Page 26 of Takedown

“You’re my wife, Mel,” I remind her. “I’m already involved.”

“Temporary wife, and—”

“Wife,” I say a little bit more forcefully.

“And I don’t quite have enough saved for a down payment, so I don’t want to spend money on a move. Besides, I want to be close by in case Alex needs me. Jason works long hours, and I promised him I would be around to look after her. Your place is about as far as I’m willing to go right now.”

I nod and mentally kick myself for not realizing that on my own. Of course, she’d want to be here for her brother and Alex.

“It’s our place now. I respect that you want to stay close, but Mel, I’m not going to stand around and let her make you feel bad about yourself. That’s not happening on my watch.” She seems surprised by my words. “I mean it.” She opens her mouth to respond, but I feel a snowball hit the back of my leg. When I turn around, Addy throws another one at my knee. She tries to run away, but I grab her, and her screams fill the yard.

While Addy watches a cartoon in the living room, I clean the kitchen after making us a quick dinner of sauteed chicken breast and vegetables. Addison ate plenty, but Mellie just pushed her dinner around on her plate.

Since the WiFi is back on, she’s been glued to her computer screen. Even now she’s oblivious to Addison’s singing along with a cartoon on the TV. She’s so oblivious to her surroundings, she doesn’t realize that I can’t get enough of watching her. She has her hair in a high ponytail. Her nose is long and thin from this angle, and she absentmindedly rubs the tip, which has turned red. I curse myself for not having her favorite tea on hand. Or any tea for that matter.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go grocery shopping,” I say while she types something on her computer. She doesn’t respond, so I repeat myself. She finally turns to face me, her brows furrowed.

“I’ll buy my own groceries. You only keep healthy stuff around, and I—” Whatever she was going to say is forgotten when we hear a loud knock on the door. She jumps out of her chair, practically runs to the door and opens it.

Jason walks in without being invited.

“Daddy!” Addison runs to her father. She raises both arms, and he picks her up. “Made snowman,” she says proudly.

“I saw. You did a great job.” Jason kisses Addy on the forehead. She kicks her legs, and he puts her down so she can run back to the living room.

“Thanks for watching her,” he says to the room. “Alex told me she’s been with you guys most of the day. She was going to get her earlier, but the pregnancy is putting a lot of strain on her lower back.”

“We had a lot of fun, didn’t we, Addy?” Addy is so entertained by whatever is on the TV, she doesn’t bother to answer her aunt. “You want some dinner, Jason?” Mel asks.

“Thanks, but no. I picked up Chinese on the way home. I’m going to give Addy a bath, put her to bed, and spend the rest of the night eating and watching a movie with my wife. And since I’m off tomorrow, I can sleep in come morning.” Suddenly, I’m jealous of Jason’s relationship with his wife. I’d give anything to have Mel be that easy with me.

“Sit down. I have some of Addy’s pajamas here. I’ll give her a bath. I’m sure you’re tired too.” Jason rubs a hand over his face and nods while he mutters a thank you to his sister. He sits down and Mel runs to Addison, who protests when her aunt carries her away from the television.

“Thanks for plowing the snow,” he grumbles.

I nod. I love the outdoors and any physical activity.

“You want something to drink?” I open my fridge and curse at the lack of contents. “I don’t have alcohol here. Damn.”

Jason rubs his eyes and shakes his head. “I guess you have no more use for alcohol since you’ve already trapped my sister. I’m fine, Flynn.” He rubs his face again, and for a second I imagine slamming his head against the table to knock some sense into him. But that would only upset my wife and Alex, so I slam the fridge shut instead. I slam it so hard the fridge shakes and bounces against the wall.

Jason’s head snaps up at the sudden crash, and I walk to the table and stand over him.

“I thought doctors were supposed to be smart. There goes that theory.” I lean down and say, “You think I got her drunk and trapped her?” I shrug. “Do something about it then. What are you going to do, Dupree? Nothing. Your sister is up here. With me.”

He stands abruptly and gets in my face. We’re like two animals in the wild, facing off. I stand there, taking great joy in looking down at him. I intentionally goad him by smirking, hoping he’ll throw a punch. He shoves me, and I don’t budge, but that’s exactly what I was hoping he’d do. I shove him against the wall, easily restraining him with both hands.

“Yeah, she’s here and I have you to thank for that. A mama’s boy who tosses his sister aside because mommy comes crying. You do realize she’s here because you practically kicked her out, right?” I don’t believe that, but I’m so sick of his dismissive attitude, I throw it in because I know it will hurt. He tries to push me away again, but I only push him harder into the wall.

“You don’t know shit about me and my family, so fuck you.”

I shake my head sadly at him. “Is that all you got, mama’s boy? Some four letter words?” I let him go and he stumbles before he catches his balance. I eye him up and down and turn away from him. Barely restraining my temper, I walk away and grab a bottle of water from the fridge, but I’m not done with him yet. “Your mother upset my wife, and I’m not going to stand by and continue to let it happen. I bet you probably like that, don’t you? You, the perfect doctor son, and Mel the daughter who can never measure up?”

He lets out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, you don’t know shit. You and your sham marriage. How desperate must you be, trying to hold onto a marriage with a woman who was too drunk to remember?”

“Don’t worry about my marriage. You should worry about why your mother upsets my wife every time they are near each other.”

He stares at me, and his mouth is a firm line, but then he looks away and lets out a deep breath. “Why? Did something happen?” He starts to pace around the small kitchen table.

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