CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: MOLLY
“We need more punch in the bowl inside,” Mr. Bates tells me as he scoops up a refilled appetizer platter and heads back toward the exit.
“I’ve got you, girl,” Lindsey says next to me, already bristling by to pull some Sprite out of my mini fridge. She doesn’t look back to smile at me as she passes, but I can sense that she’s having to tell herself not to.
She and Jake brought three fruit crumbles and showed up early to help set up anything last minute. I’m pretty sure Lindsey was somehow breast-feeding Kate under her Moby wrap while she strung popcorn tinsel.
She feels bad about what happened with Gray. I know that’s what this is. Lindsey is overcompensating, trying to make up for her brother where there’s perceived fault. It’s probably not exactly what she’s used to—after all, Gray paid for her house, and their mother’s care, and he’s still the golden hometown hero, even if he doesn’t care about that. Apologies have never been what he’s needed.
Hell, he’s still my golden hometown hero, even if he doesn’t want to be.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and head after Lindsey with the sherbet she forgot in my freezer.
“You’ll need this,” I tell her, nestling it in the crook of her spare arm.
“You gonna check in on Santa?” She asks me as she hip-bumps my back door open. “I saw the Coopey boys tugging at his beard earlier to see if it was real. He could probably use some backup.”
“I was thinking of taking just a minute to breathe, actually.” I grab the door for her and keep it open.
Lindsey pauses at the threshold, her brow furrowing tight in the middle. And before she can suggest her next keep-Molly-busy tactic, I can sense it coming—
“I’ll check in on Santa,” she decides. “But since you have a moment, maybe you could look in on Baby Kate where she’s sleeping in your office? Just make sure she’s breathing, take off her blanket if it seems too hot, all that business. I’ll just be a few minutes.”
I sigh and nod. “Of course.”
Lindsey slips outside as I turn away from the door and face my crowded lobby.
It’s a good turn-out, it really is. Probably better than I’d allowed myself to hope. Every notable face in town has showed up, and they all brought plenty of cash for donations and Santa pictures and alcohol out at the bar we set up in the barn. I just might pull this thing off.
I smile and wave at guests as I push back toward my office. Everyone in view looks like they’re having a good time, and there’s a buzz in the air that suggests frivolity.
I just wish I could enjoy myself, too. I wish that when I looked around my lobby, I really saw theeffect, and not just all the work that went into getting it ready.
I wish I didn’t envision the man who helped me prepare it. Who made me fight for this place, if at first just to prove that I hadn’t been beat. The decorations aren’t green or red or fucking gold now—they’re cloaked in varying shades of Gray.
I massage my temples as I round my desk and let myself into my office. I shut the door quietly behind me and pull out my phone to use as a light.
Baby Kate is sleeping in her Pack ‘n Play next to my computer. I walk up to the railing and peer down at her.
She’s got her little arms up over her head, hands curled into tight fists. Her flower petal pink lips are just ajar, and if I hold my breath, I can hear the husky whisper of her breathing.
At the sound and sight of her, my heart catches somewhere at the bottom of my throat. It’s choking me, leaving me feeling weak and unsteady all over again, just like yesterday in my lobby. Don’tcry, Molly Moore. You are not that girl who needs the tissues and hand holding. You’re a badass business owner and you’re right in the middle of an epic party to save everything you’ve built.
I just wish… God, I wish I could go back to that state. That sleep with no dreams. Breathing with no halts. Living with no disappointments.
I don’t even remember when I started caring about Gray Smith. I don’t remember a time when he waseverjust my big brother’s best friend. For so many years, I could tell myself I’d forgotten about him, but then he’d spent a few measly days in town and it had all come crashing back. I’ve been consumed by the fairytale of what could be.
Damn it, I can’t breathe.
I adjust Kate’s covers, my fingers lingering on her soft, round cheek before I turn off my phone light and open the door again. I need a distraction, same as what I told myself I’d seek out when Gray first arrived in Little Haven, but this time the need is more dire. I’ll go check on Santa or refill the punch bowl or—
My eye lands on Miss Hales at the front door, the bag full of cash from our guests hooked over one wrinkled arm. I close Kate’s door behind me and make a beeline for her.
Miss Hales’s eyes twinkle when she sees me, and she hiccups slightly as she rocks on her heels. She reaches out, tapping my nose. Handsy.
“Isn’t it all turning out so lovely?” She coos, tripping over her own feet as she steps toward me. I catch her by the elbows, surprised at the sheer strength of eggnog on her breath.
“Lovely,” I agree. I slip the cash bag off her arm and take it for myself. “Has anyone new stopped by in a while?”