Page 31 of Homecoming Heartbreaker

“This is all the money I have,” Molly warned them, nodding at the envelope of cash. “And you should know that the next time you put a foot on this property, I will have you arrested.”

Grant laughed at her. “You can do that but if you do, we won’t have any reason to keep your secret, will we?”

This. Always this. She was the girl who’d called wolf once, or a few times, too often. They didn’t believe that she’d cut ties with them because she hadn’t followed through. And that was on her...

God, she couldn’t keep living this way, feeling like the sky was about to fall on her head. She needed to confess, but Jameson couldn’t take any stress so she couldn’t, not yet. Not until he was a lot better.

Not only would her news upset him but she’d probably lose her job. And that would mean he’d stress about having a new manager running his beloved resort when he should be relaxing.

No, there were reasons to keep the truth from him for a little longer...

Molly scowled. “And, God, stop talking about me to your girlfriend, Grant! What the hell were you thinking, telling Beth about what happened back then? Life is tough enough without you making it a lot more difficult!”

Grant rested his arm along the back of the bench seat. “But I like making your life miserable, Molly. You should know that by now. Thanks for the cash but we need more. We’ll see you soon.”

Molly watched their truck roll away and resisted the urge to rub her eye sockets with the balls of her hands. She wanted to cry, to howl, to stamp her feet and beat her fists on the ground, but Mack was watching so she couldn’t indulge in an old-fashioned hissy fit.

Damn him. What did he think he was doing following her down here? She was an adult and fully able to deal with her brothers on her own.

Molly stomped over to him, feeling her temper bubble. Before she could speak, Mack did. “Please tell me that there wasn’t money in that envelope, Mol.”

He was really going to lecture her on what she did with her money, how she dealt with her brothers? The sheer nerve of the man. “Why are you here, Mack? This was my private business.”

Mack didn’t look remotely embarrassed about sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong. “If you think I was going to let you confront those two on your own, then you are nuts.”

Really? Now he was getting protective? “I’ve been dealing with them on my own for a long time, Holloway.”

She’d been spoiled in those years before Mack left. She’d not only had Mack as a backup, but Travis and Grey, too. They’d been her own little protection crew and her brothers, mostly, left her alone. They’d hassled her for a year and a bit, until she left for college. On returning to Asheville, she’d thought it was all behind her, that she and her family could find a better way forward, that they had to change the dynamic between them. She’d invited them out for a meal and told them, as kindly as she could, that she was done supporting them and they had to do without her financial contribution.

Her mom’s response was to tell her, blatantly and without remorse, that she had a choice: she could either keep feeding them money or she’d go to Jameson and tell him about the money Molly stole from him. Vivi insisted Jameson wouldn’t care that she had a valid reason for doing what she did. And, because her father stole from Jameson, he’d never trust her again. He might even press charges against her...

That day Molly learned from whom Grant inherited his ruthlessness. And her last ounce of respect for her mother evaporated. But a small part of her, tiny but loud, still wanted to be part of a family, to not be on the outside looking in.

Molly drilled her finger into Mack’s big biceps. “Stay out of my personal business, Holloway.”

Mack’s eyes flashed with anger. “They were on my property, Molly.”

“Your property?” Molly released a high laugh. “Your property? Are you kidding me? You haven’t spent more than a night here for years, Mack!”

Mack ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, if you want to be pedantic, then it’s my father’s property. My dad’s land, his business, his hotel. I’m just here to look after it while he’s sick.”

Molly watched as Mack climbed off the dirt bike. God, she was so tired. She was done with fighting, with the stress, with waiting for the shoe to drop, the sky to fall in. She was done. She just wanted it over.

Mack’s hands settled on her arms and Molly forced herself to look up into his face, trying to work out what he was thinking. She hated that he managed to keep his thoughts from her, and that she’d lost the ability to read him.

But his touch was gentle, his anger gone. Mack rubbed his hands up and down her arms to comfort her, before pulling her close and embracing her, holding her tight. She tried to pull away but Mack held her tighter, dropping his head to place his mouth by her ear. “Let me hold you, Mol, because, God, you need someone to.”

Molly stopped resisting, his words touching her deep in her soul. Needing to lean on him, just for a minute, she rested her cheek against his chest and hung on, desperately trying to suck in his strength.

She was so tired of being alone.

Molly felt the burn of tears in her eyes, the tightness in her throat. She couldn’t cry now; if she started she doubted she’d stop. But despite her best efforts, her tears started to fall...

And then she started to sob...

Mack came from a family of men who seldom cried. Emotions were expressed by yelling, by slamming doors and, with his brothers, an occasional clout around the head or a fight outside. Sarcasm and shouting, punches and pranks, yes...tears?

Hell, no!

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