Page 23 of A Family Affair: The Ring
He wouldn’t do it.He couldn’t.I know what you’re doing but this is not the same...nowhere near it.
I know you’ve got a hole in your heart, just like I know she does.You’re both hurt and scared, but what’s going to happen when you have nowhere else to run?What’s going to happen when you realize the only person who can save you is Melanie...and she realizes the same about you?
Did she ask you to contact me?
Heavens, no.That girl would be horrified if she found out I’d reached out to you.Her voice quivered, her eyes filled with tears.But I’ve walked this earth long enough to realize when two people belong together and I can’t sit back and remain silent.You love her, Will, and she loves you.
It’s not that simple.He’d forced the emotion from his voice, kept his expression even as he repeated the story he told himself every day, the one that was still difficult to accept.I don’t trust her.I’ll never trust her.And then the words that still buried him.It’s over.
I’m sorry, Will.I’m truly sorry that you and my granddaughter can’t get past this.And I hope that one day you’ll both find happiness.
That was the last conversation about forgiveness and getting a second chance with Melanie they ever had.Will stared out the window as the storm continued to rip leaves from the trees, hurl branches to the ground, and pummel rain against the house.But all he could picture was Esther sitting on her plaid couch in the powder-blue sweater that matched her eyes, feeding him sugar cookies, and speaking about belonging together.
Who knows how long he would have remained in that past memory, caught between the desire to shut it down and the need to replay every word she’d spoken, especially the one about Melanie being the only person who could save him.Why would Esther have saidthat?
Fortunately, his cell phone rang and interrupted the question that had plagued him for too many years.“Hey, Cash.What’s up?”
“A tree landed in Esther’s driveway.Nate’s out there with a chainsaw and a few other guys are coming over.It’s going to be a long night and of course, Tess wants to feed these guys.Do you think you could pick up a few things if I text you a list?”
Will sucked in a breath, blew it out.“Is everyone okay?”Is Melanie okay?
Long pause.“We’re all fine, but the car in the driveway isn’t.The tree branches landed on the hood and dented it pretty bad.”
No one was injured.Shewas okay.“Send me the list and I’ll head out in a few minutes.What else can I do?”Before Cash could respond, Will spoke.“Do you need more help clearing the wood?”
“We’ve got it covered, but thanks.”
Storms like this rolled through Magdalena every few years serving as a reminder that nature could be as dangerous as it was beautiful.Cash lived on the outskirts of town in an area that lost power more often than the “in town” sections, but the guy told him an occasional power outage was worth the land and the freedom that came with it.It was more than that, and a few years ago, Cash confessed that he and Tess had dreamed of building a log cabin like the one they lived in—before the disaster that pulled them apart.There was a whole lot more to that story, but all Cash said was that he’d been given another shot at happiness with the only woman he’d ever loved, and he wasn’t going to blow it.
Good for him.At least some couples could work past their issues and get another chance.That didn’t happen with everyone.In fact, Will bet it didn’t happen for most.He thought about Cash and Tess as he changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, found a pair of work boots he wore when he cut the patch of grass he called a lawn, and shoved his work gloves in his back pocket.His father had accused him of having soft hands, not made for labor.You better use that mind of yours becauseyou’ll never make it with your hands.If your mother didn’t baby you so much, I’d put you to work until you got calluses.A man with working hands garners respect.On and on he went until Will made it a point to avoid anything that could be termed “labor.”
Could he have changed out a washer and dryer?Absolutely.
What about a garbage disposal or a dishwasher?Yes, he was certain he could do that as well.
No doubt, he’d be able to do a lot of maintenance-type projects if he set his mind to it because he had a knack for figuring things out, analyzing, and following detailed instructions.
But every time he considered trying, he’d look at his hands, hear his father’s torment—and push the ideas aside.His old man had wanted to taunt him into learning the skills he thought made a man: splitting firewood, building a deck, digging a trench by hand.It was all there in those blue eyes and the stone-cold expression.That made Will more determined toneveruse his hands for labor.
But tonight, he’d go back on his word to always hire out manual labor, because no matter what Cash said, they needed help and Will was going to do more than deliver groceries.When he arrived at Esther’s, several floodlights illuminated the front yard and driveway.The monster oak Esther Russell called “the family tree” lay sideways on the property, smashing the hood of Melanie’s BMW and extending across the property into the side yard.
Two men with chainsaws worked on the tree, while others piled up the brush, dragged away branches, and loaded logs onto a trailer.Will pulled into Cash’s driveway, parked near the other vehicles and hopped out.He popped the trunk, lifted the water and hefted it into his left arm.There were a few bags of groceries from Sal’s and while he was there, he’d run into Harry Blacksworth.The man was in the dairy aisle trying to decide between chocolate peanut butter and triple chocolate ice cream, tossed both in his cart along with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and salted peanuts.When he heard about Esther’s tree landing on Melanie’s car, he looked at Will a bit too closely, commented,Looks like Mother Nature’s stepping in to right a few wrongs.
“Can I help?”
Will turned to find Melanie walking toward him from Cash and Tess’s house.His foolish heart thumped in his chest as she drew closer.The ponytail, sweatshirt and jeans reminded him of their college days when they’d study, eat pizza and wings, and then fall into bed, exhausted and in need of sleep...but not too exhausted to...He cleared his throat, pushed back the old memories.“Sure.Sounds like it’s going to be a long night.”Will handed a bag to Melanie, careful not to touch her, even more careful not to hold her gaze.“You okay?”Damn, why had his voice slipped into caring mode?He didnotcare about her or her situation as anything other than one human being to another.
“I’m fine.My car…” Long sigh.“Not so fine.”
Will lifted the other bag of groceries, closed the trunk and began walking with her toward Tess and Cash’s house.“You were lucky you weren’t anywhere near the car when the tree fell.”
“I think Grandma was watching out for me because I had the keys in my hand, and I was going to move the car closer to the house when—”
“What?”Will stared at her.“Why would you do that?Did you stop to think for one second what could happen?”He fought to keep the emotion from his voice, failed.“You could’ve...you could’ve...”
“No, I didn’t think about it.I wanted to save my car and I thought I had time.”
The look she gave him and the tone said she didn’t like his questions.Too bad.“It only takes a second to change a life or take a life.Thinknext time.”Anger, fear, and some hidden emotion threatened to explode when he thought about what could’ve happened to her.He did not want to think about it, did not want to acknowledge it, did not want to—
