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I let out a humorless laugh. “What and you didn’t get the hint?” I ask.
I hear Tommy get out of the car behind me and I know that as much as I don’t want to talk to Mel right now, I absolutely do not want Tommy talking to her or witnessing any of this either.
Turning, I stare at him across the roof of the car. “You mind giving us a sec?” I ask, gesturing behind me. “I’ll catch you tomorrow?”
Tommy’s eyes move from me, to Mel, then back to me again, an unreadable look on his face. Eventually he nods, his simple, “Sure,” doing nothing to relax my nerves or reassure me that he isn’t going to go straight to Lu and tell her about this.
I nod and he turns and walks away, glancing back once as though he still isn’t sure what he’s doing is a good idea. When he’s far enough away, I turn back to Mel.
“Listen, Mel,” I start. “You have no right to come here like this, no right to confront me about not answering your calls or…”
“I’m pregnant,” she blurts out.
My stomach immediately turns, bile rising in my throat as a thousand images flash through my mind, none of them good.
“You’re what?” I say, the words catching in my throat.
“I’m pregnant,” she repeats, hands moving to her stomach.
My eyes travel down, resting on her hands clasped over her still flat stomach. “Well, it’s clearly not mine,” I say, swallowing the knot of tension. “You and I haven’t…”
“It’s Aiden’s,” she says, as though that somehow explains everything.
“Who?”
Mel takes a deep breath, looking down at her feet before finding my eyes again. She offers a small smile, which I don’t return. “Aiden’s,” she repeats. “He was one of the fruit pickers.”
I shake my head. “No idea who he is,” I say. “Or why the fuck this has anything to do with me.”
“Jack,” Mel says, stepping toward me, a hand out as though to reach for me. My hands go up automatically, as though to stop her from coming any closer. She lets out a long breath, nodding once before continuing. “He and I were together only a few times,” she says. “And then he left, moved on when the season ended.”
My head falls back as I suck in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. When I lower my head, I see Mel is watching me, a mix of sadness and apprehension on her face.
“Why are you here?” I ask again. “Why do you think any of this has anything to do with me?”
She moves closer again, slowly this time and I freeze, mentally willing her to stop, to back the fuck up and not come anywhere near me. Not to touch me. “I miss you,” she says now, her words barely audible. “What we had was good,” she continues. “And I miss that.”
A hard laugh escapes me. “You miss me?” I ask, incredulous. Mel nods. “Right,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “And what we had was so fucking good that you had to go and cheat on me?” I continue. “With my best fucking friend.”
“Jack,” she says, reaching for me again, her hand surprisingly quick and strong as it latches onto my arm. “I love you,” she whispers.
I shake my head, pulling my arm from her grip. “No, you don’t,” I tell her. “You miss the idea of us, of someone being there for you,” I say. “But you know what, I’m done with that. I was done the day I walked in on you and Matt.”
Mel stares at me, a look of hurt and confusion on her face. “But that was a…”
“Go home, Mel,” I say, cutting her off. “Just go home.”
I turn now, not wanting to hear another word. My eyes move to the door to Lu’s office, where Tommy is standing, arms crossed over his chest as he watches us. I have no idea what he’s still doing here or worse still, how much of this he’s heard, but I don’t bother to stop and find out.
Instead, I slide my hands in my pockets and head down the long drive, past the sheds and toward Lu’s house, unsure if I should head back to my place or head inside and see her.
I’m not sure if she knows Mel is here looking for me or not.
And I’m not sure how the hell I’m going to explain it anyway.
By the time I reach the cottages, I’ve decided to head inside and take a shower, stalling a little longer while I try to get my thoughts and head together.
“Hey,” Lu calls out and turning, I see her stand from the chair she’s sitting in on her front porch.
