Page 63 of Moonlit Kisses

“Can I do your hair now?” Kenny tugs on Molly’s dress to gain her attention.

Emma steps inside. “Kenny. You need to wait until a little later. We’re all gonna eat and have some cake, and maybe then you can braid Molly’s beautiful hair.” She looks at Molly for confirmation.

Molly crouches down to Kenny’s height. “Oh yes. I’m too hungry to be able to sit still long enough for you to make my hair pretty. Do you mind waiting until after we’ve had the birthday cake?”

Kenny places her hands on her hips and tilts her head to the side. “Actually, come to think of it, I’m pretty hungry, too.” She nods at Molly, then glances up at Em. “Are we gonna eat soon? I’m starving.”

Em giggles. “Of course. I’ve come inside to grab what we need to set the table.” She wraps an arm around Molly, squeezing her close. “Hey, Molly. I’m delighted you came today.” Then she pats my arm on the way to the kitchen drawers and whispers, “You’ve done good, little brother.”

Molly places Lachlan’s gift on the counter alongside my gift and extricates her hand from mine, pressing up to land a chaste kiss on my cheek. “Can I help with anything? I’m happy to set the table.” Everyone in the kitchen freezes, eyes on Molly. She flushes that pretty pink and her eyes widen. She looks across at me for guidance. “Did I say something wrong?”

I laugh and pull her into me, landing a kiss on her lips. “No, Dimples. You’ve said and done everything right.” I turn to my family. “Stop making my girl feel uncomfortable.”

Everyone returns to their chatter and whatever they were doing before and Molly fits in seamlessly, helping wherever she can. It’s like she’s always been part of this family and pride fills me that she’s mine. We all carry the plates, dishes, silverware, and glasses out to the deck and work together to set everything ready for lunch.

I introduce Molly to Theo and his dad, Cristo, who takes both of Molly’s hands in his. “You must come into my restaurant. I’ll make an enormous feast for you both.”

Theo chuckles. “Not everyone wants to be stuffed so full they can’t move, Dad.”

Cristo looks affronted. “What do you mean?”

They argue over the merits of eating until you can no longer breathe, and Molly and I collect our gifts to give them to Lachlan. I let Molly go first, since she’s been nervous about her gift for him.

“Happy birthday, Lachlan. I brought you a gift.” She hands it to him.

He briefly glances at her, then his eyes settle over her shoulder. “Thank you.” He’s getting better at making eye contact with people, but it’s still a work in progress with new people. He digs into the bag and pulls out a tool belt that should fit him perfectly. His eyes snap up to Molly’s and one side of his mouth tips up. Dropping the gift bag, he tries to wrap it around his waist, but isn’t quite coordinated enough to pull it off.

“Would you like me to help you?” Molly asks. Lachlan nods, and Molly moves closer to assist him, settling the belt on his hips. I told her not to worry about the tools, because he’s got that part covered with Theo’s tools. “I wasn’t sure if you already had one. Your Uncle Max told me how much you like to work with timber, and I hoped this would be a good idea.”

His eyes snap up to hers and a full smile touches his lips. “I don’t have one. Thank you very much.” He steps away and heads straight for Theo. He runs his hands over the leather as he shows his stepdad his new belt. “This is the most useful gift I’ve been given today. I’ll be like you now.” He’s standing tall, pride filling his little body.

Theo squeezes his shoulder and crouches down to inspect the belt more closely. “This is exceptional quality. I need a new one. I’ll have to ask Molly where she got this one from.”

I have to admit; I wasn’t sure about Theo at first. He seemed like a total dick the day we all went to the beach, but the way he loves my sister and her boys, as well as how he stepped up for his niece, settled my concerns quickly. He’s a genuinely good guy and I’m thrilled that he and Emma found their way to each other, even though the road was a little rocky for the two of them.

“Hey. I brought you a present too,” I remind the birthday boy.

“Oh. Sorry, Uncle Max. I didn’t mean to leave you out.” He holds out his hand for the gift, which is probably lame compared to the tool belt. I hand him the gift bag and he dips his hand in, pulling out the Lego box. “Woah! You got me the Spider Man Molten Man Battle set. This has two hundred and ninety-four pieces and shows the epic battle between Spider Man and Molten Man from the movie, Far From Home.” He looks down at the box with awe and I’m pretty happy that I chose a gift he’ll enjoy. “Thanks, Uncle Max. I won’t open it now because I don’t want to lose any of the pieces.”

“Fair enough. I’m glad you like it.” He gives me a rare hug and runs inside to put his gift away for safekeeping.

Theo claps his hands together. “Okay, everyone. Let’s eat. Kids first, then adults can sort themselves out.”

The kids are served and set up to eat at the large table Theo built, quickly followed by the adults. At first, everyone’s quiet as they enjoy the delicious barbecue Theo and his dad cooked, as well as the salads that Mom and Emma put together.

Gradually, everyone shares about their week. Theo puts down his knife and fork and asks me, “Did you get the truck you were after?”

I swallow the bite of food in my mouth. “Oh, yeah.” I can’t contain my smile. “She’s fucking beautiful.”

“Max!” Mom chastises. Molly elbows me at the same time, looking mortified.

I grimace at the kids. Inevitably, a fuck or two slips out at family gatherings. The kids mostly ignore it. I don’t know why Mom still feels the need to pull me up on it. “Sorry.”

Kenny giggles. “You’re so funny, Uncle Max.”

“Thanks, Munchkin.”

Emma directs her focus to Molly. “The kids know Uncle Max has a potty mouth and they’re not allowed to repeat the grown-up words he says.”

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