Chapter 8

8

Mitch

M elissa is an early Christmas gift.

I see it now. After years spent hoping and praying for the kind of woman who would want the three of us in equal measure, I’d almost given up. I was ready to go back on the market for myself, as were Colton and Ethan. Then Melissa came along. What a beautiful surprise she’s been…

And what a mystery for me to unravel.

I’m dying to know everything there is to know about her.

It still doesn’t make sense. The woman doesn’t even smoke. She gets tipsy after a single shot of whiskey. I simply cannot imagine her driving around with kilos of cocaine with the intention of dealing. I just can’t. I’m not the only one either.

Colton and Ethan have agreed to look into it. A sensible question here, a phone call there—discretely, of course, until we find out what the real story is.

She looked so beautiful, being taken by my brothers. Smiling as she let herself go, completely trusting us with her most intimate layers. That’s the purest form of trust, and I’m obliged to reciprocate in any way I can. The next time I set foot in her bedroom, however, I’ll be the first to claim her.

“What’s up with you?” Darla asks, snapping me back into the present.

“What?” I mutter, remembering where I am and what I’m supposed to be doing.

The weather outside is grey and cold. The kitchen, however, is warm and cozy with Christmas decorations hanging all over the walls and cinnamon spice candles burning by the frosted window. The breakfast table is loaded with a second round of fried eggs and bacon, and Melissa is kind enough to bring over a second bowl of fresh fruit salad for Darla, Sammy, and me.

I give her a soft smile as she sets the bowl on the table. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she says, her gaze warm and her voice as sweet as powdered sugar.

“Something’s up with you,” Darla insists as Melissa goes back behind the counter and gets busy tidying up. “What is it?”

“Nothing’s up,” I chuckle dryly.

Sammy refills my coffee from a hot pot. “Don’t mind her. She sees trouble everywhere.”

“I do not,” Darla snaps. “I just know my boys well enough to be able to tell when there’s something off.”

“Well, is it off or is it up?” I shoot back with a cool grin, then take a long sip from my coffee before I obliterate the eggs and bacon on my plate.

Darla gives me a confused frown. “What do you mean?”

“This something of mine. Is it off or is it up? ’Cause they’re two different things.”

Sammy holds back a hard laugh and tries to focus on what’s left of his plate before he goes out with the ranch hands to patrol the eastern side of the fence. Colton and Ethan are in Long Pine for most of the day, handling some of our family’s legal affairs before the year’s end. It’ll be Christmas soon, and our lawyers won’t be back in their offices until after the new year.

“I will knock you so far off that chair, Google won’t be able to find you,” she replies. Her hand shoots out in a playful attack, but I catch her by the wrist and pull her in, planting a kiss on her soft cheek. “You devil child!”

“I love you, too, Auntie,” I chuckle and continue eating my eggs while she and Sammy start bickering again.

“Did you handle those patches on the northwestern fence?” Darla asks, her fork and knife surgically slicing through a slice of bacon.

“Of course. I wasn’t dilly-dallying, darlin’. I know my stuff,” Sammy grumbles. He tears a slice of sourdough bread apart to gather some of the runny yolks and bacon grease from his plate.

“Yeah, you know your stuff, but those holes have been in the fence for weeks now,” Darla mutters. “It wasn’t until Kyle got closer during their patrol the other day that they even noticed them. We’re sleepin’ on this ranch, ain’t we?”

“My gosh, woman, you are hell-bent on nipping away at my liver today, aren’t ya?”

“Someone’s gotta keep you honest.”

“And someone’s gotta keep you smiling, ’cause I don’t like this cranky version of you at all. Let’s go to a honky-tonk this weekend,” Sammy says, leaning close to her.

Darla rolls her eyes and quickly finishes the rest of her plate. “I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a hot spoon. Make sure you check the entire length of that south fence, too,” she says. “The last time we lost a few cows, they were grazing on that side of the pasture.”

“You’re no fun,” Sammy pouts.

“When was I ever fun?”

“You used to be fun.”

“Before we had to take over the farm,” Darla reminds him. “We’re grown-ups now. Remember?”

Sammy nods once. “I remember a lot of things, sweetheart. Even the things you claim to have forgotten. But it’s alright. One of these days, I’m gonna remind you.”

“Just fix the damned fence, you old dog,” Darla chides and leaves the table, stopping by the kitchen sink to deposit her empty plate into the water basin. “There you go, honey,” she says to Melissa. “Excellent meal, as always. Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome,” Melissa replies, the shadow of a smile lingering on her lips.

She’s heard the entire conversation, and I can’t blame her for not being able to keep a straight face around Sammy and Darla.

Speaking of the devil, my favorite auntie points an accusatory finger at me. “As for you, Mitch… I’ll find out what’s up and what’s off with you since you thought semantics was gonna throw me off your scent.”

Melissa can’t handle it and bursts out laughing as do Sammy and I.

Darla tries to keep a serious demeanor as she walks out of the kitchen, yet her mask does crack eventually, and I hear her giggling all the way down the hall.

“You two need to sort things out,” I tell Sammy once I hear the front door shut behind Darla.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replies, now also rushing to finish his plate.

“Right. You don’t,” I laugh. “Come on, Sammy, you’ve been doing this back-and-forth with Darla for too long. You both deserve a second chance. We’re all rooting for you.”

“Spare me the trip down memory lane,” Sammy scoffs. “I’ve known Darla longer than you, boy. We grew up together.”

“Yeah. You and Darla and Tammy. I know. And I also know the love between you and Darla is the once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and marrying Tammy didn’t change that. Not one bit.”

“I loved Tammy.”

“No one’s saying you didn’t. But she’s gone. And you fumbled Darla.”

“Nothing I can do about it anymore.”

I smile gently. He’s been through so much over the years. I want what’s best for him, though, and I know that no other woman would give him the moon the way Darla would. “All isn’t lost. Did you see how she keeps bustin’ your balls? She expects better of you. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t be on you like that. Besides, a little bird told me Darla still hopes you’ll try again.”

“What little bird? What?” His interest is suddenly piqued, proving a theory of mine.

“Doesn’t matter. What matters is you should try again.”

“Didn’t you just hear me earlier? I did say we should go to a honky-tonk together.”

“You don’t take your future wife to a honky-tonk, Sammy. Dinner and a movie. Or dinner and drinks. Somewhere nice and fancy. There’s a new place on 7th Street in Long Pine. An Italian restaurant. Why don’t you try that?”

Sammy shakes his head. “It’s not my style.”

“It’s Darla’s,” Melissa gently chimes in. “She loves Italian food. She actually said she’d love to try that place…”

“My Lord, my relationship with Darla is the talk of the entire ranch, ain’t it?” Sammy gasps, giving Melissa a troubled frown.

“What relationship?” I say and laugh again.

He curses under his breath and gets up from the table. “I’ll take care of that fence today,” he says, then looks at Melissa. “Save me a lunch plate, will ya’, darlin’? I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but I saw that turkey in the fridge, and I know you make a mean cranberry sauce.”

“Sure thing, Sammy,” Melissa promises with a little smile.

Minutes pass in a sweet but awkward kind of silence while she finishes cleaning the worktable in the kitchen and I scarf down the rest of my plate before she clears the table and brews her coffee. I watch her, quietly admiring her curves beneath those jeans—high-waisted and held up with a wide leather belt. She looks good in green plaid. She’s starting to look more and more like one of us with each passing day, although her Latin American heritage gives her a particular charm. It makes her more of a rare gem in these parts.

“Their story goes way back, huh?” Melissa asks, joining me at the breakfast table with her steaming mug.

Again, I’m mesmerized as she lifts the mug to her lips and takes a long, cautious sip, her facial muscles instantly relaxing as the drink works its magic on her taste buds.

“For as long as I can remember,” I reply, half-smiling. Memories of those earlier days are mostly faded, but I can clearly remember some moments.

“You came here when you were a little boy, right?” Melissa asks.

“Yeah. I’d just turned six,” I tell her. “The circumstances of my coming here may have been tragic, but the life I built here… I don’t regret a single thing.”

“Sammy and Darla were on the ranch, though.”

“Yeah, stealing glances at each other. Tamara was still healthy. They were the three musketeers, as old man Avery called them. In their late twenties and still causing trouble here and there. Getting into fights with the neighbors, mostly.”

“What for?”

“The fence. That same old fence they’re still patching up today,” I laugh. “All it takes is one section being compromised, and the neighbors take advantage of it. They sneak in and steal our cattle.”

“Oh, wow, that’s totally disrespectful,” Melissa exclaims.

I shrug, used to the reality of running a ranch in these parts of Nebraska. “Oh, it’s better now. Back then, they used to settle these issues with rifles or sugar in the gas tanks. Darla was a fan of the sugar method.”

“She was a piece of work, huh?”

“Still is. She just targets it elsewhere,” I say. “Thing is, Sammy and Tamara were married when I came here. They seemed to be in love and were trying—and failing—to have kids. Darla was always rooting for them. As I grew up, I could see there were things left unspoken between them.”

“Between Darla and Sammy?”

I nod slowly. “Stolen glances. They’d spend too much time together, especially after Sammy and Tamara would have an argument. Darla tried to broker peace between them every time, but she never got involved, never made a pass at Sammy… you know, she’s a good and righteous woman. She would never settle for someone else’s crumbs.”

“I like Darla,” Melissa says, admiration twinkling in her eyes.

“Yeah. She’s one of those rare birds. Too beautiful, too smart, too strong for most men. Tammy had more of a soft side, I guess. It drew Sammy in, but I know… I don’t usually say it, and I never said it to Sammy anyway, but I’ve always thought, deep down, he regretted marrying Tamara. But I know he loved her.”

“There are different kinds of love,” Melissa replies. “I get it. But I agree, it would be nice if the two of them could resolve their differences. It’s a shame to spend the sunset of your life alone when there’s close by, hoping and waiting for another chance.”

“Oh, Sammy isn’t a saint either,” I say. “They tried. About three years back, Darla and Sammy were a couple and it was great for a while.”

Melissa gives me a curious look. “You told Sammy you’d warned him…”

“I didn’t think he was ready.”

“Tamara had been gone for two years, right?”

I nod again. “Yeah, but Sammy was still healing. He was just looking for company, somebody to warm his bed. He’d go into town and get himself a new gal every week. Some younger, some his age. Some paid, some charmed. It didn’t really matter to him. I felt that Sammy got with Darla more because he couldn’t stand being alone. Darla could sense it.”

“Oh, I’m sure she did,” Melissa confirms. “Most women can.”

“I told Sammy to cool it with Darla for a few months at least. He shot me down. Said I didn’t know what I was talking about. A year later, Darla broke it off with him. He was restless and she didn’t have patience to nurse wounds he should’ve taken care of by himself. We were all sorry when they broke up. Hell, I walked on eggshells for months after that.”

Melissa smiles. “Let me guess. Darla was a powder keg.”

“And then some. Sammy actively avoided being in the same room with her. The fact that they can talk to each other now is a minor miracle.”

“Maybe we’ll get another miracle this Christmas,” she says, her gaze softening as she glances out the window. “You never know.”

Giant snowflakes drift loosely across the backyard. At least the latest blizzard’s over and we can work around the ranch without going snow blind. It’s eerily peaceful out there, as if the land is quietly preparing for Christmas. I suddenly decide I want to do something special for Melissa for the holiday.

“I think we already got our Christmas miracle with you,” I say to Melissa, then lean in and plant a kiss on her lips.

She stills, then responds, letting my tongue slip through.

I taste coffee and brown sugar and a hint of the berries she nibbled on while making our breakfast. I smell the jasmine in her hair and the roses from the shower gel she uses every morning.

“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” Melissa replies as I slowly pull back.

“It’s the truth,” I say. “And I’ll prove it.”

I get up from the table and gulp down the rest of my coffee, then head out. But before I leave the kitchen, I stop in the doorway and give her one last look. “By the way, I loved what I saw last night,” I tell her. “I look forward to what comes next.”

She’s speechless, flustered. And judging by the darkness in her eyes, she’s also turned on. Nothing adds a kick to my heels better than the thought that I’m able to turn her on with such ease. Her lips stretch into a smile, and I give her a playful wink.

Once I’m outside, I zip up my coat and take a deep breath, spending a few moments on the porch before I head over to the stables. The cold air fills my lungs. The mornings are rough but beautiful out here. I wouldn’t trade them for anything, especially knowing I’ll be coming back to Melissa and a nice tall cup of mulled wine this evening. I can almost smell the red wine bubbling and the spices as they melt into the pot.

I imagine that gorgeous woman simmering in my arms, naked and wanting. I want her full surrender. Her complete abandonment of self. I want to protect her and make her smile, and should the weather turn stormy, I want to be her safe haven.