16
Cord didn't leave the house all day.
There'd been no saving Molly's dough, which had risen in a giant, misshapen lump on the counter. He'd tossed it.
He'd brewed a pot of coffee and grimaced when it didn't have any kind of special spice in it. How could he miss something he hadn’t even liked?
He'd scorched her soup but eaten two bowls of it anyway. She'd made it for him, after all.
She didn't come out of her room. And by nightfall, he'd started to get a little scared.
He stood in the hall, Hound Dog by his feet, listening to her move around the room through the closed door.
What was she doing in there?
His phone pinged a message, and he walked down the hall to play it back. The bank manager's voice came from the speaker.
"Checking in on the payment. You've got until Monday to clear the overdue amount."
He punched off the app, his temper spiking. Who cared about the mortgage when Molly's life was in danger?
Not him.
It was eye-opening, the depths of his feelings for her. He stood with one hand braced against the wall.
He hadn't meant to, but he'd fallen for her anyway. Couldn't help it. If he lost No Name to foreclosure, if he had to start all over from scratch with no credit, none of that mattered.
He needed Molly to be okay.
When he couldn't stand it any longer, he went back to her door and knocked softly. "Molly? It's me."
She didn't answer.
"Can I come in?"
The door cracked. She walked away even as the portal opened.
She had a duffel bag open on the bed, spilling over with clothes.
"What're you doing?" The words came out though it was obvious she was packing. The frantic motion as she tried to stuff a pair of tennis shoes into the top of the bag worried him.
"I can't… I can't stay here."
The tremble in her voice betrayed her.
"Sure, you can."
She shook her head as she brushed past him. He stood in her room, listening to the pad of her feet to the bathroom and back. She was holding her toothbrush and hairbrush and started stuffing them in the bag, too.
He looked down at the dog, who sat next to his feet. Hound looked up at him, doggie tongue lolling.Do something, he told the dog, raising his eyebrows.
The dog hopped up on the bed, curling into a ball and putting its chin on the open duffel bag.
Seriously? He glared at the animal behind Molly's back.
Molly froze. It was small, and she quickly gathered herself and reached for a T-shirt lying across the edge of the bed, but he'd seen it. She'd reacted to the dog.
"Don't go." He reached out and touched her wrist, hoping to still her manic movements. She jumped and whirled on him.
