Then I remembered the hollow feeling when I woke up the next morning to find him gone. We’d said it would only be one night, that nothing would change afterward. But I was still disappointed when his warm body was no longer beside mine—his arms no longer wrapped around me, pulling me close like he had in his sleep.
That was then, Molly. This is now. Everything has changed.
I popped the desserts into the oven and sat at my kitchen island, staring at the wall. After contemplating it for a few minutes, I finally pulled out my phone and sent a text I might regret later.
Molly:I don’t.
A few seconds later, my phone dinged.
Liam:Don’t what?
Molly:Hate your guts.
Liam:I wouldn’t blame you if you did.
I stared at his text. Of course I had every right to be mad at Liam. I had every right to want to murder the man. But after hearing about his dad, some of his rash behavior made more sense. I had no idea what Liam was feeling because I didn’t grow up with the same kind of father.
My dad was amazing. He was there for us growing up in every way he possibly could be. He showed up to school events, horse-riding lessons—anything we did, he was right there, cheering us on.
Based on Liam’s comments about his dad, he’d never had that. What he’d had sounded like boarding school. I wondered if Liam had ever gone to counseling or gotten any kind of help after what had happened to his brother. That was way too much for a ten-year-old to carry on his shoulders. Liam hadn’t mentioned anything about his mom. I hoped she’d been a better parent to him than his dad ever was.
After two long hours of listening to power tools while I baked in my kitchen, the security guys showed me how everything worked—the panic button, motion-activated lights, how to arm the system, even how to access the cameras from my phone when I wasn’t home—then they left.
It all seemed simple, but still overkill. Nothing wild ever happened in this boring little town. The guy who’d broken into my place was probably some lameout-of-towner who got bored and wanted to act like Billy Badass.
If I were lucky, Liam would be able to figure out who he was and throw him in jail for a little while. Then maybe he’d quit the whole overprotective bit.
Molly:I have another ultrasound appointment next week. Do you want to come with me?
Maybe I was crazy for extending an olive branch after everything that had happened, but no matter what had gone down between us, Liam and I were going to be parents—ready or not. It would be a hell of a lot easier if we could at least be in the same room together without tension filling the air.
I didn’t have to forgive Liam, but I could tolerate him. He was going to be in my life for a long time, and as far as I could tell, he planned on playing an active role in our son’s life. Who was I to take that away from our son?
Liam:I won’t miss it for anything.
Everyone deserved a second chance, right? I just hoped Liam didn’t find a way to rip my heart out of my chest and stomp on it this go-round.
Chapter 15 – Liam
I was one week into fixing up the house for Molly, and everything that could go wrong did. Once I got the water turned back on, I found leak after leak that had to be repaired. That led to wet Sheetrock, which meant cutting it out in several spots that would eventually need to be replaced. While gutting the kitchen, I discovered weak spots in the subfloor that would need fixing too.
As if that wasn’t enough, while I was out in the yard repairing one of the water line leaks, I hit something hard while digging. A few minutes of panic set in as I looked over what I’d uncovered, but I was relieved when I found more bones and realized it was someone’s long-forgotten family cat—not human remains.
The week ended on a high note though. When I ripped up the old carpet, I found the original hardwood floors underneath. As far as I could tell, they were still in good shape, and with some solid restoration, they’d look good as new by the time I was finished with the place.
Last night, as the sun was setting, I sat on the edge of the back porch, watching it sink below the horizon.It was one of the prettiest sunsets I’d seen in a while. Back in high school, Jace and I used to chase sunsets all summer long. We’d follow them until we found some random river, then we’d go night fishing under the stars. Catfish bit the most at night anyway.
I thought about all the sunsets Molly and our son would get to watch from this porch. The thought of them sitting here together—him snuggled up on her lap as they studied the streaks of red, orange, and pink—made me smile.
After the sun had gone down and I was done pulling up carpet, I left for the night, more determined than ever to turn this house into Molly’s own version of paradise.
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Today was the first day I wasn’t heading out to work on the place after my shift. Instead, I was going with Molly to her doctor’s appointment.
As we sat next to each other in the waiting room, I rubbed my palms together. When I arrived, they’d been bone dry. Now it felt like I’d dipped my hands in water. I had no idea what to expect. This was all brand new to me.
“Molly McKinley?” a nurse called, stepping out from the back where all the patient rooms were.
