My EX-Wife

Book 1

"I didn't approve her. I would never do that. She shouldn't be here". Cynthia Stoker,the cattleman Crime club's event coordinator,paced in the kitchen.

Her fingers were a braided knot. She was responsible for the guest list at the spring fling, the annual end-of-spring fund-raiser hosted by the O'Brien family

"I know". Colin O'Brien folded his arms,hiding just how much the thought of seeing Melissa Roark__correction, Melissa Rancic__again twisted his gut. Being the fourth son of the wealthy O'Brien family and with good looks and charm to spare,he hadn't seen a lot of rejection in his life. Until her. And she'd ripped his heart out. "How'd her name get past security?

"She asked to come as Carolina Jordan's plus one,and since she wasn't listed as a threat they approved her", Cynthia said,throwing her hands in the air, worry lines bracketing her mouth. She'd worked at the ranch for a little more than five years. She'd become closer with his family and knew that the subject of Melissa was off limits. "Honest. I thought she moved away a year ago. I had no idea she'd resurface".

"She did". The thought that she'd returned to Bluff, Texas,let alone be bond enough to show up at his family's fund-raiser riding on someone else's invitation,sat hot and heavy. The heels of his boots clicked on the file floor as he paced. The last time he'd seen her had been when she'd handed him the engagement ring she'd been wearing_ the one he'd given her_ and then married one if the biggest jerks to ever blow through town, Richard Rancic. The guy was all flash no substance, splashing local businesses with his money before taking what he wanted_Melissa_and breezing out of town. The newlyweds had disappeared after the quickie wedding. Apparently, Melissa couldn't get away from Colin fast enough.

He'd moved on, dated plenty of interesting women since then. The thought of seeing her again shouldn't hurt this much. And just to prove himself that it didn't, he planned to March right into the ballroom and shoe her just how freakin' fantastic he was doing since she'd told him that she didn't love him the same anymore and then walked out of his life.

Cynthia stalked toward the kitchen table,where Colin had seen her cell phone

"I'm calling security. Don't worry about a thing. You don't even have to look at her. I'll have her escorted out. She shouldn't be here and Carolina should've known better than to bring her. I'm putting them both on the never allow list". Her voice had that shaming quality.

"No need. I'll walk her out myself and then deal with Carolina personally", Colin bit out in a low growl.

Cynthia tensed, reacting to his sharp words.

Well,he hadn't meant to make her do that. He'd apologize later. Right now, he had an important matter to take care of. He didn't want one of his brothers seeing Melissa first and ushering her out of the building before he got a chance to have his say. No,he wanted to handle this little problem on his own. Carolina might've been Melissa's girlfriend but she'd become closer with his family. Colin considered Carolina a friend,too,until now.

Colin stalked out of the room and towards the great Hall. The place was decorated to the nines for the spring fling. Paper lanterns hung from the forty-foot tented ceiling. White candles contrasted against the dark oak beams and wood floors. Round tables with white linens covering them surrounded the dance floor. The place,fixed up,gave a nod to its heritage as an old horse barn and had rustic charm in spades.

Colin blood pressure spiked with each step inside the room as he searched for his target. George strait's "Baby blue" filled the air as pairs of boots shuffled around the dance floor in a two-step.

And then he saw her. His gaze fixed. His heart fisted.

Melissa Rancic stood in front of the buffet table, nervously searching the faces in the crowd. At least she had enough sense to be worried even if she also had a whole helluva a lot of nerve showing up at his family home.

Colin didn't want to acknowledge how damn good she looked. Her wavy Auburn hair just past her shoulders. She'd cut it since the last time he'd seen her when it fell mid back in large ringlets. She had on a cream-coloured sleeveless dress that smoothed along her soft curves of her frame and flared below the waist with two layers of ruffles.

The dress fell mid thigh, showing off those long legs of hers. Her fingers toyed with the necklace that hung in the middle of her chest,and the huge rock on her wedding finger sparkled in the dim light. She wore light brown boots with blue inlay. The fact that she still owned them at all made him believe she'd stayed somewhere in Texas. Although,she could live anywhere. He wouldn't know. After the way she'd left things unfinished between them,he'd refused to talk about her again. She'd made her choice and he'd closed up inside telling himself that he needed to cowboy up and move on. Of course,he'd spent plenty of couch time licking his wounds before he'd had enough of the lovesick puppy routine.

Memories of her in his arms,her warm,naked skin against his,tried to break through his thoughts as he stared at her. The way she smelled like early morning on a sunny day in spring,all flowers and warmth. Her intelligence. The way she laughed...

Those thoughts had about as much place in his mind as she had in his house. To be clear,there was room for neither. It was about time she knew it.

As he stalked closer,he realized there was more than worry going on in her head. She was anxious,stressed and those weren't the same thing. She had to know this was the last place on Earth she should be. Since it had been easy for her to walk away from him last year and shut him out of his life completely,he figured her apprehension had nothing to do with the possibility of running into him. Was she afraid Carolina had disappeared on her? She was looking for someone.or looking out for someone. Watching. Weary.

Her weight shifted from side to side like when she was nervous. She kept toying with that necklace,too. Was that a gift from him,from Richard?

Rather than sneak up on her or come from the side, Colin took a straight on approach,and he didn't bother to hide the intensity in his glare. If she had the guts to come to his house,she could take it.

The second she saw him,her body language changed. Her posture tensed and she stood stiff and uncomfortable. A look of panic crossed her features as her gaze darted around, probably looking for an escape route. With a buffet table behind her and the only other exit to Colin's back ,she was trapped in between.

As he neared,he could see that her pulse pounded at the the base of her neck__a neck he had no business looking at in the first place, especially not the exact spot that made her mewl with pleasure when his mouth covered it.

When he was close enough to see the Violet streaks in her brown eyes,she tried to duck right.

"Not so fast", Colin ground out,catching her by the arm.

"Let go of me,Colin O'Brien", she said,facing toward the east wall,refusing to look at him directly.

Colin wasn't about to let her get away with that. It was high time she learned that sidestepping a problem didn't make it go away. He spun her around to face him. They were almost nose-to-nose and the movement brought her scent washing over him, memories crashing into him. His heart double fisted .

"Why are you here?" He managed to bite out, clenching his back teeth.

"I shouldn't have come". Her eyes were pleading for him to let go now .

He couldn't. He wanted_no, needed to understand what he'd done wrong to make her run out in him in the first place. His pride kept him from asking as she shook out of his grip,the diamond on her wedding ring scratching his arm as she jerked free.

"Hold on, Mel___"

Before he could finish,she was gone. She'd dashed across the dance floor,pushed open the double doors to the lawn and fled. All the lines he'd practiced in his head a million times over were a distant memory. He stood there,mute and stupid. Frozen. Just like before.

Dancing had stopped even though the music played on. All eyes were on him now. From his peripheral vision,he saw two of brothers making a beeline toward him.

Colin wasn't in the mood for a family meeting,so he reversed course and then ditched them out the back door.

HEART POUNDING, MELISSA ran to her sedan. She should've known better than to show up at the O'Brien's ranch. Yet, she'd had to see Colin one more time before disappearing into her new identity in witness protection. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard. She had little more than two hours left before saying goodbye to her past lifem at midnight, Melissa Rancic would no longer exist Richard Rancic ,her husband and a hardened criminal,had escaped custody and was on the loose according to her US Marshal Handler ,Tim Davis,Richard was last seen making a run for the Canadian border. That he was so far away had given her the confidence she'd needed to come back to Bluff and see Colin again. She'd expected it to hurt but also comfort her. To give her the strength she would need to do what had to be done in order to protect her daughter.

Hands shaking,she managed to retrieve her purse from the backseat and locate her keys. Getting the right one in the ignition proved a frustrating challenge. After several attempt,she had the engine putting and the great Hall I'm the rearview. Not long after that,the entire of O'Brien ranch disappeared.

Head spinning,she thought about the fact the Colin hadn't changed one bit,unless it was possible to look even better. That old saying about absence making the heart grow fonder proved love. His jet-black hair and those intense dark eyes still had the power to make her weak-kneed with one look. There was a deeper emotion present in his eyes now,too,and it looked a lot like hurt.

The past year of living without him had been kind living in an Arctic cave...brutal,dark,cold. There'd been no sun. No laughter. No joy. And yet,day after day, she'd had to put on a brave face with her husband and pretend that she loved him.

Both her and her daughter's survival had depended on delivering a good show. A shiver raced through her as she thought about what her life had turned into and the dangerous man she was running away from.

Life,like a spring weather in Texas,could change in a flash.

The gravity of just how big a mistake it had been to come back to Bluff,to see Colin ,had shifted the ground beneath her feet. This whole idea had been a stupid mistake no matter how badly her body had reacted at the thought of never seeing him again, and the panic attack had been almost crippling. Her chest had squeezed until she though it might Burst. When release finally came,her heart filled with an ache so deep she could scarcely breathe.

Even so,it had been rash of her to think that she could get away with slipping into the dimly lit greatly hall and catch one last glimpse of him before someone recognized her and kicked her out. Based on his expression,he would have known to thrown her out himself.

Memories of spending time at the ranch assaulted her. She and Colin had been happy,so carefree,so in love...

A sob escaped before she could suppress it. Her eyes blurred as she navigated onto the main road into town. At least she had their daughter. She'd have to hold onto that piece of Colin for the rest of her life and let it be enough. Angelina touched a piece of Melissa's heart that could belong to no one else. She thought about how unfair it was that her daughter had never met her father,would never meet him.

But then,this was the way it had to be,she reminded herself. Melissa's father was old and sick. He'd made him mistakes and they were both paying for them. If Richard had followed through on his threats,her father would live out the rest of his life in jail. She couldn't allow that to happen no matter how angry she'd become at him for his unethical business practices. And then there were the threats Richard had made about Colin and his family. The man could destroy the O'Briens if their secret was revealed. The bedrock of the family had been their parents' unwavering love and devotion. If Richard had gone public with the photos he had,the ones of Mr O'Brien having an affair,the family would've been crushed. Colin would've been devastated.

In order to save her father and Colin, Melissa had done as Richard had said. Break off her engagement with Colin and agree to marry Richard instead. Save two families. Melissa had naively believed that all she needed was time to figure out how to back out of the arrangement with Richard m it had all come at her so fast. How simple had she been to think that man wouldn't force her to go through with the wedding or a loveless union?

And then she'd missed her period. Once she'd realized she was pregnant and that Richard would stop at nothing to destroy her if she walked out on him, she'd been too frightened to put up a fight . Scared he'd force her to give the baby up for adoption or,worse yet,do something more sinister,she'd convinced Richard that Angelina was his. She hadn't realized how a small snowball of lie could grow and build ,gaining momentum until it became an avalanche and destroyed everything in it's path, destroyed her.

In her heart,she'd known all along that Richard would've moved heaven and Earth to find her if she'd left him before the feds became involved. Then he'd destroy everything she loved. The worst part about her whole marriage was that she'd had to persuade her husband that Colin meant nothing to her. Her and her daughter's lives had depended on Melissa being convincing.

Three day after Angelina was born,the feds had shown up and told Melissa they were building a case against Richard and his family. She'd been given an ultimatum: help the government or lose her daughter. She'd negotiated to have her father taken into protective custody. He was living in an undisclosed facility. Melissa had secretly helped gather evidence against her husband,living in daily fear of being discovered. And that wasn't the worst of it . The true hell that she'd lived had been wondering what her life would been like if she'd married Colin instead...

There was no time for doubts now.

Melissa had done what she'd had to do in order to protect those closest to her, including him. Regretting the past or her action now wouldn't change a thing. Witnessing the pain In Colin's eyes had her second-guessing everything.

Tears streaked her cheeks as, once again,she drove away from the only she'd ever loved.

______

"Thank you so much,Mrs.Klein", Melissa said as she held out a couple of twenties In her fist not realizing she was clenching her hand until she noticed her white knuckles.

The older woman glanced at Melissa and smiled before waving her hand. She'd retired and moved to Bluff after thirty years of teaching in the Huston ISD. Her husband's family was originally from the area,and the two of them had returned to live out their retirement In a small town. She was the perfect neighbor because she didn't know everyone yet and had no idea about Melissa's past in Bluff.

"I can't take all that especially not for__" Mrs.Klien glanced at her watch"__an hour and fifteen minutes worth of work".

"Please do. I didn't realize I'd be back so soon and I've messed up your whole Evening'". Tears free-fell down Melissa's cheeks now,and they had nothing to do with the words coming out of her mouth.

"Don't worry about it,dear. Seriously,there's still time to catch CSI with Bernard if I hurry". Mrs.Klein's brow furrowed and she had a mix of pity and kindness on her face. She really was a sweet woman."The baby was no trouble. She's been asleep the whole time".

Melissa told herself to get it together. She would. It had been easier to leave town when she thought she was saving everyone she loved. With everything that she'd been through in the past twelve months,she figured she could endure most anything. Seeing Colin again was too much. She'd been naive to think that she could see him again and then walk away a second time without a few tears. He looked good... unbelievably good. Different,but good. His quick smile and easy going charm had been replaced by distrust and cautious eyes.

The way he's looked at her,so angry,so hurt...so final.

For Colin there wasn't a lot of gray area. Life was black-and-white. She should've known that once she'd left him,he'd be done. Having her fear confirmed hurt. The only consolation was that she'd always have a piece of Colin with her in their daughter.

"At least take something for your time", Melissa managed to get out before Mrs.Klien could walk out of the door.

Melissa flipped on the front porch light. Nothing happened. The electricity in this old house was about as reliable as the cell coverage in town. Both were spotty.

"Oh,great. Now what?'" Melissa asked rhetorically as more tears streamed.

"It's really okay dear. Don't make yourself sick over it", Mrs.Klein said,patting Melissa on the shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?"

Melissa suppressed a sob."I'll be fine. It's been a long day and I just need a good night of sleep.that's all".

She wished a few hours of rest could fix all her problems. Instead,she'd be meeting with her handler in a little more than an hour and a half. Her world would never be the same again.

"Whatever's going on will get better with time. I promise", Mrs.Klein soothed.

The woman had no idea how complicated Melissa's life had become.

"At least take something for your trouble". Melissa held out the fistful of twenties towards Mrs. Klein.

"If it'll make you feel better". The old woman peeled off the top twenty and tucked it inside her pocket. She winked. "I'll take Bernard out to breakfast with that money in the morning".

"Thank you for everything". Melissa said. She closed and locked the door after watching Mrs. Klein walk across the street to see that she was safely home. She texted Carolina that she'd left the party.

Melissa was relieved that the older woman hadn't pressed to find out what was really wrong with her. She'd been mute for twelve long months,save for the conversations she'd had with the feds,and she wanted to shout from the rooftops now that was free. But she wasn't really free. Richard was still out there. Somewhere. Melissa shivered at the thought. She was about to leave everything she'd ever known behind for witness protection because of that man. And there was a very real possibility that she would never see Colin again. A sob tried to escape.

She suppressed it.

The feds had said that Richard should be somewhere near the Canadian border by now. Melissa had been under so much duress especially in the past months since talking with the agents,that she could barely think straight. She told herself that was the reason she'd been misguided enough to think seeing Colin one more time would somehow fill the ache in her chest.

Everything had spun out of control. Her relationship with the feds hadn't exactly been a friendly alliance . The only reason she'd collected evidence against Richard was because they threatened to take Angelina away from her. Ever since they'd approached her while she picked up the mail that cold January morning. She'd been walking a tightrope.

Richard had been good at covering his tracks ,so culling evidence against him had been difficult. She'd eventually gathered the proof needed for the feds to get an arrest warrant. She'd risked her life,not to mention her daughter's. And what had they done with Richard? Allowed him to escape. No one could save Melissa now if Richard go to her. If it wasn't for Angelina,for that smiling Angelic face, Melissa would've lost hope a long time ago.

Melissa was weary,lonely,and part of her felt like she'd never live a normal life again. At least her father was in protective custody. His health was sketchy but he was in a decent facility in the Pacific Northwest. That's the only information she'd been given and that's all she needed to know. She wasn't ready to forgive her father for what he'd done to ruin both of their lives,she she'd felt the need to protect him. And now,she and Angelina would be Bethany and Claire soon. A new life,a fresh start,shouldn't feel like such a death sentence. But it would be because they'd be living a life without Colin.

Head pounding, heart aching,she closed her eyes before leaning against the door and then sinking until her bottom hit the hardwood floor. She twisted off her wedding ring,noticing the red marks on her fingers it left behind because it had always been a little too tight,and threw it across the room. Relief flooded her at getting that thing off her finger. She'd put it on so no one would question her about it. The only reason she'd held on to the ring was because she figured she could sell it if times got tight. The government had made promises to her ,but who really knew if they could be trusted? They'd allowed Richard to slip through their fingers and that wasn't exactly reassuring.

Seconds turned into minutes and Melissa had no idea how long she'd been sitting there when she finally opened her eyes again.

Her father was safe. The baby was safe. Colin was safe. And she was exhausted.

She blocked out thoughts of how much Colin hated her now. She'd seen it in his eyes as he stalked towards her. The anger was so palpable that she'd had to turn her face away. Right then,she knew that he would never forgive her for leaving. And what had she really expected? For him to tell her everything would be okay? A hug?.

Maybe it was good that Melissa Rancic would no longer exist in less than__she checked the clock__an hour. Maybe it was time to make a new leaf. Maybe it was time to make a new life for herself and Angelina. The thought of causing Colin any more pain was like a knife to her heart anyway. He deserved so much more.

She pushed up to stand as a knock sounded on her door from behind. She jumped. Her heart leapt to her throat and her chest squeezed. The same old feeling of panic,of the walls closing in and the air thinning, threatened to debilitate her. And that same question burned through her mind ... Had Richard found her?

No. That was impossible. He was probably in Canada by now.

The knock sounded again, a little louder,a little more urgent.

Her mind spun. All the anxiety crashed down around her,freezing her limbs and making something as simple as taking a breath hurt.

Hold on a second. Richard wouldn't knock at her front door nor would anyone he sent. That was way too direct. He would slip in during the night and slit her throat.

She glanced around the room. Searching for a purse or jacket. Mrs. Klein most likely forgot something and was returning to get it. The simple explanation was usually the right one no matter how much her brain protested and fear overtook her.

Melissa flipped the switch to the porch light and checked out the peephole. The light was out. Had it been like that before? Melissa couldn't remember. This was an old house. It belonged to her cousin's best friend. It had a lot of quirks.

Yes. It had. She remembered a little while ago when Mrs.Klein had gone home that the porch light hadn't been working. No way was Melissa opening that door without confirmation.

"Mrs. Klein?" Melissa said softly,and then waited for a response.

A high-pitched murmur of acknowledgement came.

As Melissa opened the door,she said, "What did you__"

And then she froze.

She gasped as panic roared through her. She quickly regained her bearing and pushed to door trying to shut it quickly even though it wouldn't budge. There was something wedged at the base. She glanced down. The toe of Colin's boot stared up at her.

"Not so fast, Melissa". He pushed open the door a little too easily and brushed past her.

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE", Melissa said with more panic than anger, and he noticed that she's positioned her body between him and the stairs. Was she blocking him for a reason? Was someone up there? Richard?.

"I almost didn't come" Colin had followed Melissa on a whim. And then he'd sat at the end of the street trying to decide if he should knock or not. Seeing her with Richard would knife him. But maybe he needed that reinforcement to be able to finally let go. He'd been stuck in a place between loving her and the kind of pain he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy for the past year. Seeing her dredged up feelings he thought he'd learned to live with,or live without, depending on how he looked at it.

"Why did you?" She asked

"Is he here?" Colin motioned toward the base of the staircase,ignoring her question. That old anger from her leaving him for a flash-in-the-pan guy like Richard renewed.

She looked down and then shook her head.

He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until that moment. Forcing himself to exhale slowly ,he also noticed that she wasn't wearing her ring anymore and she looked completely wrung out. Had the two of them been in a fight?

Colin shouldn't want to interfere with a married couple's business,but part of him needed to know that she was okay. "Did he do anything to you? Hurt you in any way?"

"No", she said quickly. He couldn't help but notice how her body was trembling.

"He made a move towards her and she flinched. Another sign he didn't like.

"Why did you come to the ranch?" He pinned her with his stare,letting his anger show in his words. He couldn't afford to her her get inside his head or his heart.

"I wanted to see you" she said, looking like she'd had to force the word out. She didn't budge or invite him in,and she kept glancing toward the door like she expected her husband to walk through at any minute.

"Why?" He asked.

"We're moving out of the country and I guess I got nostalgic for the past." The corner of her mouth twitched. She was lying.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

She flashed her eyes at him but didn't speak. Her body trembled as she brought her hand to her chest ,sign that she was in a panic.

Nostalgic? This seemed an over-the-top reaction to being a little homesick.

"Everything going okay between the two of you?" Colin asked,a piece of him hoping she would say it wasn't. There was so much off about her,he noticed. From her reaction to him to the way she talked about her husband,Colin didn't know where to start with questions.

She nodded that it was. And that should be enough for Colin. He should walk right out the door and never look back. She'd broken his heart once,and this little visit was reopening old wounds that he had no doubt were going to sting for a long while after she left. If his heart was a muscle,it was memory causing his body to have this reaction to seeing her again,the one where he felt like the world was going to tumble down around him as soon as he walked out that door.

None of those feelings were welcomed. He stared at her,trying to read her to see if he could figure out why she'd really shown up at the ranch earlier. There was a time when Knowing what was on her mind would've been second nature. But she'd changed. Colin might not be able to tell what she was thinking but he knew fear when he saw it. And she was afraid of something. If not her husband,then who? Him?

"So,he's treating you right?" He asked ,unable to stop pushing for the answers he really wanted but his pride wouldn't allow him to ask. Like why she'd really ditched him for Richard in the first place.

"I said he was", she said,and her body language changed. She folded her arms and gritted her back teeth in the way that she did when she was shoring her strength.

"You're the one who came to see me and now you act like you can't stand to be in the same room", he said.

"Time for you to go", she shot back.

Was she there to torture him? To remind him of what he'd lost ? Did she really hate him that that much?

A piece of him had to know if she'd walked away because she'd really stopped loving him like she'd said. He stalked towards her and she walked backward until she was against the wall. The stairs were to the left and the hallway to the right would take him into the kitchen.

Melissa's hands came up in defense and she turned her face away, shutting her eyes.

This close,her heart thumped at the the base of her throat wildly. The air changed and electricity pinged between them.

Their sexual chemistry hadn't dimmed. We're her feelings for him really dead?

"You're not getting away so easy this time". Colin used his thumb on her chin to guide her face toward him. His other hand wrapped around the base of her neck. Being this close took a toll on him,on his body . He took in a sharp breath and,by accident,breathed in her scent. At least one thing hadn't changed about her. She still smelled like sunshine after the first spring rain. All flowers and fresh air. "Why'd you take off your ring?"

She kept her eyes shut.

"I'm not leaving until you look at me and give me an answer". She'd never been able to do that and lie.

A piece of him dared to hope she was done with her marriage,that she could admit it had been a mistake and that she'd never stopped loving him. Colin knew it was his bruised ego wishing for that. Because he had enough pride to realize that he would never love her in the same way again no matter what excuses she gave for walking out. That innocence had been shattered into a thousand tiny pieces along with his heart,and he doubted he could ever love anyone in that same way again, especially not her.