Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MOLLY
Elle was waiting for us with Savannah on her hip when we pulled up. It was hard to stay mad when I saw my goddaughter's smiling face. It was probably the reason Elle brought her out. She knew I wouldn't continue to give her a hard time in front of Savannah.
"I'm so glad you're here." Elle slid her one arm around my waist and pulled me close.
"It will be nice to have another adult in the house while Rhett's away.
It gets a little lonely when he's gone. Maybe I could even convince you to snuggle in bed with me.
" Elle joked. At least I hoped that's what she was doing.
"Oh no." Rhett yanked her back into his arms. "No one's taking my place while I'm gone. I don't give a shit if she's your best friend or not. Those snuggles are reserved for me."
Elle chuckled and slapped a hand to his chest. "Fine, you big softy."
I don't think anyone besides Elle could get away with calling Rhett soft. I doubted there was a soft thing about the man.
Well, maybe for his wife and daughter now that I thought about it.
"I'll show you soft," Rhett whispered just a little too loud.
"Okay, enough of that." Parker steered me into the house. Elle chuckled behind us but soon followed.
"I'll put your suitcase in the bedroom, and then we have to go." Rhett moved around us and up a set of stairs.
"I'll give you two a minute alone. Savannah needs a diaper change anyway." My friend followed Rhett up the stairs. It was more likely she was going to give her husband a private goodbye.
Parker's arms slid behind my back and pulled me so our bodies were flush against each other from the waist down. "I'm not sure how long we'll be gone, but I promise to text you with updates."
This was our first assignment as a married couple, and I wasn't sure what the protocol was here. I was so far out of my element that I might as well be on another planet. "Stay safe. I've gotten used to sleeping in bed with you."
He smiled. "Now that's reason enough to come home.
" Parker leaned down and captured my lips.
It wasn't a soft goodbye. It was ravishing and left me breathless.
It made me want to drag him up to the guest bedroom and have my way with him.
I vowed in that moment that as soon as he got back, I was taking things up a notch.
Screw my insecurities. I was going to grab life by the horns and make it my bitch.
"A woman could get used to a goodbye like that." My breath came in heavy waves, and my chest ached. We spent a few moments with our foreheads touching as we breathed the same air.
"Be careful while I'm gone. Don't do anything reckless."
"You mean like get married to an almost stranger?"
Parked laughed. "Yeah, like that."
We stepped apart when we heard heavy footsteps against the stairs.
"You ready to go?" Rhett's question pulled us out of the little bubble we’d made for ourselves.
"Yup, let's go." Parker brushed his lips across my forehead, then he and Rhett walked out of the house.
I stood there in the entryway, staring at the closed door. "It never gets any easier." Elle laid her head on my shoulder, and we both sighed.
I don't know how long we stood there. Maybe a minute. Maybe ten. Hell, it could've been an hour. I seriously doubted it was that long, but it almost felt like it. The only thing that got us moving was Savannah's soft whimper.
"Is she hungry?" I glanced over to my friend but was more focused on Savannah's scrunchy red face. My sweet goddaughter wasn't happy, but still she didn't scream her head off like she could've.
"She's always hungry. I swear she has Rhett's appetite. My husband thinks it's funny, but it's not his boobs getting the workout."
I snickered at the picture my friend created. I would pay good money to watch a man try to breastfeed. It would probably help them understand womankind a whole lot better.
"Need me to get you anything?" This wasn't the first time I had been around the two while Elle fed Savannah. My friend was modest and usually hid her daughter beneath a blanket.
I once asked her about it. So many people now felt it was necessary to show off how natural breastfeeding was that they barely covered themselves, but Elle was the opposite. She thought of it as an intimate moment between her and Savannah and didn't want to share that with anyone.
"Nope. Come sit with me though. We can talk about what's happening with you since Rhett didn't tell me much."
"I'm not sure I have much more to offer.
I'm waiting to hear from Caden." I sat at the opposite end of the couch from Elle and waited until she had Savannah comfortably tucked under the blanket before I continued, "According to Parker, someone tampered with my car.
I'm assuming it was while we were at work since I had no problems getting there that morning. "
"Any idea who it could be?"
I shook my head. "None. We share students, so you know how great most of the parents are.
Not a single complaint to the school, so I can't see someone being mad enough to try and hurt me.
Parker asked me about the guys I've slept with, but again, you know there hadn't been many these past few years. I've slowed down my whorish ways."
Elle chuckled at my use of the word. "You were never a whore. You liked noncommitment. There's nothing wrong with that. Any person who says otherwise deserves to be punched in the face."
"Pretty sure I'm supposed to be the violent one in this friendship."
Elle brought her ear to her shoulder in a small motion. "Times are changing. We can both be violent. It just means people won't screw with us."
"Does your husband know you think like that? I'm pretty sure he married this soft-spoken woman."
Elle busted out laughing so loud that it startled Savannah and caused her to whimper. It took a few seconds for Elle to readjust her. "Rhett knows damn well I'm not soft spoken. I just reserve my attitude for times it's really worth it. Now that I have Savannah, those times are more frequent."
Fair enough. Hormones tended to change a person, and I wasn't about to question my friend if that was the case.
"Okay, so not a parent and not a guy you hooked up with. Who does that leave, and what was the purpose of having your car not start? Wouldn't it make more sense to tamper with it so you got hurt while driving?"
I stared at her in astonishment.
"Not that I wanted that to happen to you but it's a valid question."
"It is . . ." I answered slowly. "And I didn't think about that.
Parker didn't elaborate on what 'tampering with' meant.
I guess I can ask Caden when he calls later.
" I merely shrugged it off. I wasn't sure I wanted to know all the details.
It wasn't like I would understand what they meant anyway. Car knowledge was above my pay grade.
"I'm assuming it's going to be a bit before he calls. He's got to make sure the team’s prepared."
"Yeah, that's what Parker said."
Elle brought Savannah out from under the blanket and over her shoulder so the cutie could burp.
"So in the meantime, why don't you tell me how it's going with Parker? You mentioned he's staying at your house. Have you two gotten closer?" Elle wiggled her eyebrows.
I rolled my eyes at her lame-ass attempt to be coy. "You mean have we had sex yet?"
"That's exactly what I'm asking. You've never been shy before about telling me your sexcapades, and you better not start now."
She had me there. I was what some would call an oversharer when it came to my sex life. But that was with men I didn't give two shits about. I actually cared about Parker.
"We haven't had sex yet. We've fooled around some, but I'm hesitant to take it all the way."
My friend looked at me like she understood. "You really care about him, don't you?"
"I do. I want this to work. I know it hasn't been that long, but it feels right. It never did with any of the other guys I hooked up with. I couldn't wait to get away from them after the deed was done. With Parker, I enjoy the little moments we have together."
"Are you scared you might feel differently if you have sex with him?"
Elle really did know me best.
I dropped my eyes to my lap where I was fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I wasn't normally a fidgeter, and I wasn't sure I liked that I was becoming one. "A little. What if the anticipation is what's keeping my interest right now? I don't exactly want to find out if that's the case."
Elle smirked. "So what are you going to do? Never have sex with him. I doubt the two of you will be able to remain celibate."
I laughed at the ridiculousness of the conversation. "No, that's not going to happen. I kinda already decided while he was kissing me goodbye that I'm going to bang him when he gets back. I'm sure it was probably a heat-of-the-moment thought, but I'm going to do it anyway."
"That's my girl. You don't let fear rule your life."
I was glad someone in the room was confident in me because it sure as hell wasn't me.
Savannah's large belch stopped the conversation.
"Well now." I snickered at the sound as Elle rolled her eyes.
"Like I said. She's her father's daughter."
Good for Savannah. She was learning young not to be tied down by social norms.
The vibration of my phone ringing from my pocket startled me. Pulling it from my pocket, I noticed that the number wasn't one I had stored in my phone. "Do you think this is Caden?"
I showed Elle the number. "Maybe. I don't have his number memorized. Rhett stored it as a contact though. Want me to go check mine?"
I waved her off. "No, it's fine. I'll just answer." I hit the green button and put it on speaker. "Hello?"
"Hey, Molly. It's Caden." I felt my lungs expel in relief. "Sorry to bother you. Parker said you knew I would be calling."
"Yup. I'm sitting here with Elle. I have you on speakerphone."
"That's fine. I was able to pull a picture of the guy who tampered with your car. I'm sending you the photo now. Can you tell me if you recognize him?"
A notification for a text message popped up on the top of the screen. I clicked on the notification and made the picture bigger.
"Is that . . ." I turned the phone so Elle could get a look at the man's face.
"Jacob Bronson. Jason's older brother."
Elle and I looked at each other in disbelief.
"That's the name I got when I ran facial recognition. How do you know him?"
"Jacob's the older brother of one of the students Elle and I share.
He's a high school dropout but comes to pick Jason up after school sometimes.
I've told him on more than one occasion that his little brother looks up to him and that he needs to make better choices because of it. He's a wannabe gangster."
Jason's a good kid, and from what other teachers have said, Jacob used to be as well. But somewhere during his sophomore year, he started hanging with the wrong crowd. I was actually surprised to hear his mother let him drop out. From the few times I've met her, she seemed to care about Jason.
"Well, right now, he's the number one suspect in your incident. I've called a guy I know at Boston PD, he's going to bring him in and question him."
That was a relief. "So does that mean I'm safe to go home and to get my car back?"
I didn't have a problem staying with Elle if that made Parker feel better, but it would be nice to have my own ride. It was getting a little annoying relying on Parker and now Elle to get me places.
"Why don't we wait and see what my friend finds out. Parker would kick my ass if something happened to you while he's gone."
Made sense. Parker needed to focus on his assignment, and whatever I could do to make it easier for him, I would do.
"Okay. Thanks for letting us know what's up."
"Anytime. I'll keep you posted."
Caden hung up, and I sat there for a few seconds staring at the phone.
"It's going to be all right. This is what they do for a living."
Yeah, my friend was right. I needed to let things play out. Then I could go back to my normal boring life. Except with Parker in it now.
Yup. Boring never sounded so good.