“Wow, Molly, you look mighty pretty tonight. Got a hot date?” Micah asked, leaning against the door.
Giggling, she said, “No, Uncle Micah. I’m just getting ready for bed.”
“Ah, and you need to look pretty to go to bed?”
“Uh, yeah!” She giggled some more.
“Uh-huh.” He winked and said, “Kelly, when you’re finished, Daniel and I would like to talk with you if you have the time.”
“Sure. Give me a couple of minutes, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”
* * * *
Micah heard Molly’s bedroom door close and knew Kelly would be walking down the stairs any minute. Micah had already talked with Daniel about this, and he agreed. He knew that plans changed, and when they did, they had to compensate, adapt, and persevere, and that is exactly what Micah was going to do.
He waited in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee as she walked in.
She took a seat and smiled when Daniel handed her a cup. Micah figured she had about a thousand questions, and he had to give her props for not asking, but her silence was about to drive him nuts. He had met some patient people in his life, but Honeybee took the cake. She could wait out a deaf mute and never flinch. If he wanted to move this along before the next millennium, he knew he better start talking and fast.
“I don’t know how to thank you for what you did today,” he began, and when she nodded and kept quiet, he continued, “I got word a couple of days ago that my sister, that Shelly, died in an accident on her way home to Treasure Cove. She and Molly were traveling up in the mountains when she lost control of the car. Shelly died instantly. Molly wasn’t hurt, thank god, and when the hospital called, I had to go get her. I did not know what to do, so I brought her home with me. Lucas and Shelly, Molly parents, named me as her guardian if anything was to happen to them, but yesterday, I got this in the mail,” Micah stoically said, handing her an envelope.
She took the paper from him and read its contents. He saw the recognition on her face when she realized what was happening. Apparently, Lucas’s parents decided to fight him for custody of Molly on the premise that he was too unstable and unfit to care for a five-year-old girl. Shit, if he wasn’t so fucked up in the head, he would have to agree with Lucas’s parents, but to call him unfit he thought was going a little overboard.
“What are you going to do?” she asked quietly, handing him back the envelope.
“Fight for her. She is all I have left. I can’t lose her, too.”
“But, Micah, you’re still in therapy. This house was a wreck when I walked in, and Molly was unattended to. If child services showed up instead of me, they would have been required to take Molly right then.”
He knew she was right. The house was a wreck. It looked like a bomb went off.
“I know. There is just so much I don’t know. I feel like I’m drowning here, Kelly. I need your help. I can’t lose Molly.”
“You know I’ll help in any way I can, but what can I do?”
Micah looked at Daniel, who nodded in agreement, and together they both said, “Marry us?”
Chapter Five
Kelly sat, stunned, staring into Micah’s eyes. At first, she thought she might have heard him wrong, but when he did not jump up and yell “just joking,” she knew he meant every word.
Now, Kelly always thought of herself as a calm, straightforward thinker. She never jumped into any situation without thinking of every contingency, but for the first time in her life, her mind was drawing a blank. The man she has secretly loved for over a year now had just asked her to marry him. She wasn’t dreaming this time. She hadn’t imagined it. They only thing worrying her was he did not ask out of love, but out of desperation. She got that, she really did, but to ask the unthinkable was just downright crazy! What made matters worse was that Daniel was sitting next to her and he was not saying a damn thing. He just sat there!
Oh how she wished Daniel would say something, anything, but he just sat there, waiting for her response, like Micah.
This was wrong. This was not a reason to get married. It didn’t matter how much she loved Micah, or what kind of dilemma he was in to keep Molly. Marrying just for the sake of keeping a five-year-old girl from her grandparents was not a reason to marry. There was no foundation for the marriage to grow on. Could she walk into a marriage of convenience for the sake of a child? She just did not know. There were too many variables. Too many things could go wrong. This was not a smart idea.
Taking a deep breath, she looked and Micah and sighed. “Oh, Micah,” she began, but he cut her off. He got down on his knees before her and took her hands in his.
“Please, Kelly. I know this isn’t a perfect proposal. You deserve hearts and flowers, soft words and gentle kisses, not two beat-up and washed-out ex-military men who can barely hold it together to make coffee in the morning, but I seriously need you on this. Molly needs me. She needs us. We can help her. You are so good at helping people, Kelly, if anyone can get us through this, you can. Please, honeybee, say yes.”
It was not right that this man could say just the right words to make her second-guess herself. Nor was it right that his baby blues pleaded desperately, making her want to wrench her heart out just to appease him. She needed to keep a clear head, and looking at him on his knees was not helping. Getting to her feet, she paced the kitchen, thinking of what she could do. How could she help Micah keep Molly and not have to marry him in the process? It wasn’t that she didn’t want to get married. She did, just not now.
Taking a quick glance over at the table, she saw that Daniel and Micah sat stock-still and quiet as church mice, waiting for her response.
I should have never slept with them. Everything changed after that. I knew fucking them was a terrible idea, and look where it got ya, Kelly, a satisfied pussy and a marriage proposal! She tried to make sense of this situation. All right, Kelly, you’re smart. Diagnose the problem, prescribe a course of action, and solve the problem! Micah has just inherited his niece. A little girl who just recently has lost both her parents. Her maternal grandparents want to raise her. Can a little girl live with a mentally unstable, bachelor uncle and his mentally unstable, bachelor male roommate without raising any concerns? No. All right, take Micah and Daniel out of the picture. Molly needs a stable home environment. A safe place where she can heal and feel loved, a community where she will receive the support she needs so she can grow. Can she get that with her grandparents? Probably, but Micah said she barely knows them. Is it healthy to put a child who has lost both parents in an environment where she feels uncomfortable? No.
Her mind swirled with questions and situations, but no matter how she worked them, none seemed to benefit Molly or Micah. Neither was ready to live on their own devices. Molly was still a child, and Micah still needed to come to terms with his accident. Even with Daniel around to help Micah, the odds were not in their favor. The courts would side with Molly’s grandparents, especially if the grandparents called her to testify against Micah.
Unless…
She knew then to save everyone there was only one thing she could do. Though she didn’t relish the idea of being a convenient bride, wife, or mother, she could think of no other way. As Micah and Daniel’s wife, the courts could not force her to testify against him, she could provide the stabilization Micah needs to secure Molly, and she would be there to help them all through whatever demons arose. The only problem she foresaw was who was going to help heal her broken heart when they realized she wasn’t what they really wanted.
* * * *
Daniel held his breath as his angel paced back and forth. He knew it was not an easy thing they were asking of her. He and Micah had just dumped all their problems on her and were asking her to help fix them. Kelly was a strong woman, and he had no doubt that she could muster the fortitude to see them through this mess, but he just wasn’t so sure about backing her against the wall.
He knew from personal experiences that when someone’s back was against t
he wall, they generally came out fighting and the aftermath was not pretty.
He had tried to reason with Micah for three days, trying to talk him out of this course of action, but when the object of their affection showed up unexpectedly and took charge righting all the wrongs, well, he relented and agreed to go along with Micah.
Daniel only knew two things in this world were true, one, that he was a ticking time bomb, and two, that he loved Kelly Conner with every fiber in his body. He knew he could handle the second, but it was the first that scared him. He still refused to talk about his time in the Marines, and as far as he was concerned, it was dead and buried, and it was going to stay that way. Sometimes, certain things were better off left alone.
There was no way he wanted to burden anyone with his hellacious nightmares. Shit, he wouldn’t wish his nightmares on his worst enemy. What scared him about the whole situation was now there was a little girl in the mix, and though she was generally quiet, he knew kids yelled and screamed, and he was afraid of overreacting when that time came.
On edge since Molly arrived, he had not slept. He found himself concealing weapons on his body, patrolling the house at night, just in case. Every little noise sent him on alert, and on one occasion, he actually drew his knife. When Micah woke the other night, Daniel actually pinned him against the wall, not seeing his best friend, but the enemy instead. It took a couple of hours to get his adrenaline back under control after that. Since then he stayed outside as much as possible. He could handle nature, but the unfamiliar noises inside the house, not so much.
What surprised him the most was that he never heard Kelly pull up. That was unlike him, but regardless, he was thankful for her arrival. When he walked in to the kitchen and saw her talking with Micah, he felt as if he could finally breathe. As if a weight lifted and the tension washed away from him instantly. He really did not know what it was about her, but every time she was near, he felt better, as if he could almost live a normal life.
Looking at her now, he wanted so much to do for her what she did for him. He just didn’t know how. If he could ease her fears, help her to understand just how much they needed her, he would in a heartbeat. The problem with that, he didn’t understand it any better than she did.
She sighed and leaned against the kitchen counter as she looked over at them. Holding his breath, he knew this was it. She was either going to save them or condemn them to their own fate.
“All right, I’ll marry you both.”
Daniel wanted to scream and shout to the heavens! He could not believe the crazy bastard’s idea actually worked. He would admit he had his doubts, and for a minute, it looked as if the whole thing was going to backfire right in Micah’s face, but the son of a bitch did it! He got Angel to accept their proposal.
Getting to his feet, he walked straight toward her and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight, and whispered, “Thank you, angel.” He felt like crying as he held her in his arms. When her hands wrapped around his waist, he finally let go of the last bit of tension in his body and knew that, with her, everything was going to be okay.
Turning to his best friend, Micah silently fell apart. Sitting there at the kitchen table, with his head in his hands, Micah wept. Daniel knew the severity of the last couple of days weighed heavily on him, but Micah was a leader, and a leader didn’t show emotion. So watching Micah cry was strange for Daniel.
Kelly pulled away from him as she walked over to Micah, wrapping her arms around him. It was just her soothing words of comfort and her angelic desire to help that filled his heart.
“It’s going to be all right, Micah. We will figure it out,” she said softly as she held him close to her.
“Oh god, Kelly, I can’t thank you enough,” Micah muttered, wiping his eyes. “Are you sure about this? I know Daniel and I are not technically fit for anything. We can be a handful sometimes.”
“We’ll muddle through, and besides, I’m not perfect. Even I have my own demons I fight every day. We are all going to have to learn to work together, and when things get crazy, we sit down and talk. No more hiding behind our dreams, okay?”
Daniel smiled when Micah nodded in agreement, but when Kelly looked over at him, she waited for him to agree, too. Could he do it? Could he finally talk about his nightmares without breaking out in a cold sweat and reaching for his weapon? Daniel didn’t know if he could, but if Kelly and Micah were willing to try, so was he. “I’ll try, Kelly,” he said.
* * * *
Kelly wanted to cringe when Steven began shouting at her. She knew her brother wasn’t going to take kindly to having his only sister married to men when they had only been dating for less than a week. But damn, she did not think he would go all caveman on her.
“Look, Steven, this isn’t your decision. I have already talked with Mom, and she is happy for me. Why can’t you just be happy for me, too?” she asked.
“Because you barely know them! You just started seeing them last week! They are loners, ex-military who have issues! Shit, Kelly, take your fucking pick,” Steven ranted loudly.
“Like I said before, I have already made my decision. I am just giving you the courtesy of telling you before Emma sends it out over the wire, and you know she is waiting by her phone, ready to make the calls,” she joked, but when his face hardened, she took another approach. Walking over to him, she wrapped her arms around him, placing her head on his chest. “Steven, you’re my big brother, and I love you. I know you worry about me, but it’s time I found my own way in life. You can’t keep me here. I have to start living again.”
“But you barely know these two men. You’re just making the same mistake like last time. Only this time it’s worse. These men are trained killers!”
Stepping back, Kelly let her concern for her brother’s feelings fly out the window. “Damn it, Emma and her big mouth, she told you!” she shouted, running her hands down her face in frustration.
She made Emma promise not to say a single word, and the rat fink went and told the one person she didn’t want to know. Since her fathers passed away, Steven had taken it upon himself to be her father, brother, and sometimes friend, when all she really wanted was her brother. She had two wonderful fathers. She had enough friends, but only two brothers, and the way he was looking at her right now, he was taking the fatherly approach. She wanted to smack him.
“No, Emma didn’t tell me. The hospital did when they sent the bills to me! Why didn’t you tell me, Kelly? Neil and I would have been on the first flight. We could have taken care of that asshole easily. Why didn’t you tell us?” he asked, not backing down.
“Because I don’t need anyone taking care of my problems. I handled it. I don’t need you rescuing me every time I get a hangnail!”
“That’s not the point, and you know it,” Steven shouted back.
“No, that is the point. I am going to be twenty-seven years old, and I don’t want or need my brother taking care of my problems. Which reminds me, how is Hazel these days?” she asked. Kelly knew Hazel Montgomery was a sore subject with her brothers, and she didn’t relish what they were going through, but if he was going to stand there and point out all of her misgivings, then so could she.
“Hazel is not part of this discussion, and you know it. Besides”—sighing, he raked his hand through his hair—“she has made it crystal clear she wants nothing to do with me. I don’t know what more I can do to change her mind. I swear, Kelly, it wasn’t me with that blonde. I wouldn’t do that to her. But I guess it doesn’t matter anyway. Neil told me he saw her with some guy from Celestial the other night.”
“Oh, I am so sorry, Steven.”
“It’s all right. I guess deep down I’ve always known she wasn’t the one, but damn, I sure wished she was.”
“You and Neil will find someone. I know it. Just be patient. She will show up when you least expect it.”
“That’s what ma said.” He smiled and then grinned. “But you’re still on the hook for those supersoldiers you’re i
nsisting on marrying. I want to meet them. I at least get the right to threaten them if anything happens to you, agreed?” he asked.
“No.”
“Kelly, either I meet them in a public place, or Neil and I will drive out to their place and have it out without witnesses. Take your pick.”
“Fine, dinner tomorrow night at the new place in town, The Cove. You make the reservations, and you’re paying.” She smiled sweetly, kissing his cheek before she left, thankful for a quick getaway. Now all she had to do was get Micah, Daniel, and Molly ready to meet her family, because she knew Steven. It just wasn’t going to be a cozy dinner for four. Nope, he was going to have her entire family there, cousins and all.
* * * *
Kelly worked late most afternoons, and well into the evening some days, and this day was no different. She didn’t mind helping Doc with the charts and insurance claims. She figured it was just part of her job, even though Doc Jenkins had hired a woman for just that position. Besides, she liked the quiet after all the patients went home and did not mind helping out when she could.
She loved the clinic, and it was a relatively safe place to work, but lately there had been a rash of trouble, nothing serious, just keyed cars and a couple of broken windows. Regardless, Braxton put the word out that everyone must be vigilant, even going as far as to hire another deputy to help patrol the town. Kelly did not think there was anything to worry about, but she checked in with Micah and Daniel anyway. It only took a second to make the call and less when Micah answered, “Hey, Honeybee.”
“Hi, Micah, I’m leaving now. Do you need me to stop and get anything before I head out there?” she asked, grabbing her keys and purse.
“Nope, Daniel got antsy and decided to meet you in town.”
“He didn’t need to do that. I can take care of myself.”
Kelly's Heroes [The Men of Treasure Cove 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8