Page 77 of Protected from Torment

CHAPTER 15

TYLER

“I thought it might be fun to take a road trip today.”

Melissa turns away from the sink, where she’s rinsing her coffee mug, and raises her eyebrows at me in question. “A road trip?”

“Yeah.” I put the carton of creamer back in the refrigerator before joining her at the sink. Then I take the mug from her and set it on the dish rack, grab a towel, and dry her hands with it. “I just checked the weather, and it looks like it’ll be a nice day for it.”

“A nice day to go where?” she asks. “Do you have someplace in mind?”

“Actually, yes.” Taking her hand, I lead her into the living room and over to the couch. Tugging her onto my lap, I grab my phone from the coffee table and tap the screen a few times before turning it so she can see it. Displayed on the map app is the itinerary I planned while she was feeding Oscar his breakfast. “I thought we could head up to the Bigfoot Museum to start.”

“Oh.” Her voice rises with interest. “That’s the place Webb took Noelle for their first date.”

“It is,” I confirm. “I thought it could be fun. Something different to do, you know?”

“It would be fun,” Mel replies as she peers at the map. “Would we go to Mount Hood after?”

“I was thinking we could make a whole day of it. The museum, then Mount Hood, and on the way home, we could visit Lost Lake. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s beautiful.”

Zooming in on Lost Lake, I click on the location tag to pull up some photos. “On a day like today, we should have great visibility,” I explain. “It’ll add several hours onto the trip, but if we leave soon, we should be back before dark.”

I hand my phone to Mel so she can look through the photos herself. She clicks through a few of them before pausing on one. “Oh, look! You can see the reflection of Mount Hood on the lake. Do you think we might be able to see that, too?”

Nodding, I reply, “I think so. The weather forecast is predicting clear skies all day.”

“What about work?” Mel hands my phone back to me. “Don’t you have stuff to do for B and A?”

“Not today.” Taking her hands in mine, I shift on the couch so I’m facing her. “I’m pretty much caught up with everything. I’ve got some research for an upcoming case, but it can wait until tomorrow.”

Belatedly, a thought strikes me. Maybe Mel doesn’t feel comfortable being away from Blade and Arrow all day. In the six weeks she’s been here, we’ve taken short trips into Williston and half-day excursions to Portland, but this would be an all-day thing. And despite how well Mel’s been doing in the aftermath of everything that happened in Northville, she still has rough days, occasionally. Days when she’s extra jumpy, or she’s feeling down. On those days, I work from home instead of my office in the main building, so I’m close by if Mel needs me.

“If you’d rather not,” I add, “we could go on a shorter trip. Maybe head into Salem to explore instead.”

Melissa smiles. “No, a road trip sounds fun.” She glances at Oscar, who’s still snuffling around his food bowl, searching for any missed crumbs of food. “What about him? That’s a long time to leave him home alone.”

“Noelle could watch him. Since Webb’s out of town, I bet she’d be happy for the company. You know how much she loves him.”

Her expression softens. “She does. And Oscar loves her, too.” Anticipation lights Mel’s gaze. “You don’t think she’d mind watching Oscar on such short notice? What about her work at the theater?”

“Her next production doesn’t start until next month,” I answer. “Noelle was telling me about it the other day. So she’s mostly working from home until then—coordinating marketing, ticket sales, that sort of thing.” Flipping my phone back over, I scroll through my contacts until I find Noelle’s name. “Want me to ask her?”

Mel watches Oscar at his bowl for a moment, a pensive look on her face.

“If you want to bring him with us, we could skip the museum and stick with outdoor activities,” I offer. “And I’m pretty sure there are some dog-friendly restaurants we could visit.”

Turning back to me, Melissa shakes her head. “No, that would be a long time for him in the car. Plus, I really would like to visit the Bigfoot museum. See what Webb and Noelle have been talking about.” Her smile reappears. “Maybe get one of those stuffed Bigfoots, like Noelle has.”

I’m already texting Noelle. “If you want a stuffed Bigfoot, I’ll get you one. And an extra for Oscar to have as a toy.”

“Oh, he would love that.” Mel glances back over at Oscar. “Would you like a Bigfoot toy, Oskie? I bet you’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

Oscar’s ears perk up. His tail turns to a blur. He trots over to the couch and sinks onto his haunches, giving us both a hopeful look.

“I think he thinks Bigfoot means t-r-e-a-t,” I spell out. With a chuckle, I give him a scratch between his ears. “I bet we can find a store that sells doggie t-r-e-a-ts, as well.”

Melissa leans against me as she bends down to pet Oscar. “We’ll bring you all sorts of fun stuff, buddy. And in the meantime, you’ll stay with Aunt Noelle.” She turns to me. “Did she get back to you yet?”