heartache over Clay welling up in her chest.
Problem was , her hands were so frozen she dropped her keys into the snow as she tried opening the truck. She officially needed a morning to herself; there was no denying it as she bent down and fished for her keys in the snow. Her hands burned. It would be a miracle if she didn’t sit there and start crying.
“ Whatcha doing?” Hal asked as he opened his car door.
“Dropped my keys.” Melody was still feeling for her keys, squinting past the tears and cold and darkness to find them. When her fingers closed around icy metal, she called out, “Found ’ em !”
“Get home,” Hal called back, obviously determined to get home, get warm, and then get to sleep because he worked more than Melody did.
“Night, darling,” Judy said and then shut her car door.
Melody waved as Judy started her car. Her numb fingers searched for the right key as Hal’s car also started up. She found it and finally opened the truck door, knowing Hal was waiting for her to get into the truck before he left. She waved to him in assurance as she crawled into the truck and pulled the door closed. She locked it out of habit and then leaned over to the glove compartment. She used to have gloves in there last winter. There was always the vain hope they were hiding. After searching through the contents, she sighed, her breath a puffy white mist inside the cab. She was going to have to pay for new gloves.
There was no sense sulking about it. Melody moved to start the truck, reminding herself she’d been in a worse situation last winter battling her ex-husband for a divorce and always looking over her shoulder.
Only the truck didn’t turn over, and Melody leaned forward, half wondering if her dazed state had her doing it wrong. She turned the key in the ignition once more and was met with a cranking sound as the engine tried and failed to start up.
Melody turned and looked wildly to the employee parking lot, seeing Hal’s taillights pulling around the corner. Judy was already gone. It was too cold. They worked too hard. They didn’t hesitate to rush home.
“No no no !” Melody leaped out of her truck, hoping to catch them before they turned onto the main road.
Her sneakers crunched in the snow, getting wet and soaked as she sprinted out of the well-shoveled parking lot and into the snowbanks . She waved her arms, calling out to Hal, but it was no use. She couldn’t catch him. Legs near frozen, lungs burning, face on fire, Melody started crying.
She was tired and lonely and she missed Clay. Life was officially too hard, and she didn’t want to play anymore. As childish as it was, she was ready to sit there on the slushy asphalt and sob. She was sick of looking on the bright side, and she was really sick of being broke.
With all her heart, she wished Justin would meet with an accident and die a horrible death for doing this to her. For what had to be the millionth time, she kicked herself for marrying him. Melody had never trusted Justin, not really, but her mother had been adamant. He was new in town, a regional manager at a big-name supermarket Melody worked at. He became obsessed with her almost instantly, and Melody’s mother couldn’t have been more thrilled. Justin was going somewhere. He could change their lives. They could finally stop struggling, but Melody resisted his advances until her daddy got sick. Then she would have done anything to make his last days a little nicer, and they were.
Justin was wonderful. He was supportive and helpful and a total gentleman. He helped fill out forms and paperwork that made Melody’s mind swim. He got her father the care he needed. He even helped pay for the more expensive nursing home rather than let her father spend his last days in the one provided by the government. He took Melody and her mother out to lunch a couple of times a week because he insisted they needed to get out and
Problem was , her hands were so frozen she dropped her keys into the snow as she tried opening the truck. She officially needed a morning to herself; there was no denying it as she bent down and fished for her keys in the snow. Her hands burned. It would be a miracle if she didn’t sit there and start crying.
“ Whatcha doing?” Hal asked as he opened his car door.
“Dropped my keys.” Melody was still feeling for her keys, squinting past the tears and cold and darkness to find them. When her fingers closed around icy metal, she called out, “Found ’ em !”
“Get home,” Hal called back, obviously determined to get home, get warm, and then get to sleep because he worked more than Melody did.
“Night, darling,” Judy said and then shut her car door.
Melody waved as Judy started her car. Her numb fingers searched for the right key as Hal’s car also started up. She found it and finally opened the truck door, knowing Hal was waiting for her to get into the truck before he left. She waved to him in assurance as she crawled into the truck and pulled the door closed. She locked it out of habit and then leaned over to the glove compartment. She used to have gloves in there last winter. There was always the vain hope they were hiding. After searching through the contents, she sighed, her breath a puffy white mist inside the cab. She was going to have to pay for new gloves.
There was no sense sulking about it. Melody moved to start the truck, reminding herself she’d been in a worse situation last winter battling her ex-husband for a divorce and always looking over her shoulder.
Only the truck didn’t turn over, and Melody leaned forward, half wondering if her dazed state had her doing it wrong. She turned the key in the ignition once more and was met with a cranking sound as the engine tried and failed to start up.
Melody turned and looked wildly to the employee parking lot, seeing Hal’s taillights pulling around the corner. Judy was already gone. It was too cold. They worked too hard. They didn’t hesitate to rush home.
“No no no !” Melody leaped out of her truck, hoping to catch them before they turned onto the main road.
Her sneakers crunched in the snow, getting wet and soaked as she sprinted out of the well-shoveled parking lot and into the snowbanks . She waved her arms, calling out to Hal, but it was no use. She couldn’t catch him. Legs near frozen, lungs burning, face on fire, Melody started crying.
She was tired and lonely and she missed Clay. Life was officially too hard, and she didn’t want to play anymore. As childish as it was, she was ready to sit there on the slushy asphalt and sob. She was sick of looking on the bright side, and she was really sick of being broke.
With all her heart, she wished Justin would meet with an accident and die a horrible death for doing this to her. For what had to be the millionth time, she kicked herself for marrying him. Melody had never trusted Justin, not really, but her mother had been adamant. He was new in town, a regional manager at a big-name supermarket Melody worked at. He became obsessed with her almost instantly, and Melody’s mother couldn’t have been more thrilled. Justin was going somewhere. He could change their lives. They could finally stop struggling, but Melody resisted his advances until her daddy got sick. Then she would have done anything to make his last days a little nicer, and they were.
Justin was wonderful. He was supportive and helpful and a total gentleman. He helped fill out forms and paperwork that made Melody’s mind swim. He got her father the care he needed. He even helped pay for the more expensive nursing home rather than let her father spend his last days in the one provided by the government. He took Melody and her mother out to lunch a couple of times a week because he insisted they needed to get out and
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