Page 147 of On Cloud Nine

I’m a coward. Terrified that Molly’s reaction would be similar to Laura’s.

I feared that Molly would think I am no longer worthy of her love, that I am not the man she wants to spend her life with.

I’ve let myself be convinced by the fact that Molly has a history of hiding her true feelings. It’s a pathetic excuse, considering how much she has worked on opening up to me. But she had just run away from her family. I didn’t want her to run away from me and the future we’re building together.

I didn’t want her to see that I was just another broken person in her life, weighing her down.

I can’t continue to let my fear hold me back.

It’s time.

“Good.” Maya nods, and I try to shake off the tension in my chest. “I won’t let you make that same mistake again.”

“Molly would never be a mistake.” I just hope she understands why I waited so long to tell her.

“I know.” My sister gives me a nudge. “But I care about you.”

We join the rest of the group at the base of a hill. There are six deflated tubes at our feet.

The children are running around the backyard, while all the adults stand in a straight line. The snow has let up, and the sun shines down on us.What on earth is this challenge?

I wrap my arm around Molly, who’s buzzing with excitement. God willing, our talk later today doesn’t ruin the rest of the trip.

“Did we need to go allSurvivorthis year? I mean, come on,” Madison exclaims, and I realize I zoned out the entire time Dad was explaining the rules of the second challenge.

“It’s way worse thanSurvivor, because we’re stuck trudging through two feet of snow in thirty-degree weather and not frolicking on a sandy beach,” Mac says.

Myles drops both of his arms around my younger siblings. “Y’all are just mad because this challenge is physical.”

We all roll our eyes. Myles definitely bench-presses three hundred pounds before he has his morning coffee.

“Okay, meathead, we’ll see how well you do.” Madison gives him a solid push, but Myles barely sways.

“Kids.” Mom’s voice is heavy with warning. “Everyone will have a chance to showcase their skills. Now line up.”

At this point, we’re all talking over each other like we always do. Molly watches, smiling. Her nose is red, and she hikes up her fuzzy scarf over her face.

“Okay, settle down,” Dad shouts. “We’ve only got a couple of hours before the storm rolls in again. Let’s go through the rules one more time. Who remembers what we’re doing?”

Molly chimes in, “We race to our tubes, blow them up, run back up the hill, and whichever couple is the first to slide down over the finish line wins.”

I’m so grateful that I have my girl at my side—myhopefullyforever teammate.

Her eyes are clad with focus. Yeah, we’ve got what it takes to crush my siblings.

“Atta girl.” I pat her on the butt, and the red in Molly’s cheeks deepens. “We’re going to destroy you guys.”

“Strong claims, brother,” Maya says from beside me. James’s fair face is painted with stripes, and he’s towering beside my sister.

“We better watch out; there’s a new kid on the block,” Myles laughs. He throws up his hand to high-five Molly, and she slams her gloved hand right into his. “Damn.” He pulls back, shaking out his palm. “Let’s keep that level of destruction for the field.”

“Sorry. I’m just excited.”

“Come on, let’s give them something to be afraid of,”I whisper in her ear.

We all make our way to the starting point, about a dozen feet from the deflated tubes.

“Ready,” Mom yells, “set, go!”

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