Need You Now Page 16

  “I’m glad you asked.” Lucas could feel Melanie’s tension from six feet away. That alone was enough to make him dislike the guy, though Lucas had a couple more reasons. “Studies have shown that programs using animals lower recidivism rates. Working with the animals also helps teach inmates compassion and provides them with both work and life skills. In training the horses, a man develops a sense of pride and learns about self-satisfaction. After he does his time and rejoins society, he’s a different person.” Lucas smiled. “I know that must seem obvious to an educated man like yourself, so if it’s statistics you’re looking for, I can dig up some.”

  David’s features briefly tightened at the subtle jab. “I would appreciate that,” he said. “I’m sure you can understand my concern as the high school principal, considering a number of our students are rather heavily involved with Safe Haven.”

  Which had nothing to do with the fostered horses being trained hundreds of miles away, but the stupid bastard already knew that. Or maybe not so stupid. The disgruntled mumblings started up again. Score one for David.

  “I do,” Lucas said. “I completely understand. In fact, to put your mind at ease, I have a proposal. I believe we all agree that giving this program appropriate consideration is the charitable, as well as the right, thing to do. Am I wrong?”

  David hesitated, his eyes narrowing a fraction. “Go on.”

  “Wilcox Prison in Wyoming is a seven-hour drive from here. They’re a minimum-security facility that happens to use an animal-assisted program similar to Wyoming State Honor Farm in Riverton. I can give the warden a call. I bet he’d be happy to show off their success.” He turned, briefly met Melanie’s wide panicked eyes, then went on to Shea. “If Ms. Knowles or Ms. Monroe would care to accompany me to see the program in action, I’m sure we can put everyone’s fears to rest.”

  A stunned silence settled over the room, and Lucas knew he’d gone too far. He only hoped he hadn’t pissed off Melanie. At least he’d thought fast enough to include Shea as an option.

  “Melanie has classes all week,” David said with a slight smugness. “So taking her is out of the question.”

  Lucas smiled to himself. Did this guy even know Melanie? She wouldn’t put up with that sort of high-handedness.

  “Would the weekend work?” she asked, the barest hint of defiance in her voice. “There’s no school this Friday, so I’d be free to leave in the morning.”

  “Fine with me.” Lucas kept his face expressionless as he looked at her. She might have been a little annoyed with him, but he saw the excitement dancing in her eyes. He felt it, too. “I’ll make the call.”

  David surged to his feet. “Now, just a minute—”

  Shea stood at the same time, ignoring him and addressing the board members. “Let’s go through the motion and take a vote. Any yeses?” Five hands went up. “Are the rest of you opposed or are you maybes?” There were a couple of shrugs and nervous glances cast at the spectators. “Since we’re at a stalemate and have nothing more to discuss until Melanie reports back,” Shea said, closing her laptop, “this meeting is adjourned.”

  * * *

  MELANIE HADN’T EVEN made it through the tuna sandwich she’d hastily slapped together after the meeting when her phone rang. She saw that it was her father and wondered why it had taken him so long.

  “Hello, Dad,” she said, pushing aside her dinner, her appetite already gone.

  “Am I disturbing you?” It was a question he never asked, but then, she always made time for him. “Do you have a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  “Are you at home?”

  “I’m sitting at my kitchen table facing stacks of quizzes to be graded. Why?”

  He hesitated. “So you’re alone?”

  She sighed. “Yes.” Any number of people could’ve called him, even someone who hadn’t attended the meeting. Her money was on David. She’d just bet he’d hit speed dial before he made it to his car. “I know why you’re calling.”

  “Yes,” he said quietly. “I suppose you would.”

  “Though there shouldn’t be any problem. I’ll proofread your sermon before I leave on Friday.” She bit her lip, feeling guilty for being cheeky. This wasn’t easy for him, and he was acting only out of concern for her. David might deserve her petulance, but her father didn’t.

  “Frankly, I hadn’t given it a thought. That isn’t why I’m calling.”

  “Surely you’re not worried about me going out of town.”

  “I’m your father,” he said. “Of course I’m worried.”

  “Oh, Dad...I’ll be fine. I’m barely leaving the state,” she said with a breezy laugh that was met with heavy silence.

  “How much do you know about—?”

  “PRN?” She’d deliberately cut him off, hoping to control the conversation. If she gave him a toehold, she’d end up doing exactly what he and everyone else wanted her to do. “Prison Reform Now is a terrific organization. The wild-horse program in particular is impressive, a real win-win for both Safe Haven and the prison system. I’d love to tell you more about it when we have the time.”

  “I’ve already looked the program up online.”

  “Oh.” That, she hadn’t expected. “So you know what a wonderful cause it is,” she said cautiously, praying that he’d found nothing on Lucas.

  “Yes, I’m inclined to agree. However, accompanying a strange man, no matter what his affiliation with PRN, on an overnight trip is something else altogether.”

  She sank back against the chair with relief. “I’ve gotten to know Lucas a little. In fact, I had him over here for dinner the other night.” Of course, her father knew, but it would help to show she wasn’t trying to hide anything from him. “He’s very dedicated and passionate about the program. He loves animals, and he’s even been working on the new corral while he waited for the board to vote.”

  “Melanie.” Her father sighed, and she could picture him removing his horn-rimmed glasses to rub his weary eyes. He was always tired, always giving 150 percent to his congregation. “You’re being...rash.”

  “Do you know me to be a rash person?”

  “Generally, no. That’s what worries me.”

  A snide remark nearly made it past her lips. She’d only feel awful later, and stepping out of character would serve no purpose but to justify her dad’s concern. “I’m sorry that’s the case. I am. But I’ve made up my mind. We’re leaving Friday morning.”

  “You know people will talk.”

  “They always do.” She sighed. “Out of curiosity, who called you?”

  “A couple of people, actually....”

  “David Mills?”

  He hesitated. “Yes.”

  “Didn’t you wonder why he’s sticking his nose into my business?”

  “Melanie, he’s your boss and wants to protect your reputation. Surely you know he has your best interest at heart. David’s a good man.”

  “Yes, he’s a perfectly nice man. But he wants to be more than my boss.”

  “Would that be so terrible?” he asked quietly. “He’s intelligent, well respected and fits right into the community, not to mention the congregation.”

  The dreadful thought of spending her life with David had her clenching her teeth to keep from saying something she’d regret. It wasn’t personal. She’d meant what she’d said—David was a perfectly nice man, generally speaking. But he bored her. More so now that she’d met Lucas. Heaven help her.

  The smothering silence was beginning to make her a bit queasy.

  “Dad, I have to go. I’ve got a lot to do before I leave on Friday. Email me your sermon, though. I’ll have time for it.”

  His sigh was heartfelt. “There’s no changing your mind?”

  “I’ll be fine. I promise,” she said and with an eerie c
alm accepted the fact that she’d just lied to her father. Deep down she knew she’d never be the same again. Lucas had ruined her for any other man. And in the end, he was going to break her heart.

  * * *

  MELANIE WOKE WITH a start. She saw a sign for an upcoming exit and tried to blink away the haze of sleep distorting her vision. “Where are we?” she asked, trying to smother a yawn.

  Lucas looked over at her and smiled. “About eighty miles from Wilcox. We ran into some road construction that put us behind. Did you have a nice nap?”

  “That would mean I slept for two hours.”

  “Two hours and twenty minutes.”

  “Wow. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “You needed the rest.”

  He was a good driver, his late-model truck a smooth ride. After three late nights trying to get caught up with schoolwork and church tasks, Melanie shouldn’t have been surprised she’d dozed off.

  Finally able to wade through the sleep-induced fog, she smiled back at him. She couldn’t see his eyes, since he was wearing sunglasses. But she knew they looked even more blue against his tanned face. “You probably need it more than I do after working so hard on the corral this week.”

  “Not me. After a day of manual work I sleep like the dead.”

  She sighed. “That sounds heavenly.”

  “You have this weekend to catch up, and no one to bother you.”

  Melanie eyed him, hoping he was trying to be funny. “Really? No one?”

  “Don’t get me wrong.” A lazy arrogant smile curved his mouth. “I’m planning to do all sorts of wicked things to you. Now, will you be bothered by it? I hope not.”

  A shiver of anticipation rippled through her. “Very sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Well, hell, we’ve had three days of foreplay.”

  She laughed. “Um, sorry, but I think I missed the best part.”

  “You have any idea how hard it’s been watching you prance around Safe Haven with your band of delinquents and me having to keep my hands to myself?”

  “I do not prance. And my students aren’t—” She studied his profile. “Was it really hard?”

  His lips twitched. “Yes, on both counts.”

  “Oh.” She grinned. “Good.” She felt a moment’s guilt. This was supposed to be a business trip. Or so she’d assured half the population of Blackfoot Falls. Everyone seemed to have an opinion, even folks she saw only once in a while at the Food Mart.

  “We were right to keep our distance the last two days,” he said. “Didn’t make it any easier.”

  “I know.” Twice she’d gone as far as hitting speed dial, dying for him to meet her someplace. She’d disconnected before the first ring. After her father’s phone call and David’s cool treatment at work, it would’ve been foolish to press her luck. She glanced at the dashboard clock. “If we’re running behind, we’ll miss our appointment with the warden.”

  “I talked to him an hour ago. He’d heard about the new construction, so he figured we’d be held up. We’re meeting him at eight in the morning. I hope that’s okay. He’s doing us a favor by coming in on a Saturday.”

  “Sure. We can still head back to Blackfoot Falls afterward.”

  For a moment he said nothing. “If that’s what you want.”

  She held back a smile. “That way we can break up the drive and maybe spend the night halfway.”

  He slowly turned his head, raising a brow at her. “You’re messing with the wrong guy.”

  “What?” A giggle undercut her attempt to play innocent.

  “I’ll pull off at the next exit and show you what.”

  Melanie shivered at the raspy dip in his voice. “We can’t,” she said, so breathless she might as well have begged him to make good on his threat.

  Lucas tried to do the gentlemanly thing, but despite his efforts, his grin broke. He reached for her hand. “You want to stop?”

  Staring at their intertwined fingers, she sighed. “We’re too close. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Who cares about that?”

  It still amazed her how much he seemed to want her all the time. Although he was careful around other people, he clearly had no problem being obvious with her. She wondered how he would behave toward her at the prison among people he knew.

  Until this morning she’d had no idea they were going to the prison where he’d served his sentence. He’d told her after he’d picked her up. The shock hadn’t completely worn off yet. “Will it be weird going back there?”

  Traffic had increased, so he let go of her hand to hold on to the steering wheel. He waited until he’d changed lanes, then shook his head. “I’ve already been back twice. Once to visit a friend and then for PRN business.”

  “Well, the warden apparently likes you or he wouldn’t be giving up part of his Saturday.”

  “We get along.” He shrugged. “He’s a decent guy. Strict but fair. And he supports the Wild Horse Training Program one hundred percent.”

  “Your friend... Is he still there?”

  “He got out two months ago. Found a good job in Alaska, so that should help him keep his nose clean.”

  “Did he train horses?”

  “Yep. Jimmy is the perfect success story. He walked into that prison one mean, ornery son of a bitch. You looked at him wrong and he’d stomp you into the ground. Even the guards hated tangling with him. Five years later he left a different man.”

  “I’m surprised they let him into the program.” She saw Lucas’s mouth tighten but she felt her point was valid. “I think it’s great everything turned out well, but there was no way of knowing beforehand that he’d come through. I don’t want to pick a fight here. I’m just trying to understand how the person you described was selected.”

  “Fair enough,” Lucas said. “I vouched for him.”

  Well, that just raised a whole bunch of other questions. Now that she wasn’t drowning in her own personal drama, she wondered if this trip had anything to do with him trying to prove something to her. Or did he even care what she thought? She’d be wise not to get ahead of herself. “No offense, but weren’t you just another inmate?”

  “I was involved with PRN by then, and I’d been working with Jimmy on his anger issues. Apparently I’d made more headway than the facility’s shrink, though that’s not saying much.” His expression remained detached. “I’m not going to lie to you—my first year there, I was filled with rage. I refused to see my mom or stepfather or my sister, even after they’d traveled hours to see me. By then Peggy wasn’t an issue. But there were days when I didn’t even recognize myself.”

  “Peggy? Was she your girlfriend?”

  “We were engaged. I’d asked her to marry me the week before I was arrested.”

  Surprised, Melanie stared at his profile. He seemed relaxed, his grip loose on the wheel. And since he’d brought up the subject, she saw no reason not to ask the obvious. “What happened? Did you get married and it didn’t work out?”

  “We called it off. Luckily, her folks were away on a cruise when I proposed. Peggy was real close to them and wanted to keep it a secret until they got back. The ring I gave her needed to be sized. The jeweler said it would take a week, and by then her parents would be home. We were going to tell them together.” He shrugged. “I was arrested the day before they came back.”

  “So?”

  A faint smile curved his mouth. “Getting slapped in handcuffs kind of trumped everything else.” He glanced over at her. “The engagement wasn’t a complete surprise. I’d bought the ranch the year before and was fixing it up so I’d have a home to offer her.”

  Melanie felt as if her insides had been twisted into a knot. “Did she ever tell them?”

  “What was the point?” L
ucas didn’t seem angry or sad or anything. So why did this make her feel a little sick? “Peggy’s best friend knew, but no one else.”

  “She just left you?”

  “No, she stuck by me through the trial.” He tugged at her hand. “Hey, Peggy’s not a bad person. I told her not to wait for me. I encouraged her to move on. No one knew about the engagement, so it was easy to pretend it had never happened.”

  “Was it?” Even after such a short acquaintance, Melanie knew him better than that. Lucas wasn’t the type to take marriage lightly. He’d poured his soul and sweat into a home for the woman he’d loved. And she’d abandoned him. “Was it easy?”

  He sighed. “No.”

  “Do you still love her?”

  “No,” he said without hesitation. “She’s married, has a son and is expecting a girl in a few months. She’s happy, and I’m happy for her.”

  For a man who had no use for religion, he was a better person than Melanie. She harbored no such goodwill toward the woman who’d hurt him. Quite badly, Melanie guessed.

  He squeezed her hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me too,” she whispered. “Me too.”

  15

  MELANIE OPENED THE motel-room door and Lucas brought their bags in behind her. He’d offered to get two rooms. She’d told him one would be fine, but she was nervous about the whole thing. Though it wasn’t as if anyone from home knew where she was staying. Heck, she didn’t even know where she was staying. The ten-unit building was a weird pinkish-gray color, set back from the highway, and it had an odd name. That was all she could remember.

  Lucas closed the door and she jumped. He set the bags down on the floor and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You can have your own room. I won’t be upset.”