call my mom, he’ll probably find out that way, too. When it comes to family gossip, Sue is incapable of keeping her mouth shut, and she’s over at their house all the time to watch Felicity.”
I sigh. “Well, all my family is obviously out. None of them are going to keep a secret from Nash, so…”
“Let’s see, Kitty is in Atlanta being forced to visit her mom and evil half-sisters,” she says, ticking off options on her fingers. “Beatrice and Jennifer have tiny babies, and Genevieve is already back at grad school. Nana is probably awake because she never sleeps anymore. But if we ask Nana to drive at night, we’ll be putting the entire town’s life in jeopardy, and she doesn’t approve of me going out with boys unchaperoned. Unless they’re boys from church, who she very wrongly thinks are too sweet to cop a feel without permission.”
“Wow. Unchaperoned?” I echo with a wince. “Is she aware it hasn’t been the nineteenth century for like…a while?”
“I know, she’s ridiculous, but it’s the way she was raised, and good luck convincing her it isn’t the right way,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Nana thinks unmarried girls should have a friend or relative with them on all dates unless the date is with a boy from church and in a public place—preferably one where her church cronies hang out so she has built-in spies. Like The Great Wall buffet during senior special hour or the Elks lodge on bingo night. I have played so much bingo. Seriously, a ridiculous amount.”
I laugh. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” she says with a shrug. “I try to indulge her as much as possible. I’m afraid she’ll have a heart attack if I start breaking her rules, too. She’s positively scandalized that Mason and Lark are living together before they’re married even though they’re engaged and have a wedding date set and everything.”
I grunt, my smile fading as I pull out my phone. “She’s not going to like me, is she?”
Melody makes a noncommittal noise. “We’ll have you wear long sleeves the first time you meet her to make sure she falls in love with you before she sees the tattoos and decides you’re a hooligan escaped from prison. Or a drifter. I’m not sure what a drifter is exactly, but she’s afraid of those, too.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I say while I secretly hope to avoid meeting Nana for as long as possible.
But then, meeting the family—even the old-fashioned, probably a little crazy members of a family—is part of building a real relationship. And with every minute I spend with her, I’m more certain that’s what I want with Melody.
Something real.
Something that will last long enough that getting along with her family and friends is ideal, especially if my blood relatives continue to be unsupportive. We’ll need someplace to have Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m already thinking about Thanksgiving, and it’s only September. Yeah, I definitely want this to last at least two months, and hopefully a hell of a lot longer.
“I’ll call John,” I say, scrolling through my outgoing calls. “If the shop’s not busy, he might be able to come pick us up.”
“Or we could walk.” Melody loops her arm through mine as we amble down the side of the road in the short grass as the crickets in the ditch beside us begin to chirp in the cooler evening air. “That would be an adventure.”
“An adventure that would take all night and end in pain and suffering,” I say with a pointed glance at her feet. “Your shoes aren’t made for that kind of walk, woman.”
She hums thoughtfully. “You’re right, but…” Her eyes light up and her grip tightens on my arm as she adds in an excited whisper, “Or we could hitchhike. I’ve never even thought about hitchhiking before.”
“Good. It’s not smart to hitchhike alone. Especially if you’re a pretty girl,” I say, the rage I felt when I realized Melody had been attacked rising inside me again. I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to her. It makes me hate that we live in a world where so many assholes prey on women even more than I did before.
“You’re absolutely right, but I won’t be alone,” she says. “And the chances of someone we know driving by are pretty high. Between the two of us, we’re probably on a first-name basis with half the town.”
I turn my phone over and over in my hand, deliberating. If I call John to do me a favor tonight,