Elusive Echoes (9 page)

And now he was here. Caring. Strong. And
because she felt herself not only leaning against him, but leaning
toward letting him take care of her through this latest crisis and
maybe the rest of her life, Mel recoiled. She had to get her life
in order before she could entertain any idea of happily ever after.
She straightened and turned back to the newspaper. She folded it
quickly but before she could cram it under the bar, Sean stilled
her hands.

"What's this?" He unfolded the newspaper and
tapped a finger on one of the red circles she'd drawn.

"It's nothing. I'm looking for another car.
It's going to be cheaper than fixing my old one." She reached for
the paper but he held it out of her reach, reading it.

"In the barely-running, never-safe section
of the classifieds?" Sean shook out the paper. "This one's as old
as I am and has over three hundred thousand miles."

"But its transmission's been replaced."

"Replaced with what, a couple of squirrels
instead of just one?"

"And it's only five hundred dollars."

He grunted. "It's not worth
five hundred cents." He went back to reading. "Okay, this one's a
little newer. Runs but needs engine work.
Some
front end damage. The guy
probably hit a tree and screwed up the engine."

"It's only six hundred." The heat of
embarrassment was beginning to creep in and Mel felt uncomfortable.
She didn't want him poking through her finances.

Shaking his head, Sean turned the paper over
and read the next car she'd marked. "No, Mel. Just—no. Why are you
looking at piece-of-crap cars? Are you on a tight budget?"

"Technically, yes." She tried to snatch the
paper again but he only held it higher. "I'm partner in this place
now."

"You get a partner's salary, don't you?" He
frowned. "Sandy would have made sure of that."

"It's not as much as I was making
hourly."

Confusion clouded Sean's stare. "How can
that be? I know Sandy. She plays fair. She wouldn't make you
partner and cut your cash flow."

Mel sighed. "She didn't exactly. She
wouldn't take anything from me for the partnership. Just made me
partner, signed half the bar over to me for nothing. When payday
comes, I sign half of my check back into the business as payment
for my half of the bar." And oh, she really hated making that
admission with all the questions that was going to raise.

Sean stared at her, his frown deepening.
"Are those the terms Sandy wanted?"

Mel quickly shook her head. "She doesn't
know about it. I've been doing the books."

Sean tossed the newspaper onto the bar and
grabbed Mel on the shoulders. He gave her a little shake. "Are you
screwing with the books?"

"No!" When he only raised an eyebrow. "Okay,
it's all there, documented as my monthly payment for the
partnership. I'm not screwing with the books, and I'm not taking
money that isn't mine."

"No, you're only giving
Sandy money she doesn't need, didn't ask for, and she's going to be
mad as
heck
when
she goes over those books and finds it."

Panic rose in Mel's throat. She grabbed his
hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Sean, please. Don't go to
Sandy."

His eyes narrowed. His voice chilled. "Tell
me why I shouldn't."

"I can't accept this partnership for free,
Sean. I can't." She heard the desperation in her own voice but
couldn't stop it.

"It's not free, Mel." His tone had softened,
but his frown remained. "Ryan told me she set it up like a
profit-sharing deal."

Mel stepped back and pressed the heels of
her hands to her temples in an attempt to still the throbbing.
"It's still too easy. I can't get things handed to me like that. I
can't explain, but I need to earn my way."

****

Sean rocked back on his heels. He actually
understood that. It was exactly how he felt about his share of the
ranch, and was the same reason he'd chosen to pay Ryan back for his
stake in the horse rehab part of the business. He eased her hands
away from her head and tugged her close again, cradling her against
his chest.

"Okay," he murmured, kissing the top of her
head and smoothing her hair. "Okay, I won't go to her. But you have
to."

She pulled away sharply. "Sean—"

"Mel!"

Their gazes tangled, locked. Mel looked away
first.

"You have to go to Sandy." Sean was trying
to be patient. And on the outside, he was pretty sure he was
successful. Inside, he was beginning to get all knotted up.
Something was going on with Mel. She had changed. Again. They no
longer had their little game of mutual chase going on, which had
once felt like they shared a common goal, that being a
relationship.

Because he still needed the contact, Sean
laced his fingers through hers and settled her against him with
gentle pressure to her back. Her heart beat so hard and fast in her
chest he could feel it against his own. He held her silently,
nestling his face in her soft hair until the pounding settled into
a slower, lighter rhythm. "Go to her, Mel," he said softly.
"Explain your reasoning, and work out a plan with her. She's going
to be miffed if she finds out on her own that you've already put
several thousand dollars into this place without telling her."

Mel's breathing slowed, steadied. Her
trembling diminished to an occasional tremor. Finally she nodded
and leaned back in his arms, lifting her eyes. His body reacted
instantly to her charged blue gaze and her change in position,
which fit her more intimately against him, but for once, if she
noticed, she didn't push the envelope.

"I'll talk to her next week. Let her enjoy
being a mom for a few days, okay, Sean?"

Some of his inner tension eased and he
nodded. "Okay. But you aren't getting one of those heaps. Let me
help you—stop shaking your head."

"I'm not shaking my head."

"You were shaking it in your mind." He
kissed her, quick and hard. "Give me your budget and let me help
you find a car. Do you care what you drive?"

"I originally wanted it to have four wheels
but I'm no longer that picky."

He just stared at her. She stared back. Her
tropical-ocean blue eyes were so wide, he could almost fall into
them. Slowly, she shook her head and sighed. "No, I don't care what
I drive as long as it runs. But I was trying to keep to five
hundred or less. I can go up to seven-fifty if I don't eat next
week."

Sean dialed back his acerbic response. "Do
me a favor and eat, sweetheart. You're already too thin." He kissed
the tip of her nose. "Okay, I have . . . grocery shopping to do.
But I'll come back after and look through the classifieds."

Her melodic laughter filled the room. Some
of the shadows fell from her face. "Did you draw the short straw?
You hate shopping."

Sean smiled, deciding how to best move in
for the kill. "Ryan only brought Sandy and Bethany home from the
hospital this morning. Dad could do it but he buys stuff he wants
that's not good for him. Ricky has work later today."

She was nodding. "So . . . you drew the
short straw."

He shrugged and schooled his features into
what he hoped was an appealingly helpless smile. "I don't suppose
you'd have time to help me out, would you?"

Mel looked around the bar. "LeeAnn's in the
stockroom. I'll get her out here. If we hurry, I can help you
before the Saturday rush."

"Thanks." Sean slid the list from his
pocket. "We can go more quickly if we divide this up." He tore it
in half and handed her the bottom section. The one Sandy had
written.

Mel looked it over in
silence. Suddenly, her eyes flashed up to him. She tossed back her
head and laughed. "I am so tempted to demand we trade halves just
to watch you pick this stuff up. In fact, I've already decided. I
don't care if it does take longer. We're doing the shopping
together
." With a wicked
smile, she reached in the drawer beneath the bar and pulled out a
roll of clear tape.

His topsy-turvy heart suddenly righted
itself when he saw his Mel again for the first time in months.

****

Mel became aware of a burst of positive
energy she hadn't experienced for a long time. It felt right to
just be in no-demand mode with Sean again. Little Bob's Market was
crowded and they ended up parking about as far away from the door
as they could get and still be in the same county.

As she walked around to the rear of his
pickup, Mel cast a sidelong glance at Sean, noticing that he'd also
seemed to find his more lighthearted self again. With a grin, she
chose a shopping cart that had been left at the edge of the lot.
She put one foot on the back bar and pushed off with her other,
like she was on a scooter until the cart started rolling. Then she
hopped on the back and steered down the long hill toward the store.
The breeze kissed her face and tickled through her hair, and
incredibly Mel's heart lifted even further. Leaning outward, she
steered the cart around Mamie Schmidt, pulling her two-wheeled
personal shopping basket behind her.

Mel heard a whoop from behind her. On the
back of his own cart, Sean drew even. He was about to pass her.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mel touched her toe to
the ground and gave herself an extra push, laughing triumphantly as
she passed Sean. "Take that! You'll never catch me now."

She glanced over her shoulder. The
expression of horror on Sean's face was comical. But then he jumped
off and pulled his shopping basket to a stop. Still smiling, she
turned back to face forward.

Her own cart came to an abrupt halt when it
ran into the six-foot wall of muscle blocking her path. Her gut
wrapped around the cart's handlebar, and the breath whooshed from
her lungs. Mel's gaze fell on the scuffed brown boots first, then
slowly traversed an upward course over the dark brown pants, the
hands firmly gripping the other end of the basket, and the tan
shirt with the shiny gold star over the left pec.

Finally, her eyes met the scowling
countenance and she smiled weakly. "Hey, DC." Her voice sounded too
airy and she turned her lips in to keep them from curving into a
smile. She stood up straight just as Sean sedately pushed his cart
up next to hers. Right. As if he hadn't just been riding it like he
was a NASCAR driver.

"Melanie Mitchell, what are you doing?" DC
crossed his arms over his chest.

Beside her, Sean snickered, and Mel elbowed
him in the ribs.

"You know, I expect this kind of crap from
little kids." DC straightened the cart and wheeled it onto the
sidewalk. "Not from a responsible business owner." His glance
latched onto Sean. "Or a conscientious rancher."

Sean, the rat, fixed an earnest look on his
face. "I was trying to catch up with Mel. She had obviously lost
control of her basket."

DC glanced from one to the other. "Lost
control, huh?" He shook his head. "You're both lucky I don't write
you tickets for reckless driving of a shopping cart. Go on, do your
marketing. And how about you stick to the speed limit in
there?"

"Yes, sir." Subdued, Mel edged the cart past
DC, sinking her teeth into her lip to hold back the laugh that was
trying to burst from her throat.

As soon as Sean followed her through the
door, she caught the light of laughter in his pale jade eyes and
lost her resolve. The giggle bubbled up like a spring-fed stream,
pushing out into a full-blown chortle, and she clung to him
helplessly while she struggled to recover. He didn't help matters
any when his laughter joined hers. For a moment, they stood just
inside the doors, hanging onto one another. Then he lowered his
mouth to hers and gave her a soft kiss before he stepped back.

"Excuse me." The cold voice of Earlene
Higgins came from behind Sean.

Mel peeked around him to see Preacher
Bobby's wife glaring at them, condemnation in her eyes.

"Sorry, Mrs. Higgins." Mel drew in a deep
breath and pulled Sean out of the woman's path. "We just thought of
something funny, and we were laughing because it was—funny." She
grabbed Sean's arm and tugged him away from the door. "We're just
going to get shopping now. Nice seeing you."

They rounded the corner of the first aisle
and broke into fits of hilarity all over again.

Breathless, Mel finally averted her gaze,
refusing to look higher than his shoulders. "Okay." She held out
her hand. "Give me the list."

Silently, Sean handed her the taped-up piece
of paper. She scanned the list, and then began pushing the cart
toward the back of the store.

"I'm sorry, but you're traveling a hair over
the speed limit." Sean's arms closed on the cart handle from
behind. "I think you definitely need to go back to driving school."
He nuzzled the back of her neck.

Mel slapped at Sean like a mosquito. "Stop
it. We're never going to get your shopping done." She led him down
the first aisle. "Okay, Sandy didn't put any specific brand name on
her maxipads. Do you know what she uses?"

"What?" Sean froze. His face was as red as
the exit sign behind him. "No," he choked out.

"Okay, why don't you call home and ask—" She
broke off when he simply stared at her. "I'll . . . just wing it."
She pointed to the end of the aisle. "Breast pads will probably be
with the baby things. Get her the economy size so you hopefully
won't have to get them for her again."

His mouth worked soundlessly. Finally, he
fixed her with a narrow-eyed death glare and stalked to the end of
the aisle.

Chapter Six

"I'll see you tonight." Sean lingered over
one last kiss, brushing his lips back and forth. Her lips were warm
and he didn't want to leave, even for an hour. For the first time
in months, her eyes weren't filled with shadows and secrets. Their
time together this afternoon had been about the moment; no past, no
future. She'd been his Mel again.