I was looking forward to helping her in the shower, assuming she even let me help her. I hadn’t been deluded enough to think that she was going to let me skate by without bringing up shit from the past, but for some reason, I’d thought she’d forgiven me already. She’d been letting me take care of her for the past few days and hadn’t said shit about it, and I’d assumed that we were going to let that shit go for now.
Apparently, I was a stupid asshole, because from the crap she’d been saying as I carried her inside, we were far from forgiveness. Not that I blamed her. I’d fucked up big time when I’d taken off without a word.
“Wanna get down?” Molly mumbled against my cut, startling me.
“What?”
“Wanna get down?” she asked again.
I couldn’t help the rumble of laughter that came from my mouth. “Nah, sugar, I’m tired. Let’s sleep for a bit.”
“Fine,” she groused. Two seconds later she was asleep again.
* * *
“You find ’em?” I asked, answering my phone that night. Molly had woken up groggy but lucid, and she’d been laying on my bed watching Rebel play on the floor for the past hour. I’d tried sitting with her for a bit, but eventually I’d had to find something to do. Currently, I was reorganizing shit behind the bar.
“Found ’em,” Hulk said, his voice low. “But we’re gonna be here a bit longer.”
“Why?” I asked, something in his voice making my gut churn.
“Kozlov’s got lots to say, man. Fuckin’ tons of shit to say.” There was a message in there somewhere, but I had no fucking clue what it was.
“You need me up there?” I asked, glancing toward the hallway leading to my room.
“No. Stay where you are.” Someone said something in the background that I couldn’t hear, and the phone was covered up, because there was silence for a few seconds before Hulk came back on. “I’ll call you back, man. Stay there—it’s all good.”
I stood there staring at my phone like it was going to bite me. What the fuck was that? Something was happening in Ontario and I had no fucking clue what it was.
“Hey,” Molly called, coming from the hallway holding Rebel’s hand. “We’re hungry.”
“That right?” I asked, a smile pulling at my lips, the phone call pushed to the back of my mind. They looked so damn sweet together. Moll’s hair was messy as hell and she was in nothing but yoga pants and one of my t-shirts since she couldn’t get the cast through the arm of any of hers, and Rebel was already dressed for bed since she’d come back to the clubhouse covered in makeup. Lily and Rose hadn’t been watching her too close when she was in Rose’s room with them. “Whatcha hungry for?”
“Pizza?” Molly asked, looking down at Rebel. “Sound good to you, princess?”
“Pizza,” Reb answered, lifting her eyebrows up and down.
“I love it when she does that,” Molly confessed, laughing. “And now she’s figured it out, so she does it whenever she wants something.”
“You know what’s up, huh, Reb?” I asked, hopping over the counter. “Got Mama wrapped around your finger.”
Reb did the eyebrow thing again, followed by a goofy smile.
“You’re cute,” I told her, lifting her into my arms. “You want pizza?”
“Yes,” she said seriously, all silliness gone.
“What kind do you guys like?” I asked, glancing at Molly.
“Cheese.”
“Boring,” I sang, making a face at Reb. “Don’t you want anchovies?”
“No.”
“Pineapple?”
“No.”
“Pepperoni?”
“No.”
“Fine,” I sighed, poking her little belly and making her double over in exaggerated annoyance. “I’ll get you cheese pizza.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and was about to dial the local pizza place when my mom, Tommy and Rose came in the front door. There were a few guys around, a couple in their bedrooms and one in the garage, but no one else was, so it was weird that my family just showed up.
“What’s goin’ on?” I asked as Rose ran toward me.
“We’re staying here tonight,” my mom said, frustration clear in her voice.
“Why?”
“No idea.”
“Can I play with Rebel?” Rose asked, lightly grabbing Reb’s foot.
Molly opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Reb was shaking her head no, her hand going straight for my beard as she laid her head on my chest. I grinned superiorly at my little sister, making her roll her eyes.
“I think she’s too tired, hun,” Molly said in apology.
“That’s okay,” Rose replied, pulling her phone out of her pocket as she turned to walk away.
“You guys have dinner?” I asked my mom as she reached me.
“No, I hadn’t even started it yet,” she mumbled, reaching out to set a soft hand on Reb’s back. “She played hard today, no surprise she’s tired.”
“Thanks for having her over,” Molly said.
“She’s always welcome,” my mom replied.
“You guys want pizza?”