Chapter 5

During the service, the three women cried so hard their eyes hurt. Melissa and Lindsey were heartbroken. Her father had encouraged his daughters to pursue every dream they ever had, and none of them got a chance to say goodbye to him, or tell him one last time how much they loved him.

The funeral procession drove through the town. Melissa’s mother played with her wedding ring all the way to the graveside service. Mel looked down at her bare finger and wondered if someone who really loved her would slip a ring on it.

She didn’t lack proposals. Brandon Allen himself had proposed to her when the show ended, looking for an obvious publicity stunt. In the last episode, their characters got married. She rejected him, of course. He was far from being the man of her dreams.

Even so, they had an on-and-off relationship through the years.

Lindsey was doing her best to hide her grief over her father’s death and keep Mel’s local fans out of the way. She realized that the decision of leaving Mel’s bodyguard behind wasn’t the best idea.

When they pulled into the cemetery, some people had already gathered. Melissa tried not to look around for Spencer when she got out of the car, but even so, her eyes wandered.

She spotted him easily. He was seated with his own parents in the second row of chairs. He looked back at her with an expression on his face she couldn’t read.

Every time Melissa recalled what she had done to Spencer, she could hardly breathe past the pain and guilt slashing her heart.

She gulped and reminded herself that she was there for her mother, not her old boyfriend.

Spencer recognized Melissa immediately even when it had been almost ten years since he’d last seen her. She was hard to miss with the group of idiots circling her like sharks. Head down, dressed in black, wearing sunglasses. She looked different, mature, and womanly. Somehow when he pictured her in his head, she’d remained eighteen and innocently sweet.

Spencer’s mind wandered back to the night he discovered Mel had cheated on him. The year that followed was one of the hardest he had ever had. Pain was his love, and hurt became his best friend.

Lindsey was sitting at her side, holding her mother’s hand. She was doing her best to comfort her. Spencer couldn’t help but admire her strength. She was all grown up too and she looked cuter than he remembered. When Lindsey peered in his direction and their gazes locked, she gave him a shy smile. He waved at her.

He felt a crazy twinge of hope in his chest. He hadn’t felt it in so long, it was slightly shocking that it had reappeared with only a simple glance.

He shook the memory from his thoughts and focused on the people around him.

Paul Olson and his wife Mary were sitting at Spencer’s side with their two daughters, Maggie and Sabrina.

“Mom, why are all those men bothering that girl?” Sabrina, the older daughter, asked her mom.

Spencer couldn’t help but look over at Melissa again. A group of males was clustered around her like flies about a honey pot. Lindsey was having a hard time keeping them away until Bert Thomas, the local sheriff, came to her aid.

“She’s a famous actress. I guess they want her autograph,” was her mother’s explanation.

“Well, that’s dumb. If I was famous and my dad died I wouldn’t want to give out autographs. I would like to be left alone.”

“I bet Melissa is thinking the same thing, Sabrina,” her mother said.