Chapter 19

19

"Melissa?" Sadie said into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm here." Her friend sounded out of sorts and not at all like herself.

Sadie sat in the wicker chair on the back porch as she watched Cosmo sniff around the small patch of grass. "Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"I think I ate something bad. I don't know. I'm nauseous and I've got the beginning of a headache. I'm just going to drink some ginger ale and go to bed."

"I'm sure that's a good idea. Briggs isn't feeling all that great either. Maybe it's a bug going around."

"Maybe," Melissa said.

"Do you need me to get you anything? Ginger ale? Pain medication? Something to settle your stomach?"

"Yeah, okay," she said, sounding pathetic.

"I'm on my way. Text if you think of anything else you need." Sadie ended the call, and when Cosmo was done, she went back inside and grabbed her keys. "I've got to run out and get some stuff for Melissa. She's feeling even worse than you, Briggs." She looked at the man still holding his ice cream container. "Do you need anything?"

He shook his head, his expression grim. "I'll be okay. Tell Mel I'm sorry. She probably got this bug from me."

"You both got sick at the same time. I'm guessing it was someone else at the festival. Don't worry about it. I'm sure she doesn't blame you. I'll be back in a bit." She started to head toward the door, but when she saw the dark expression on King's face, she paused. "What is it?" She turned to King. "It's the letter, isn't it? What did your mother say?"

King shook his head. "Just more bullshit. Don't worry about it. Go take care of your friend. I'll be here when you get back."

Sadie wanted to protest but recognized that maybe King needed some time to process. So she walked over and gave him a kiss on the head and called to Cosmo. "Let's go, buddy. Auntie Mel is gonna need some snuggles."

Twenty minutes later, Sadie knocked on Melissa's door at the Keating Hollow Inn.

"It's open," Melissa called.

Sadie walked in with a bag in one hand and Cosmo's leash in the other. She found Melissa buried in the covers of the bed, her clothes strewn all over the room. "Hey."

"Hey," Melissa said without moving.

"I brought reinforcements." She put the bag on Melissa's nightstand and unhooked Cosmo's leash. "Cosmo wants to make sure you're okay."

Melissa poked her head out from under the covers and gave the dog a weak smile. "Hey boy. Come here."

Sadie set him down right next to her friend and was silent as she petted him. When Melissa finally stopped, he leaned into her side, snuggling the way he always did.

Melissa smiled at him. "He's a good dog."

"He is." Sadie handed her a ginger ale. "How are you doing?"

"Awful." She pushed herself up, letting the covers fall.

Sadie's eyes widened as she noticed the T-shirt her friend was wearing. The graphic was a picture of her and King with moonlight shining down on them. Below the photo, it had the lyric, I see you in my dreams, reflected in the midnight streams . "Where did you get that?"

Melissa frowned at her. "At the festival. Where else?"

"I had no idea we had merch already," Sadie said, shaking her head.

"They were in the gift bags." Melissa took a sip of the ginger ale and grimaced.

"Not the right kind?"

"It is, I just…" Melissa shook her head. "Whatever this is, it's kicking my ass." She curled up again, hugging a pillow.

Sadie laid down on the bed next to her with Cosmo between them, intending to be quiet and let her friend rest, but instead, Melissa said, "I won't be back into my house until next week."

"What?" Sadie gasped out. "Why? I thought it was only going to take a few days?"

She made a small, irritated noise. "That's what they said at first, but now they're saying they're waiting for some valve for the septic and that there are more pipes that need to be replaced. I don't know. It just means I'm stuck here for a while longer."

"I'm sorry, hun. I'm sure that's gotta be rough on the budget. Maybe you can come and stay in my room at Brigg's place."

"Hell no," she said into the pillow. "That's not happening."

Sadie stared down at her, noting the scowl on Melissa's face. "I thought you two liked each other. Didn't I see you kissing at the show?"

"Screw him. The man is the worst kind around. Acting like he likes me, being sweet and protective, buying me drinks and being attentive. Not to mention the searing hot kiss he laid on me. But when I asked him out, I've never seen a man run so fast. It's like he's allergic to anything that isn't a one-night stand. You couldn't pay me to stay in his house."

Hadn't King said his friend wasn't much for commitment? He'd said he was a shameless flirt who never really got serious about anyone. "If it helps, I don't think it's you. King mentioned that he doesn't really date."

"Well then, he should stop being so wonderful!" Melissa cried and then squeezed her eyes shut. "Goddess, I sound pathetic. Don't listen to me. I'm just feeling sorry for myself after everything that's happened this week. First the fiasco with Jasper and then my plumbing goes bad, which is costing me a fortune by the way, and then I get rejected by the guy I really like. Do you know how long it's been since I've gone out with someone who makes my stomach flutter instead of just settling for someone and hoping they work out?"

"Ages?" Sadie offered.

"You can say that again. I think the last time I dated someone I really enjoyed being around was when we were in high school. Remember Dare Deckman?"

Sadie nodded and then said, "Didn't he turn out to be gay? Or at least bi? I think I heard he married a man."

"Ugh! Of course he is." Melissa shook her head. "That explains Jasper, I guess. I seem to attract men who really aren't all that interested in me."

"That's because you're so open and they trust you," Sadie said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Dare really cared about you. I think if he was straight and you two met now, you'd have a real chance."

"Not helping," Melissa said dryly. "Besides, that doesn't explain Jasper using me as a beard or Briggs acting like he's interested and then running the moment I return that interest."

"Sorry." Sadie let out a soft chuckle. "Jasper… He's a head case who needs to find a way to live his authentic self. As for Briggs, I don't know his story, but it's not a reflection on you. Trust me. I know you better than anyone else, and if I was a man, I'd date you."

"You would not." Melissa laughed, sounding better than she had since Sadie walked into the room. "I'm way too social for you."

"That's what I like about you." Sadie winked at her. "You keep me from being a hermit."

"You can't fool me," she said. "But thanks for trying to cheer me up."

Cosmo lifted his head and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

She laughed. "Thank you, too, little one." Melissa sighed and took another sip of the ginger ale. This time it appeared to go down easier. "I think you two saved me. The nausea is fading, and my head feels better."

"Want me to order food?" Sadie asked.

Melissa pressed a hand to her stomach and shook her head. "That might be a bridge too far. I think I'll just sleep it off. Thanks for coming by. You helped."

Sadie slipped off the bed and put Cosmo on the floor. "You know I'd do anything for you. Get some rest. There are painkillers in the bag along with crackers if you need something to settle your stomach."

Melissa thanked her again before Sadie and Cosmo headed back to Brigg's place.

On the way, she thought about Briggs, wondering what kept him from getting serious about anyone. Because in her mind, he and Melissa were perfect for each other. Briggs was steady and fun, and so was Melissa. They were the type of people everyone loved because they were always up for something fun, but at the end of the day, they were there to take care of the people they loved.

They were the people that she and King were lucky to have.

When she got back to the house, the porch light was on, but both King and Briggs had gone to bed.

"Looks like we need to lock up," Sadie said to Cosmo.

Once the place was buttoned up, Sadie retreated to her room, got ready for bed, and then laid there with Cosmo by her side, staring at the ceiling. It was killing her that King's awful mother had come to town and she had no idea how to help him. Finally, she threw the covers back and crept down the hall to his room.

She knocked softly. "King?"

Footsteps sounded on the hardwood just before the door opened. He wore nothing but low-slung pajama pants. Her eyes drifted over his torso, taking in his six-pack abs and muscular pecs.

"Whoa," she said softly.

His lips curved into a sexy half smile as he pulled her into the room.

"I came to see how you're doing," she said.

"Better now." King pressed his palms to her cheeks and leaned in, kissing her so thoroughly that by the time he pulled back she was breathless.

"Okay. That was nice, but?—"

King put his forefinger to her lips and whispered, "Do you really want to talk right now?"

Sadie shook her head. She really didn't. After all the years of dreaming of King and him coming back into her life, all she wanted was him. She wanted to finally understand what it meant to be his. "No talking," she said and led him over to the bed.

He ran his hands down her arms and then slipped his hands underneath her pajama top and held them there at her waist, his fingers caressing her bare skin. "Are you sure about this? If we take this step, you're mine, Sadie Lewis, do you understand that?"

"I'm sure." She knew what she wanted. And that was King McGrath.

"Finally," he murmured as he glided his lips over her neck and stripped her shirt off, leaving her just as bare as he was. "Gods, you're magnificent," he said as he pulled her down onto the bed, where the entire world slipped away as they got lost in each other.