The January Cove Series: Books 6-8

by Rachel Hanna

  Was she crying right now? Was she completely hurt and confused? He hated the thought of her sweet face crying again, and this time because of him.

  But it was the only answer. He needed to get his hands on that fifty-thousand dollars, and this was the only way to make it happen.

  He’d made a deal with the devil, and there was no going back now.

  “Good morning, Molly,” Addison said in her normal chipper tone the next morning. Molly had taken the day off work, unable to get any sleep the night before. She had tossed and turned and alternated between crying fits and punching her pillow.

  “Good morning,” she muttered as she reached for the coffee pot and realized it was empty. And then she burst into tears.

  “Oh, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Addison asked, pulling her into a hug.

  “What isn’t wrong? It’s all wrong…”

  “Does this have anything to do with Austin moving out this morning?”

  She froze in place, her lungs devoid of air. “He left?”

  “Yeah. Said he had some business in Atlanta and would be gone for a few days or maybe even weeks.”

  “So he’s gone?” She couldn’t believe it. That was it. There was no fixing it. He just abandoned her and the beginning of their beautiful relationship without a thought. He took what he wanted from her and he left.

  Molly sat down on the bar stool and stared into the garden through the bay window. They’d sat on those benches eating banana pudding.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” Addison asked again.

  Molly told her everything. The whole story. Even the part she was most embarrassed about.

  “I don’t know how I could’ve been so wrong about him. About us.”

  “I don’t understand either. He seems like such a nice guy,” Addison said, and she truly did look confused. “I really thought you were perfect for each other.”

  Before they could continue their conversation, Molly’s mother appeared in the doorway.

  “I’m going to go check on Anna Grace. She’s napping in the front room,” Addison said as she excused herself.

  “Have you been crying? What’s wrong?” her mother asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

  “Nothing.”

  “Is this about Austin?” her mother asked. How did she know his name?

  “You mean Blake?”

  “Honey, I know. I’ve known for a while.”

  “Wait. How did you…”

  “It’s not important. Let’s just say I was protecting my daughter as best I could… even if she didn’t want me to.” Lydia sat down next to Molly and rubbed her leg.

  “I guess you were right. He wasn’t the man for me.” She hated to admit it, but what other conclusion was there? She stared off in the distance, completely exhausted with the events of the last twenty-four hours.

  “Molly, why don’t you come home with us? Stay for a few weeks. Get your bearings. See Olivia. Let us try to start over.”

  “I love my life here. Or at least I did…” She was so confused, so tired.

  “You don’t have to stay in Seattle. Just take a couple of weeks. Come home for Thanksgiving.”

  She couldn’t believe she was considering it, but familiarity sounded safe right now. Twenty-four hours ago, Austin was her only safe place.

  “Okay,” she said as her mother hugged her. It felt so hollow, but she accepted it anyway.

  The flight had been long, but thankfully she slept most of the time. Her dreams were about Austin, and her nightmares were about him too. She was standing at the edge of a ravine, and he just walked by and pushed her over the edge. Very fitting.

  The next few days were spent seeing Olivia, spending time with her mother and resting as much as she could. But nothing was taking the pain away. Blake was just a blip in her memory when compared with Austin. He was the one for her, she’d been so sure of it.

  Maybe she should stop trusting her gut because it was obviously not working.

  She went out to the mailbox after being back in Washington for six days and found a letter addressed to her. She opened it and found a plain white piece of paper with unfamiliar handwriting. But then she saw the signature. Austin.

  It was a simple note that said:

  I found your catfish and they’re right in your backyard. Blake was never a guy. It was a girl, and her name is Megan Towns. I hope you’re well.

  — Austin

  The content of the note didn’t register with her at first. Seeing his name, touching his handwriting - those were the things that wounded her soul. And then she smelled the paper, the familiar fragrance of his cologne lingering on it. She wanted to put it on her pillow and sleep with her cheek against it tonight in the hopes of reliving the memories of their one night together.

  As she drifted back to her senses a few minutes later, it hit her. Megan Towns. That name was familiar. She pulled her high school yearbook from under her bed and found the name.

  Megan had been another “reject” at their high school. She was masculine and definitely an outcast. They hadn’t been friends or enemies, really. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever talking to Megan face to face.

  Why would she do this?

  All of the pent-up frustration of the last year came bubbling up to the surface and suddenly anger appeared. Why would this girl do such a hurtful thing to her, a perfect stranger?

  She had gone all the way across the country looking for someone who didn’t even exist, and now she was heartbroken for a second time over a man who did exist but didn’t want her.

  And there was only one thing to do. She was going to confront Megan Towns before the sun went down.

  For the second time in the last few weeks, she stood in front of a door. This time, she didn’t expect to see the love of her life; she expected to see a liar.

  She didn’t wait around, but instead pounded on the door and shouted.

  “Megan Towns! Come out here right now!” Surely the neighbors in her apartment complex would call the police any second, but Molly didn’t care. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. She banged on the door again and again until she heard someone walking toward it and turning the handle.

  And there she was. Megan Towns. She looked nothing like she had in high school now. Instead, she was a good fifty pounds heavier with jet black hair, a mohawk and what appeared to be a dog collar for a necklace.

  But the look on her face when she saw Molly was one of pure shock, and maybe a little fear. Here stood Molly, five foot nothing, with her petite little frame and squeaky voice. She was no physical match for Megan, but she could more than make up for it in anger.

  She wanted to scream and yell, but stopped herself when she saw the look on Megan’s face. It was soft and stunned, and her eyes were welling with tears.

  “Molly James?” she whispered.

  “You know exactly who I am, Megan.” Megan nodded her head and stared down at her feet.

  “I’m so sorry. It got out of hand.” And there it was. An admission of guilt and immediate repentance. All of the hopes and dreams of “Blake” vanished in the blink of an eye. It was almost like her life was flashing before her as her brain scanned through every text message with “him”. It was all passing away, drifting into the energetic space of things that never really happened.

  “Why did you do this to me? What did I ever do to you?” Molly asked.

  “Would you like to come inside?” Megan asked, holding the door open. The place was dark and dingy, and Molly definitely didn’t feel safe going in alone.

  “No, thank you. I just need an answer. I think you owe me that much. This has turned my entire life upside down.”

  “Let’s sit,” Megan said, pointing to a concrete table and bench set in the garden area next to her apartment. Molly nodded and sat down as Megan sat across from her. She was nervous, that much was plainly obvious from the way she was fidgeting with her hands and looking down.

  Molly waited a few moments, hoping the answer wou
ld come, but Megan said nothing. She just kept taking deep breaths like she was trying to ward off a panic attack.

  “Are you going to explain?”

  Megan finally looked up. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to screw your life up. It just went too far.”

  “Why did you do this?”

  “I had a crush on you in high school.”

  Molly was stunned. She barely remembered this person, so the thought that someone - especially another girl - had a crush on her back then wasn’t even a thought in her mind until now.

  “Um… I don’t… I’m not…”

  “I know you’re not a lesbian, Molly,” Megan said with a sad smile. “That’s why I never said anything. But when I saw you on Facebook, I was desperate to talk to you. Look, my high school experience wasn’t good.”

  “And neither was mine,” Molly said, “but that didn’t give you the right to lie to me and make promises you couldn’t keep. You dragged me along for a year, Megan. A year!”

  “I know, and I’m so so sorry. I just didn’t know how to stop.”

  “And why January Cove of all places?”

  “I took a trip there at the end of last summer with my cousin, Hillary. We were there for a week, and that’s when I gave you that address. I regretted it later, but I hoped you’d lose it or forget about it.”

  “And the man’s voice on our phone calls?”

  “Me.”

  Molly’s stomach churned. All this time, she’d held out hope that her catfish was at least a man, maybe someone who wanted to talk to her but was too scared. But this wasn’t something she’d even considered.

  “You know, all this time I thought someone hated me enough to string me along, probably laughing at me the whole time.”

  “No, I don’t hate you, Molly!” Megan said, attempting to reach out and touch her hand. Molly pulled her hand back.

  “I have to go…”

  “Can you forgive me?” Megan asked, standing up with tears running down her face.

  “Look, I know what it’s like to not be accepted, to not be loved. But I also know what it’s like to finally find that person who accepts you for who you are and how great that feels, even if just for a short time. It’s worth going for, Megan. It’s worth fighting for. I truly hope you find happiness in your life, and I already forgive you. I know you did this from a place of pain.”

  Megan looked so relieved. Molly was telling the truth. She felt nothing for “Blake” anymore. She didn’t feel upset about the trek across the country or any of it. It was like some distant past memory that didn’t matter anymore. She’d somehow let it go.

  Because of Austin. At least she was thankful for that.

  “Thank you,” Megan said softly.

  “Good luck to you,” Molly said, walking over and shaking her hand. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

  With that, she left her anger and bitterness behind, and she got in her car to drive home.

  When Molly got back home, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table looking over some paperwork.

  “Oh, hi, honey. Where were you?”

  “Confronting my catfish.”

  “Huh?”

  “My catfish. The person who pretended to be Blake.”

  “You found him?”

  “Her.”

  “What?” Her mother dropped her paperwork and looked at her with her mouth hanging open.

  “Yep. Actually Austin found her and sent me a note.”

  “And how did she respond?”

  “She was very apologetic and sad. I forgave her.”

  “That’s amazing, Molly. I don’t know if I would have been so quick to forgive.” Her mother sounded genuinely impressed.

  “I surprised myself,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I needed to forgive for my own sanity, and it’s hard to be angry about it when I got so much good from it.”

  “Good?” she asked as Molly sat down at the table.

  “Yeah. I was thinking about it as I drove over here. Knowing that Blake loved me this year gave me confidence and peace for the first time since I was a little kid. And then meeting everyone in January Cove. Well, that was the best gift of all. Those people were kind and accepting of me, and I felt good about myself and the person I was becoming there. And Austin… It didn’t end well, and I still don’t know why, but he made me feel things I’ve never felt before.”

  Her mother looked at her, a sad expression on her face. But Molly didn’t have time to question her before the doorbell rang. It was a man wearing a suit and holding a big envelope.

  “Molly James?” he said.

  “Yes…”

  “I have a delivery for you. Can we talk for a minute… alone?” he asked, looking past her into the kitchen. She nodded and walked out onto the landing.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I can’t go into a lot of details, but this paperwork is a trust that was set up in your name… anonymously. It’s for fifty-thousand dollars. The person who set it up doesn’t want to be named or thanked, but wanted me to deliver a message to you.”

  She couldn’t breathe or speak so she just nodded. He began to read.

  “This money is about freedom. It’s here for you to use however you wish so that you can create the life of your dreams. Money gives you choices, and this is your chance to choose exactly what you want, on your own terms.”

  “I don’t understand… Who…” she stammered as she took the envelope. He nodded for her to open it. She wasn’t a lawyer, but all of the papers looked completely legal and legit to her.

  “Good luck, Miss James.”

  The man walked down the stairs and to his black BMW as she stood there shocked. After he drove away, she turned back to the house.

  “Honey, are you okay? Who was that man?” her mother asked as she rushed to her side. Molly sat on the bottom of the steps in the foyer.

  “You’re not going to believe this. Some anonymous person set up a trust fund for me… with fifty-thousand dollars!” she said, grinning from ear to ear as tears ran down her face. But her mother didn’t look excited. She looked shocked. Scared. Pale. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

  “Oh, God, I think I’ve made a terrible mistake. I think I was completely wrong about something…”

  “What?”

  “You’re going to hate me…”

  “What did you do, Mom?” Molly asked, knowing full well this wasn’t going to be good.

  Chapter 14

  It had been two weeks since Molly left Seattle to make her permanent home in January Cove. Whether she ever saw Austin again, she knew this place was her home.

  She was being very careful with her trust fund money, putting most of it in savings but paying the rent on her new little cottage style house for a whole year up front. It was nice to have her own space, although she visited Addison often and had even babysat for Anna Grace a couple of times.

  Leaving Seattle hadn’t been hard at all, but forgiving her mother for what she’d done had been almost impossible. In the end, she did forgive her after her mother apologized and realized her huge mistake. She’d stolen the love of Molly’s life away from her.

  Even though she knew Austin had set up the trust fund, she still couldn’t reach him to at least say thank you. She called his old number, but it was disconnected. She called Ballard, but they claimed to not know where he was and they’d put some other guy in charge of the January Cove property.

  He seemed to have vanished into thin air. She hoped he was okay, but she had decided to move forward in her life. After all, her life had been in limbo for over a year before she even came to January Cove in the first place.

  Megan had actually texted her one more time, telling her she was sorry. Molly accepted the apology again and then changed her phone number. That chapter was done.

  She had a fresh start, although seeing places that she went to with Austin still bothered her. She loved him, although she’d never said it before. She missed him.

&n
bsp; Today was Thanksgiving, and it was a time to be grateful for the people who were in her life. The Parker family had invited her to a big gathering at the B&B, and she was excited to go and meet the rest of the family.

  She’d made a big salad for the event, so she left a bit early to walk over. Thankfully, it was only two blocks from her new home.

  “Molly! Come in!” Addison said, giving her a quick hug. “I’m so glad you could join us today.”

  “Thank you for inviting me. Otherwise, I’d be alone,” Molly said. “And eating a frozen turkey dinner in your yoga pants is not a great Thanksgiving.” Addison giggled.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t think so. Here, let me take that.” She took the salad and carried it into the kitchen. “Everyone should start arriving in about half an hour.”

  “Is there anything I can help you with?”

  “Actually, yes. I left my good tablecloth in the hope chest in your old room. Would you mind digging it out for me?”

  It was a strange request, but she nodded her head and went up the stairs. One of the last times she’d been in that room, Austin had held her close. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to open the door, but she couldn’t tell Addison no.

  She opened the door and went straight to the hope chest, trying not to even look at the bed. But she couldn’t help herself. She stood there, staring at it, allowing one stray tear to fall from her cheek.

  A hand touched her shoulder, and she jumped, dropping the tablecloth in the floor. She turned, ready to punch somebody’s lights out, and found Austin standing there. He’d been hiding in the closet.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you…”

  “Really? By hiding and then touching me from behind?” she said, still trying to catch her breath and holding her chest. Then the realization that Austin was standing there in front of her, in the flesh. She couldn’t reach out and hug him. The last time he’d seen her, he had been so mean and vicious. “How are you?”

  “Awful.”

  “Really? Why?” she asked, crossing her arms.