Unstoppable (A Country Roads Novel) by Shannon Richard Read Free Book Online Page A

worked so hard to win me over, and once she did, I always wanted to prove myself to her.”
    “So that she wouldn’t leave, too?” Mel asked softly.
    “I guess.” Wow, this conversation had gone in a direction he hadn’t expected. Normally he’d probably be embarrassed about getting a little too sappy, but for some reason he liked sharing with Mel. And he found himself sharing more than he ever had before.
    “That’s sweet.”
    “Does that go on the list?” he asked with a grin, hoping to change the subject.
    “Maybe,” she said, finishing her wine.
    “Let me clean up and then we can get started. I can only imagine how anxious you are to finish the series,” he said, pushing his chair back.
    “I’m only a little anxious.” She stood. “And I can help you.”
    “That isn’t necessary.”
    “Let me help, Bennett.” She reached for the bowl of salad and walked into the kitchen. “If you get the stuff for me to put the food in, I can do that while you load the dishwasher.”
    “No matter what I say, you’re going to insist on helping, aren’t you?” he asked as he grabbed the dish of chicken.
    “Yup.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.
    “Then I guess it will have to work,” he said, putting the dish down on the counter next to her.
    “I guess so.”
    Bennett shook his head as he got some containers down from the cabinet and put them on the counter for Mel. When he stepped back, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at her.
    Her curly hair was long, going well past the middle of her back. Her shorts weren’t indecent or anything, but they definitely hugged her tiny little bottom. Bennett pulled his gaze away, not wanting to get caught checking her out, and went back to gather more things in the dining room.
    They cleaned the kitchen, and when everything was put away, Bennett led Mel to the living room.
    “You ready for this?” he asked as he put the disc into the DVD player.
    “As I’ll ever be. I feel so attached to all of these characters, I just don’t even know what I’m going to do when it’s done,” she said, as she settled down on the couch.
    “I have a plethora of other series to watch. We can just start something new.”
    We?
    Yeah, that little word had popped out way too easily.
    *  *  *
    Mel couldn’t stop sniffling. Okay, so she got emotional sometimes. So what. But Bennett hadn’t laughed at her tears, or been weirded out by them. On the contrary, he’d gone to get her some tissues.
    The final scene ended and the credits began to roll. Mel just stared at the screen, not sure of how she felt.
    “How you doing over there?” Bennett asked.
    “I’m not sure yet,” Mel said, still staring at the credits. “I think this is going to take some time to sink in.”
    “I know what you mean.”
    “Do you?” Mel asked, looking at him.
    “Yeah,” he nodded. “This show is a total mind fuck. Excuse the language.”
    Mel laughed. “You’re excused. It is definitely that. But I’m going to miss it.”
    “Then we’ll just have to fill that void. How about Monday night? I’ll make you dinner again. I’m sure you’re going to need a little pick-me-up after your first day of school.”
    “I’m sure that I’m going to as well.”
    “All right. Same time, same place.”
    “Same time, same place,” she agreed.
    *  *  *
    Mel did need a pick-me-up on Monday. A big one. She had a very long first day of school. There was a Mrs. O’Ryan who taught English, and her classes had been mixed with Mel’s, giving some students two math classes and no English, or two English classes and no math. But it wasn’t just a quick fix for the students—their entire schedules had to be redone.
    During Mel’s second class of the day, her overhead projector stopped working. She requested a new one, but it wasn’t coming in for two weeks. This meant she had to deal with one of the ancient ones, which was a royal pain in the ass. Then the bell system malfunctioned,