That Thing You Do (Crystal Lake 2)

With that parting shot, Molly headed around the house and was inside her truck and backed out of the driveway in less time than it took to pop a quarter in the old jukebox at the Coach House.

She drove faster than she should have and parked in front of the animal shelter less than ten minutes after leaving Hazel Jacobs. Jade Davenport, another volunteer, was inside cleaning out the dog pens. A young mother with a six-month-old son, Teddy, she came to the clinic on Sundays for a few hours to clear her head, give her son more time to bond with her husband, and to help the animals she loved. At twenty-four, she was five years younger than Molly, but in so many ways, she seemed older. Like her Gran would say, Jade was an old soul.

“You look worked up.” Jade paused and tucked long caramel hair behind her ear.

“Do I?” Molly strode past her and pushed into the exam room. In addition to the dog and pups Kyle had brought this morning, she had a bag of kittens that had been found on the side of the road to check on. She’d already examined them this morning, and other than being dehydrated, they’d been healthy. They were huddled together among a swaddle of blankets, and Molly got busy preparing five syringes with a small amount of formula in each of them. She had a foster mom coming in less than twenty minutes and wanted to make sure they were all fed before they went off to their new temporary home.

“I’ll do a couple,” Jade said as she set aside her broom and scooped an orange-and-white kitten into her hands. Molly grabbed the lone black one, and they got busy feeding the little critters.

“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Jade asked after they’d finished feeding the kittens.

Molly grabbed a large tote for the supplies she was sending to the foster mom. “Men can be assholes.”

“You’re just figuring this out now?”

She tossed in three canisters of formula. “I mean, really? He thinks he can tell me who I can see or screw or—”

“Wait.” Jade stepped in front of her. “You’re having sex with someone, and I don’t know about it?”

“I’m not having sex with anyone, but he thinks I am.”

“And he’s jealous?”

“No, he’s…” Wait a minute. Was it possible? Was Nate Jacobs jealous that Molly might be having sex with Kyle? She gave that scenario all of two seconds to knock around inside her head before shoving formula dispensers into the bag. “No, it’s more like he doesn’t approve of who he thinks I’m having sex with, and that pisses me off. Like, what gives him the right?”

“Who are we talking about exactly?”

“Nate.” She all but spat his name.

“Oh.”

Molly whipped around. “What do you mean by that?”

“By what?” Jade looked uncomfortable.

“The way you say ‘oh’ made it sound like you have an opinion or that you know something I don’t know.”

Jade held up her hands, palms facing Molly, the universal sign of surrender or ignorance. Take your pick.

“Hey, I don’t even know the guy all that well. I’ve just…”

“Just what?” Now Molly was beyond pissed.

“I’ve heard things about him is all. And you.”

“Me and Nate?” Molly made a pfffttt sound. “There’s nothing to tell. We’ve been friends since we strapped on our first pair of skates when we were four. It’s never been more than that.”

“What about Vegas?”

Okay. This was headed into territory that made Molly more than a little uncomfortable. But she’d started the whole conversation, and she was going to have to shut it down. “What about Vegas?”

“I heard you two spent the night together.”

“Are you kidding me?” Molly exploded, mortified at the thought of anyone in Crystal Lake thinking she’d slept with Nate. The only thing more embarrassing than being turned down by him that night after she practically served herself up on a platter was for folks to think they’d actually done the deed and that he’d tossed her aside like yesterday’s garbage. “Who in hell told you that?”

Either Jade couldn’t remember or she didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus. But considering her husband was Stu’s brother-in-law, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where the gossip came from.

“Look. Jade. I got drunk one night, which I never do. We’re talking really intoxicated, and Nate looked after me. That’s all there is. He’s never been interested in me that way, and why would he? I’m nothing like the women he dates. I mean, come on, he brought Chess Somers to Stu’s get-together last night. That woman has more curves than River Road.”