Hotshot and Hospitality by Nora Everly
Chapter 9
Molly
I fumbled around on the bedside table for my hearing aid, then stood up, looking around for something murdery to grab so I could assist. I’m not one of those horror-movie chicks who’s gonna hide out and let her, well, whatever Garrett was to me now—best? Boy? Because were we dating now? Whatever-friend—be chopped up by some serial killer or eaten by Bigfoot. And let’s not forget about the X-Files aliens lurking about. Locating a baseball bat in the corner, I snagged it and threw open the door.
What I saw made me want to dart back into his room and hide in the little bubble we’d created together overnight.
“Molly? What is she doing here, Garrett?” Garrett’s ex-fiancée stood, in all her freaking gorgeous strawberry blond glory, with her arms around his neck, in the middle of the living room. She was tall, thin, elegant, gorgeous—in other words, everything I was not. He fit with her in a way I would never be able to match.
She had broken his heart. The word around town was that she left a note on his kitchen counter while he slept. Obviously, I had never talked to him about it myself or mustered up the courage to ask Becky Lee if that’s what really happened. After she’d gone, her momma told everyone she just wasn’t ready to be a wife.
I hated her.
For no good reason, I had always hated her, like, at-first-sight, wanted-to-punch-her-face-off hatred.
Belatedly—as in, just now—I realized why.
Garrett had always been mine, even when he wasn’t. His engagement to her had meant there was no hope left for me.
So, it was never hatred.
It was pathetic, out-of-control jealousy instead.
The bat slipped from my hand to clatter to the floor as I dashed to the front door. My purse and keys sat on the table next to it. I grabbed them and ran out, slamming the door closed.
To my horror, I burst into tears. I almost never cried. I was so very good about nipping my feelings in the bud, burying them, or denying I even had feelings at all. But seeing her here, arms thrown around Garrett’s neck, his hands at her waist, hurt too much to contain it. With a rough swipe of my arm beneath my eyes, I wiped my tears, but it didn’t stop the flow. In my haste to slam the door shut, I dropped my keys. “Ugh! What the hell?” As I bent to retrieve them the door opened, and Garrett stepped outside. With a lurch, I hauled myself up, abandoning my keys to run off toward the forest, wincing as dried pine needles pricked at my bare feet.
“Molly, come back!” I stopped at the tree line. I had no plan. Was I going to run off into the forest like a crazy person? With no shoes and wearing nothing but Garrett’s big T-shirt and a pair of undies?
What was wrong with me?
The usual was wrong with me. All drama, no plans, reacting to stuff before I thought it through.
“I don’t want to.” I stood there facing the trees and probably a few ax-murderers, and maybe a rabid squirrel? If there were aliens out there, I wished they would just abduct me right now and get me the hell out of here.
“Come on, Coop. Please come back.” He called me Coop. Not cutie, not even Molly. Coop, just like when we were kids, just like when we were friends. Just like the last time I saw him in town with her. My body swiveled in place before my mind could force myself to run away from him. I needed to get my keys and I needed to get the hell out of here. I also did not need to be here for their joyous reunion. He bent to pick up my keys and stepped off the porch to head in my direction. “I’ll get rid of her. Let’s go back inside.”
“We both know this whole thing was a bad idea. This just proves it.”
His head jerked back in surprise. “What are you talking about? This? It’s nothing. She barged in. I didn’t invite her here. I didn’t even know she was back in town.”
“I know you love her. You were always with her, you were—”
His jaw clenched with frustration. “And you always had a boyfriend, didn’t you, Molly? She left me, remember? She is in the past, just like your Chrises. Don’t go.” He reached out as if to touch my face, but I backed out of his reach. “Please don’t cry, this is nothing to—”
“Right, she broke your heart. Everyone knows that! I guess you got her back now.” I held my hand out and gestured for my keys.
“No, we should talk about this. I want you to stay—”
“Not now. Not when she’s still here. Please, Garrett, I need to leave. Please give me my keys and let me go.”
His eyes softened on my—most likely bright red and tear streaked—face. “I understand. I’ll get her gone, then I’ll come find you.”
The keys dropped into my outstretched palm and I darted to my VW to get the hell out of here. Once I made it to the highway, I realized once more that I hadn’t dressed or put on shoes. And one look in the rearview mirror at my puffy, red eyes and blotchy face told me I couldn’t go home like this. My brothers loved Garrett, but they loved me more. They’d take one look at me and be out the door like avenging angels to either beat the shit out of him or threaten him until he cried. And don’t even get me started on Leo. The last Chris I dated was a cheater who called me a see-you-next-Tuesday when I dumped him; he probably still rued the day he’d ever met Leo, and I’ll just leave it at that.
Once I got into town, I pulled into the nearest parking lot to dig out my cell and call Clara. It was Sunday; she should be at her mother’s farm. Ever since Sadie’s husband had left her and she’d moved back in with their momma, Clara had been down every week for their regular Sunday dinner as a show of support.
“Where are you? At your mother’s?” I dove straight in with no preamble.
“We’re all at Willa’s place,” she answered.
“Damn it! Shoot! I’m in my underwear and my face is a mess. I need clothes before I can go home!”
“No, sugar, you need to back this story up because it feels like you left all the interesting parts out. Come on over, we got clothes. But more importantly, we’ve got you.”
“But Everett—”
“Is at his shop for the day. It’s just us girls here, so come on.”
“I’ll be right there.” I had nowhere else to go. The only other option I would have had was to call Becky Lee and I couldn’t do that—once again proving that attempting to date Garrett was a bad idea and kissing him had been a huge mistake.
I found Everett and Willa’s place, parked at the curb and looked around to make sure the coast was clear before I ran to the door and banged on it. Clara threw it open like she’d been waiting for me on the other side, which she probably had done.
I dashed inside because even though Garrett’s shirt was long, I was still in public wearing nothing down below but panties. I held up two fingers. “So, two things—I need some pants, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
Clara laughed. “Three things—you are so gonna talk about it, we have pants for you upstairs, and what direction are we going in, food or booze?”
“Gosh! Food! It’s morning!”
“Yeah, and that’s what mimosas were invented for,” she shot back at me with a smirk.
“I’m not drinking anymore. Drinking is what got me into this stupid mess in the first place,” I declared.
“No, it wasn’t the drinking, but we’ll get into that later.”
“Hey, Molly. Don’t say anything juicy until I get back. I’m doing a doughnut run to Daisy’s. Want me to pick up a coffee for you?” Gracie hugged my neck, then moved around me toward the door.
“You’re a doll, Gracie, thank you.” I followed Clara through the foyer and up a staircase to what I assumed was Willa and Everett’s bedroom. She waved me inside with a pair of leggings in her hand.
“I found these, Molly. They’re capris on me, so they should be normal length on you.”
“I really appreciate this, thank you.”
She tossed me the leggings with a smile. “We’ve all been there—a dramatic, tear-filled escape in a man’s too-big T-shirt is a rite of passage every woman goes through at least once in her life. Am I right?”
Clara shrugged. “I had two last year alone.”
“We need to talk about your taste in men, Clara.” She deserved better than the losers she always ended up going out with. She was a beautiful, blond tower of awesome and she should have it all.
“Well, we don’t all get a shot at a Monroe,” she sniped.
“Well, my shot at one is gone. May I flop?” I gestured to the bed.
Willa laughed. “Flop away.”
“I haven’t told you how glad I am you’re finally home, Willa,” I mumbled into the mattress. Willa had run away from home with her boyfriend when she was seventeen, but now she was back, and to use the words Garrett had kept haranguing me with, we needed to catch up.
“Thanks, Molls. But probably not as glad as I am to be here.”
Clara plopped down next to me and nudged me to my side. “Y’all are so sweet. Yay for reunions and all that. But what happened? Start from the beginning and leave nothing out. Go.” She clapped her hands and stared at me expectantly.
Willa sat at the head of the bed with her knees tucked to her chest. “Get it out, you’ll feel better. Then we’ll all eat doughnuts together and feel wonderful.”
“I spent the night at Garrett’s cabin—”
“Oh my god! Was there stamina involved?” Clara burst out.
“No, our clothes stayed on. He can’t sleep sometimes, and we sort of made a bet about it. I helped him fall asleep and accidentally crashed next to him. We woke up, we kissed a little bit, then Lacy showed up. She had a key. She let herself in.”
“No! Boo, Lacy!” Clara turned to Willa. “Garrett’s ex-fiancée and we hate her. Team Molly for life!”
“Gotcha,” Willa confirmed with a grin. Obviously, she was on Team Molly. She was out of town for the Garrett Monroe/Lacy LaRoe engagement of doom. I mean, imagine if they actually got married. Her name would have been Lacy LaRoe-Monroe. Ugh! Nauseating and adorable.
I sat up, realizing that I may have overreacted just a bit.
Clara pulled me into a side hug. “What else, sugar pie? Why are you here, pantsless and morose? Tell us all about it.”
Why was I sad? He hadn’t actually done anything wrong. Uh-oh . . . “He called me Coop?” I was digging for anything to make me seem less irrational.
“And?” Willa encouraged with a gentle smile.
“And, there is a chance I may have jumped to some conclusions . . .” Pulling away from Clara, I reflopped onto the mattress, stole one of Willa’s pillows and buried my head for good measure. I was such an idiot.
I peeked out to see Clara studying my face with her head shaking side to side. I uncovered my ear to hear her. “So, what you’re saying is, you took one look at her and your denial jealousy activated your fight-or-flight response and you flighted out of his house like a big ol’ weenie?”
“Denial jealousy?” Willa questioned. I could hear the amusement in her voice, and I couldn’t blame her. I was totally amusing right now, all red-faced and pantsless, flopped over and hiding in her bed like a wuss.
“I’m not in denial!” I insisted before reentering the pillow fortress I’d built over my head.
“Denial jealousy occurs when you refuse to acknowledge your feelings, which our girl Molly does in regard to almost ninety percent of her life. Hence the use of the word denial.”
“Oh god,” I moaned. “I wrecked everything.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Clara pulled the pillow away from my head. “If this were a normal dating situation with a regular guy, then I would say yeah, you probably did. But this is Garrett and he’s known your wacky ass since birth. You’ve got a lot of slack to work with when it comes to him.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” Willa interjected. “Those Monroe boys can tolerate a lot of nutty behavior. Honestly, I think on some level, they like it. Plus, normal is so overdone. It’s boring.”
“Let it all hang out, I always say,” Clara agreed.
“Y’all are so right. And Becky Lee isn’t exactly what you’d call normal, as you know. Plus, she is their first example of womanhood!” I was starting to feel a little bit better. The hope that had been dead only moments before started to rekindle in my heart.
“This gives me hope for Sadie’s eternal Barrett crush,” Clara laughed. “Talk about a whack job.”
“Y’all! Oh my gosh! Y’all come down here!” I heard the shout from downstairs, but I couldn’t make out what was said.
“Gracie is downstairs.” Clara lifted my pillow to inform me. “Let’s go.” I slipped into Willa’s pants and followed them down to the kitchen.
“Sadie has news!” Gracie hollered as soon as she saw us. Sadie stood beside her holding a cardboard cup holder full of Daisy’s take-out coffee.
“Hey, y’all. Kitchen,” Sadie ordered. We all followed her in a hurry. Her raised eyebrows, wide eyes, and sideways smirk were all dialed to the “big news is a’comin’”setting, and I could use some better news than what I’d got this morning. Or even a good dose of someone else’s bad news.
With a grand gesture toward the table, she sat down with the seriousness of a CEO at a board meeting.
Gracie plopped a huge box of doughnuts in the middle of the table and handed me a Daisy’s take-out coffee. “Thanks, honey,” I said and yanked out a chair to sit.
“I heard some things from Barrett,” Sadie started. “As y’all know, Lacy dumped Garrett about a year and a half ago. She left a note on the counter and took off in the dead of night, leaving a sleeping Garrett to discover it in the morning. Her momma said she had to work on herself, but really—”
“We already know this, Sadie,” Clara interrupted. “Get on with it.”
Gracie was still in her chair, eyes focused with rapt attention on Sadie. “I don’t know any of this. Keep goin’, Sadie.”
Sadie stuck her tongue out at Clara, then addressed Gracie. “The official story is that she wasn’t ready for marriage. Cold feet and all that crap. But my sources have always said that Garrett didn’t make enough money. He wasn’t climbing up the Monroe & Sons’ ladder fast enough and that’s the real reason why she dumped him. And despite everyone’s encouragement”—her derisive gaze shot to me—“Molly refused to swoop in and make her move. Finally, they were in the same town at the same time, both single, no more Marines, no more Chrises, but noooooo . . .” Her eyes landed on mine with a sympathetic gleam as she patted my hand. “Anyway, Barrett said Lacy found out from her momma that Garrett will be the one taking over after Bill retires.”
“He told you all this?” Clara sounded surprised.
Sadie curled up her lip and snorted. “No, he doesn’t tell me that kind of stuff! I overheard him talking to Wyatt on his phone in line at Daisy’s just now. Wyatt saw Lacy talking to your cousin Samantha at the Piggly Wiggly late last night—Sabrina ate all the pickles and he was on an emergency run—and Lacy was trying to get information from Sam about you, Molly. Asking if you were dating anyone, if you’d talked to Garrett lately, stuff like that—"
My nose wrinkled in confusion. “Why would she ask about me?”
“Stick with me, Molly, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay . . .”
“I know you don’t like to think about—” She exchanged a glance with Clara before continuing. “Things . . . but it’s time to start thinking and land your man.”
“My man?”
“Garrett!” they all shouted.
“Okay, sheesh. But he’s not—”
“Shush!” Sadie held up a hand. “He is, and that is only part one. Part two is that obviously she’s here to dig for gold. I mean, she’s back in town and staying with her cousin Gretchen almost immediately after she finds out Garrett will take over Monroe & Sons? Hello?”
“But she’s not a gold digger. She’s a nice person which makes me a terrible one for hating her! And everyone already knows he’s taking over the business,” I argued.
Sadie shrugged. She’d made her mind up about Lacy and I was just along for the ride. “Sure, people know he’s the one taking over, but as a rumor or like a ‘maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t’ kind of thing. But they signed papers at the office on Friday. It’s totally official now. And you’re not terrible, Molly. Jealousy is not the same as hate, and that’s what you’ve been feeling. Hush.”
“Oh, snap!” Gracie smirked.
Sadie lifted her chin with a sly grin. “You’re damn right, oh, snap! And Lacy’s momma was the clerk who filed all the Monroe & Sons paperwork. At least that’s what I heard. It all adds up, doesn’t it? Lacy ‘found herself’ once she found out that Garrett will be rolling in Monroe & Sons money one day and probably living in that big old house in town, and now, suddenly, she’s ready to see him again? I don’t buy it.”
“Garrett is too smart to fall for that,” Willa said.
Sadie agreed. “Yeah, he absolutely is. But—” She turned to me. “Don’t get mad, Molly. You’re going to let her mess up your head again and we are not going to let it happen this time.”
I shook my messed-up head and stood up to leave. All of this was too much. It felt like a competition—one that I knew I could not win. “None of y’all have to worry because no one is getting in my head. I’m keeping everyone out, because I can’t do this. There’s too much to lose. Thank you for the pants, Willa. I’ll wash them and bring them back. I love y’all, but I’m going home.” I slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops I found sitting by the door, grabbed my purse and got the heck out of there.