Page 112 of Savior

“Kate was still a baby, and I don’t know, I wanted what you had,” Molly argued. “I thought if it worked out for you, then there was a chance I might find love there too. I drank way too much, but Bear was there to drive me home.”

I tried imagining the biker twenty-five years younger but kept seeing Little Ricky’s face, which ultimately killed any chance of me getting a lady boner.

“He was thirty at the time and compared to most of the men I’d known, seemed to know what he wanted out of life. I thought that included me, but when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. I chalked it up to a one-night stand and met Carlos not long after.”

I thought back to what Bear had said the night I revealed that Little Ricky was his son. “When you found out you were pregnant, you didn’t think it was Bear’s because he used a condom, right?”

Molly scratched at her temple. “Yes, but how did you—”

“Bear might’ve mentioned it—when we told him. Look, woman to woman, I get it. When I found out I was pregnant, I—”

“Knew immediately who the father was,” Zane said from behind his laptop. “We didn’t use protection, remember?”

Molly and my mother both averted their gaze, suddenly finding the dirt beneath their feet fascinating. “Celia, maybe we should continue this conversation—”

“Elsewhere?” My mother asked.

“No,” I pleaded. “I won’t interrupt again, I swear.”

“Anyway.” Molly glanced at Zane again before clearing her throat. “When Bear found out I was pregnant, he showed up on my doorstep, demanding to know if it was his. By that time, the doctor had given me my due date and, based on the likely conception date, there was no way it was Bear’s.”

“You never considered that maybe the doctors were wrong?” I asked, slightly skeptical, but still completely invested in the story of how my best friend came to be.

“Dakota, at the time, I’d just survived one man who didn’t want to be a father,” Molly said, exchanging another strange look with my mother. “I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t take pleasure in telling Bear that the baby wasn’t his, either. I wanted to hurt him like he’d hurt me.”

“Wait, so that means that Little Ricky wasn’t born prematurely,” Mama said suddenly. “Was he?”

Molly shook her head. “My periods were a goddamn nightmare back then, making it almost impossible to predict an accurate conception date. When he was born, I swore he looked like Bear, but I felt like I was seeing things that weren’t there, stupidly hoping we could be a family.”

“But you are a family,” I said, patting her arm. “He loves you.”

Molly’s laugh caught in her throat. “Yeah, he’s just over the moon for me right now.”

“How is he taking the news?” I asked tentatively, secretly wondering if the biker still wanted to murder me.

“Heads up,” Jimmy said suddenly. “Anyone know this vehicle?”

The truck came tearing down the long driveway, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. As everyone drew their weapons, I realized mine was still back in the barn and grabbed the closest thing I could find.

A gardening fork.

The truck hadn’t even come to a complete stop before Nate threw open the door and stumbled toward us, completely unsteady on his feet.

“Nate?” Mama asked. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s gone.” His voice shook. “I was too late. They took her—”

“Kate?” My bravado was gone, leaving my voice sounding small… fragile. The gardening fork fell to the dirt, completely forgotten, as I approached Nate.

A man dressed as a cowboy came around from the other side of the truck and laid a steadying hand on Nate’s shoulder, his gaze darting from one person to the next before he asked, “Kate’s not here?”

I shook my head, mashing my lips together to keep it together.

The cowboy led Nate over to the tailgate of Zane’s truck before introducing himself with a reluctant wave. “Garrett, Nate’s brother. He called me when he realized she was…” He bit down on his lip. “When he got—fuck, this is really hard.”

“Nate,” I said. “Tell us what happened.”

“I got a page from the hospital, but when I got there, no one seemed to know who sent it. They said it must’ve been a glitch. I just—” He shook his head, his voice choked with emotion. “I knew something was wrong. I started calling, but she didn’t answer. When I got there, the house was empty—”

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