Page 23 of Takedown

Melanie stiffens. “Everything he’s done for me?” she says, her voice low.

Alex reaches for Mel, but Mel puts her hand up.

“Yes. He took you in. Got you a job and helped you get your life together after you managed to lose your job. He did all of that after the way you’ve treated him, and you want to pay him back like this.”

“Like what?” I ask.

Mrs. Dupree looks at me, but she must not think my question is worthy of an answer because she turns back to Mel and says, “This is between me and my daughter. Stay out of it.”

“Your daughter is my wife. I will not stay out of it, especially when you berate her.”

“Diane, why don’t we go back downstairs?” Alex wrings her hands and approaches her mother-in-law. “You said earlier you were tired and needed a nap.”

“What messes, Mother? Jason and I have a great relationship now but thank you for bringing up the past. You love that, don’t you? Especially when I look bad.”

“Melanie, that’s not true.” Diane raises both hands. “I don’t know what’s wrong with us, but I’m hoping since I’m here now, we can work on things.”

“Right,” Mel scoffs. “Any opportunity for you to remind me what a screw up I am. No, thank you, Mother.” Mel lets go of my hand and walks away, through the living room and into the bedroom, closing the door with a loud slam.

“I think you need to go,” I say to my unwanted guest. “And for the record, Jason didn’t get Mel a job. Her resume got her an interview, and she got herself the job. Her hard work earned her that promotion.”

Her eyebrows shoot to her forehead in surprise. She looks and asks, “Mellie got promoted?”

Alex nods, but I speak first. “She did, but I’m sure you’ll find a way to give Jason the credit for that too. Call first before you come up here.” She closes her eyes as if my words hurt, but when she opens them, all I see is anger.

“Like I said to you before, when it comes to me and my family, stay out of it. I’ll see you downstairs, Alex. I have a sudden headache. Be careful walking down the stairs with Addy.” She looks at me again, but only briefly before walking out . She slowly closes the door behind her.

There’s a lot I want to say, but Addy wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me, so I swallow my words for now. Alex puts a hand on her stomach, and she closes her eyes.

“I don’t understand,” she says. “I’d give anything to have my mother back, even for a day, but those two are like oil and water.”

“Is it always like that with them?” I ask, and Alex nods.

“Unfortunately, yes. And I can’t say I blame Mellie for the state of their relationship, but it’s exhausting.”

“Why don’t you go home and rest? You can leave Addy here with me and Mel. Come back and get her whenever you want. I need to start clearing the snow anyway. Give me her snowsuit and I’ll take her outside with me. I’ll see if Mel wants to go.” Alex looks up, and I can tell she’s considering my offer.

“You don’t mind?”

“I’m her Uncle Adam,” I say. I help her to the door and let her hold onto my arm until we get to her apartment. I wait in the living room while she gathers some of Addy’s things. She comes back with a bag, snowsuit, and boots. When she kisses her daughter goodbye, I leave to go find my wife.

She’s in the middle of our bed, scrolling through her phone.

“Auntie!” Addison says. I drop her on the bed, and she climbs on top of Mel.

“Play! Snow!” she says, bouncing up and down. I toss Addy’s things on the bed and sit on the end.

“You okay?” I reach over and massage her shoulder.

13

I ignore Adam’s question and focus on Addison instead. She squeals when I lift her above me. She kicks her little legs, and her dark curls hang from her head. Adam reaches over and runs a hand through her hair, making her laugh louder.

I bundle her up before putting on my own snow pants and jacket, and we follow Adam outside. He goes right to the detached garage and returns with the snowblower. As long as he’s lived here, he’s cleared the snow, and I know Jason never asked. I can always count on my car being clear of any snow. He also takes care of the yard in the summer, and whenever Jason’s father-in-law is not available, Adam will come down to our apartment and do any quick repairs.

I’ve secretly admired him while he fixed a leaky pipe. I still remember the black t-shirt he was wearing that day and how it rode up on him while he was reaching overhead. Now I get to explore that body whenever I want, and since we’re going to be married for a year, I’m going to enjoy every second of it. I just need to make sure to keep my feelings separate.

I chase Addy around the front lawn while Adam gets to work. The snow hasn’t let up at all, and the entire city has turned white. He’ll have to come back in a few hours and clear more snow, but he’s never minded before. I pick up Addy, spin her around before we both fall to the ground, our laughter barely heard above the whir of the snowblower.

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