Page 29 of The Scent of Salt & Sand

Melody twitched under the covers. Her heartbeat quickened and sweat beaded her body as the all-too-real dream unfolded.

“Jay, I got it! I got the job!” She snatched the freshly printed pages off the printer, and hugged the warm papers against her chest. “You are now talking to the newest member of St. David’s Labor and Delivery Unit!”

There was a slight lag before he spoke, his voice tinny through the crackling reception. “I knew you would! Never doubted you for a minute.”

“You’re the best.” Still uncomfortable in the bursts of silence between exchanges, she straightened and restraightened the job offer before plopping it on the side of the bed that remained neatly tucked in.

“We’ll celebrate when I get home. Maybe finally take that trip to Hawaii we’ve been talking about.”

“We deserve it. There’s a lot to celebrate: my new job, your freedom from the military, our wedding, when I’ll no longer be Melanie Blackwell…our new normal life.”

“A normal life. I like the way that sounds.” His smile was audible. “I gotta get going. Should be able to make another call on Friday. I love you, Mel.”

“I love you too, Jay. Be safe. I miss you.” The line went dead.

After the abrupt ending of each phone call, she never felt like she’d said enough. What if she never spoke to him again? Did he know how much she loved him?

She fell back against her pillow and stretched her arm over the empty space next to her. “I miss you so much, Jay.”

The doorbell rang, forcing Melody from the distant memory.

“Jay.” She groggily stretched out her arm and ran her hand along the cool sheets of the undisturbed side of the bed.

The doorbell trilled again.

Melody’s eyelids flew open and she sucked in her first conscious breath. “Coming!”

Please don’t be Harmony. Or worse…She shuddered at the memory of Harmony’s promise to contact Rhapsody after she’d made the decision to rescue Dean. But that was a week ago.

She plastered on a fake grin and opened the door.

“Ms. Seirina?” The bellman craned his neck to see around the large potted plant he gripped with both hands.

“Yes.” Melody caught a glimpse of her Medusa-like shadow, and self-consciously smoothed down her hair.

“I guess I should clarify. Are you Ms. Melody Seirina? There are quite a few of you staying with us. It can get a little confusing.” He chuckled nervously.

“You have the right Seirina.” She smiled.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple as he shifted his weight.

“Oh, I’m sorry. That must be heavy. Come in.” She padded out of the way and held open the door.

He waddled inside and let out a small grunt as he squatted to place the planter on the floor. “There’s a great florist not far from here. I can run out and grab some plant food if you’d like.”

Melody shrugged. “I haven’t cared for a plant before, but it makes sense that it would need to eat.”

“I’ll have the finest plant cuisine to you in no time.” He brushed off his hands and straightened his uniform. “Oh, it also arrived with this.” He reached into his vest pocket and handed her a small white rectangle. “Have a great day, Ms. Seirina.”

She waited until the door was firmly closed behind him to open the miniature envelope. “This past month has been pure magic. I hope it never ends,” she read aloud, instantly knowing who the boxy handwriting belonged to. “Dean!” she gushed, shoving her nose against the flower’s familiar velvety buds. The gardenia’s saccharine scent enveloped her, and she understood, for the first time, what it meant to have butterflies in her stomach.

Silently, she’d applauded herself for keeping Dean in the dark about his near-fatal run-in with Harmony. Not that he remembered—Harmony had made sure of that—but there were times when his cop instinct began to guide him down that treacherous path.

He’s in danger, Melody. You put him there.

“Well, now he is. Since you tried to kill him,” she huffed.

At least she hadn’t had to worry about her sisters finding out anything. They were all too busy doing stuff Melody tried hard not to think about or overhear. There had been some tricky moments, but she’d pulled it off.