The Road Home Read online

“I can see what you’re thinking, and stop it. Stop it right now. It’s not true, any of it.” Rose kneeled before Melissa and took her hands in her own two frozen ones. Pale, eyes suspiciously damp, she squeezed until Melissa looked at her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, not now, not twenty-eight years ago, and not in any of the time in between.”

  “Let’s stick with the now.”

  “Okay.” Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, wait. Not okay.” She took a deep breath. “I was eighteen when you were born. Old enough, yes, but—”

  “Rose—”

  “You’re going to hear this, Melissa. I’m sorry, but you have to.”

  “No, I don’t. I—”

  “I was in an abusive relationship.”

  Mel let out a breath and stared at Rose as conflicting emotions swamped her. Fear for Rose, empathy…compassion. “My…father?”

  “Yes. I was afraid for you,” her mother said quietly. “So afraid. My parents…they didn’t approve of me, of you, they didn’t understand. When they found out I was pregnant, all they wanted me to do was…fix it.” Her eyes went fierce, and as if thrown back to that time, she put a hand over her belly in a protective gesture that tore at Melissa. “I refused, and I kept you as long as I could, but…”

  But by the time Melissa had been one year old, it’d been too much. Mel closed her eyes. “I didn’t know.” She opened her eyes now and let out a helpless sound. “I’m sorry for what you went through.”

  “I don’t want your pity, I want you to let me into your life.”

  Melissa rubbed her temples. “I need to think.”

  “You can do that, but just understand something for the here and now. I wanted to find out about you. I wanted to know if you were happy, if you were lonely. I wanted to know if you could find it in your heart to ever want me in your life. But you wouldn’t open up, and yes, I thought maybe Jason could help me somehow. I admit it was a pathetic attempt, a desperate attempt, and quite stupid in hindsight.”

  “I feel really stupid.”

  “Oh, honey, no.” Rose stood up and wrapped her arms around Melissa. “I was so frantic that poor Jason didn’t have a choice but to help me.”

  “He helped you.” Calmly as she could, she untangled herself from Rose. It was all sinking in. Jason had been helping Rose the whole time, including when she—

  Seduced him.

  That one hurt the most. He’d just been warming her up for Rose, and she’d slept with him.

  “Melissa, please,” Rose said urgently. “Listen to me. Whatever’s going on in that head of yours, don’t blame Jason.”

  But she did. It was easier than admitting she’d been fooled, lulled into a trust that had never existed. “I blame all of us.”

  Rose nodded, misery pouring out of her. “I’d like to say I wouldn’t do it again, but I’m still so desperate I probably would. Oh Melissa, I just wanted a small, little piece of your world, just a small piece. Hell, I’d even take a crumb.”

  The door to the clinic opened and a baby goat ambled in, followed by Mrs. Dot, who was at least eighty years old and the town librarian. “Dr. Anders, I have a goat emergency,” she said. “Sweetie Pie is eating all my flowers.”

  How this was a medical emergency, Melissa didn’t have a clue. “Mrs. Dot,” she said, managing to sound completely normal by sheer will. “I need a few minutes before I open.”

  “No problem.” The elderly woman sat in a chair a few feet away, folded her hands in her lap and smiled. “I have a few minutes.”

  Sweetie Pie meandered over to the retail shelves across the room and started to eat the display poster for feline vitamins.

  The door opened again, in came Walter McKnight, the owner of the Serendipity Café and also the mayor of Martis Hills. In his arms was his cat Jezebel, who happened to be the fattest cat Melissa had ever seen. “I think she blew her diet, Doc,” he said with a sigh, and sat next to Mrs. Dot. “You know I can repair just about anything, but…” With a helpless shrug, he settled in for the long haul.

  Mel turned back to Rose. “I think you should leave. We can’t fix this, not right now.”

  “You’re going to have a very full house. I really think I should stay and help—” Rose’s voice fell away at the look on Melissa’s face.

  “Ah, now, Doc,” Walter said. “I’m sure whatever’s broken can be taken care of. What happened, did she jam your printer? Because I can fix it.”

  Melissa rubbed her temples. “That’s not quite it, but thanks.”

  “Did she get here late?” Mrs. Dot frowned. “The traffic out there is a son of a bitch this morning, isn’t it. There’s two cows on the highway, causing all sorts of havoc. Cut a gal some slack, Dr. Anders.”

  Melissa glanced at Rose. Her eyes were still just a little wet but damn if that wasn’t a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. When she saw Melissa looking at her, she lifted her hands and shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s this place—it’s so beautiful, isn’t it?”

  “Rose—”

  “Please let me stay.”

  “If you fire her,” Walter said. “You’ll up the unemployment rate in town back to five percent. I’m trying to get reelected, you know.”

  Mrs. Dot patted him on the hand. “You have my vote, Walter. Oh, let her stay, Dr. Anders. A gal’s got to have work.”

  “Yes,” Rose whispered. “Let me stay. I promise to never, ever, mess up again.”

  But that wasn’t a promise she could keep, Melissa thought miserably. She just wanted to crawl back into bed and wallow in this, if only for a little while. She wanted to be alone.

  She was used to being alone.

  She was good at being alone.

  At least she had been, until she’d come here.

  Then the clinic door opened again, and everything within her went still as stone when Jason walked in the door. He took one glance at her and Rose, at the looks on their faces, and closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, Melissa saw regret in his eyes.

  If she’d held out any hope at all that this was somehow one big mistake, it faded away right then.

  “Hey, Jas.” Walter pumped his hand.

  “Jason Lawrence,” said Mrs. Dot very sternly.

  “I don’t have any overdue books,” Jason said, lifting his hands. “I swear.”

  Mrs. Dot smiled. “Of course you don’t, you’re such a nice young man. I just wanted to say stand in line—the good doctor is booked.”

  Jason let out a little breath and nodded. “I’d like to, Mrs. Dot, but I really have to speak to Melissa now.”

  “But I got here first.” She smiled sweetly.

  “Yes, I know.” Jason looked at Melissa, and she tried to turn away, honest to God, she did. She wanted to be furious but somehow the hurt kept getting in the way.

  “You see, Mrs. Dot, if I don’t talk to Melissa right now,” he said quietly, still holding her gaze, “things are going to go very badly for me. So I’m going to ask you to let me go first.”

  Mrs. Dot took a stubborn stance. “Let’s hear a really good reason for this, boy.”

  “Yes, let’s,” Walter said.

  Both looked at Jason expectantly.

  Jason turned to Melissa, and she couldn’t help it, she gave him a brow raise and nothing else. He was on his own.

  So on his damn own.

  “You don’t even have an animal with you,” Walter noted.

  “Nope,” Mrs. Dot agreed. “Not an animal in sight.”

  Rose bit her lip. “Well—”

  “Don’t you dare help him,” Melissa broke her silence to say.

  Rose closed her mouth.

  “I think we should talk in private,” Jason said to her in a low voice.

  No. Talking in private would allow him to sweet-talk her, maybe even touch her, and she couldn’t let that happen because clearly she had no judgment when he did.

  What she needed was simple. Him to go.

  Rose to go.

  Scratch that. She n