A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (10 page)

He felt free, even if it was
temporary.

(9)

Mel woke up, ate, went outside for
a run, and then showered. She couldn
’
t
remember the last time she had such a good morning. She bought a newspaper and
read one page of it. She watched the local news and then switched it over to a
chick flick. She drank three cups of coffee and kept looking at the clock,
watching the time tick by.

It felt good.

It felt really good.

But as always, it was too good to
be true.

A little before noon, Jon called.

Mel considered ignoring the call,
and taking a day off from the search for her biological father, but then she
reminded herself of the money she paid Jon (and the money she would have to
keep paying him).

“
Hey
Jon,
”
Mel said.

“
Where
are you?
”

“
I
’
m at my apartment.
”

“
We
need to meet. Right now.
”

“
Okay
…”
Mel stood from the couch and
turned off the TV. She started to head for the door.
“
Where do you want to meet?
”

“
I
’
m twenty minutes away. There
’
s a small corner restaurant
called
A
’
s
.
Meet me there.
”

“
Sure.
Do you need
…”

The call ended.

Mel's stomach sank. Jon always
worked under a sense of total urgency. Maybe it was just his way of justifying
the insane cost of his services. Either way, Mel rushed around the apartment,
wondering what Jon couldn
’
t
talk to her about over the phone.

Mel closed her door and sighed.
“
There
’
s go my relaxing day.
”

She found Jon
’
s black car and parked next to
it. When she got out of her car, his door opened. It startled Mel as she didn
’
t realize that he was still in
his car.

“
You
look upset,
”
Jon said.

“
Your
call put me in a panic.
”

“
Good.
Let
’
s go.
”

Jon led the way and to Mel
’
s surprise, they went through
the back of the restaurant. As they walked, Jon grabbed a few fries and ate
them. A man in a suit greeted Jon with a handshake and showed them to a private
table.

The second they sat down, Mel felt
her world spinning. She felt like she was in a  mob movie or something of the
like.

“
What
is this?
”
she asked.

“
That
guy? That
’
s Jimmy. My
cousin.
”
Jon smiled.
“
What did you think?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Mel said.
“
It
’
s
…”

Jon waved a hand.
“
That doesn
’
t matter. Listen to me. I got
your list last night.
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
Gave
me nothing,
”
Jon said.

Mel felt deflated, as usual.
“
Oh. You couldn
’
t have told me that over the
phone?
”

“
Well,
sure,
”
Jon said.
“
But I kept digging. I tried to
create a picture out of the dates you remembered. Your mother. Your mother
’
s sister."

“
Okay...
”

“
There
’
s a connection, Mel. I
’
ve found something.
”

Mel felt her heart jump around
inside her chest. She
’
d
been waiting to hear those words.

I
’
ve found something.

“
What
did you find?
”

“
Your
aunt is some big wig out in Washington state."

“
Yeah,
but I knew that already..."

Jon smiled. Mel nodded. Jon was
leading up to something.

“
I
started digging around some newspapers in Washington state. That
’
s where I made a little
discovery."

“
Tell
me.
”

Jon put his hand on top of Mel
’
s.
“
You can
’
t
get your hopes up here
…”

“
Just
tell me.
”

“
I
found a picture of your father. In the paper. He was involved with some
non-profit organizations and he did some real charitable work. Even worked with
your aunt and her company.
”

“
Aunt
Jane knew
…
?
”

“
Sorry,
”
Jon said.

He pulled a piece of paper from his
jacket and unfolded it. It was copy of a newspaper article dated ten years
back. And there was a picture of the man who looked a lot like the man in the
picture Mel had.

She read the name in the article.

“
Mike
Riversen.
”

“
He
obviously changed his name.
”

“
And
he
’
s in Washington?
”
Mel looked at Jon.
“
So I did all this traveling for
nothing?
”

“
Don
’
t say that. That was ten years
ago. Trust your gut, okay?
”

Mel nodded, but she didn
’
t believe it. She had uprooted her
life from North Carolina to New York in the hopes of finding her father.
Because it made sense. But
…
now it didn
’
t.

“
Have
something to eat,
”
Jon
said.
“
My treat today.
”

“
No,
I
’
m okay,
”
Mel said.
“
I
’
m
going to go. I
’
m
…”

“
Don
’
t get upset,
”
Jon said.
“
These things happen all the
time. And if he is Washington, I
’
ll
still help you. I promise. We will find more. This is a big break, Mel.
”

Mel stood and thanked Jon. She
turned and rushed out of the restaurant. She got to her car and quickly drove
away. Tears filled her eyes.

Her own aunt had seen her father
and never said a thing. He had been on the other side of the country. But for
how long? Was he still there?

By the time Mel got back to her
apartment, she was shaking. She didn
’
t
want to be home. She didn
’
t
want to sit around and wallow. Worry. Wait.

This was supposed to be a break,
just like Jon had said. This should have made her happy. But it didn
’
t. It left her feeling empty
inside. So damn empty. As she crashed to her couch, she couldn't stop the tears.
She shook her head, not wanting to break another promise to herself. When this
whole adventure started Mel tried to convince herself that no matter what
happened she wouldn
’
t cry.

“
Yeah,
good luck,
”
she whispered.

She was tired, and the thought of
having to trek to Washington state seemed impossible. Aside from the costs of
uprooting her life - again - and leaving New York, the emotional cost was even
greater.

Maybe this was a sign. A sign to
just give up. To stop. To start over in whatever way was needed to make Mel
happy. She wiped her eyes and stood back up from the couch. She could make this
loft apartment a home. She could then find a better job, or maybe not. She
could work at the hotel and maybe earn her way to a promotion.

“
No,
”
Mel whispered.

Her cell rang and she saw it was
Harry calling. This made her shake her head even harder and faster. There was
no way she could deal with Harry on a more permanent, serious basis. Right now
the hotel was a job and nothing more. Anything more would be hell.

“
Hello,
”
Mel said.

“
Melanie?
It
’
s Harry. Your boss.
Manager of
…”

“
Harry,
I know it
’
s you,
”
Mel said.

“
Right.
Excellent. I need you to work.
”

“
Tonight?
”

“
Tomorrow.
”

“
I
’
m on the schedule.
”

“
I
need you here very early. We need a housekeeping shift covered.
”

Mel opened her mouth and thought
about telling Harry to go screw himself. To tell Harry to shove his clipboard
up his tight ass. Then she could hit the ATM, hit the road, and drive until she
ran out of gas.

“
Sure,
”
Mel said with an exhale.

“
Thank
you, Melanie.
”

“
Of
course, Harry.
”

“
Goodbye
now.
”

The phone call ended.

“
Goodbye
now,
”
Mel mocked and curled
her lip.

Something would have to give, and
soon. She could wait just a little longer with Jon. It would take more money,
but maybe there more answers would come.

Her father had changed his name.

Why?

Mel decided to go to bed early. She
would need to be up in the very early morning hours to get to work on time.

She took another shower and then
got dressed. She pulled the covers down and climbed into her bed. She rolled over
and let out a long sigh.

Mel closed her eyes and let sleep
welcome her.

The only thing missing from her bed
…
her mind teased her
…
was a man
…

*

Jake sat at the bar in the corner.
He had polished off a bottle of whiskey and had another in his sights. Also in
his sights was a good looking blonde at the opposite end of the bar looking at
him.

Of course she looked at him. He was
a freaking rockstar.

Jake had picked the closest and
sort of most random hotel he could find. Going to regular bar would have been
bigger trouble because he
’
d
have no place to stay. At least here, he could snag a room, which he
’
d already done. The plan tonight
was pretty simple. Drink until he couldn
’
t
drink anymore. Stumble his way to his hotel room. Sleep until he got kicked out
of hotel room. What needed to happen after that
…
didn
’
t really matter right now.

After ordering another shot, a
beer, and a drink for the woman staring at him, Jake looked down at the bar and
thought about Chloe. He wasn
’
t
supposed to be thinking about her right now, but he couldn
’
t help it. He pictured what his
life would be like with her, maybe for the rest of his life. The changes her
body would go through. The birth of their child -
his child
. Those first
precious moments of holding the baby. The first night. The first
…
everything.

It scared the hell out of Jake to
imagine himself as a father, but it scared him even more to think about all
that happening with Chloe in his life. He simply couldn
’
t do it. He didn
’
t
love her. Maybe he never loved her at all. Years ago it was young lust. He had
some wild hormones running through his body and Chloe was the only one willing
to keep up with him. That
’
s
about it. And now this time was unfortunately about pent up jealousy. The
second Chloe wanted Trent and he rejected her, Jake stepped in to be the hero.
Not to be a father. Not to be a husband. Not to be
…

“
She
says thanks,
”
a voice said.

Jake looked up and the bartender
smiled at him. A young, clean cut looking guy. Someone who would definitely
have no problem taking someone home at the end of the night if he wanted.

“
She
does?
”
Jake asked.

The bartender leaned closer.
“
I know who you are. It's really
cool that you
’
re here. She
knows who you are too. Is it cool if she comes over to talk to you?
”

Jake smiled and nodded.
“
Yeah. Sure.
”

Now Jake was intrigued. Jake never
had someone ask to come talk to him like this. The bartender whispered to the
woman and then she stood and made her way toward him. Jake took notice that she
was alone and that she walked with a little stumble in her step.

When she reached Jake, he turned
and nodded to the empty seat next to him.

“
Hey,
”
Jake said.

“
I
can
’
t believe I
’
m doing this.
”