^^ Steven (Mel's Dad) ^^

As I stood on the beach looking at the surf shop in front of me, I couldn't quite get my head around it. When I was younger, my dad had worked in an advertising agency. Now, I was standing outside his surf shop, on the beach in California. I'd known he'd opened it, of course, he had told me all about it on the phone. But standing here and looking at it was surreal. My dad had pretty much lived in suits for my entire childhood, always the professional. Even though I'd known about the shop, I hadn't really known what to expect.

I took a deep breath and pushed aside the beads that hung down covering the doorway. The shop was small, with railings displaying wetsuits covering one wall. The entire back wall was covered in surfboards, and the shop floor was a maze of clothing displays showing shirts, board shorts and bikinis. There was a small counter in the corner that held a cash register and boxes of what I'm guessing was board wax. I had never surfed in my life; every beach trip we'd taken when I was younger had consisted of sunbathing and occasionally paddling. Which just made it even stranger that my dad had opened this place.

The sound of a door opening made me jump and I turned to see a man walking out of a door that had a 'Staff Only' sign on it. He was in his early twenties and was about six feet tall. He had brown hair that hung over his ears in tight curls, and brown eyes that reminded me of coffee. He smiled when he saw me, and I saw the dimples either side of his mouth.

"Hey. Can I help you?" He asked, tilting his head at me. I must've looked strange to him; standing in the shop and looking around like I had entered a different world.

"Um, I'm looking for Steven," I said quietly. My stomach was full of butterflies and my nerves had kicked in.

"Stevie? Sure, he's in the back, I'll just get him," He grinned.

Stevie?! What the hell?

I nodded at him and tried to smile, but I think it came off as more of a grimace. He poked his head through the doorway he had just come from, and I busied myself looking at the surfboards.

"Which one are you interested in?"

I froze when I heard him behind me. I'd spoken to him on the phone recently, but hearing him up close was something completely different. I turned around slowly and took a good look at him. He was as tall as I remember at almost six feet, but his brown hair was now speckled with grey. His laughter lines were more pronounced now, and instead of the clean-shaven look I had grown up with, he had stubble along his jaw. He looked strange to me in his patterned shirt and board shorts, with sandals on his feet. His eyes widened as he took me in.

"Melody?" He almost whispered, looking me up and down.

"Hi Dad," I said, just as quietly. I flinched as he grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. It had been almost ten years since I'd seen him, and I wasn't sure if I was comfortable with that yet. However, as his arms tightened around me, I found myself relaxing and hugging him back.

He pulled back and looked at me. "What are you doing here? Are you okay? I mean, not that it's not fantastic to see you, because it is," He babbled, and a smile broke out onto my face.

"I'm fine, Dad. I just needed a break and I haven't seen you in so long, I thought I'd come and visit," I shrugged.

He put an arm around my shoulder and turned to face the younger man I had spoken to before. "Dane, this is my daughter, Melody. Melody, this is Dane. He's my business partner, and friend,"

I put a hand out for him to shake. "It's Mel," I said, trying to sound polite. I had stopped everybody calling me Melody after my dad had walked out; he was the only person who did apart from my mum, and that was only if I was in trouble.

"It's good to meet you," He replied. "Are you in town long?"

"Just a few days. I've got a room at a hotel just down the beach,"

"You didn't have to get a hotel. You could've stayed with me," Dad said.

I shook my head. "It's okay. I like having my own space."

This was so awkward. I'd expected it to be, of course, but that hadn't helped me prepare.

"Why don't we go and get some lunch?" My dad asked, leading the way out of the shop when I nodded.

***

"Why did you leave, Dad?" I asked him. We had eaten lunch in a diner not far from the shop and were now sitting on the beach watching the surfers catching the waves as they rolled in. I didn't turn to look at him, worried about what he would say.

"I was weak," he said. I hadn't expected that response and I turned to look at him in shock. "I was terrified and weak and stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"I loved your mother so much. I still do and I probably always will. The thought of seeing her suffer absolutely terrified me. So I took the easy option and left,"

"You left me too," I said quietly.

"And I will regret that for the rest of my life," he said, equally as quiet.

"Why didn't you ever come back? When she was better I mean. If her suffering scared you, why not come back when she was better?"

"I couldn't. I'd walked out when she needed me the most; when you both needed me. I didn't deserve to come back just because she was better. I wanted to more than anything, but I couldn't do it,"

"Would you do things differently if you could?" I asked, looking back out to the horizon.

"Absolutely. I would never have left; I would have been there with both of you through everything. I made a vow to your mother when we got married. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. I didn't stick to my vows when they were most important. It will always be my biggest regret," He turned to look at me again. "Why are you really here, Mel?"

"What?" I asked him.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here and you're always welcome. But something happened to make you come out here. I've been trying for almost a decade to get you to come. Something pushed you into it,"

"You know, I never believed in love after you left," He nodded as if he had expected that. "I thought it was all fake; true love didn't exist. But then I met this guy," A small smile spread onto my face as I thought of Ash. It was the first time I had smiled when thinking of him since he was arrested.

"He hurt you?" My dad asked.

I shook my head. "No. Well, not exactly. He got arrested. He's in jail,"

My dad's jaw dropped and he took a deep breath. "Did he do it? Whatever it was?"

I shook my head again. "No, I have no doubt that he's innocent. Do you remember the Bulldogs?" He nodded. "He's one of them. He was set up as revenge against the club."

"I never knew any of the Bulldogs, they kept to themselves mostly. But I know you Mel; I know that you wouldn't get involved with anyone who was a bad person. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is the club and the lifestyle. Just because he's innocent, it doesn't mean he won't spend the rest of his life in jail. And if he gets out, it's going to be a regular thing; the trouble, arrests, rumours about the club. It's all part of the territory with them. I can't get myself involved with that,"

He put his fingers under my chin and turned my head to look at him. "You're already involved from what you've said. But let me tell you this: I left you and your mother to avoid pain. It was the worst thing I've ever done in my life. If I could go back, I would spend the rest of my life in agony if it meant I was by your sides. I would put up with all of the stress and fear and suffering if that was what it took to spend my life with you both. Sometimes, love isn't easy. It's about compromise and sacrifice. Sometimes it will be easy, and other times it's painful and takes hard work from both sides. But if it's real, it's worth it all. You have to put up with the hard bits to get the good bits,"

I nodded as his words sunk in. Maybe I'd been wrong about real love. Maybe it does exist, it just doesn't come without hard work. My dad had taken the easy way out and refused to work for it. Shelby's ex hadn't wanted to sacrifice anything or compromise to be with her. The only question I had now was, was I willing to compromise and to take the hard times with the good?

***

"You're really coming along!" Dane said as my dad and I exited the water. He and Dane had been giving me surfing lessons for the last couple of days, and I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed it.

"Thanks!" I grinned. "I can actually stand up for more than a few seconds now!" I laughed. The few days I had spent here had made a huge difference to my mood. I was laughing almost as often as I had used to, and the tension that had become constant had begun to ease every day. Dane had introduced me to his girlfriend, Ali, and we had spent a lot of time on the beach together. She was on spring break from college and so we had kept each other company while Dane and my dad were working in the shop.

My relationship with my father had improved. I still resented him for leaving, and I think I probably always would, but we had begun repairing our relationship a bit at a time. I had worried that he would push for more than I was ready to give, but he had been surprisingly patient and had followed my lead as much as possible. I had spoken to Shelby the day before, just to let her know I was okay and to see how she was doing. She said everything had been quiet since I left, so I was shocked when I checked my phone and saw six missed calls from Jay.

My dad noticed my frown and squeezed my shoulder. "Everything okay?"

"Um, I'm not sure. I've got six missed calls from Jay,"

"Ash's President?" He asked. I had filled him in on everything that had happened over the last few months, and we had spoken about all of the Bulldogs at length. I nodded. "You should call him back. He's probably just checking up on you,"

I knew that wasn't it. Jay had respected my need for space and had only sent two text messages since I left Arizona, just checking in. I dialled his number and sat down on my towel.

"Hey Mel," he answered.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"I was just checking in," He said, after a brief pause.

"Jay," I sighed. "You don't call six times in thirty minutes just to 'check in',"

"I spoke to Ash's attorney earlier," My breath caught in my throat and I bit my lip. I looked up and saw my dad looking at me with concern. "The witness has admitted he lied. They've got no evidence so they're dropping the charges. He's coming home,"

"What? When?" I breathed out.

"Apparently there's some paperwork to be filed but it won't be done in time today. He'll be out tomorrow afternoon probably," He paused again. "Look, Mel, I'm not expecting anything and neither is he. I know you wanted out, I just thought you should know, that's all,"

"Thanks, Jay. I really appreciate it. I'm happy for him, for all of you,"

"Take care, Mel. I'll see you when you're back. Call if you need anything,"

We said our goodbyes and I stood up and turned to my dad. "He's getting out tomorrow. It's all being dropped,"

He grinned and put an arm around my shoulders. "That's great news, Mel."

I nodded and let a smile appear on my face. "It is. I'm happy for him."

"Why are you still standing here?" Dane asked, grinning when I looked at him, confused. "Go get your man. You love him. Don't waste a second more."

"He's right. Don't make the same mistakes I did," Dad said, holding me tighter.

I shook my head. "It's not that simple."

"It is if you love him," Dad said and Dane nodded, agreeing.

The words made sense but I still wasn't convinced. Could we make it work? Was I in love with him? And even if I rushed back now, would he even still want me after all of this?