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"Jake!" she exclaimed, surprised.
Tara was already on her feet.
As though she sensed something between them, she stepped back and said, "I'll give you two a minute."
Jake merely nodded acknowledgment and let her pass out of the room before he approached the bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, keeping his distance.
"Sore," Melody admitted, shrugging. "I thought you were angry?"
"I am," Jake grumbled. "You shouldn't have gone in halfcocked like that."
Melody opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, he reached out and took hold of her hand. "But I had to come and check on you anyway. I was worried about you."
Cheeks hot, Melody asked, "Who has Sally?"
"Lewis," Jake said, "So I'd better not leave them long or he'll have her drinking wolf-berry whisky."
They laughed together for a second before he lowered his gaze. Melody felt her gut churning. Whatever he was about to announce, she got the sense she wasn't going to like it.
"Melody, I'm sorry but I…I need to focus on Sally for a while," he said, holding her hand tight as if he did not want to let go. "I truly care about you, but all of this is such a mess. She needs me now more than ever."
Melody's chest tightened. She wished her own parents had felt that way when she was a kid, back when they had been more concerned with pleasing their alpha and ended up getting themselves killed in some border skirmish. Maybe that was why she had rushed in to save Sally—because she couldn't stand the little girl being alone for a moment longer without someone who truly cared about her.
She has him now,Melody thought, knowing she could take a step back. "I understand."
Though her lips quivered with the urge to plead him to stay, to let her tell him how she truly felt, she could not bring herself to do it. Jake was right. Sally needed him more than she did. She had gotten this far on her own. She could do it again. Even if that meant finding herself a new job.
As if he sensed her thoughts, Jake said, "I'll make sure you're paid for the month, make sure you're all healed up."
Melody cringed. The last thing she wanted from him was money. Yet, she forced herself to say, "Thanks."
If she didn't take the money, she was just fooling herself all of this time, and that didn't bear thinking about when Jake had clearly come to say goodbye.
Holding back tears, she said, "You should get back."
Jake lifted his gaze to look her in the eye. His irises lit with sadness, and their blue fire burned Melody to her core.
"I truly do care for you, Melody, but I have caused you enough trouble," Jake admitted, and though she opened her mouth to protest, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodbye. I'll see you when you get home."
Melody's insides twisted. She wasn't sure she could face going home just to be his next-door neighbor again.
Yet, as she watched him leave, she realized that if that was all she could get, she would take it. Because the truth was, she wasn't sure she could bear a world without him in it.
Chapter 17 - Jake
"How was she?" Lewis asked almost the second Jake stepped through his front door. His friend stood propped against the kitchen archway frame as though he had been waiting for him.
Jake shrugged and threw his keys into the bowl on the table by the door. "About as you'd expect. Still pretty banged up."
"And how did she take your news?" Lewis asked, eyebrow raised and arms crossed over his chest. Jake sighed. He really didn't want to talk about it.
He had been through an emotional wringer over the last few days. From losing Sally to finding Melody hurt not once but twice because of him, he had no right to feel any kind of grief at cutting her loose. It was for the best. She deserved far better than him, and far better than being put in harm's way at every turn.
"I don't want to talk about it," he said, and stepped out of the way of the door. "Thanks for watching Sally for me, but if you don't mind, it's been a long few days and I just want to go to bed."
"Sure," Lewis said, and his utter lack of protest or silly remark might have worried Jake were he not so tired and defeated. Lewis closed the distance between them, grabbed his coat and laid a hand on Jake's shoulder. "I'm only a call away if you need anything."
