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CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Asher
Brodie, Jackson, and I had left early in the morning to head to Redding. Brodie said it was the closest place with any decent music stores when he’d asked me if I wanted to go. He needed some new guitar strings, and Jackson wanted to pick up some more music sheets.
I jumped at the chance to get away. Not being able to talk to Mel was driving me crazy. We stayed in Redding after the music store, deciding to grab some lunch. I was glad to have the opportunity to hang with them some more. I knew Mel was anxious to leave, though she hadn’t come right out and said so, considering she wasn’t talking to me. But I could tell.
This trip had been a bittersweet journey. I’d finally gotten to meet my brothers, whom I’d hated most of my life until now, but I’d lost my best friend somewhere along the way. I knew she would eventually speak to me, but I didn’t think we’d ever get back the close relationship we had. I didn’t know what I was going to do without her. I was sure she’d let me be in the baby’s life, but I wanted more than that. I didn’t care about the baby so much. Wait, that didn’t come out right. I did care about the baby. Of course, I cared about it, but not like I cared about Melody. She was my life. My best friend and…I loved her. Oh, God, I loved her so fucking much. I always had. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I needed to fix this, and I needed to fix it today.
Mel was going to listen to me even if I had to tie her to the bed.
Brodie, Jackson, and I had lunch at a small outside burrito cafe. Brodie said it was his favorite place to eat whenever he came up to Redding. While I ate the best damn burrito I’d ever had, I got an idea, but I was going to need the help of my brothers to pull it off.
Lucky for me, they agreed.
It was a long ride home, particularly when the rain started pelting down. We could barely see the road. I was glad we were in Brodie’s monster truck though with its large wheels and jacked-up frame. Some of the puddles we’d whizzed through with ease resembled small lakes. My truck was big, but not as raised as his, and my tires were more for street usage. After all, Ididlive in the city. There wasn’t much use for big-ass tires eating up my gas going up and down those hills. If we had been in a regular car, or even an SUV, we’d have gotten stuck.
We pulled onto the gravel drive heading up to the farmhouse. I was excited to see Mel, but somewhat anxious.
“The house is dark,” Brodie said. “There should be a light on somewhere.”
“Maybe the power is out,” Jackson suggested.
We all got out of the truck and made a beeline for the front porch. Even though we all ran, we still managed to get soaked. The rain came down so hard; it stung when it hit my skin.
Brodie turned the knob on the front door. It didn’t open, so he got his key out and unlocked it.
“Gabrielle?” He called out, but she didn’t answer. He hit the switch on the wall and the lights came on.
“Maybe she’s at my house,” Jackson said.
“Maybe, but she usually leaves a note,” Brodie said, checking around the living room for some sign of a message from Gabby.
“I’m going to go up and check on Melody.” I headed out the back door and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. The door to the cottage was locked. I dug into my pocket, retrieved the key, and stuck it in the keyhole. I opened the door. The cottage was dark. I hit the switch on the wall and light illuminated an empty room. Mel was nowhere in sight. I ran back down the steps and caught Brodie and Jackson just as they were heading out the driveway.
Brodie stopped the truck, and I jumped in. “Melody’s not up there.”
“She’s probably with Lena and Gabby,” Jackson said.
I nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” I hoped.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Brodie admitted. “Gabrielle always leaves a note if she goes out close to dark.”
It only took a minute, and we were coasting into Jackson’s driveway. Brodie cut the engine and we sat there looking at another dark house. Jackson glanced around. “Lena’s car is gone.”
We all got out and ran through the rain to his front door. Jackson unlocked it. We went in and Jack turned on the light.
“Lena!” he yelled, but, of course, there was no answer.
I glanced around at the chocolate-brown leather sectional sofa. One of the recliners had been left in the up position as if someone had left in a hurry, but that may have just been my imagination going wild with worry since Jackson hadn’t seemed too concerned about that and hadn’t mentioned it. A tall floor lamp in the corner illuminated the room with a soft glow.
“Woof, woof.” Rufus came barreling into the room, sliding to a halt when he reached Jackson.
“What’s up, boy? Where’s Lena?”
“Woof,” he barked at the mention of Lena’s name. Jackson scratched him behind the ears then took off up the stairs, calling out Lena’s name. Rufus plopped down and stretched out at my feet.
Jackson came back down, shaking his head. “She’s not here.”
