Page 75 of Choosing My Happiness
“Woah, not safe,” I warned as she struggled to get free of me. Tinker and Maisey had divided the kutte between the two of them and were slicing it into the smallest pieces that they could.
“They’re desecrating his memory!” Molly screamed.
Bear snorted into his beer. “Looks like they’re adding to it,” he muttered.
“Stop!”
“Oh, shut up, you stupid woman. He took Lacey from them.” Crackers stood up and glared at her, all humor gone from his face. “He couldn’t stand up to you and your temper tantrums, so he hid his pregnant girlfriend and daughter for nineteen years, so you and he didn’t have to grow up and face reality. Matchstick was an embarrassment to the club, and you.”
“It was twenty years, you old fool, she’s nineteen years old. He said if she was a boy, he’d divorce me and go with her. But she’s not. She’s a girl and he stayed mine!”
“You knew about this?” someone asked.
“Of course I knew about this. What do you think I am? An idiot? I’m the one who made sure she stayed away. He’s mine! He came home to me!” she screeched.
Everyone turned and stared at Molly’s admission of knowledge. Tinker and Maisey heaved with adrenaline.
I spun Molly around and pushed her to the door. “Run,” I told her. “If you can make it to your car, you might survive.”
I dusted my hands off and climbed back onto the bar stool.
“Midwife, you can’t say that! What would Daisy say?”
“Seeing as Molly told Daisyshe’sto blame for her own son’s death, I think Daisy would be helping Tinker and Maisey.” I lifted my beer, acknowledging the unidentified speaker.
I saw Tinker’s face change, and he grabbed Maisey’s hand, kissed it, and roared. Molly heard the noise and ran. Maisey screamed, and I felt them rumble the floor as they charged after Molly. The door slammed against the outside as Molly made it through, the momentum of the door swinging back making Tinker and Maisey pause for a few seconds before they followed.
Bull sighed and slid into the seat next to me. He gestured for a beer, and looked over at me as the bottle hit his palm. “Fun times at the club.” He winked.
I chuckled and clinked my beer against his. “Good times,” I agreed.
53
Chapter 53: Blaze
My brain was just chanting the same three words over and over again. Oh, shit, fuck. Mom and Dad’s reaction was,oh my fucking god. I swallowed. Dad just went…I mean, I’ve seen him angry before. Well, what I thought was angry. This was next level. This was beyond next level. Mom—I’d never seen her crazy before. She was a quiet, calculated, angry person. She planned revenge, not chaos. Now she and Dad were like…a tornado ripping through Matchstick’s stuff.
A scream broke through the panic in my head. I saw Midwife catch Molly in midair. She flailed like she was trying to escape a full-body harness.
“They’re desecrating his memory!”
She screamed, her face showing her panic. My heart sank for her. He was all she had. She refused to see him as anything buther hero. And my parents really were quite literally ripping his memory apart.
“Stop!” she screamed again, tears running down her distressed face.
“Oh, shut up, you stupid woman. He took Lacey from them,” Crackers snapped. He stood up from where he was leaning behind the bar and sneered at her. “He couldn’t stand up to you and your temper tantrums, so he hid his pregnant girlfriend and daughter for nineteen years, so you and he didn’t have to grow up and face reality. Matchstick was an embarrassment to the club, and you.”
“It was twenty years, you old fool, she’s nineteen years old. He said if she was a boy, he’d divorce me and go with her. But she’s not. She’s a girl, and he stayed mine!”
My brain stopped. Matchstick actually said to Molly that he’d leave her if he had a son with someone else? But he loved Molly. He always went home to her. She allowed him to be a real man, instead of one of those schmucks who had to keep it in their pants after marriage.
“You knew about this?” The question floated in the air incredulously.
“Of course I knew about this. What do you think I am? An idiot? I’m the one who made sure she stayed away. He’s mine! He came home to me!” she screeched.
I saw Midwife give up. I saw the eye roll. He spun his body around so Molly was facing the door. “Run. If you can make it to your car, you might survive.” His voice carried in the hushed room.
Survive?! What did he meansurvive? Mom screeched, and a moment later, Dad roared. I jerked my eyes over to see my parents drop the debris from the mess they made of the memorial wall. Mom flipped the big knife that she held and lifted it high, then she ran. Dad followed her, bellowing. Molly ran.
