Page 21 of Homecoming Heartbreaker

Oh, and she was also pissed that Jared, Autumn’s fiancé, dumped her a couple of days before their long-planned wedding a few weekends ago. Autumn was acting like it was no big deal but Molly knew she was hurting. She had to be.

That’s an awful lot of mad, Haskell.

Slumping against the back wall of the property, she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her pants and punched in Autumn’s number. She tried to check in on her best friend a couple of times a day, just to take her emotional temperature. Autumn had yet to break down, to cry, and Molly worried about her.

Autumn answered her phone and Molly asked where she was.

“Actually, I’m hiding out in the bar, trying to catch up on paperwork,” Autumn told her.

Perfect. “I’ll see you there soon.”

The bar was a small stone building detached from the main resort, situated between the art studio and Moonlight Ridge’s heated swimming pool. Modeled after an English pub, the small space was dominated by a handcrafted wooden bar, behind which sat a world-class collection of whiskeys. At ten in the morning, the place was empty of guests and staff and Molly took two bottles of water from an under-counter fridge and walked over to where her friend sat, the table in front of her piled high with paper.

Molly sat down and inspected Autumn. Her honey-colored hair was bundled up onto the top of her head and secured with a clip and her black-rimmed glasses dominated her face. She looked a little harried and a tad frustrated but nothing like an almost-jilted bride. She’d barely been able to breathe when Mack left but Autumn was acting upbeat, like her nonwedding was a brief blip on her radar.

“How are you doing, sweetie?” Molly asked her, handing her a bottle of water.

Autumn shrugged. “Fine.” She gestured to the chaotic table. “I’m just trying to undo the mess not getting married created.”

“Have you spoken to Jared?” Molly gently asked her.

Autumn pretended to inspect her laptop screen. “Nope. It’s over. There’s nothing to say.”

Molly bit her lip, wondering whether to push her to open up. Autumn needed to rant and bitch, to scream and sob. Keeping all this emotion bottled up wasn’t helpful or healthy. But she was also an adult and entitled to deal with her emotions any way she thought fit. “If you want to TP his house or key his car or slash his tires, I’ll be there, okay?”

Autumn smiled. “Thanks, Mol. Now, what sent you running from your office? Beth or Mack?”

It was scary how well Autumn knew her. “Both,” she reluctantly admitted.

Autumn rested her forearms on the table, her attention on Molly. “What happened?”

“Grant wants money to invest in some business his friend is establishing,” Molly admitted. “Beth was passing along the message.”

Autumn looked skeptical on hearing her brother’s latest scheme. “What business?”

“Ah, that’s where she got a bit vague. She knew exactly how much he needed—ten thousand—but the details around the business itself were a bit sketchy.”

Autumn did a massive eye roll.

“She got a bit intense in her demands and Mack caught her looming over my desk,” Molly continued. “He called her out for threatening me.”

“Good for him,” Autumn stated.

Molly rested her water bottle on her forehead. “My family is so messed up, Autumn, and they are damn embarrassing. Mack never liked my brothers, none of the Holloway boys did, and honestly, I can’t blame them for that.”

“They are toxic, Mol. They aren’t good for you. And if you tell me that you are responsible for your family, then I’m going to tell you, yet again, that you’re talking rubbish.”

Molly looked at her friend, grateful for her fierce attitude and insane loyalty.

“They are adults, Molly. They can support themselves. It’s not your job to pay their rent, or to give them money for gas or to pay off a credit card. You’ve got to stop enabling them, babe.” Autumn took Molly’s hands and squeezed. “Mol, you have to cut ties with them.”

Autumn would always, no matter what, be there for her. She knew this like she knew her own signature. Just being with Autumn helped her remember that she would be okay, that she had a great track record of recovering after things went south.

“You need to get Beth out of your face and out of this organization, Molly. She’s bad news.”

Molly considered her suggestion and immediately dismissed it. Beth wasn’t great at her job but Jameson’s lack of systems didn’t help the situation. Beth hadn’t made any huge mistakes, and her intense dislike of the bookkeeper wasn’t enough to have her canned.

She didn’t have the authority—dammit!—to fire a senior staff member so she’d have to take her request to Mack. It was obvious that he didn’t like Beth, but before firing her, he’d dig deeper, scratch under the surface to understand her motivations for wanting Beth gone, and that would lead him to discover Molly’s secret. Jameson might, one day, forgive her for stealing. But Mack? Not a chance.

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