One star in the sky Page 3

  Sarah laughed as Melanie’s gaze went to Jackson’s hands. Her face reddened and she looked away quickly, but not before colliding with Jackson’s gaze.

  “Come on; let’s get some cocoa on and the tree out of the box!”

  ***

  “Wow! It looks so beautiful. You were right, Sarah, you have beautiful ornaments!” Melanie said, looking at the completed project. She took her time, looking at each individual ornament as they put them on the tree, making sure she made extra comments on the ones that Sarah had made. “Yours are definitely the most beautiful.”

  Sarah’s little face lit up. “Thank you, Melanie!” she ran over to her and gave her a hug.

  “You’re very welcome. And you know what else?” she said, looking over at Jackson’s smiling face as she hugged Sarah.

  “What?”

  “Your daddy’s ornaments were awful,” Melanie said, laughing and Sarah joined her.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Two weeks later

  “So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Jackson asked Melanie as she was walking out to her car. They talked in the mornings before she left for school. Jackson always brought her a cup of coffee and they shared the paper.

  “Well, I planned on eating a TV dinner this year, watching old reruns of Friends, why?”

  “Well, of course you aren’t doing that,” he said in shock. “You’re coming over to my house and we are going to have a feast.”

  Melanie smiled. “I was hoping you’d ask. I really wasn’t looking forward to my tofu turkey delight!”

  “That’s something you will never look forward to in my house,” Jackson said, smiling. He leaned over and brushed her nose with his. “I really need a babysitter this weekend.”

  Melanie blushed, hoping to God he didn’t mean her. “Well, I don’t work the weekends. What time?”

  Jackson looked at her as if she grew another head. “I mean… well, hell no, I don’t want you babysitting my daughter. I want a babysitter so we can be together.”

  “I was really hoping that you didn’t mean me. Although, I really do love Sarah Jane, I don’t want to start watching her for pay.”

  “So, you’d do it without pay?” Jackson joked, and Melanie playfully slapped him.

  “Har Har.”

  “So, do you think you could stifle your pain enough to go out with me this weekend?” Jackson asked, smiling into her eyes. “I’ll have my parents watch Sarah. They’ve been wanting to. I didn’t think it was a good idea when we first moved out here. I wanted Sarah to adjust to the move. She really likes you, by the way.”

  “I really like her, too.”

  “So, how about it? Go on a date with me?”

  Melanie smiled. “Yes, I’d love to.”

  Jackson stood and took her coffee mug. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven?”

  “Seven sounds perfect!”

  ***

  Jackson took his daughter to his parent’s house a little after four so he could get back in time to shower and dress into something a little dressier. He hadn’t been out on a date for a long time. He dated his Emma for six months before asking her to marry him and before that he knew her for ten years. But with Melanie, he felt comfortable from that first time they ate breakfast together. He didn’t know who was more shocked by him falling for Melanie. Him or his parents. They knew the difference in him the moment he walked through the door. He saw the expression on his mother’s face and his father just walked over and hugged him. His dad never said a whole hell of a lot, but with that one gesture he spoke miles. He was relieved. Jackson felt like he could walk the moon. Melanie was a surprise. She was sweet, funny and adorably sexy. He fell for her brain, her charm and the way she was with his daughter. He fell for her sweet personality, the way she was with others, and the way she was with him. He knew that she was starting to feel something; he could see it in her eyes.

  If he was on the outside looking in, he might have thought he was crazy, feeling all of this for a woman that he had never even kissed before. But his love for Melanie went beyond that. He actually wanted to be her friend, too. He smiled, thinking that all of his talks with Emma over the past month had been working. He felt as if he was finally healing.

  When he pulled into the driveway he looked over to Melanie’s house. Her lights were on in the living room and dining room, but he couldn’t see her. He could just imagine her getting ready for their date. Smiling, he got out of his car quickly and ran up the steps to his house. He only had a little over thirty minutes to be ready before knocking on her door.

  ***

  Melanie took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. The date with Jackson was weighing on her nerves. She didn’t think she had ever been so nervous in her entire life. She went through the racks of clothes in her closet, picking and choosing a few different outfits. She wasn’t sure if it was a fancy place they were going or casual. She decided on a black turtle neck, a grey wool skirt and a pair of black tights. It wasn’t a terribly sexy outfit—definitely no little black dress, but the turtleneck accentuated her curves and Jackson had mentioned on more than one occasion that she looked good.

  Standing in front of her vanity table, she began to style her long brown hair. She never really did much with it, usually preferring to leave it down, but tonight she wanted to do something different. She wanted Jackson to know that she was very happy to be with him and that she took time to make her appearance look good. Deciding on a braid, she began the plait as smiled into the mirror. She hoped that Jackson would like what he saw.

  At ten ‘til seven, her doorbell rang, indicating Jackson’s somewhat early arrival.

  “You’re early,” Melanie said, smiling. Jackson was wearing a pair of grey dress slacks, a black button down and black shiny shoes. Melanie laughed. “We match!”

  “Oh no, should I call the fashion police?” Jackson joked, leaning in with a handful of red roses. “I know their lame, but I really did think they were beautiful.”

  Melanie could have swooned. “They are gorgeous. Thank you so much!”

  Melanie smiled as she stepped further into the house, leaving her door open for Jackson to follow. “You look stunning tonight. I love your hair,” Jackson said. He was right behind her in her kitchen. She stood in front of the sink with her back to him, while she arranged the roses in a vase.

  “Thank you,” she said nervously.

  Jackson moved his arms up her sides, eliciting a tremble from Melanie.

  “I missed you today, Melanie,” Jackson said, as his lips touched the skin on her neck.

  Melanie gasped then turned in his embrace, leaving the flowers on the counter. “Jackson?”

  Jackson’s eyes narrowed on her lips and his head bent down to meet hers in the most passionate kiss of his life. Her lips were warm and moist and her hands trembled as they touched him. She placed them on his chest, whether to push him off or pull him in deeper, Jackson didn’t know. He moved his head to the left as she moaned at the contact of his lips brushing her neck and then moving southward.

  “You are so beautiful, Melanie.”

  Jackson moved closer still and Melanie could feel every inch of his hardened body. The blood in her body pumped excitedly through her veins, making her heart sound like a hammer in her chest. Jackson took the opportunity to move his mouth back to hers and took the kiss even deeper, tangling his tongue with hers as he rubbed his body intimately up against her own. She moaned and so did he. “I want you,” he said softly. Melanie gasped, knowing that she was one kiss away from making love to him on the kitchen counter.

  “I…”

  The doorbell rang. And then there was harder knocking. A second or two later, after Melanie righted her clothing and gave Jackson an “I’m sorry” look, she answered the door to two uniformed police officers.

  “Ms. Melanie Cartwright?” one of the officers asked.

  Melanie nodded her head and replied, eyes widening. “Yes, this is she.”

  “Ma’am, your
sister Tessa Cartwright had a drug overdose and was found dead this afternoon. Your niece, Lola, said that she wanted to stay with you. And since there is no father on the birth certificate, we brought her over,” the officer said, indicating to his police cruiser.

  Melanie could see the top of Lola’s head from where she stood. Her hand involuntarily went up to her lips and she would have fallen if it weren’t for Jackson, whom had her tightly in his grasp.

  “Where’s her sister now?” Jackson asked as he held on to a trembling Melanie.

  “She’s at the morgue. The body was taken in earlier this afternoon. The little girl called 911. Her babysitter dropped her off in front of her sister’s apartment building,” the other cop said, pointing to Melanie. “Apparently she has been doing drugs for a long time.”

  “I didn’t know,” Melanie cried. “I didn’t. I would have gotten her into rehab, I wouldn’t have let Lola go back home to her if I had known that!”

  “I know, baby,” Jackson said, kissing her forehead.

  “Will you be able to take care of Lola until we talk with children services?”

  “Children services?” Melanie asked, outraged. “She will be living with me. She is my niece. I want her.”

  The cop nodded. “I’m glad to hear that. The little girl seemed to talk about nothing but you. I am sure you understand, though, that I have to go through all the legal protocols. You will be hearing from us. Once we get the official autopsy report back, you can arrange funeral arrangements. We have to rule out foul play. The coroner is pretty sure of what happened, but to be sure.”

  Melanie looked at the officer, quietly nodding. She waited for the other officer to let her niece out of the squad car. Once the door was open, Lola immediately bounded up the sidewalk and ran into her arms.

  “Aunt Mel!” she cried, hugging her teddy bear to her side. “Aunt Mel!”

  Melanie leaned down on one knee and put her arms out. Lola nearly plowed her over. “Mommy’s dead!”

  At that Jackson cringed, remembering not long ago when his own daughter uttered those same words. Jackson closed his eyes, feeling the pain once more. Melanie looked up at that moment and then moved her arm over to his leg, hugging him as well as Lola.

  ***

  A week later, Melanie, Lola, Sarah Jane and Jackson attended Tessa’s funeral. It was at the Smithville Local Cemetery behind the Methodist church. Tessa had never been religious, but was granted with a nice ceremony courtesy of Pastor John Stedman. Lola cried the entire time as she held on to Melanie’s knee tightly. Sarah Jane didn’t say a word, but she put her thumb in her mouth and sucked on it, reminding Jackson of two years ago and the trauma that Emma’s death produced. He hoped that Lola wouldn’t have to go through that same pain, but knew that nothing would keep away the hurt.

  “We can share a room, Lola,” Sarah Jane said quietly when they were tucked into the back seat of Jackson’s extended cab. Jackson looked over at Melanie. She hadn’t smiled in the week since their date was ruined.

  “That would be awesome,” Lola replied. “We can form a club.”

  “What kind of club?” Sarah asked.

  “A dead mom’s club.”

  Melanie gasped as Lola finished. Jackson looked in the rearview mirror at the two girls and was about to say something when his daughter spoke.

  “It hurts for a while,” Sarah Jane said, “but your aunt Mel has made it better.”

  Melanie’s eyes widened and Jackson grabbed her hand.

  “Yeah, Aunt Mel is a very good mom. That’s why I wished for her. I just didn’t know that I was going to get my wish so fast.”

  Melanie took a deep breath and let the tears fall down her cheeks.

  “I wished for her, too,” Sarah Jane said. “It’s not your fault.”

  Jackson looked at Melanie and smiled, squeezing her hand.

  “What do you mean?” Lola asked.

  “I knew that you weren’t happy, Lola, so I asked my Mommy to give you Aunt Melanie for Christmas. I asked my Mommy to give her to my Daddy, too.”

  Lola smiled at Sarah and wiped at her eyes. “You did?”

  “Yeah, I asked my Mommy, and my Mommy is a star. And now so is yours. Mommies should do things for their kids. Maybe now that your Mom is a star she will do something for you.”

  Lola turned in her seat toward Sarah Jane and looked at her curiously. “Like what?”

  “Maybe if you ask real nice, she will give you a sister?”

  “Like a baby sister?” asked Lola.

  “No, me. Maybe if you ask, and if you’re real good, your Mommy will give me to you and your aunt Mel.”

  Lola smiled as Sarah reached over and grabbed her hand.

  ***

  “Did you hear everything that Sarah Jane said?” Melanie asked, embarrassed at bringing it up. It had bothered her since the car ride and she couldn’t help but want to talk to Jackson about it.

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

  Melanie looked surprised as Jackson sat down in Melanie’s living room. “You do?”

  “Yes, I do. Melanie, I can’t get you out of my head. I can’t tell you what a relief it is that Sarah Jane loves you. I love you.”

  Melanie’s eyes widened at the admission. “Oh!”

  Jackson put his arms around Melanie and brought her into his embrace. “Melanie, didn’t you know?”

  Melanie shook her head, afraid to believe it. Then she looked up into his eyes, and she saw it all there. “You do, don’t you?”

  Jackson smiled. “I love you so much. I would be honored if you would become my wife, and Lola could be my new daughter.”

  Melanie gasped as she heard the proposal from Jackson’s lips. “I would be more than honored, Jackson.”

  “Is that a yes?” Jackson asked, as he watched her eyes.

  “Yes!”

  Jackson smiled and two little girls high fived as they watched from the stairs.

  “We’re going to be sisters!” Lola whispered to Sarah Jane.

  “Your Mom did it, Lola!”

  Lola smiled, one tear escaping her eye. “My Mommy really does love me,” Lola said, as she looked out the window by the stairwell and saw only one star in the sky. It blinked once and then went out.

  MEANT TO BE, ALWAYS…

  CHAPTER ONE

  Officer Brice Reynolds had two hours until his shift was over, and then he could finally leave town for his own happy version of Christmas. What he was going to do, he had no idea yet. Sitting in the cruiser, Brice watched as cars went by, keeping track of their speed with the radar gun.

  Turning the small dial on the radio to 108.7 FM, Brice sang along to “White Christmas” as a white car flew by, making his radar jump. Brice sat up straighter, checked his mirrors then flipped on his lights.

  ***

  Madelyn Makenna looked in the rearview mirror and saw the bright red, white and blue. “Merry F-ing Christmas, Maddie!” she yelled, hitting her steering wheel in protest as she pulled over and put the car in park. “You had to get there tonight, didn’t you? You just had to leave! Why, why, why!”

  A tap on the driver’s side window brought her out of her tirade. “What?” she yelled, putting down the window.

  The man on the other side startled then flashed his light directly in Maddie’s eyes. “License and registration, please.”

  “Any other time, you people wouldn’t have been there! Why pick on me, I mean—I’m not a hardened criminal! I’m just—”

  “Driving reckless, not paying attention to the posted speed, acting like a—”

  “Please, don’t say it!” Maddie pleaded. Today was just not her day.

  “I won’t say it,” Brice chuckled. “Just give me the license and registration and we can move on.”

  “Sure, you can move on! I’m… Well, I’m not exactly in the position to pay this ticket! I’m…” Maddie bit her bottom-lip, crying.

  “Now, now,” Brice
said. The woman was really crying. It was the first one of the night. Usually he got the fake waterworks. These looked genuine. “Hey,” he said, moving closer to the door. “Everything is going to be just fine. It’s Christmas.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me, right now?” Maddie said distraught. “That’s just it. I spent the last of my money on my stupid ex-boyfriend, who dumped me! Me! I can’t even believe it. And not only that, I decided on a whim that I would drive all night to see my family. I haven’t seen them in nearly a year. I don’t really have the money for that. I had to sell some jewelry to get the money for gas! And now, I get picked up, because you obviously have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve!”

  “Clearly,” Brice muttered, amused.

  “And you know what kills me?” Maddie asked.

  “No, but I’m sure you are going to tell me,” Brice said, waiting.

  “He was dating her the entire time we were together! The entire time, and then he just dumps me.”

  “Who?”

  Maddie sighed. “Thomas! He just dumps me for his… well in the spirit of Christmas,” she said sarcastically, “his ho, ho, ho!”

  Brice tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t help it. When the girl saw that he was smiling she let a grin slip as well.

  “I’m sorry, Ms…”

  “Oh!” Maddie exclaimed, her face red. “Here!” she leaned over and took her registration out of her glove compartment. Surprisingly, the woman had an organizer with all of the proper information, including her proof of insurance.

  “Thanks,” Brice said, waiting for her license.

  “Oh,” Maddie said, again, digging through her purse.

  “Please don’t believe everything you read.”

  Brice looked at her closely before she continued.

  “I’m only 120 pounds.”

  Brice laughed, and then looked at the license. “Madelyn, is that your real name?”