get her.”
The nurse ran out of the room, obviously unnerved by Melody’s anger. She seemed frightened, as if she were about to get into trouble, which was odd…
* * * *
Little did Melody know that telling a doctor—or a nurse, apparently—you were a victim of abuse started a whole chain of events that ended with Melody living in an abuse center and filing for divorce. She was broke. She was scared. She was friendless and jobless and going through the messiest divorce in the history of the world because Justin didn’t want to lose her…but she was free.
The freedom had been so surreally beautiful after what seemed like a lifetime of being caged and afraid, Melody had decided right then she would do anything to hold on to that liberty. When Justin started stalking her after the divorce, Melody began reporting it to the police. When Justin called her, drunk, ranting that it was her fault he’d lost his job because he couldn’t survive without her, she called the police.
When Justin tackled her in a parking lot, threatening to kill her if she didn’t come back to him, she called the police. Then she packed up and left the small collection of friends she’d made. She said good-bye to the counselors and other women who had slowly gotten used to being beaten and raped and then miraculously got free like Melody had. She left her waitressing job and her dreams of starting her own center for abused women in Ohio and went on a search for a place to call home.
She’d wanted to go back to Blue Springs, but her mother still thought Justin was golden. She believed his stories about Melody being clinically depressed and unstable. Her mother was of the opinion that Melody needed to be medicated so she could go back to her normal, happy life with the perfect husband. The bastard was so charming he’d turned her own mother against her. So she’d looked for something just as good as home, ended up in Garnet, and realized she’d found something better .
If fairy godmothers existed, she’d have wished for a do-over tonight. She didn’t want a ball or a fancy dress; she just wanted one night with Clay and damn the consequences. It would have been perfect. She instinctively knew they were made to be together. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.
Justin definitely deserved to die for this. He’d ruined her for something amazing, and it wasn’t fair. “Bastard,” she cursed, letting the anger at her ex-husband bloom because it inspired more self-preservation than sitting and crying. She trudged through the employee parking lot, her shoes sinking into the snow once more as she made her way around the side of the building. If she could make it to the front, she could flag down someone for a jump start. She wasn’t going to freeze to death; it just felt like it. “Justin, I hate you! I hate you more than anything! If I had a gun, I’d shoot you myself and I’d enjoy it!”
Cursing out her ex-husband helped her forget about the snow soaking her shoes and her legs being near frozen through her stockings. She made it to the front of the building and paused in shock.
She stared at the streetlamps shining in the customer parking lot. Snow danced like tiny fairies in the beams of light, silhouetting one very expensive SUV that by some unknown miracle was still parked in Clay’s usual parking spot.
With tears still streaming down her cheeks, Melody had a wonderful realization: fairy godmothers didn’t just exist; they actually granted broken waitresses their wishes!
Chapter Four
Clay sat in his car while Keith Urban played over the radio. He sang a song about breaking up, which was probably the last thing in the world Clay should be listening to. His body was tense with need for Melody. His heart hurt for all the reasons he couldn’t have her. A lifetime of avoiding women, and now he’d found one he actually trusted and this happened. Clay would really like
The nurse ran out of the room, obviously unnerved by Melody’s anger. She seemed frightened, as if she were about to get into trouble, which was odd…
* * * *
Little did Melody know that telling a doctor—or a nurse, apparently—you were a victim of abuse started a whole chain of events that ended with Melody living in an abuse center and filing for divorce. She was broke. She was scared. She was friendless and jobless and going through the messiest divorce in the history of the world because Justin didn’t want to lose her…but she was free.
The freedom had been so surreally beautiful after what seemed like a lifetime of being caged and afraid, Melody had decided right then she would do anything to hold on to that liberty. When Justin started stalking her after the divorce, Melody began reporting it to the police. When Justin called her, drunk, ranting that it was her fault he’d lost his job because he couldn’t survive without her, she called the police.
When Justin tackled her in a parking lot, threatening to kill her if she didn’t come back to him, she called the police. Then she packed up and left the small collection of friends she’d made. She said good-bye to the counselors and other women who had slowly gotten used to being beaten and raped and then miraculously got free like Melody had. She left her waitressing job and her dreams of starting her own center for abused women in Ohio and went on a search for a place to call home.
She’d wanted to go back to Blue Springs, but her mother still thought Justin was golden. She believed his stories about Melody being clinically depressed and unstable. Her mother was of the opinion that Melody needed to be medicated so she could go back to her normal, happy life with the perfect husband. The bastard was so charming he’d turned her own mother against her. So she’d looked for something just as good as home, ended up in Garnet, and realized she’d found something better .
If fairy godmothers existed, she’d have wished for a do-over tonight. She didn’t want a ball or a fancy dress; she just wanted one night with Clay and damn the consequences. It would have been perfect. She instinctively knew they were made to be together. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did.
Justin definitely deserved to die for this. He’d ruined her for something amazing, and it wasn’t fair. “Bastard,” she cursed, letting the anger at her ex-husband bloom because it inspired more self-preservation than sitting and crying. She trudged through the employee parking lot, her shoes sinking into the snow once more as she made her way around the side of the building. If she could make it to the front, she could flag down someone for a jump start. She wasn’t going to freeze to death; it just felt like it. “Justin, I hate you! I hate you more than anything! If I had a gun, I’d shoot you myself and I’d enjoy it!”
Cursing out her ex-husband helped her forget about the snow soaking her shoes and her legs being near frozen through her stockings. She made it to the front of the building and paused in shock.
She stared at the streetlamps shining in the customer parking lot. Snow danced like tiny fairies in the beams of light, silhouetting one very expensive SUV that by some unknown miracle was still parked in Clay’s usual parking spot.
With tears still streaming down her cheeks, Melody had a wonderful realization: fairy godmothers didn’t just exist; they actually granted broken waitresses their wishes!
Chapter Four
Clay sat in his car while Keith Urban played over the radio. He sang a song about breaking up, which was probably the last thing in the world Clay should be listening to. His body was tense with need for Melody. His heart hurt for all the reasons he couldn’t have her. A lifetime of avoiding women, and now he’d found one he actually trusted and this happened. Clay would really like
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