Page 64 of Mending Scars

She stretched out a hand out to touch my shoulder. “Ryker, don’t be that way.”

Stepping back, I moved out of her reach. “What way, Molly? You want me to be happy to see you after what you did?”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “That was over five years ago, Ryker! Are you ever going to let it go? Ethan said you had, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Let it go? Is she serious?

I turned and walked away. “Nice seeing you, Molly.”

“Ryker, wait,” she called after me. I could hear her heels clacking on the floor behind me. “Please. For Ethan.”

Damn it.

I stopped as I thought about my brother and our mending relationship. I wanted to get back to how we used to be, and unfortunately, Molly was a part of that.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Fine.” Clenching my fists, I turned back around. “What do you want?” I ground out, pissed off about the situation.

She paused, giving me a hesitant look before finally speaking. “Well, I, uh, want us to be friends.”

I cocked my eyebrow at her in disbelief. “Friends?” I repeated sarcastically.

Molly rolled her eyes. “Okay, maybe not friends, but I want us to be civil. Ethan is so happy that you’re talking again and fixing your relationship, and I don’t want your grudge against me to hinder that.”

Damn it, she’s right.

No matter how much I hated Molly, I loved my brother more, and I didn’t want my stubbornness to fuck up the progress we’d made.

I dropped my arms by my sides and sighed, feeling somewhat defeated for having to give in to what Molly wanted. “You’re right.” I forced myself to say. The words left a bad taste in my mouth. “I’ll try. For Ethan.”

Molly’s eyebrows rose. She must have been surprised that I agreed with her. “Great,” she stammered, then smiled. “I’m glad you’re going to at least try.”

“I’m not making any promises.”

She nodded. “I know, but I have faith in you.” Turning around, she called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you around.”

I stood there, dumbfounded by what had just happened.

Did I just agree to be civil with Molly? Damn, I’m going soft.

“Sir? Are you ready to see the puppies?”

I’d forgotten all about Becca and where I was. Molly had a way of flipping shit upside down like that, and not in a good way. I turned to face the employee helping me. “Yes, sorry.”

“No problem.” Becca pointed at one of the sleeping pups. “This little guy here is a Maltese. Like all of our puppies, he has all of his shots and is free of any parasites and diseases.”

The dog she showed me was completely white with long hair. I thought about the white strands being all over the place and the maintenance he would need to stay that clean and white. “Maybe something not so white and fluffy,” I chuckled.

The teen smiled in understanding. “How about this one? She’s such a sweetheart—very playful and loving.”

Becca pointed out a tiny Chihuahua. Normally, I didn’t think that the mascot of Taco Bell was cute, especially considering most Chihuahuas had bug eyes and yapped all the time, but this one was different. She didn’t look like most Chihuahuas—she had chocolate brown fur and green eyes.

I moved closer to the wall of dogs and the small puppy started wagging its tail and scratching at the glass barrier between us. “She’s cute.” I grinned.

“Would you like to hold her?” Becca asked.

I hated handling small things—I always felt like I was going to break them somehow with my bulky, clumsy hands. But I definitely needed practice for when Hayden was born, and the little ball of fur in front of me might be perfect for the job.

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