“I wouldn’t have invited you if it wasn’t.” Molly kind of stumbled over her words. “I think you’ll like it.” She scooped up Zeus and started back toward the trail. “I’ll be back in an hour and a half.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
It took her a good twenty minutes or so to get to the Bookers’ place, where she found a frantic Honey, a crying little Gabriel, and a worried Nash on the phone. They thanked her profusely for returning Zeus. Apparently, the toddler had opened the door for the dog, not understanding the little bundle of fur would go on an adventure and run away. The adults hadn’t realized the dog was missing until Gabe pointed to the door and said, “Doggie gone.”
By the time Molly got home, she had barely thirty minutes to shower and change, throw her gear, including a bright purple floaty that could fit up to four people, along with the air pump into her vehicle, and drive to the Manchester place.
Link was waiting at the end of the lane and slid into the passenger seat. He tossed a black backpack behind him and grinned at her.
“Let’s do this non-date thing.”
She laughed. The guy was an absolute flirt, but the ease of his personality, the teasing in his voice, and the lightness in his eyes made him irresistible. And this had been one hell of a week. She could use a little bit of whatever it was he had. Because spending the afternoon on the water with Nathan and her brother’s questioning looks was enough to make her stomach clench. But with Link to take her mind off things, she just might get through the day without taking a hit from either one of them.
Or a knife to the heart.
Chapter Six
Nate was up before the sun. He’d slept like crap, which he blamed on the fish he’d eaten the night before, but in fact it most likely was because of the bottle of tequila he’d shared with his brother. He suspected that he’d been responsible for most of the consumption.
He’d spent a good twenty minutes in the shower, leaning against the tiles, hoping the hot water would work some kind of magic and get him the hell out of this foul mood, but now, nearly two hours later, he sat on the back deck, nursing a coffee that had long gone cold, and wondered how this day was going to play out.
Molly had shut him out. Completely. And he had no idea why. At least, not a rational one. The whole Chess thing was ridiculous, and even if he’d been a little heavy -handed when it came to Kyle, he was doing what best friends do…looking out for her. He’d bent over backward trying to be her friend, a good friend, the kind that looks out for someone, maybe tells them something they might not like to hear even though it’s for the best, and she paid him back by bringing Kyle to the damn dinner on Sunday, totally disregarding everything he’d said. And before he got a chance to talk to her, she split. Up and left without a word to anyone.
The fact that Kyle ended up acting like an ass didn’t make Nate feel any better. In fact, the two of them got into it at the end of the night. Thankfully, it had been in the parking lot, or there would have been hell to pay. As it was, Jessica wasn’t too happy, and neither were her parents.
He scowled and sank deeper into his chair.
The sun was out, the birds were singing, and the squirrels scurried around the big oak tree looking for treasure. He squinted. Damn if he didn’t spy a doe with her babies just past the treeline of the ravine that ran behind his parents’ place. It was Disney on steroids. All it needed was a princess. Or a dwarf. Maybe a witch with an apple. Any other time, he would have appreciated how nature wrapped herself around his family home, but today, it was a glaring example of what things looked like on the outside, when on the inside, it was nothing but a rotten mess of crap. An illusion. A lie.
He grimaced. Jesus, he was overreacting, but decided to blame that on the tequila as well.
“Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.” His mother plopped onto the chair beside him, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands.
“Is there a right side?” he muttered, more to himself, but his mom had sharp ears. He glanced her way. Sure enough, her eyes were focused and her mouth tight. She had big-ass rollers in her hair, half of which were nearly unraveled, and there was a coffee stain on the front of her fuzzy mint-green bathrobe. He noted it wasn’t the expensive Meng silk kimono he’d given her a few years back for her birthday. She had on her glasses, which only made her look more determined.
And that instantly put him on guard.
She set down her mug and le
aned forward. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong with you? You haven’t been yourself since you came home last weekend.”
Nate groaned silently. He didn’t want to have this conversation with his mother. Not today. Actually, not tomorrow either. She was like a pit bull, fierce and unrelenting when it clamped down on something, which meant he was pretty much screwed. No way was she letting this go.
“Is it work?”
He knew her MO. She’d peel away each layer, starting from the top, until she got what she wanted. Aside from the fact that it was useless to resist his mom, she was Vader that way and could turn anyone if she wanted to. He had no time for this. He decided to cut to the chase and lay it all out there.
“It’s Molly.”
Her expression immediately changed.
“Molly? Is she okay?”
He saw the concern and shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.” At her questioning look, he continued. “She’s not sick or anything like that. She’s just…she’s…”
He thought about Sunday night again, and then he thought about how she’d snubbed him this past week. How she’d gone for wings at the Coach House on Tuesday night with some guy no one seemed to know, and that was after he’d put it out there in the group chat with Zach, Moll, and the boys. Everyone was busy, and she never replied, so he’d played a round of golf with some old hockey pals instead. She’d gone for wings without saying a word to him, and the only reason he knew was because Beck had met up with a potential client at the Coach House and he’d seen her.
All of the above pissed off Nate, and he didn’t bother to hide it.