My daddy got sick,” Melody finally whispered over the hum of the jets. “And it was terrible ’cause he was so big and so strong and he took care of us. I wish you could’ve met him, Clay, ’cause he was a real good man. He never said much, but his heart was golden. He’d give someone the shirt off his back if they needed it.”

Clay smiled. “
Sorta
like someone else I know.”

“Justin was smarter than me. He knew all the right papers to fill out. He helped get my daddy taken care of and made sure he didn’t waste away in some run-down home. Justin helped make his last days as good as they could be. I appreciated him for it, but that was a dumb reason to marry a man I knew I didn’t love.”

“You never loved him?” Clay asked, his voice catching because saying it was harder than he anticipated. “Not once?”

“I liked him, but I never felt that spark like I feel with y—” Melody paused, her body tensing for one moment before she sighed. “No, it never felt right, but everyone kept telling me it
was
right. My mama loved him to death. She still does. She thought he’d give me all the things my daddy never could. She’s one of those who always
wants
more than what she’s got, and she thinks all that matters in life is how much stuff you have. I guess I heard her tell me enough times that he was the right one and eventually I started believing it. I wasn’t old enough to listen to my gut. I learned that lesson.”

“I learned a few of
those
myself,” Clay had to reluctantly agree. “I think we all do.”

“It wasn’t that bad at first. It was never a fairy tale, but it wasn’t terrible. Then we moved away and he changed. It just
sorta
started to build up once we got to Ohio, and I never noticed how really bad it was until it was too late.” Melody reached down and squeezed his hand in the water as if searching for strength. “It started off with yelling after a bad day at work, insulting me, calling me fat, lazy—”

“You’re not fat.” Clay tensed in insult. “And no one can call you lazy.”

“Someone can,” Melody said with a bitter laugh. “Someone
did
.”

“You’re gorgeous, Mel,” he reiterated because hearing Justin had the gall to call her fat had Clay wanting to pulverize him. Vulnerable or not, he couldn’t help but admit, “Sometimes I look at you and think my heart’s just
gonna
burst with how beautiful you are.”

Melody turned around, giving him a surprised smile. Clay reached out to push a wet strand of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. The pause had Melody taking a long, shuddering breath. She fell back against his chest and started talking again as if his simple compliment gave her the strength to finish.

“He started hitting me, but he’d say sorry later. I believed him ’cause I really didn’t think he wanted to hurt me. I thought it was work and stress and money because he’s like my mama—always wanting more.” Melody shook her head, sounding raw at the memory. “I made all sorts of excuses, and eventually I just got used to it.
The hitting.
The insults.
The forced sex.
I’m not proud of it, Clay. I hate that I let myself be a victim. I wish I was like Jules—”

“Jules
ain’t
perfect,” Clay reminded her. “None of us are.”

“I felt trapped. I had no of money of my own. No car. No friends. He controlled everything, and my mama never believed me when I told her how cruel he could be. When I finally started hinting at the physical stuff, she called up Jason at work and he convinced her I had some sort of mental imbalance. She still believes that. I haven’t talked to her in over a year.”

“If she’s thinking that, then not talking to her
ain’t
really a loss,” Clay said bitterly, feeling a hatred for Melody’s mama bloom inside his chest to rest next to the hatred he carried for his own mother. “She gave birth to you, and she should’ve believed you.”