Need You Now (Love in Unknown) - By Taylor M. Lunsford Page 0,4

warning you, it's gonna be an uphill battle. And don't expect me to help your cause. I'm staying out of this. Way, way out."

"Fair enough." Caine nodded, sipping his iced tea. It was bad enough he'd asked his brother to keep his relationship with Mel a secret from Micah all these years. When Caine moved home six years ago, he’d expected his brother to be pissed at him, but Gage’s first trip home from Austin, where he was working as a cop, proved otherwise. Gage would stand by him to the bitter end, but Caine couldn't ask him to run interference now. "Just don't tell her anything. I don't want her to have time to dig her heels in."

He needed every advantage he could get. For the first time in years, he felt excited and energized. Being with Melody Carr had always been a challenge, but she was worth the work.

Chapter 2

Mel tried not to rush around like a crazy person on her first morning of work at Unknown Family Clinic. She didn’t exactly achieve success. After years of being late, trying to find that shoe she knew she saw the day before or running back because she forgot her keys, she should have known to plan for extra time. By the time she arrived at the stately white Victorian mansion that served as Unknown’s only doctor’s office, Mel was a little out of breath. She refused to look in the mirror in the front hall; she didn’t want to confirm her fears that the carefully put together brown pencil skirt and blue blouse were rumpled and her cheeks rosy from nerves and exertion.

“Can I help you?” The drawled words reminded Mel of over-sugared tea that clung to the back of your throat after you took a sip. She turned in the direction of the voice, coming from the room just off the entrance where the reception desk sat. A woman, a few years older than Mel, sat behind the desk. A cloud of hair-sprayed blonde curls around her head. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but Mel couldn’t quite recognize her with the caked on layers of make-up.

Mel put on her best Southern girl “company” smile. “Hi,” she said, putting a little twang in her own voice. “I’m the new doctor.”

The woman’s face went stony with politeness. “Oh. Yeah. Cuttin’ it a bit close, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s just been one of those mornings.” Mel’s smile never faltered. “Is Dr. Booth in his office?”

The woman stared at Mel for a second, eyes narrowed as if she were searching for something. “You’re Micah Carr’s kid sister. The freaky genius girl who skipped a bunch of grades.”

Freaky? Okay. And she hadn’t skipped a bunch of grades. Just two. She still couldn’t remember who this was. Then again, she’d done her best not to pay attention to the swarm of girls that buzzed around her brother and Gage in high school. It had been easier not to try to learn their names, considering how soon they were gone. She spent too much time with her head in her books for them to take any notice of her. “Yes, Micah’s my older brother. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your name.”

It was really hard for Mel not to get a petty little frisson of satisfaction when the woman looked mildly offended at not being immediately recognizable. Oh, the small town diva. She’d forgotten this particular joy of living in Unknown.

“I’m Sandra. Sandra Jones. I was head cheerleader at Fortune High for three years.”

Mel vaguely remembered the cheerleaders from when she’d gone to watch Micah and Gage play football, but she’d never paid much attention to them as none of them had been in any of the advanced classes she took. Luckily, she was saved from having to respond by a door opening and a masculine throat clearing. “Is that my little Melody?”

“Doc Booth!” A genuine smile stretched across Mel’s face as she rushed to hug the man who’d taken care of her family since before Micah was born. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Let me take a look at you.” Hands roughened by time gripped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Pretty as the day you left for that fancy Yankee school of yours. Thought we’d never get you back down here.”

She shook her head. “You know my mama wouldn’t let me stay away from Unknown forever. Besides, you promised me when I was twelve I could come and work for