“Molly?” A door closed somewhere in the house as Cassie called out to her. “Are you here?”
Slipping the photos of Kyle into the pocket of the loose black cardigan she wore with a peacock-blue T-shirt and jeans, Molly rose to her feet. She no longer wore the brace, and her ankle was almost entirely back to normal—even if nothing else was. “I’m in here, Mom.”
Cassie came in carrying several shopping bags. “I found the cutest Thanksgiving decorations for the dorm dining room. Little cornucopias and turkeys to set on the table, and some Thanksgiving napkins and placemats. They were on sale for a great price. I thought I’d set them out next week to get the boys into the spirit of the holidays.”
Forcing a smile, even though she, herself, wasn’t feeling very thankful just then, Molly said, “I can’t wait to see them. I’ll help you decorate the dorm whenever you’re ready.”
Cassie looked at her with a frown. “Are you sure your ankle isn’t hurting you, sweetie? You just haven’t been your usual self lately.”
Which was exactly the problem, Molly thought, swallowing a sigh. “It’s fine, Mom. Don’t worry about it.”
“Is there something you want to talk to me about?”
Cassie’s eyes were entirely too perceptive. Molly suspected her mother knew something had gone on between her and Kyle, but she respected Molly’s privacy. She probably assumed Molly would tell her about it when she was ready—but she was obviously getting a bit impatient for Molly to decide she was ready.
“Really, Mom, I’m okay,” she said. “Let me see the things you bought.”
For the first time in her life, Molly found herself unable to talk to her mother about a personal problem. Maybe it was because she was afraid that if she started to cry, she wouldn’t be able to stop. Or maybe this was just something she needed to handle on her own.
Or maybe, she thought, it would just hurt too much to admit that not once had Kyle even asked her if she wanted to go back with him. Which made all her agonizing over her decision to stay close to her family a painfully moot point.
Chapter Fifteen
Two days later, Molly picked up the telephone in her room and punched in a series of numbers. She had waited as long as she could to make this call. Her eyes were focused on the photograph of Kyle and her parents as she listened to the ringing at the other end of the line.
It was answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hi, Jewel. It’s Molly Walker.”
“Molly! How nice to hear from you. How are you, dear?”
“I’m fine, thank you. My ankle’s almost completely healed.”
“That’s wonderful news.”
“How are you? Last I heard, you were coming down with a cold.”
“Oh, that only lasted a few days. I’m right as rain now.”
“Good. And Mack?”
“Mean as a snake and twice as slippery,” Jewel answered with a fond laugh that belied the joking insult. “He and Kyle are working on one of the rental cabins today. Putting new flooring in the bathroom, I think.”
Molly drew a deep breath and asked, “How is Kyle?”
“He’s working himself to a frazzle,” Jewel answered frankly. “When he’s not working on one of our places, he’s
fixing his own. I’m not sure he’s sleeping very well—and I know he’s lost a few pounds, even though I’ve been sending as much food as he would accept.”
Was he pushing himself so hard because of her? Molly looked at the photograph again. Was it possible that he missed her even a fraction as much as she missed him? “Do you think he’s okay? Physically, I mean.”
“Physically—he’s fine. Just needs some rest and some calories.”
“And, um—emotionally?”
“I think maybe you’d better ask him that yourself, Molly,” Jewel replied gently.
Molly started to reply that it was hard to ask him anything when she and Kyle were more than a sixteen-hour drive away from each other, and he had no phone. Instead, she changed the subject. “The reason I called was to thank you, Jewel. For your kindness and hospitality when I was hurt—and for your excellent advice about taking responsibility for my own actions.”