Natural-Born Protector / Saved by the Monarch by Carla Cassidy Read Free Book Online Page B

there’s really nothing here for you.”
    “And I’m hoping to finally convince your mother to make a new life with me,” Fred said. “I’ve asked her to marry me.”
    Melody smiled at the man who had been in her mother’s life for years. “Fred, you’ve asked my mother to marry you at least a dozen times before.”
    He gazed at Rita fondly. “But I think this time she’s going to say yes. She’s wearing my ring around her neck.”
    Rita smiled and pulled a chain from beneath her blouse. Hanging on it was Fred’s college ring with its blue stone. Melody found it corny, but oddly charming. “I told him I’m willing to go steady, but I’m still thinking about marriage.” She smiled coyly.
    My mother has a better love life than I do, Melody thought and found that fact incredibly depressing. Her mind instantly filled with a vision of Hank. She’d felt so safe with him the night before, and after they’d gotten back to Lainie’s he’d seemed to know that she wasn’t ready to be alone.
    Her thoughts of Hank suddenly turned unsettling as she wondered what those broad shoulders would feel like naked beneath her fingers. She wondered what those lips of his might taste like in a fiery kiss.
    The rest of the lunch was pleasant enough as Fred and her mother talked about a cruise they were taking in the fall and some renovations Fred had decided to do on his home.
    After lunch she left the restaurant and headed down Main to Hall’s Car Haven. As she drove, her thoughts scattered in a million directions. She hoped her mother finally married Fred. He’d certainly waited for her long enough.
    Fred had been partners with Melody’s father, James. James had died of a heart attack when Melody was ten and Lainie fifteen. Fred had been a huge support to the grieving widow and eventually their friendship had developed into something deeper.
    Melody’s thoughts turned to Steve, the young man she’d dated in college. When he’d given her the ultimatum of choosing either Lainie or him, the choice had been remarkably easy and she’d realized at that time that she wasn’t in love with him.
    Lainie had needed her and since the time they were young, Lainie’s need had been enough to fill Melody. Now, with Lainie gone, Melody felt more alone, emptier than she’d ever felt in her life.
    Was it any wonder that she was vulnerable to Hank Tyler’s charms? Lainie’s death had left a huge hole inside her and surely her visceral attraction to Hank was simply the need to fill that hole.
    She shook her head to clear her mind as she pulled into Hall’s Car Haven, where several cars were on lifts and a small group of men clustered around the front door.
    Nerves tightened her stomach muscles as she got out of her car and approached the front door. The men movedaside for her to enter. The minute she walked in and saw the man behind the counter, she knew he was Dean.
    His long black hair framed a handsome face that had the lean, slightly dangerous look that had always attracted Lainie. Tattoos covered his arms but he smiled pleasantly at her. “Can I help you?”
    “I hope so. Are you Dean?”
    His dark eyes narrowed slightly. “Who’s asking?”
    “I’m Melody Thompson, Lainie’s sister.”
    A flash of pain streaked across his features. “What are you doing here?”
    “I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”
    He looked around, as if wishing that somebody else would come in. He finally looked back at her and drew a deep sigh. “Look, I already told the sheriff I don’t know anything about her murder. We broke up a couple of weeks before and I was with my new girlfriend the night Lainie was killed.”
    “Did you know who she might have gone out with the night she was murdered?”
    He shook his head. “After we broke up, we didn’t talk anymore.”
    “Whose idea was it to break up?”
    “It was mutual. We were just kicking it, you know. Neither one of us was in love or anything like that. We dated for a