gazes briefly connected, and he wondered if she also ever reconsidered their arrangement.
“This is probably best handled by your family,” Aaron said to Samantha.
“They’re not my family,” she contradicted him. “I already have one. My mom and dad and two brothers.”
Again, everyone except Ray seemed taken aback by the news, eyes widening and jaws going slack. What other secrets was he keeping?
Mel was the first to speak. “Maybe you should drive her to Dad’s house. We certainly can’t keep standing here all night.” Before Aaron could refuse, she added, “I’ll go with you.”
No one brought up the obvious. As deputy sheriff, Aaron was familiar with the town and didn’t need directions. Could Mel be trying to find time alone with him? As alone as they could be with another person sitting three feet away.
That wasn’t why Aaron ultimately agreed to drive Samantha. It was the scared look on her face. She was a kid in trouble, though no one else apparently saw it. If his daughter ever needed help, he hoped a responsible and trustworthy person like himself stepped in.
An unofficial vote was taken, and Aaron found himself in his SUV with Mel in the front, Samantha in the back and a heavy silence surrounding them. Guess he’d been wrong about Mel’s motives.
“Take a left,” she instructed when they reached the parking lot exit. “Turn east onto Harvest Street.”
Traffic was never heavy in Mustang Valley, with the exception of holidays when the whole town came out to celebrate. With each occasional vehicle passing them in the opposite direction, the interior of the SUV was illuminated by oncoming headlights.
Aaron caught quick glimpses of Mel’s profile. She was just as scared as Samantha. He also understood why—her entire life was changing—and was glad he’d come along for her, too.
The Hartman home was about four miles past where the paved road leading out of town ended and the dirt road began. Mel’s parents had built it soon after her father accepted a head wrangler position at The Small Change Ranch, using the entirety of their meager savings for construction. The house was a short distance from the ranch and until recently, her father had ridden to work every day.
He told people the reason he quit was because his favorite horse had been retired and put to pasture, not that his arthritis had worsened. Mel didn’t have the heart to dispute him. Her father was a proud man.
“What about your friends?” Aaron asked Samantha, glancing again in the rearview mirror. Mel noticed he’d been doing that a lot during the drive.
“What about them?” Samantha said tersely.
“Are they expecting you tonight?”
“No.”
“Have you called them?”
Samantha gave another terse reply and slouched into her seat.
Mel frowned. Really? Aaron was attempting chitchat? And who were these supposed friends of Samantha’s anyway?
“What if they’re worried?” Aaron asked.
“You always this nosy?”
“Comes with the job.”
Gauging by her tone, Samantha didn’t like Aaron better than Mel or the rest of them. So why insist on him driving her?
The two had another brief exchange, and Mel’s irritation escalated. Perhaps because Aaron had obviously learned details about Samantha and Mel knew nothing. None of them did. Except her father. He’d known her name, at least. And that she existed. He was certainly on good terms with Samantha’s mother. Or, had been at one time.
A sister. Mel had another sister. She silently did the math. Her dad and Samantha’s mom must have met one, no, two years after Mel’s mother died.
Pain burned inside her chest. Plenty of people would defend her father, saying he hadn’t been married when he and Samantha’s mom met and that two years was a reasonable period to mourn before entering into a new relationship.
Only it didn’t feel reasonable to Mel. The man she remembered had been devastated to his very core, blaming himself for a freak riding accident he couldn’t have prevented even if he was there when it happened. Afterward, Mel’s father could barely drag himself out of the house to buy groceries or take the girls to a school function. He’d gone to work every day only because he’d needed to support his family—what remained of it.
Date? Engage in dinner conversation? Laugh? Have sex? It was beyond Mel’s ability to take in, and she hugged her middle.
“Cold?” Aaron asked, already adjusting the air conditioning.
“I’m fine.”
She quietly fumed. Why hadn’t her father told them about Samantha? It made no sense. Having a child with another woman was a big deal. Life altering. Did he think they’d never find out or not care if they did?
“Why now?” The words erupted from her, and she twisted in her seat to confront Samantha. “Why pick today of all days to suddenly show up?”
“Does it matter?” Samantha stared out the passenger window.
“You crashed my dad’s birthday party and demanded forty thousand dollars. I’d say I’m owed an explanation. All of us are.”
Samantha’s head snapped around. “You haven’t wanted an explanation for eighteen years. I could ask you, why now?”
“Wait just a minute. I had no idea—”
“And that’s my fault?”
Mel opened her mouth to protest, realized the futility of it and instead swung back around, her tenuous hold on her temper threatening to break. She did not like this person. This stranger. This interloper.
“He’s not the great guy you think he is,” Samantha said.
“How do we even know you’re his daughter? You could be making the whole thing up.”
“Did he act like I was making it up?”
Mel wanted to scream. This could not be happening. It had to be a mistake. A terrible joke gone horribly wrong.
The next instant, Aaron’s hand reached across the console for hers.
“Relax,” he said softly. “There’s no use getting upset.”
She should have shaken him off and would have if not for the warmth flowing through her and the knotted muscles in her neck slowly loosening. Damn him for sensing what she needed, which at the moment was a nonjudgmental friend in her corner.
Opening her fist, she linked her fingers with his, marveling at this tiny intimacy. For the first time away from the motel, they were holding hands, and she had to admit, the sensation was nice. It was also something she could get used to if she let herself.
“You two together?” Samantha asked from behind them.
Mel snatched her hand away, the remark hitting much too close to home for her liking. “It’s not like that. We’re just friends.”
“Right.”
Mel imagined Samantha rolling her eyes.
Aaron grinned and shrugged, not the least bit bothered.
If only Mel could be as unconcerned as him. But she couldn’t. Not when she secretly, sort of, wanted to take their relationship to the next level. Or was that back a level since most couples began by dating, not sleeping together whenever the time was right and they felt like it.
Her hand drifted to her belly. Could she be pregnant? If yes, their relationship