by Jody Holford
“Thank God this is over. I might never attend a car show again,” Sam said.
Molly straightened. “Don’t say that. You can’t let bad experiences keep you from something you love.” She stared at him until his gaze softened, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.
“I need to go. I’ll call Jill with my statement. Stay in bed until they release you, and then stay out of trouble after,” Chris said.
“You act like I want trouble to come my way,” Molly said, her irritation prickling.
“You don’t exactly turn away from it when it shows up,” Chris said.
“I’m staying behind my desk from now on. Elizabeth will be back soon, and then she and Jill can cover the outside world. I’ll just edit it.”
Sam and Chris both stared at her and then laughed.
Lifting a hand to say goodbye, Chris chuckled. “I should have written that down and made you sign it.”
When he left, Sam and Molly had about ten minutes of quiet cuddling time before groups of people began to show up.
Alan, Clay, Jill, and Hannah were the first to show up, flowers and chocolates in hand. They told her their versions of what they’d heard through the town grapevine. Molly could neither confirm or deny but told Jill to expect a call from Chris.
Katherine and the sheriff showed up for a short visit following her colleagues, and Molly was grateful to change into her own pajamas.
Sheriff Saron—she couldn’t get used to calling him Brandon—had listened to her story quietly while shooting her looks that made her want to squirm. He was firmly in Chris’s camp of thinking Molly should be under house arrest for any future investigations. Katherine was softer and sweeter, but pretty clear when she informed Molly that she expected her to “keep herself a lot safer than she’d done so far.”
By the time her visitors left, she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. Sam pulled up a plastic chair that reclined but looked incredibly uncomfortable. His mom had brought him a pair of track shorts, a T-shirt, and a sweater.
“I’m going to ask the nurse for an extra blanket. You want anything? Something to drink or eat?”
She shook her head. “I’m not cold.”
His brows furrowed for a second. “Oh. No, it’s for me. I’m not leaving you. I’ll sleep in the chair.”
Happiness pushed away some of the fatigue. “I’m glad to hear you aren’t going anywhere. I’d be sad if you did. But there’s enough room in here for both of us.” She threw back the blanket and patted the mattress, which probably wasn’t much more comfortable than the chair. But at least they’d be together.
“I don’t know about that. It’s probably against policy; plus, it doesn’t look big enough.”
Molly smiled, fluttered her lashes, making him laugh. “If you stay really close, we’ll fit. And as to the policy? I don’t see it posted anywhere.”
Running a hand through his hair, he came to the side of the bed. Molly turned on her side, and he slipped in behind her, wrapping his arm around her tightly. She tugged the covers back over them and snuggled against him, feeling warm and content. And safe.
They lay there, wrapped in each other, listening to the various beeps and noises of the hospital.
“You asleep?” he whispered.
“No. I’m tired, but it feels like I could stay awake. That’s weird, I know.”
He nuzzled her neck. “Babe, that’s like the least weird thing about you.”
Molly gave a gravelly laugh and swatted his hand. He squeezed her gently, but tighter, then linked their fingers over her stomach.
“I really am sorry that I keep scaring you. It’s never my intention. You must have been horrified when you showed up at the RV.” A shiver wracked her body, and Sam scooted impossibly closer, like he could shield her from her own thoughts.
“I was. Everything about it felt wrong. And I couldn’t understand why you’d think you could stop him from whatever he’d decided to do. I was mad at first, wondering why you’d do that, why you’d run off and throw yourself into an unpredictable situation.”
She flinched, hating that she’d made him mad, but understanding.
“But then I realized, it’s part of who you are. You’re so willing to see to others, to put them first, and do right by them, that you forget about yourself. That terrifies me. But it’s also part of what makes you so easy to love. Your capacity to care is humbling. I’d really like you to be more cautious, to remember that you have people who love you back as much as you love them. But I won’t try to change what makes you you.”
Several tears escaped the corners of her eyes and dripped onto her pillow. “I think I’m going to nominate you for most wonderful boyfriend in the world award. I don’t know how I got so lucky, but I promise to be more careful and try to give you less reason to worry. And maybe, if you wanted, you could help me follow through with that by keeping closer tabs on me.”
She smiled into the low light the hallway fixtures cast into the room.
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged, even though she knew what she meant. “Just, maybe if you were around more, it would remind me not to be so impulsive.”
“Around more, like how much more?” He inhaled deeply.
Her heartbeat went wonky, alternating between stomping and fluttering. “Every night?”
His breath whooshed out.
“Every morning?” he asked.
“I’d understand if you don’t want that kind of responsibility. I’m turning out to be kind of high-maintenance.”
He chuckled, and his breath tickled her neck. “I think taking on more responsibility at this stage in my life is exactly what I need. And what you need.”
It took some effort, but she turned so she faced him. She felt like a kid hiding in a fort with the blanket pulled up tight and barely able to see the other person in the semi-darkness.
“You are exactly what I need,” she whispered.
“You really want me around that much?”
Always, her heart shouted. Molly nodded, but worried it was too soon. “If that’s too much, you could start with maybe leaving more of your stuff at my place.”
He kissed her forehead. “Don’t chicken out now. You can’t take it back. You just asked me to move in.”
“For my own safety,” she said with mock graveness.
Around a laugh, he added, “And my sanity.”
She ran her hand up his chest and around his neck. “I can’t promise living with me will provide sanity.”
He pressed his mouth to hers, taking his time to kiss her with such gentle affection, it stole her breath. “I can trade sanity for happiness.”
She smiled around her yawn and burrowed her face into his chest.
“Sleep, Molly,” he said, kissing the top of her head and tucking her closer.
“Okay.”
Her eyes drifted closed, but she was still conscious enough to hear him whisper, “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
He meant it. She fell asleep, and even though the bed was uncomfortable and noise flitted in the background, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.
Epilogue
Two weeks later
Molly ripped the shiny pink wrapping off the present Chris handed her, knowing from the feel of it that he’d kept his word.
She held it up, unable to contain her laughter. “A dictionary,” she said, showing it around the circle of her favorite people.
Sam, sitting beside her on his mom’s dining bench, took it from her hand.
Chris lifted his soda in salute. “As promised.”
Chuckling, Sam pointed to the page he’d turned to. “He actually highlighted words for you.”
Molly shook her head, oddly touched by the quirky and somewhat satirical gift.
“Remember, that’s just from him,”
Sarah said.
Chris stood behind her chair. Bella, Jill, Katherine, and the sheriff were all gathered around the big farm-style table. They’d had a delicious meal of burgers, hot dogs, and potato salad. Sam said he knew, the colder it got, the more she was missing summer, so he and his mom thought a BBQ was needed.
Bella had baked a gorgeous, two-tier cake in the shape of a typewriter. A tiny piece of her wallowed in the sadness of not having her parents at the table, but they’d be coming for Christmas. That had been one of her presents when they’d phoned earlier that day. The others were in the mail. She couldn’t wait for them to meet the people who’d become her family. To meet Sam, who’d become her everything.
“I promise to keep it right on my desk,” she told Chris.
“I don’t care where you keep it, just use it,” he said, making everyone laugh again.
“My turn,” Sam said, passing her a rectangular box wrapped in pale blue paper with a bright purple ribbon on it.
It was sentimental and silly, but she took more care with the paper on his gift. When she got to the box, she smiled when she read the Converse logo.
“My favorite,” she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.
“I hope they will be.”
Confused, she opened the box and gasped. Inside, nestled in pink tissue paper was the coolest pair of shoes she’d ever seen. They looked like they were covered in newsprint.
“I’ve never seen these,” she said, her voice low.
“They’re custom,” he replied.
“You had sneakers custom made for me?”
He nodded. “You like them?”
She blinked away happy tears. “I love them. They’re perfect.”
He kissed her and smiled against her lips. “You’re perfect,” he whispered.
Leaning back, he gestured to the shoes. “Look inside.”
When she did, she pulled out a tiny square black box. Opening it, she smiled when she saw the tiny black Converse shoe charm.
“It’s adorable,” she said, thinking she’d need to get a bracelet to go with it.
“Glad you think so. You can put it on here,” he answered, opening his hand to reveal a gorgeous silver charm bracelet.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, her fingers running over links. There was a charm already on the bracelet, and when she turned it to see what it pictured, her heart puffed up like a balloon. It was a plain, silver circle with tiny letters that read m + s with a heart around them.
Throwing her arms around him, she squeezed tight, then pulled back so he could put it on her wrist.
“This is the best birthday ever,” she said quietly.
The others may or may not have heard her, but Sam was listening. He clasped the bracelet around her wrist and hooked the Converse charm on as well.
Taking her hand, he stared down at the delicate gift, running his fingers over the links and her skin.
“Just you wait, Molly Owens,” he teased. “This is just the beginning.”
“Time for cake,” Bella declared.
Molly stared at Sam, overwhelmed with happiness. He leaned in as Bella rose to go to the kitchen and whispered against her ear.
“Happy birthday, babe. I love you.”
She turned, pressing her hand to his cheek. “I love you back. When we get home, I’ll show you how much.”
Sam chuckled, and they turned back to the conversation until Bella came from the kitchen carrying the lit birthday cake. As the people she loved sang to her, Molly thought about how lucky she was to have so much, to be surrounded by people who gave their love and friendship without reservation or condition. That, more than anything else, was the gift she planned to cherish most.