Page 34 of Protecting What Is Mine

15

Hank

I drive by Belle’s in time to find Mollie’s car missing from the lot—but her shift isn’t supposed to end for another fifteen minutes. So, what had been a simmering case of worry is beginning to boil up, into a respectable panic. Maybe she had car trouble. Maybe her cousin dropped her off. I park the truck and head inside to find out.

A teenage boy stands at a booth taking someone’s order. I sit at the counter, like usual, and impatiently wait for him to approach.

A few minutes pass. “Good afternoon, what can I get ya?” the boy asks from the other side of the counter while staring at the pad in his hand.

“A cup of coffee and some information.”

The boy looks up, surprised. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I’m looking for Mollie. I thought she was working till five today.”

He keeps a wary eye on me as he flips my mug over and fetches a pot of coffee. “Yeah, she was, but she had to go home,” he says with some reluctance as he fills my mug. “Some kind of family emergency, I guess. She left about twenty minutes ago. Do you know what you want, or do you need some more time?”

I stand and reach into my pocket, pulling out five dollars which I toss onto the counter. “Thanks. Keep the change.”

I text Mollie again as I walk to the truck.

Me: Hey, I stopped at Belle’s and they said you had an emergency. Everything okay?

I start the truck and crank the A/C while I wait. A minute passes, then two, then three, then five. When I can’t wait any longer, I back the truck out of the spot and head toward Mollie’s. I breathe a small sigh of relief at the sight of her car in the driveway—but only a small sigh. What was the emergency? Is her niece alright? Did something happen with the cousin again?

By the time I reach the front door, my nerves have gotten the better of me and my knock is more frantic than I intend.

I hear muffled conversation coming through the door before it opens to the sight of Mollie standing in front of me. “Hank? What are you doing here?”

The sight of her, unharmed, is a weight off my chest. But now I feel ridiculous for not having a good answer to her question. “Uh. Hey, Mol. I’m sorry about showing up unannounced like this. Is everything okay?” I lean in, glancing past her into the house. “The guy at Belle’s said you had a family emergency, and you haven’t responded to my texts all d…holy shit, what happened?” I ask as I watch her cousin, Sam, attempting to pick up the mess on the floor.

Mollie seems embarrassed by the question. “I’m sorry, Hank. Things were pretty hectic at work today, and then when I finally saw your message, I had some from Sam, telling me about this,” she says, indicating the mess behind her.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I’m just relieved to see your face and know you’re alright. You are alright, aren’t you?”

Mollie bites at her bottom lip and nods. A clear indicator that things aren’t completely alright. “Yeah, we’re fine. Or, we will be anyway. I’d invite you in but as you can see the place is a wreck and we’re trying to get the mess cleaned up so Vanessa doesn’t come home to it.”

I feel my shoulders relax and my stress level beginning to fall. “I am sorry about dropping in like this.” I shrug. “I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of stalker, or whatever. I just got worried and needed to see you and know you were alright. Could you use another set of hands? I’d be happy to help.”

Mollie opens the door wide and smiles. “You sure you have time?”

I step inside. “Oh, I’ve got time. At this point, I think Chet wants me around about as much I as want to be there. I don’t imagine getting there an hour or two later than usual will be a problem for anyone. So, what happened here? Somebody try to make a bomb and it went off?”

Reluctantly, Mollie and Sam share the summary of what happened as we work to put the house back in order. And while I’m glad things didn’t spiral any further out of control than they did, watching the bruise on Sam’s shoulder darken and knowing it’s because of Clint is too much to let slide.

With the floor visible again, Sam disappears into the kitchen and returns a minute later with a broom and a dustpan. “Thanks again for your help, both of you,” she says with a nod toward Mollie. “I can’t believe it, but I might still be on time picking up my little girl. She never has to know anything happened.”

I nod, pleased that my presence was more help than hindrance. “So, where are you all going to go?”

Sam looks up from her sweeping. “What do you mean?”

I turn my focus to Mollie. “You’re not planning on staying here, are you? It’s not safe. Not with your cousin out there, running amok.”

Mollie nervously looks to Sam who looks back and forth between us both. “I mean, I don’t like the thought of it either, but this is our home,” Sam says. “Where would we go? We are all the family we’ve got.” She waves her finger between Mollie and herself.

“I guess I don’t really know. I just know I’m uncomfortable with the idea of you girls here alone while he’s still out there. What if he comes back?”

Mollie clears her throat and weighs in on the discussion. “Hank makes a point. This is the second time Clint has shown up here, Sam. And this time he was out there waiting for someone to come home.”

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