Page 49 of Someone to Hold
“She’s not very social.” I shrug. “Or communicative.”
“Huh. Is that where you get it?”
I breathe out a small laugh because I know she’s trying to lighten my mood. “Mom has early-onset dementia. She’s always been quiet, but now even more so.”
“I’m sorry, Chase.” She reaches across the seat, her hand brushing mine, and it feels like more comfort than I deserve.
“She’s doing okay, and my sister—” Damn. Why is there a stupid catch in my voice? I clear my throat and try again. “My sister handles most of it, getting her to appointments and making sure she has the right snacks. I’m more involved now that I’m here, but my sister’s a better caregiver. Mom...” I trail off, swallowing hard. “There was never any question who was her favorite growing up.”
“I’m sure she’s happy to see you more often,” Molly says. But there’s an undertone I can’t identify in her tone. I have a feeling she knows what it’s like to hope for something not meant for you.
“Yeah, maybe.”
She glances at me as I pull to a stop in front of the building. “Does your family know about the arrangement to buy the farm?”
“Tentative arrangement,” I clarify.
“It’s your plan for staying in Skylark.” She takes her hand back, and I have to clench mine into a fist to resist the urge to reach for her again.
“No one knows except you, Linda, and the realtors.” I rub a hand along the back of my neck. “It’s not a done deal.”
“I know,” she says, far too brightly. “Like I told you, I’m going to find the money to make a better offer than whatever you’re giving her.”
When she’d said it in bed, naked and fierce, her eyes dancing like she wanted nothing more than to best me, I’d found her competitive spirit incredibly attractive. I’m not sure she truly believes it, but hell if it doesn’t make me smile.
We get out of the truck and circle around to the bed, where her scooter’s loaded. I’ve made a few modifications, adding a basket for her supplies, and attaching a wagon with a makeshift hitch so she can haul more without overtaxing herself.
“I’m happy to carry everything in,” I say.
“I want to practice maneuvering with weight in the wagon.”
“But I’m right here.” I hold out my hands. “Cheap labor.”
“You sell yourself short, Calhoun.”
Something about the way she says it makes me want to believe her. To lean into her confidence the same way I leaned into her touch.
The way she so easily shifted past her anger about keeping the deal quiet bothers me. It’s clear she’s accustomed to being left out of decisions that affect her, like being brushed aside is par for the course.
We load the wagon with flowers, and she lets me carry the two biggest. It’s a slow trek through the parking lot, and even though I can see sweat beading on her brow, I also know she needs to feel like she’s handling things.
I get that better than most. I built a career out of being self-reliant. Just me, a bull, and eight seconds on the clock.
What I don’t understand is why Molly keeps downplaying her own value. Within a week of spending time with her, it’s abundantly clear that everybody who knows her loves her.
Not me, of course. I don’t do love.
But Ilikeher. More than I’ve liked anyone in a long while.
I hate how easily I bought into Teddy’s bullshit before the wedding and believed that she’d trapped him with a pregnancy. That he was some kind of hero swooping in to save her reputation. I should have known better, and he should have, too. It’s clear that my old friend failed to appreciate how luck had smiled on him when Molly came into his life. Teddy had a family most people only dream about, and he didn’t just take it for granted. He threw it all away.
Not just the day he took out a raft when the water was running dangerously high. Based on everything I’ve witnessed and the little she’s told me, he made her feel like less at every turn. Like she was lucky to have him instead of the other way around.
I’m ashamed to admit I wasn’t much better. I told him she wasn’t good enough based on nothing but the kind of assumptions I should have known better than to trust. I knew how captivating Teddy could be when he wanted something. If he’d decided he wanted Molly, he would have charmed her without thinking about the potential consequences of that one night stand.
Once she got pregnant, he should have stepped up completely. She and the twins had been counting on him to be the man they needed. To put their safety and security above everything else. He never should have taken that risk on the river.
If a person wanted to, they could argue that the choices I made for most of my career were just as dangerous. But I didn’t have anyone depending on me. If I got trampled or paralyzed, broke bones or suffered head trauma, who would care? My sister? Ray and Janice? Not my mom or dad, that’s for sure.
