Hotshot and Hospitality by Nora Everly

Chapter 26

Molly

After one last glance down at his sleeping face, I decided I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay here. He shouldn’t have to put up with my flip-flopping fears and most likely insurmountable pile of doubts for the rest of however long this un-dating thing lasted between us. He should be with someone as steady as he was. I was the opposite of steady. I was a lopsided teeter-totter stuck in a frickin’ hurricane. He was a grown-up and I was—I didn’t even know how to describe myself and that was part of the problem.

I should go before his feelings for me became real. Sleep confessions were not real—everyone knew that. Plus, I couldn’t be the center of anyone’s world, and I didn’t deserve to have him be mine. Maybe I’d never let him in before because I’d known on some level, he would take everything I had until I was his and he was mine and the only thing left was a hopeless oblivion. If I never had him, I could never lose him. Now I was just lost.

Don’t ever make someone your whole world. They will always leave you, Molly. My mother’s words to me at my dad’s funeral flittered through my mind. She was right, of course. I mean, just look at what happened to her. She checked so far out of her life that we barely knew her anymore. Hell, she’d forgotten who she was too.

I had to let Garrett go. It was the right thing to do. The best thing I could do for him.

I slipped my undies and dress on in the bathroom, then came back to take one last look at the best thing in the world that had ever happened to me. I’d been so stupid to let it get this far.

My hearing aid and purse were on the coffee table and I’d left my sandals by the couch. Of course that cute little floof, Stan, was asleep on them. Dammit! “Stan, you have to move. I’ve got to go. I’ll visit you someday . . .” Lie. I could never come back here. This place contained all my top-five favorite things, plus the one very best thing I could not allow myself to have.

I slid my shoes from under him and put them on. “I’m sorry, Stan. It was nice knowing you.” I grabbed a piece of paper from my purse and scribbled a fast note for Garrett. I dashed into the bedroom and stuffed it under my pillow before running back in here. I found my keys and spun around for one last look, then twisted the lock on his door so I wouldn’t leave them alone in the murder woods in an unsecured house, got in my car and drove the heck out of there.

No crying.

I inhaled a sharp breath. The thought of going home was unbearable. My thoughts were horrid. I didn’t want to be alone with them and there was no way pie could ever fix something like this. I hit the Bluetooth button on my steering wheel to call Clara. She was a night owl, and even if she wasn’t, it was her stupid Tinder idea that had started this whole mess in the first place. She owed me.

“Yeah. I’m at Genie’s, Molly. It’s late, you were with Garrett and now you’re calling me? I’ll grab a booth with Sadie. Meet me here and you can tell me all about how you screwed everything up with him.” Rude. Yeah, maybe I was screwing up, but that was because I was a screw-up. It’s what I did.

“Real nice, Clara. And fine, I’ll meet you at Genie’s. Order me a Dr. Pepper and some fried pickles. Get some chicken wings and cheese fries too.”

“Damn, girl, that’s a whole lotta bad mood food.” She laughed.

“I’ll share it with y’all, Clara. Jeez. I’ll be there in ten.”

“Yup. I’ll tell you all about why I’m at Genie’s at this time of night, since you didn’t ask.”

“Holy crap. I’m sorry, I had a bad day and—”

“I know all about it. Sadie is here too. Hang up and drive.” Dang, Clara had her cranky pants on tonight. Sheesh, I really was an insensitive screw-up.

Since it was a weeknight, Genie’s parking lot wasn’t too packed. It was a relief since that meant it wouldn’t be quite as loud. Which was not saying much, since this was a bar.

I didn’t hear her, but I did see Sadie jumping up and down, blond curls and boobs bouncing like crazy near a booth by the dance floor, and yes, she was attracting a lot of attention. “Hey, Molly! Over here!”

“Simmer down, Sadie, or your breasts will bring all the boys to our booth,” I grumbled as I slid in next to Clara.

“What did you do?” Clara pulled back with narrowed eyes to study me. “Ohhhh, you experienced the legendary Monroe stamina, didn’t you? Was it good? Wait, don’t tell me. I do not want to know anymore. It’s been three years for me. Three. Years. What did you do? Freak out over his magic penis and leave him in bed? Did he give you all the feels? Blow your mind? Make you fall in love with him?”

Sadie leaned over, hugged Clara into her side and dropped a kiss to her temple. “Hush your grouchy mouth, Clara.” The words were harsh, but her tone was sweet. “What happened? Did he tell you he loves you? Is that it?” Strangely, Sadie was the more sympathetic Hill sister tonight. Odd, but I could go with it.

“Well, sort of. He said it in his sleep.” I picked up the Dr. Pepper they’d ordered me and took a sip.

“Are you sure he was talking to you and not Scarlett Johansson or Wonder Woman or some other dream girl?” Clara questioned.

“Yeah, he meant me. He said my name . . .”

“Aww, honey.” Sadie grabbed my hand and held it over the tabletop.

Clara snorted. I had noticed the shot glasses lining the table when I got here. Were they all hers? I got worried. Clara rarely ever drank, and whenever she did, it wasn’t much. “God, the two of you are driving me crazy!” she burst out. “I mean, Sadie has been flitting around Barrett for months and he’s finally become receptive to her wacky ways. But does she flit herself underneath that big, hot bod of his and let ’er rip? No, she does not. You pick fights with him, Sadie, and run away. You act like a looney bird and try to turn him off when we all know those Monroe boys love a challenge. Both of y’all are total wackadoos. If I had a man like either one of those after me? A good man who would finally treat me right? You would have to force me to keep my clothes on and my legs closed. I wouldn’t be here with y’all two idiots. I would spend all my time bent over a firm surface getting laid. Regularly.”

“Hey, y’all.” Our heads whipped to the sound of the voice at the edge of our booth. It was deep and masculine, like sexy sandpaper sliding over a big piece of wood. His cheerful tone was an odd contrast to Clara’s rage-fest.

“Hey . . .” we answered him in unison.

“Oh, it’s Chris! Hey, Chris!” Sadie answered once the hot-guy haze lifted from the table and we saw him clearly. Tall, with sandy brown hair and blue eyes just like Becky Lee’s. Sadie’s eyebrows rose conspiratorially toward me and she tilted her head. “You know Molly already.” He nodded to me and I smiled. Manners before misery, as my momma always used to say—obviously, that was before her own misery took over her life and she left town. “This is my sister, Clara.” She introduced Clara and I was pleased to see his eyes light up. She was the reason he had come over here and I couldn’t help but do an internal fist pump on her behalf. It shook me out of my sorrow for a minute and I was happy for her.

“Hello, Clara.” He addressed her with a big, gorgeous smile.

“Clara, this is Chris Barrett, the Monroe boys’ cousin from Knoxville. His dad is Becky Lee’s brother. Becky Lee named Barrett after her maiden name,” Sadie explained.

“Well, holy shit, Chris Barrett, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s go to the bar. Buy me a drink and get me away from these two psychopaths.” She glared at each one of us in turn. “See this? I don’t say no to potential. Opportunity knocks and Miss Clara Jean Hill opens the freakin’ door, okay?” Sadie shook her head and let Clara out of the booth.

Chris chuckled and extended his hand. Clara took it and off they went to the bar. Hopefully this Barrett cousin was into complications and drama when it came to his female company.

“She got fired today,” Sadie leaned across the table to tell me.

“Oh no!”

“Yeah, I guess in that company, if you don’t screw the owner when he tells you to, you’re out.”

“Holy crap! Did she say what she’s going to do?”

“Yeah, she’s filing complaints against him and all kinds of legal stuff I already forgot about and moving back to Green Valley. She’s buying a house in town and we’re moving in together. She has loads of money, so she’ll be okay. But still! She’s beside herself. She worked so hard to get where she was, and that asshole just took it away in one fell swoop.”

“Well, it will be nice to have her close for a change, but man, I feel bad for her.”

“Don’t take any of what she said personally. She’s in a mood. So, what happened tonight? How’s Bill? Last I heard from Barrett, he was asleep.”

“That’s what I heard too.” My eyebrows rose.

“What?” She replaced her curious look with an innocent one and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re in touch with Barrett?” I prodded.

She looked away and shrugged, twirling the straw in her glass before answering. “Yeah, we text about work and other stuff sometimes. But back to you. You didn’t really leave Garrett in bed sleeping, did you?”

“I made a mistake, Sadie. I never should have let it get this far. I’m no good for him. Look at me! I ran away to go to a bar instead of talk to him like a grown-up. And I did it the same day his dad had a heart attack. Who does that?” I shrank back in my seat and ran my hands into my hair.

“Did you leave a note at least?”

“Yeah, I said there was an emergency at the inn.”

“Okay, that’s good! He’ll never have to know you got scared. Just talk to him tomorrow morning. Boom! Problem solved. You’re welcome.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It totally is that freaking simple. You got scared. You’re human, it happens. You can tell him about it or not. It doesn’t matter because you were smart enough to give yourself an out by leaving a note. You deserve to be happy, sweetie. We all do.”

“He deserves better than me. I’m a total mess. Sadie, we had the most beautiful—Ugh!” I looked away. I never let anyone see me like this—never. My eyes were tingling and I was pretty sure I was about to cry.

She reached across the table and took my hands in hers. It freaked me out briefly, but I played along. “Molly, how long have we been friends?”

“I don’t know, like, ten years? Twelve? Longer? I don’t math, Sadie, you know that. I failed freshman algebra three times.”

She chuckled. “A long damn time, okay? In all those years I’ve never seen you cry or get upset. Not once, and neither has Clara, except for the very first day we all hung out together.” What was happening here? Where was this contemplation coming from? Where was the real Sadie Hill?

I choked out a laugh. “Right, yeah. We were all hiding under the bleachers with Leo. It was a total sob soirée. Snot city.” I smiled at the memory. Even though it was a bad one, it was one of my favorites.

“We were all crying that day because our lives as we knew them were gone forever. We were stuck back in school—a place that never changes—but we had changed so much. Your daddy had died, and your momma was a mess. Our father left town for who knows where and, well, you’ve met our mother. Leo’s parents kicked him out for being gay. We found each other and lost our way together. To this day, none of us, except for Leo, do much reflection or—” She paused as she struggled for words. “None of us do a lot of thinking, Molly. We just wander through life and hope for the best. Do you want to stay that way, or do you want to make something of the rest of your life? And I don’t mean your work at the inn. I mean your real life—love, babies, maybe even Garrett?”

“I can’t have all that stuff!” The idea horrified me.

“Why not?”

“Because. I just can’t! I have to go home. I’ll call you tomorrow. Say bye to Clara for me.” The strap of my purse almost pulled me off my feet when it got hung up on the table but I didn’t let it stop me. I flung it around, spun in a circle and ran across the dance floor dodging boot-scooting boogiers all along the way, only to run into freaking Jackie at the edge of the floor, near the coat hooks at the front exit.

Getting right up in my face, she snarked, “Alone in a bar again, are you? Garrett dump you already, just like all the Chrises?” She smirked and slid out of her jacket, turning to hang it up.

“Ugh!” I poked her in the chest and stepped closer. “What is your problem with me? Say it to my face right now, Jackie. Is this really because Duane asked me to the dance one billion years ago? Really?”

“No! It started with that but then you stole my brother. You act like a crazy kid all over town and everyone thinks you’re the cutest thing ever.”

“That’s it? That’s your big beef? Ancient history and the fact that I’m a weirdo? I like stupid stuff, so what? I get excited easily about sparkly things and cats. Maybe I wear dumb dresses and look silly sometimes, but I don’t go around town spreading rumors and hurting people like you do.”

“You stole my brother. Leo barely talks to me and it’s all your fault.”

“Try being less of a malicious bitch and then have a talk with Leo. He’s your brother, he will always love you! God, I don’t have time for this. You’re the one who needs to grow up. All I’m going to say is if you mess with me one more time, I’m going to have to kick your ass.”

She burst out laughing which was not the reaction I was going for. I felt wretched, I needed an outlet for my bad mood and her laughing at me sucked. “Oh my god. Are you even five feet tall? You weigh what? One hundred pounds soaking wet, and you’re going to kick my ass?”

“Okay, fine, no—” I felt like a cartoon character, almost as if a light bulb literally popped over my head. “You’re right, I won’t kick anyone’s ass, obviously. I’ve been putting up with your stupid crap for years. I’m a pacifist at heart. But I wasn’t the one here alone tonight. I met Clara and Sadie, and everyone noticed on account of Sadie activating her Wonder Twin boobs at the table. But it’s about”—I flicked my wrist to check the time—“one in the morning and you’re here alone. Are you looking for some company tonight, Jackie?” She blanched and I grinned the evil grin that I reserved only for my meanest occasions—so yeah, this was the first time I’d ever used it. “I’ll bottom line it for you, so you’ll be sure to absorb this information into your tiny, mean, little pea brain. You keep your big mouth shut about me for—I don’t know, the rest of your life, and I’ll keep mine shut about your nightly hookup activities, okay?” She looked away and huffed out an annoyed breath. “And, you might want to try the Wooden Plank. I’ve heard the men are less discriminating over there. Bye now.”

I stomped out the door and the cool breeze smacked me in the face as I trudged through the gravel lot to my car.

Finally telling her off felt good.

But maybe she had a point about me. Maybe they all had a point tonight. I did need to grow up. Or at least stop being stuck in the same place, making the same decisions and screwing up every good thing in my life because I was afraid to let things change.

That burst of insight was exhausting. So, naturally, I went home to hide in my treehouse for the night.