Page 72 of Moonlit Kisses

She licks her lips and studies the freezer for long moments, then she glances at the cart. “I don’t think we need anything else.” She huffs out a laugh. “We’ve already got more than we need.”

“We need to have ice cream. C’mon, what’s your favorite?”

She looks back at the freezer. “I am partial to vanilla caramel fudge. What’s your favorite?” I grab a carton of her favorite and a tub of pistachio for me, holding it up so she can see. “I’ll have pistachio. You don’t need to grab two different cartons of ice cream. It’s too much.”

“Nah. As much as I love you, I don’t share my ice cream.” I press a kiss to the tip of her nose and dump the ice cream in the cart as Molly giggles.

We head to the front of the store to pay as Molly grumbles about how much food we bought. A couple of ladies have stopped in the aisle to have a chat and as we get closer, I realize one of them is Beth. She’s speaking to an older woman. Neither of them has any groceries, so they must have just arrived. Molly hasn’t noticed because she’s still studying our cart with a frown. Beth’s eyes catch on us and her mouth drops open slightly. She glances at the older lady and back to us several times. For some reason, she looks uncomfortable. Almost like we’ve caught her doing something she shouldn’t.

Molly’s feet lock in place as she notices Beth. “Hi, Beth,” she greets, smiling.

“Molly. Max.” I’ve only met Beth a couple of times and I don’t know her all that well, but her usual friendliness is missing. Molly’s smile drops and creases form between her brows; I’m not the only one who noticed the frosty greeting. Beth glances back at the older lady she’s with as we all stand awkwardly. The lady turns around and her eyes widen, her mouth dropping open. Her hand rises to her chest as she grips her blouse. Beth gestures to the woman. “Uh, uhm. This is Joanna. JoannaLewis.” She raises her eyebrows at Molly.

Lewis. That’s Molly’s surname. My eyebrows shoot up.Fuck!

I move closer to Molly and wrap my arm around her. Her eyes skip between Beth and Joanna and I can see her putting one and one together. “Joanna Lewis?” Molly asks Beth.

Beth nods. “Joanna. This is Molly. She recently moved here from Portland.”

Joanna steps into Molly’s space, studying her closely. “Molly? That was my mother’s name.” She raises her hand, almost touching Molly’s face before she realizes what she’s doing and pulls back sharply. “I’m sorry. You look so much like …” She shakes her head as though she’s trying to shift a memory.

Beth steps forward. “Joanna.”

“How about we pay for our groceries and you can follow us home for a chat?” I cut her off. The ladies shouldn’t have this conversation in the middle of the store. I’m not sure if Molly’s come to the same conclusion I have, but if she’s who I think she is, this conversation should happen in private.

Everyone agrees, and we pay for our groceries and load them into my car. Molly’s been silent the entire time, fidgeting with her bracelet. Once we’re on the road, I pull her hand across to rest on my thigh. “You okay?”

She tears her eyes away from her window and glances at me. “Do you think she’s … do you think she’s my grandmother? I mean, her name is Lewis and the way she was looking at me and she said that her mom’s name was Molly. Mom told me she named me after her grandmother.” The words tumble out of Molly’s mouth, each one coming faster than the last.

“I think she might be. How do you feel about that?”What a fucking stupid question.God, I’m an idiot sometimes.

“I don’t know. I never even thought about finding Mom’s parents. They didn’t support her and her dad wanted the pregnancy aborted. Wantedmeaborted. That’s why she left.” The despair in her voice is thick and I glance across to check on her. Storm clouds filled with rain look back at me. “Will she even care that Mom’s gone?” She brings her hand up to wipe away the tears that have escaped. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“I can pull over right now and tell them we’ve changed our mind. We don’t have to do this until you’re ready, Molly.” I squeeze her hand.

She’s quiet for a long moment. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to upset anyone.” She straightens her shoulders as if she’s preparing for battle.

“You’re my priority. I don’t give a fuck about upsetting anyone else. I don’t wantyouupset. You’ve already had to deal with too much. I didn’t think when we were in the grocery store. Before I invited them home, I should have checked with you. I was trying to keep the conversation that was about to happen private.”

She flips her hand over, twining her fingers with mine. “Thank you. You’re right, the grocery store wasn’t the place for a family reunion.” She draws in a deep breath. “May as well get it over and done with.”

Fuck, she’s brave.

“I want you to know that I have an incredible amount of respect for you. The way you deal with everything thrown at you with your head held high. You are a fucking queen.” I lift her hand to my mouth to press a kiss to it.

We pull into our driveway and she draws in a deep breath. “Here we go!”

The ladies pull in behind us in two separate cars. Molly and I grab a couple of bags of groceries each and take them inside. Beth and Joanna grab some bags and help us, making quick work of unloading my trunk.

“My. How many people are you two feeding? This seems like a lot of food.” Beth chuckles.

“Just the two of us. I didn’t have much in the house and now that Molly’s living here, we needed to stock the pantry.”

Molly offers coffee and makes it while I put away the food that needs to be refrigerated or frozen. The rest can wait until later. Beth and Joanna stand awkwardly by the counter as Molly and I seamlessly work around each other in the kitchen. An uncomfortable silence filling the space.

Even though it’s a nice day, I can feel a chill in the air as the sun drops lower. “How about we move into the living room?”

I show the ladies through and then head back to help Molly. “Do you want me with you or I can stay in here? Whatever you need.”

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