Page 12 of Island Protector

At this point, she had to let Jess and her lawyer figure out those details.

Other than Sharon, Molly couldn’t remember anyone standing up for her. Sharon had sacrificed her relationship with her brother for Molly. She’d never backed down or shown a single day of regret.

Her priceless gifts of time and patience and love changed Molly’s life.

Those memories needed her focus right now. They were a welcome anchor. Because something in the way Miles had reacted made her feel similarly cared for and valued. Miles said kind things and his offers to help stemmed from friendship, not love. Obviously.

She’d have to be dead not to appreciate his physical appearance, but she held him firmly in the friend zone. He was a good man who was patient with her son.

At some point in Jess’s office, he’d jumped the boundary into her close circle. The one she guarded to protect herself and Bryce. Nina was her closest friend outside of Sharon. And she’d gotten to know Jess better as they had worked together leading up to her wedding to Nash.

For the past few years, Molly believed she only needed Sharon, Nina, and Jess. It wasn’t as if she deliberately rejected men, she just preferred to keep them at a distance. Growing up, she’d craved her dad’s support and attention. No matter how hard she tried, he’d found her lacking.

Later, during her first romantic relationship, she’d played with fire and been scorched. Granted, Bryce was her pride and joy, but Tommy… Tommy was a cautionary tale. She couldn’t afford to be swept up in a romance, to let her feelings distract her or worse, lead her astray.

She couldn’t keep driving her heart into a brick wall of rejection. She definitely couldn’t afford to be gullible again.

Miles, heedless of her internal fences, was right there in the mix now. Part of her inner circle too with his talk of protection and support. It was strange. And wonderful.

It felt good to have backup and scary to be vulnerable.

It hadn’t escaped her notice that he seemed to know more about the Guardian Agency than the average person. Granted, Jess’s involvement with the security firm wasn’t a secret. It made sense that more security-minded people with similar ties would be coming and going for various meetings with her.

But how was Miles connected to the firm?

It seemed strange for a local kid who’d gone away to college, had a meteoric rise through his first career, and come back to the Lowcountry to start a sailing school.

For the first time in years, she wished she’dlistened more closely to the island grapevine. She generally didn’t put a lot of stock into rumors and gossip, but when a sexy man moved into a small community, the stories always flew fast and far. Maybe Sharon would have better, fact-based insights. She promised herself she’d ask after Bryce was tucked in bed tonight.

At Halloween, the way he had walked with her and Bryce through the fall festival at the marina had felt almost like a date. She wished it could’ve been. Wanted it to be.

In real life, not just the sweet, impossible dreams she had at least once a week. Dreams where Miles took her out, made her laugh, and continued bringing light and joy into her life with Bryce.

Her last date with Tommy was a memory she couldn’t quite escape. It stuck with her like tar, oozing around her and impossible to shed. The dinner had been basic, but during the mini-golf that followed, he’d lost his temper. She’d played too slowly for his liking, making him late for what she now assumed must’ve been one of his scams.

She’d been so naive around Tommy. It was a miracle she’d survived with only a few minor emotional scars.

That night had shone a spotlight on all the ugliness in him and their toxic relationship. And still she’d held out hope that becoming a family would help them find their way to something better.

Bullet dodged, really.

She wasn’t the first gullible young woman and while it had been a misery in the moment, she’d found her joy in Bryce and the goodness that had come in the years since.

Sharon had been pressing Molly lately to pursue interests outside of motherhood. Maybe her deepening curiosity about Miles was evidence of that encouragement finally kicking in. Or maybe it was the occasional outing toCharleston with Nina for girl weekends that drove home the point that more independence would make her a better mom.

Driving home, she was grateful for her simple and straightforward life. There were no boyfriends or questionable relationships the Graingers could use against her in court. Jess, Nina, and Sharon were right: she only needed to be herself to survive this custody challenge.

When she pulled up to the house, Bryce was waiting for her on the porch. He sat with Sharon, a juice box at his side and a fire truck near his feet. Fire trucks were a close second to sailboats and there were times when Bryce was set in his ways about where he played with various toys.

There was a small net in the corner of the bathtub where most of the boats resided. The sailboat that resembled Miles’s new project maintained a place of honor on the side of the tub.

Molly smiled as she walked up the path. Seeing her, Bryce shot to his feet, racing in for a big hug. She treasured every single one, knowing these exuberant greetings wouldn’t last forever.

“We’re ready for dinner. Auntie said we’re having fancy dinner at Parker’s.” He cocked his head. “I thought we had to dress up for fancy.”

“Well, it’s Parker’s and we usually get a little messy when we eat there, remember?” Between the sauces and the drawn butter, dinner at Parker’s Fish Camp was often followed by an extra load of laundry.

“Uh-huh.” He slid his hand into hers as they walked back up to the house.

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