Chapter 22 – Molly
I walked back into the house, taking in the fact that this big, beautiful house was all mine.
It still didn’t feel real to me. Suddenly, the tan Liam had developed this summer made sense.
The toolbox he always had with him lately made sense too.
He’d been busy out here fixing everything up.
I had no idea how he’d managed to keep such a big secret for so long.
“It doesn’t have a lot of furniture yet, but if you want, I can help you start moving your stuff in tomorrow,” Liam offered, stepping up beside me, with Jace right on his heels.
“Me too—and I’m sure Colt and Ellie won’t mind helping either,” Jace added.
“Are you guys sure?” I asked. “You don’t have to rearrange your lives just for me.”
“Yes we do, you’re our sister,” Jace said easily. “And you know Cassie will love helping you decorate. She loves that kind of shit.” He grinned. “You can pay me back in desserts.”
“Deal,” I said, smiling. The thought of baking something in this big open kitchen sent goosebumps throughout my body.
“I’m gonna head out,” Jace said. “I’ve got a dinner date with Cassie. You gonna be okay out here tonight?”
“I’ll be fine. I promise,” I said. “Besides, I’ve got G.I. Joe here.” I motioned toward Liam, who was still in the living room admiring his handiwork.
Jace smirked. “Try not to kill each other.”
“No promises,” I said, grinning.
As the sound of Jace’s truck faded into the distance, I lingered on the back porch, watching the sun dip below the tree line. It reminded me of the sunset Liam and I had watched together out on Haven Bluff.
Footsteps creaked against the wooden planks behind me. “This is breathtaking,” I said, glancing back at Liam.
“It sure is,” he replied—but he didn’t look up at the sunset, only at me.
Gulp. His smoldering look was making me feel…a lot.
I sat down, wondering if Liam would follow my lead or go back inside. To my surprise, he sat a few inches from me.
“Tell me more about your brother,” I asked carefully, unsure if he’d be up for the conversation. Earlier, Liam had mentioned his mom, which had made me think about his brother too. I’d never really taken the time to learn about him, so now seemed as good a time as any.
He turned to me, surprised by the question, but I could tell he was happy to have the opportunity to talk about him.
“Well… you already know his name—Noah,” he said.
“He was two years older than me. As far back as I can remember, he was by my side every second of every day. He loved playing make-believe and riding bikes around the yard with me. If we weren’t riding our bikes, we were probably in the tree house our grandpa had built us before he passed away. We wore that thing down to the studs.”
He paused before continuing. “Before he died, that was our secret hideaway. The sun shined through it all day long. After I found him, it became a dark closet where I could hide so I didn’t have to go into the house he’d killed himself in.
“For years, every time I walked by his room, I got this intense urge to throw up. I don’t know how else to explain it. It never really went away—not until I moved out.
“Occasionally, I dream about him. About us as little kids running around, our mom trying to keep up with two wild boys… and my dad nowhere in sight, just how we liked it.” He swallowed.
“When I have dreams like that, it feels so real—like he’s really there, trying to talk to me or something.
I don’t know how to explain that either. ”
I couldn’t relate to Liam, but I imagined what I would feel like if I lost one of my brothers, and I truly didn’t know if I’d be able to overcome the pain. I wasn’t sure how Liam had managed to.
“It seems like you two had a really strong bond,” I said, smiling.
“We did,” he said. “We were extremely close—about as close as two brothers can be, I guess. When he died, I felt like I lost half of myself too. But that only made my dad more upset. He used to come home and find me crying. And he’d say, ‘I’ll give you something to cry about boy,’ as if I wasn’t already as broken as any little boy could be. ”
I’d never met Liam’s dad, but I imagined if I ever did, I’d get the sudden urge to run him over with my car, put it in reverse, and run him over again.
“Your reaction was completely normal, Liam. Your dad’s just a piece of shit.”
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, unsure how he’d take the comment.
“You’re not wrong.” He laughed. “He’s the king of all the pieces of shit in the world, actually.” He shook his head. “It’s the reason my mom’s actively trying to figure out how to file for divorce and basically go into hiding for a while. She knows he won’t take it well.”
He let out a slow breath. “The curtain’s finally starting to pull back on his perfect little life.
All he’ll care about is what his business associates think—what they’ll think of him as a man and a lawyer if he can’t even keep a successful marriage together.
” His jaw tightened. “That’s all he’ll be worried about. His money, essentially. Nothing more.”
He went quiet for a beat. “Just like when Noah died.”
“You’re ten times the man he ever was, Liam.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t always feel like it.”
I turned toward him, forcing him to look at me.
“You have to believe me. You overcame a family tragedy on your own. You grew up, and became someone this whole town trusts and feels safe around. Sure, you’ve hit some bumps along the way, but you’ve always apologized and tried to be a better person afterward.
” I paused. “Apologizing is probably something your dad could never do.”
“I also betrayed my best friend’s trust and got his sister pregnant, then lied to half the town about it and walked out the second she told me about the baby.”
“You came back… eventually,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Don’t sound so sad to have me as your baby momma. I’m only a little annoying.” I help up my fingers, pinching them together just before they touched.
“You’re not annoying, Molls. Wild? Yes. Annoying? Nah,” he said, brushing off my comment.
“What are the chances that when you were fixing this place up, you put a secret stash of Chinese food in the fridge?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Nope. Can’t say I ever thought about adding that to the blueprints.”
“What’s a girl gotta do to get some Chinese food then?”
“Sit in the passenger seat and look pretty.”
I clapped my hands together. “Alrighty then, let’s get this show on the road.”
——————————–
With a ridiculous amount of food in the brown bag sitting on my lap, I was pretty sure I’d be in a food coma within the hour.
“General Tso’s chicken seems like a bold choice for a pregnant lady,” Liam said as he pulled into the driveway—my driveway. “Sounds like heartburn city to me.”
“What the baby wants, the baby gets,” I said, defending my dinner choice.
“If you change your mind and want some of my noodles, don’t be afraid to ask,” he offered. “I don’t mind sharing.”
Before we got dinner, Liam drove me to my house so I could grab the basics, like my toothbrush and a few other necessities. He was extra careful everywhere we went, constantly looking around for anyone suspicious. He even searched my house from top to bottom before he let me walk in.
Normally, I would’ve thought this was overkill, but at this point, I had no idea where—or who—was safe to be around.
At first, I was positive the first break-in had been a fluke, especially since I went months without another incident.
But now it was clear that I was being targeted, and not a single person could figure out why.
Better safe than sorry, as they say.
“Sorry there’s not a lot of seating options until we move your stuff in tomorrow,” Liam said, gesturing toward the single small couch tucked into the corner of the living room.
Luckily, I’d remembered to grab the blow-up mattress I kept tucked in the closet for whenever I had guests over. At least now Liam would have something better to sleep on than this tiny couch.
“You literally remodeled a house for me, Liam. I’ll sit my butt on this little couch and be completely smitten, I promise.”
“Please tell me you remembered to grab the little machine you use to blow it up,” he said, glancing over at me. “If I have to blow it up with my mouth, I think I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
“I did,” I confirmed, laughing. “I should’ve hidden it so I’d have the opportunity to sit here and watch you try to blow it up on your own.”
“I’d probably pass out,” he said, laughing.
“It’s okay, I know CPR,” I said proudly.
“First of all, you’re only supposed to give someone CPR if their heart stops,” he said, giving me a slightly panicked look.
“Oh.”
“In this case, my heart would be fine.”
“I’ll leave the life-saving up to you, since you seem to be so good at it,” I joked.
He had managed to save my life this morning.
Shoutout to the panic button he’d forced me to install, because without it, I honestly didn’t know how I would’ve gotten myself out of that situation.
Jace wouldn’t have realized who the guy was and probably would’ve left before I could’ve found a way to warn him.
“It pains me to admit this,” I added, “but the panic alarm and security system were a good idea.”
Liam lifted an imaginary microphone to my mouth. “Can you repeat that for the cameras, please?”
I swatted his hand away, laughing. “Not a damn chance.”
Liam set his food down. “It’s getting late. I guess I should bust out this air mattress of yours,” he said, sliding the box into the center of the living room.
He pulled the mattress from the packaging with ease, unrolling it across the floor. Of course his stupid, unfair muscles had to flex the entire time.
Look away, Molly.
No.
Each side of my brain argued with the other while I sat there, staring like an idiot.
Liam fitted the pump into the valve and flipped it on. It roared to life, filling the mattress with air as the plastic stretched and lifted. Once it reached full size, he turned the pump off, sealed it, and stood back.
“There she is,” he said, admiring his temporary sleeping arrangement.
“Lay down and test it out,” I told him.
He turned and flopped down flat on his back, arms and legs spread wide like a starfish.
You could hop on top of him right now, my brain offered helpfully. Forget that purple vibrator. The real deal is right there.
Hush.
Liam shifted, rolling onto his stomach as if checking all his options. The second his weight redistributed, a loud hissing sound filled the room. The mattress began to deflate, sinking beneath him until he was practically on the floor.
I couldn’t stop laughing.
Liam looked at me like there was no possible way that had just happened.
“It popped,” he said flatly, while I laughed even harder. “Couch it is, I guess,” he said, clearly less than thrilled.
I glanced at the couch I was currently occupying. There was no way he’d be able to stretch out on it. I was a lot shorter than Liam, and even I barely fit. If he slept there, he’d wake up the crankiest man this side of the Rockies.
“You could sleep with me,” I blurted, realizing how bad that sounded as the words left my mouth. “I mean sleep next to me. In my bed,” I corrected, which somehow didn’t make it better.
“I’m not invading your personal space, Molls. I can make do on the couch,” he said, though the lack of confidence in his voice gave him away.
“Liam, I really don’t mind. We can buy a new mattress tomorrow. One night isn’t that big of a deal.”
He hesitated for a few seconds. “Are you absolutely sure? What if I snore?”
“What if I snore?”
“You probably sound like a cute little grizzly bear in hibernation when you snore,” he said, looking at me like he truly believed it.
“I feel like a grizzly bear—stuffed and ready for winter,” I replied, glancing down at my belly.
He reached out and took my hand, helping me up from the couch. I was still at the point in my pregnancy where I could get up on my own, but I wouldn’t be able to for much longer. I’d take all the help I could get while it was offered. Who knew how long I’d have it?
“Time for hibernation,” he said over his shoulder as he headed down the hall toward the bedroom.
Our bedroom.
No—my bedroom.
Right?
Liam
Sleeping next to Molly in her new house, in her new bed, was not how I’d imagined the night ending. Neither was the soft goodnight kiss she pressed to my cheek before rolling over and falling fast asleep.
If there was ever a moment where I was a stupid guy staring at a mixed signal with no idea what to do about it, this was it.
I might as well have slept on the couch. I didn’t get a wink of sleep either way.