Need You Now (Love in Unknown) - By Taylor M. Lunsford Page 0,62
scowled at his food, brooding. She knew his pride was stinging a bit and his protective side wasn’t ready to get over the fact that his little sister was dating his best friend. She turned her attention to her mother. More than anything, Emma looked hurt, just as Mel knew she would be. Growing up, Mel had shared everything with her. Keeping her first boyfriend a secret must have come as a shock and dragging her father into the secret made it a million times worse.
The smile Emma mustered up was forced, but Mel appreciated the effort. “Did you have a good time on your date last night? Everyone's trying to guess where he took you."
“They’ll never guess.” She took another bite of her dinner then sipped her tea. "He took me out to Race's Drive-In. We had a picnic and watched the first Star Wars movie."
Emma frowned. "Star Wars? That's not really a date movie, is it?"
Out of the corner of her eye, Mel saw her brother soften a bit. "It's the first movie Dad took us to at the drive-in. One of Mel's favorites."
“Oh. Well, isn't that sweet." Emma patted Mel's hand. "He's a good boy, in spite of his family. I remember how much Micah and Gage missed him when he went away to school. But I never suspected you cared for him that way."
“Girls like me never stood a chance with guys like him, especially back then. Better to keep it a secret than let everyone know what a hopeless case I was."
Emma shook her head in maternal disapproval. “I hope he’s worthy of you, sweetheart.”
Micah nodded. "He better be. Otherwise Gage and I will beat him until he's nothing but a walking bruise."
Mel ignored her brother. "He's very good to me, Mama. Trust me."
“Why don't you invite him to go on a picnic with us next weekend?" Emma suggested. "I haven't seen much of him since he moved back to town, and I'm sure it will do your brother good to see the two of you together."
“We’ll see, Mama.” Mel didn't know if that was a good idea. From the look on her brother's face, she knew he wouldn't accept this new relationship easily. He'd never seen her date anyone, let alone his best friend. It would be hard, but he'd have to deal.
She tried to talk to him while they did dishes. "I really am sorry I didn't tell you. I just... Back then, I needed something that was just mine. Didn't want big brother to come swooping in to save the day."
“Mel, I get needing to stand on your own two feet. But it's been ten years. That's a long time to keep a secret from your family." Micah loaded dishes into the dishwasher with a bit more force than necessary.
“I don't have a good excuse, except that after it was over, I didn't want to think about it. Hurt too much." Mel put the salt and pepper back into the spice cabinet, keeping her back to her brother.
She heard him snort derisively. "He should have told me. Back then, he should have told me. I asked him to watch out for you and instead he goes behind my back?"
Mel turned around, glaring at her brother. His temper was flaring in his eyes again. "It was as much my idea as it was his. I don't want you laying into him for something that happened ten years ago."
Micah didn't flinch; his eyes didn't waver. His jaw tightened. He had control of his anger, but her brother still seemed more pissed off by this than she’d expected. "Best Friend Code, Rule Nine, Subsection C. The female adherent to the code won't interfere in disputes between the male adherents. This is between me and Caine and I'll handle it the way I see fit.”
She couldn't help groaning. If things went the way she thought they would, she’d need to stock up on a lot more ice packs and band-aids. Men.
#
Caine couldn’t say he was surprised by the pounding on his door Monday evening.
He and Gage had been watching the baseball game and eating pizzas when his phone rang.
“I could be wrong, but I think my brother is probably heading over to your place for a…discussion.” Mel sounded a little breathless and a lot agitated. “Things at dinner went as well as could be expected, but he just left here with a bug up his ass. Looked like he turned the truck your way.”