“Can’t miss yer party if they see this thing from the Interstate…” Lindsey is muttering to herself as she struggles.
I scoop Kate from her wrap and pull her close, losing myself in that soft, sweet scent of fresh baby. Breathe it in, breathe it out.
For a moment, I’m back to five minutes ago. Molly Moore, the crazy small town girl thinking about what her babies might look like with a boy she knew a lifetime ago.
I allow myself the smallest smile as I kiss Kate’s forehead.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: GRAY
As it turns out, all that loud sex gave the honeymooners obscene muscle strength and stamina.
The husband—a sandy-haired young-twenties kid named Martin—hoists his new wife—an equally young, equally bright-eyed brunette—up on his shoulders to string the Christmas lights along the rafters. They abandoned the ladder the rest of us were using almost immediately after they showed up to help, and they’re putting all of us to shame by going on minute fifteen of this circus-act decorating.
“We should string them through the yard, too,” Lilly suggests to Molly as she tosses a string up over the highest beam. “I had a client’s yard last year where they were hosting an anniversary party. We strung the whole thing in little globes. Our half of Savannah talked about it for weeks.”
“We could help with that!” Miss Hales pipes up, already aggressively eyeballing Mr. Bates, who has abandoned his ladder like the rest of us to watch the Fixer Uppers here do their magic. I can sense her next suggestion before she even asks it. “Gray, you can lift Miss Molly on your shoulders, and Mr. Bates—” The tips of her ears turn pink and I swear her knees knock together in anticipation “—maybe you can lift me. I can change out of my skirt, if you’d like. Or I can just—”
“I think we’ve got it over here,” Martin tells her through gritted teeth as he hoists Lilly just a bit higher. “No need to sprain any muscles.”
Miss Hales’s whole being tenses, and if looks could kill, I think this kid would be flaming ground beef by now.
“It looks incredible. Like something straight out of a movie.”
I turn. Molly is standing beside me, arms crossed as she looks up at the lights. The soft glow dances over her cheeks and sparkles in the darks of her eyes.
My chest aches at the sight of her.
Shelooks like something straight out of a movie. A perfectly written character, brought to life in technicolor. There are qualities to Molly that, until a few days ago, I didn’t think really existed in human beings. Her skin fucking glows. She uncrosses her arms to pull her hair into a ponytail, and the dark mane shines like silk. And then, when she turns to me to gauge my opinion, her smile is wide and toothy and my heart gives an actual, forceful double beat, like I’m Bugs Fucking Bunny checking out a cartoon lady rabbit.
“It’s coming together,” she says quietly, slipping her hand through mine.
“It’s more than coming together,” Mr. Bates says, walking around to the other side of the barn to get a good look at Martin and Lilly’s lights. Miss Hales dutifully follows, an old lady puppy dog. “You’re going to make the money you need and then some.”
“There’s always more money needed, unfortunately.” Molly says, her fingers squeezing in mine.
“So, what’s the plan, kiddo?” Bates asks, crossing back to us as Lilly dismounts.
“Well, I have debts to pay off first,” Molly says, twisting the end of her ponytail around her fingers and thoughtfully brushing at her bottom lip with it. “But then there are the regular bills to pay, and the unexpected costs that always come during the snowy season. Grandma specifically warned me about those; she’s got this huge file full of contacts in case I need someone to clear trees from the yard to fix the power or anything like that.”
“Which we can worry about when we need to worry about them,” I remind her, squeezing her fingers back.
Molly looks back up at me then, those dark eyes wider than before. “We…?”
My stomach knots, but Martin walks over before I can follow up.
“You know, Lilly might be the landscape designer, but I’m her landscape architect. Our work is actually how we met.”
Lilly’s gaze darts to her husband, and she bites her lip as her cheeks turn pink. There’s a story there, but with all the brazen noises we’ve heard over the past few days, I’m not sure I’m eager to get the dirty details.
“Why don’t I look at your place for free?” Martin suggests. “I can take a glance at the structure and plants you’ve got out here, make sure everything’s sustainable for the long haul. Not just for the winter season.”
Molly blinks. “You’d do that forfree?”
This time it’s Martin’s turn to blush. “Well, um, now might be a good time to mention that your bedframe is in need of repair…”
Mr. Bates barks at that, not bothering to hide his amusement as his large belly jiggles with laughter.
Martin shrugs and gestures at the barn behind him. “It wouldn’t be hard work, and I like what I do. Give me the afternoon and I can get a list of minor repairs going that will save you money in the future. Then you two can worry about other things. Or, you know, the splintered remnants of our headboard.”