She gave a half smile. “Sounds like a plan.”
We were halfway through Spy when my new motion-sensor lights went on and my phone flashed with a warning from the security system that someone was approaching my house. Ben? Zeus gave a deep bark, and Teeny scrambled to the door. I turned on the outdoor lights and peered out.
It was a woman dressed in high boots, a fur coat, fur hat and fur gloves. It was either Lara from Doctor Zhivago or Melissa. Sadly, it was not Lara.
“Is she sleeping?” she said, slipping a bit on the patio. I reached out and grabbed her arm.
“You shouldn’t have come out in this weather, Melissa.” Where was Brad? He’d let her drive in this snow, preggers? “She’s awake. Come on in.”
She did, taking off her snow-encrusted boots and handing me her coat and hat, since apparently I was the butler. Then she swooped onto Ophelia. “Oh, honey! I was so worried! You can never do that again! Do you hear me? What if you got lost in the snow?”
“I wouldn’t get lost, Melissa,” Ophelia said, wriggling away, a bored sort of scorn dripping from her voice. “I’m not an idiot.” Where was the nice kid who’d been with me for the past two hours?
“People get lost,” Melissa said. “You could’ve frozen to death!”
“People don’t get lost. Don’t be such a drama queen.”
“Actually,” I said, “people do get lost. A guy disappeared around here about ten years ago. He was never found. They dragged the ponds and had hundreds of people look for him, but he was gone without a trace.”
“Seriously? You’re on her side now?” Ophelia asked.
“Google it. Matthew Dudek.”
Melissa sat on the couch next to Ophelia. “Your mother and Bradley are also very upset,” she said. “We were all so worried.”
“Well, maybe you two shouldn’t screech about who’s gonna get custody of me while I’m in the house.” She stared at the paused image of Jude Law. “Did you walk here?”
“Um . . . well, my car got stuck a ways back. I walked from there.”
“Is Mama in the car?”
Melissa glanced at me, then back at Ophelia. “No, she stayed home. Uh, let me call her and Bradley, if you don’t mind.”
I gestured her into the living room and closed the den door, not wanting to overhear their cooing or Brad’s psychobabble.
The other woman was in my house. In my living room, seeing pictures of my son, my family. It was unsettling . . . but at the same time, I would’ve walked through the deep snow for my kid, too.
“Leave it to her to ruin the happiest night I’ve had all year,” Ophelia muttered.
“Hey,” I said. “She came out in a snowstorm, seven months pregnant, to make sure you were okay. She didn’t have to do that.”
“I wish she didn’t.”
“But she did.” And Ophelia’s mother had not. Nor had Brad, who was the best equipped to drive in the snow down these winding, bumpy roads. Melissa had come by herself, and walked in the dark, snowy woods, pregnant belly and all.
I hated to admit it, but I kind of admired that.
Melissa knocked at the door and peeked in. “Can I . . . can I sit down?”
“Sure.” I glanced at her stomach. “How’s the baby?”
“Fine. Normal.” She looked embarrassed.
“How many weeks are you?”
“Thirty.”
“Well, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go home tonight, Melissa, so you can have Dylan’s room, because Princess Ophelia has already claimed the guest room. I’m gonna get you some soup and a big glass of water.”
“Oh, no, I don’t want to make a fuss.”
“You already have. Sit down in the recliner and put your feet up.” My voice may have been a wee bit hard, but did it stop me from feeding her? It did not.
By the time the movie was over, my brain had had it. I gave each of my guests a toothbrush from the stash I kept for Dylan’s friends, waited for them to get settled, and then turned out the lights. As I did, Ben’s truck pulled into the driveway. I let Zeus out and went to greet Ben at the studio door. The snow was tapering off, but it sure was pretty out here. So quiet.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi. How’s your daughter?”
He smiled. “She’s great. Really happy. We had a nice dinner. Nice to see them both.”
“Both?”
“Oh. Cara, too. The three of us.”