Chapter 21 – Liam
“You want me to stay at the old Shirley house?” Molly squeaked as we pulled up to the iron gates at the end of the driveway. “Hell no. Absolutely not. This place is probably haunted—ghosts galore up in there. Pass. Immediately pass,” she babbled.
Jace looked over at me, just as confused, already second-guessing my idea.
“This seems a little bit extreme, don’t you think?” Jace said, the hesitation in his voice obvious.
I laughed at both of their reactions. “Give it a chance, okay? It’ll be fine. I promise.”
Molly sat up in the back seat, leaning forward against the center console between Jace and me. “If you hate me, all you have to do is say that, Liam. I can take a hint.”
I continued down the gravel driveway, the house coming into view.
“Wait… What happened to this place?” Molly said, her eyes lighting up at the house’s total makeover.
I’d finished redoing the siding just last week. Instead of the usual faded, warped boards, it now beamed with sparkling white panels. I’d refinished the pillars, power-washed the brick along the fireplace wall, and replaced the entire porch with new wood boards.
After I’d finished the outside of the house, I mowed the front yard—its first cut in years. The grass was thick and green after years of having been left alone.
“Welcome to the newest McKinley mansion,” I joked, putting the Jeep in park.
Molly looked at Jace, confused. “When did you buy the old Shirley house?”
“I didn’t,” Jace said, just as confused.
I turned to her. “I did.”
Her brows furrowed. “Then why are you calling it the McKinley mansion?”
“Because I bought it for you,” I said. “You and our son, I mean.” I held up the shiny silver key to the front door.
Jace looked from me to Molly. Shock was written all over their faces.
I turned the key in the front door and pushed it open, stepping back and motioning for them to go in first. They entered, both stopping just inside to take it all in.
Newly polished hardwood floors stretched throughout the entire house, the finish gleaming in the afternoon sunlight pouring in through the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.
I’d installed the same windows throughout the house, replacing the old ones with newer, better-insulated ones.
Molly crossed the living room and headed straight for the kitchen.
Above the farmhouse sink were two windows I’d specially installed that could be pushed open at the bottom, perfect for letting in fresh air on cool spring days.
The stainless-steel fridge matched the built-in oven with a gas stovetop set into the island.
I opened one of the cabinets, sliding it out to show her the one of the upgrades I’d done to make the house one-of-a-kind for her.
“Most of the cabinets have roll-out racks for your cookware and baking gadgets,” I said.
“That way you don’t have to bend down as far to reach everything.
All the appliances are brand new, including the washer and dryer in the laundry room.
” I motioned to the door just off the kitchen.
“There’s a sink in there too, in case you need to rinse something off before you toss it in, and a large countertop area to fold clothes on. ”
I opened the door to the guest bathroom down the hall. “Here’s the guest bathroom—large walk-in shower, double vanity. The one in the master is pretty much the same, except it has a freestanding tub, and this one doesn’t.”
“Liam, this is—” Molly stopped, still taking everything in.
I continued down the hall. “Here’s the master,” I said, opening the door. “There was plenty of space, so I added a little area for you to sit and read. I even built bookshelves into the wall, so you’d have room for all the books you’ve got stacked everywhere at your place.”
I motioned for them to follow me into the master bath. “This will be your bathroom,” I said. “Complete with chicken wallpaper—and I installed heated floors under the tile.” I pointed to the controls mounted above the light switch. “You can adjust the temperature right here.”
I continued on, gesturing toward the wall of windows.
“They’re floor-to-ceiling, but the glass has a special tint.
You’ll be able to see outside clearly, but no one can see in.
” I nodded toward the tub. “I went with a low-profile design so you won’t have to strain your back leaning over it when you’re giving the little nugget a bath. ”
I paused then, taking in her reaction before moving on.
Crossing the hall, I stopped in front of the next door. “I figured this room made the most sense for the nursery, since it’s the closest to your bedroom,” I said, opening it.
Sunlight poured in through the windows. “There’s plenty of natural light,” I added, stepping inside.
“But I already installed blackout shades. All you have to do is pull them right here,” I reached up and pulled one down, the room instantly darkening, “and it blocks everything out—so when he’s napping, the sunlight won’t bother him. ”
I motioned toward the bare walls. “My mom is designing a couple pieces of artwork that I can hang in here if you’d like.
I didn’t do much designing beyond the paint and shades because I figured you’d want to pick out stuff like the crib and all the other things a baby needs.
There are matching bedrooms upstairs—Jack-and-Jill style, just a little smaller than this one with a shared bathroom between them,” I added.
“Liam—”
I held up my hand, cutting her off. “Hold on. There’s more,” I said, guiding her from the nursery to the back door and sliding it open. I wanted to show her everything before she gave me her final verdict.
“I know Molly McKinley doesn’t go anywhere her chickens aren’t. So I made them a new coop with a built-in spot for their water and a holder for their feed, so it stays out of the elements and you don’t have to worry about it going bad in the rain.”
Molly ran her hand along the tight, newly placed chicken wire. It was nothing like the worn-down, rusted wire she was used to seeing every day.
“There’s a nice patch of grass over in the field right here,” I pointed out.
“I think it would make a perfect spot for a garden. I also built a small greenhouse on the other side of the house.” I gestured across the field, pointing to the little wooden building tucked underneath some oak trees.
“If you hate the paint colors in the house I can repaint them for you, I wasn’t really sure what you would—”
“Liam, take a breath,” Molly said, cutting me off.
I did what she said, realizing that I’d been rambling for quite some time.
“Why did you do all of this?” she asked, still gazing out across the big open field.
“My plan in life is to give our son everything my dad never gave me. At the top of that list is a home he would never fear coming home to.”
“I’m too pregnant for this shit,” Molly said, wiping tears from her eyes. “What happens if I say no—if I don’t accept everything?”
I looked down at my feet. “I don’t really know,” I admitted honestly.
Jace smacked Molly playfully on the arm.
“What?” she asked him, his eyes widening at her.
She turned back to me after rolling her eyes at Jace.
“One time—today, actually—this really annoying person told me I’d know, when the moment was right, if I wanted to forgive you or not.
” Molly continued, “I think that moment is now. And I do forgive you. I forgive you, Liam. Because this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me—except for saving my life earlier. That was pretty nice of you too. But buying and remodeling an entire house just to make it perfectly mine? That’s a damn close second, I gotta say. ”
“Hell yeah,” Jace said, pulling me into a big embrace. “Glad to have you back, man” he said, his smile a mile wide.
Molly rolled her eyes, laughing. “Before you two start making out, I need to point out one small flaw.”
“What?” I asked, ready to fix whatever needed fixing.
“There’s no security system. No panic button. It’d take you guys ten minutes to get here from the ranch if—God forbid—they found me out here. What am I supposed to do?”
“That’s true,” Jace said, nodding. “What about Liam? He could probably stay with you in the spare room until we figure out what’s going on. Or at least until the security company can come out to install a new system.”
They both looked at me, waiting for my answer.
“Uh—yeah,” I said. “I don’t mind staying, if Molly doesn’t mind having me here.” I glanced over at her.
“Guess you’re getting your full-time bodyguard wish after all,” she joked.
And I’d love every second of it.