Melissa: A Hathaway House Heartwarming Romance by Dale Mayer (good book club books txt) 📕

before sitting down. As soon as she sat down, she wanted to whoop with joy. She said, “I know it’s silly, and I know it’s crazy, but it feels so good.”

“Of course it does,” he said. He leaned over, picked up his water glass, and said, “Cheers.”

She chuckled and clinked her glass to his and said, “I can’t believe I’ve made it this far.”

“And this is still just part of it,” he said. “We have lots more to go.”

“I know,” she said with the gentlest of smiles. “But I have so much to thank you for already.” She could sense him withdrawing slightly, and she shook her head. “I don’t know what I just said, but you’re stepping back.”

He looked at her and nodded. “It’s one of the things that we always have to watch out for. Gratitude is lovely, and thank you,” he said, “but remember. You’re the one who’s done this, not me.”

“What do you mean, it’s something you have to watch for?”

“It’s about making sure you don’t mistake other feelings for being grateful.”

And then she realized what he was trying to say. “Absolutely not,” she gasped. “Oh my,” she said. “I can see how that would be an issue, but it isn’t for me.”

He studied her carefully.

She smiled and said, “I mean it. What I feel for you is not at all connected to gratitude. Of course I’m grateful. You’ve shown me a whole new way to live. You’ve helped me get from where I was to where I am, and I know I still have a lot more healing to go.”

He said, “And I’m happy to do it because now you can see that the journey is of value. It’s funny how many people need proof.”

“Well, it’s easier with measurable, tangible proof, isn’t it?” she said. “We don’t have to go on blind faith.”

“True enough,” he said, and he started eating.

She leaned forward and said, “And that doesn’t change the fact that this isn’t all about gratitude.”

He looked up, gave her a flashing bright smile, and said, “Good,” and then he returned to eating.

Feeling like she’d probably said enough—but maybe not enough to satisfy him—still not quite sure what else to do, she started in on her meal too. In the back of her mind she worried. It wasn’t just gratitude, was it? Surely not. But she didn’t have enough practice or experience in relationships to really understand, and so much was new in her mind-set. So much was new in the way that she looked at the world, as she’d understood how she’d been searching for a way to belong all this time.

She didn’t want that to be a reason behind a relationship with Shane. The fact that he could see past her broken body was amazing in itself. But what was it that she was seeing when she looked at him? And it was a question that bothered her for a long time.

Days went by, and those thoughts still sat there in the back of her mind. She kept hoping for enlightenment, but, so far, just all these questions built up.

Shane watched her behavior. It wasn’t that she withdrew, but it was obvious that she was thinking hard. And that was a good thing. He didn’t know if it was his words. He suspected so, but then an awful lot of work was being done behind the scenes with Dr. Sullivan, and he could champion that more than anything because it was so important for Melissa to do that work. She was a wonderful person. He was becoming more attached than he cared to, especially if it ended up being something that wouldn’t move forward.

Dani caught him frowning one day and asked, “Problems in paradise?”

He looked up at her and smiled. “How do you know when paradise is right?”

She leaned against the doorframe, her arms across her chest. “You know? I think you go through this uncertainty. This feeling of Is it right? Is it wrong? Is it for real? Do they care? Do they not care? Is it enough? And then,” she said, “you come out the other side, and there’s this feeling of I know it’s right.” She continued, “It comes from deep inside. It’s a feeling of This is the person I want to be with. This is the person I want to spend time with. This is the person I didn’t know I’d been waiting for all this time. This is the person who makes me better,” she said with a gentle smile. “What you’re going through is normal. It’s proper. It’s correct. It’s what you should be going through. And, when you come out on the other side, you will have that sense of having been through the worst, and you’ll know deep inside that it’s right.”

“What if I don’t go through that?”

She laughed out loud. “But you are going through that,” she said. “You’re going through it right now.”

He nodded moodily, as he picked up his laptop and disconnected the charging cable from it and packed it up. “I’m not sure that she sees me the way she would see another male.”

“Back to that gratitude stuff?”

“I think so,” he said. “We talked about it. I’m not sure there’s really an answer for it, but it’s just something that I’ve been a little concerned about.”

“And that’s okay,” she said gently. “I understand that. It can’t be all that easy, if you’re afraid it’s not going anywhere. But, from what I’ve seen, there’s certainly an awful lot there for you to work with.”

“There is,” he said. “Maybe I’m just being impatient.”

“Well, that is one thing,” she said. “You cannot rush this process, and you can’t rush it for her either. She has to come to that same awareness in her own time frame.”

“And waiting sucks,” he said forcefully.

She burst out laughing. “It so does, doesn’t it? Hardly fair at all.”

“Not fair at all,” he said with a shake of his head. “Still, it is what it is, and