Page 26 of Daddy to Go

“Oh yeah? Who’s the lucky guy? Old Marv that owns that scary gas station on the edge of town?”

“Ew,” I chuckled throwing a piece of croissant at her.

She half smiled and put down her book. “Okay, I don’t do riddles. Just tell me. Obviously, I will get no peace until you do.”

I smiled sweetly and lifted my chin proudly. “I went out with Dr. Ryder Rivington.”

Immediately Melody’s mouth dropped open.

“The doctor filling in for Dr. McNamara? The one that every woman in town has been whispering about since he drove his fancy car up to the hotel last week?”

“Yep, that one,” I replied with excitement.

Melody narrowed her eyes. “Wait. I know for a fact you didn’t come home last night. Your car was gone and not here when I woke up this morning. I didn’t tell Mom because I didn’t want to hear her tell me to mind my own business.”

“I appreciate it,” I replied. “I’m not ready for that mom speech.”

Melody didn’t say anything. I sipped my coffee, wanting to spill over with information but waited for her to ask the questions.

Finally, she sighed and waved her hand.

“Go ahead. It’s obvious you want to talk about it.”

I smiled and began, leaving out the whole sex in the doctor’s office part. That was going to stay with me. After all, ruleswerebroken and the fewer people who knew, the safer it would be.

When I was done, my sister stared at me blankly for several moments.

“So, you meet some hot shot doctor who travels, and you hook up with him? And why are you so smitten about this? He’ll be gone before you even learn his middle name.”

My heart thumped in my chest, realizing that I hadn’t really considered that fully. I kind of pushed it to the back of my mind.

“Yes, but when you meet someone, and it’s right, you work it out.”

Melody rolled her eyes.

“You would think that it would be you telling me this since you’re older. Abby. Look at my face. He is playing you.”

I scoffed, starting to get defensive.

“He is not. You have no idea the kind of connection we have.”

She shook her head and put her hands on the top of her book.

“I know we live in the middle of nowhere but there are men here. Sure, they’re not great. The ones here with any sort of good 9-5 job act like they are God’s gift to women. They know that they have the pick of the litter. Meanwhile, men like Dr. Rivington don’tbelongin our town. He’s a fantasy.”

I put my hand out and pursed my lips.

“No. You’re wrong. Ryder is different from those guys. He has lived. He has seen the world, and experienced tragedy. He wants something better from life. He has a huge heart and, like I said, there is a connection between us that is unlike anything else.”

“And how do you know that?” Melody asked with raised eyebrows. “You havesooomuch experience with relationships, Abby. You know, they’re just lining up at the door. Get real, girl! Guys are sneaky and they know just what to say. This one, he’s got the life. He’s handsome, rich, successful, and he can literally make you fall in love with him and then get the hell out of Dodge. You need to be careful with him. Just think about his motivations and whether he seems like the kind of guy that would drop that amazing lifestyle just to sit here and rot in the middle of a cow pasture.”

I gritted my teeth. Irritation had long passed and now I was pissed. It was like Melody was allergic to being happy for me.

“Well, I think if he wanted to hit and quit it, he would have cut this off quickly. Instead, he’s invited me to go away with him for a weekend. Just the two of us, something romantic. Why would he do that if he knew he could just have me over to his place and be done with it?”

Melody was speechless for a moment, but only a moment.

“No. You cannot go away with him, Abs. Seriously, that’s only going to make it worse.”