Craving Molly (The Aces' Sons 2)

I turned and walked away before things got any worse.

“I’ll be here when it’s over,” Dad called as I reached the front door. “When he fucks you over or gets you into something that scares you, I’ll be right here.”

I slammed the door behind me when I left.

* * *

“Hey,” I mumbled that night as I opened the door for Will. “Sorry about earlier.”

“No problem. Reb sleepin’?” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and shut the door behind him as he backed me farther into the house.

“Yeah. I gave her some pain medicine for her ears, so hopefully she’ll stay asleep longer tonight.” I rubbed my forehead with the tips of my fingers, sighing. “I know she gets ear infections. I feel like the worst mother ever for not realizing that she had another one.”

“How would you know?” he asked, shrugging out of his leather vest and tossing it over the back of the couch. “Not like she coulda told you.”

“Yeah, but the pulling on her ears thing, and the not sleeping, and the foul mood should’ve given me an idea,” I replied ruefully as he unlaced and pulled off his boots.

“Well, you know now, right?”

“Yeah.” I smiled as he stood back up and moved toward me. The minute he reached me, his hands went around my back and he was gripping my ass, lifting me until my legs wrapped around his waist.

“She’ll take her meds and be good as new. Good thing, too. I’m used to not gettin’ much sleep, sugar, but I was startin’ to feel like a zombie.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly as he reached over to make sure the door was locked, then turned and started walking toward my bedroom. “You don’t have to stay here every night.” I rubbed my lips along the edge of his ear, and felt a small sense of satisfaction when I felt him suck in a quick breath. He loved it when I put my lips on his ears and neck, those were his sweet spots.

“You kickin’ me out?” he asked with a chuckle as he walked us through my bedroom doorway.

“No.” I leaned back and looked into his eyes, wrapping my arms completely around his neck. “But you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”

“Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be,” he replied softly, leaning forward to kiss me gently. “What’s wrong?”

My face contorted and I dropped my head as I felt the tears I’d been fighting all night flood my eyes. All it took was one softly worded question and I wanted to sob like a baby.

“Molly?” Will asked again, one of his arms rising to wrap tightly around my back. “What the hell?”

“Sorry,” I choked out, trying to get my shit together. “Sorry.”

“Quit apologizing and tell me what the fuck is wrong.” He dropped onto the bed and ran his fingers through my hair.

“They have to put tubes in her ears,” I finally replied when I knew my voice wouldn’t break.

“That’s what’s got you all upset? Shit, sugar. Both my brothers had that done when they were kids. Not a big deal.”

“It’s different for kids with Down syndrome,” I argued, raising my head from his shoulder. My voice grew panicked and the words tumbled out of my mouth quickly. “They have issues with anesthesia and Rebel’s never had to have anything invasive done. We don’t know if she has allergies or if she’s extra sensitive or—”

“Baby, stop,” Will ordered, his hand tightening in my hair. “It’s gonna be fine. Her doctor wouldn’t do it if he thought it was gonna go bad, right?”

“Her doctor is a woman,” I replied stupidly.

“Alright, she wouldn’t do it if she thought it was gonna go bad,” Will said patiently.

“But what if she’s scared?” I asked, my voice catching. “I don’t want her to be scared.”

“Moll,” Will whispered tenderly, pulling my head down to run his lips over mine. “It’s gonna be fine, baby. I promise. She won’t be scared, she’ll be out. They’re not gonna do anything when she’s awake.”

I nodded even as I started to bawl. I didn’t want to go through with it. Maybe I was being ridiculous, but I was still scared out of my mind.

“Jesus,” Will mumbled, moving us so that we were lying down on the bed. “You’re fuckin’ exhausted and it’s makin’ everything bigger than it is.”

“So many things could go wrong,” I whimpered as he pulled me tighter against his chest. “What if—”

“Enough,” he ordered gruffly, pulling the blankets over us. “You’re not playin’ the what if game tonight. You need some fuckin’ sleep. You still wanna play that game with me tomorrow, I’ll be all ears.”

I cried against his chest as he shushed me, but I couldn’t seem to get it under control. Realistically, I knew that the surgery would probably go off without a hitch. Will was right, it was a simple procedure. However, that truth did nothing to stem my panic.