Mollywood (Carved Hearts #2)

by L. G. Pace III

  “Yes. But my schedule is pretty booked. When do you need it?”

  “If you could have it for me by the end of next October that would be great. Believe it or not, that asshole is up for early parole.” The ice in her voice was unmistakable, and my palm came up to my forehead. I wasn’t surprised to hear this news, but I was disappointed.

  “I believe it. Consider it done.” I cleared my throat anxiously as I heard the familiar beep of another call coming in. “I have another call, but I’ll text you when it’s done.”

  “Thanks, Molly. I—” I disconnected the call and answered the other line. Hanging up on her like that was a bit cavalier, but I figured I was entitled to be a little bitchy with her.

  “Hello, Ma.” Still distracted by the thought of Draven walking around a free man, I closed my eyes and willed myself not to throw up.

  “Molly. Where are you?”

  “Driving back from Driftwood…why?”

  “When are you going to be home?” She sounded giddy.

  “Why?” I asked again, turning to Joe. He cocked a curious eyebrow at me and I mouthed the word ‘mom’.

  “We’re sitting outside your apartment…we have something for you.”

  “Tell Joe to get that fine behind of his home.” I heard Granny chime in, and I laid my forearm over my eyes and fell back against the head rest.

  “Ma, you know Granny can’t climb the stairs.” I chided.

  “Just hurry up. There’s an NCIS Marathon on tonight. You know how I feel about missing Mark Harmon.” She hung up and I blinked blankly at the screen of my phone. I turned to Joe an explained the conversation.

  “Well, it sounds like your brother let it slip somewhere.” He replied.

  “Yep. Good news travels fast.” My sarcasm was blatant. Joe’s eyes slid sideways at me.

  “We may as well get this all over with in one night.” He picked up his phone and hit one button. “Hey, Mason. Look, I wanted to tell you this in person…”

  He trailed off and I could hear my brother murmuring through the phone.

  “Yeah. Mac’s a shitty little Chatty Cathy, isn’t he? Remind me to count his strokes at the golf tournament next weekend.” Joe replied, and it confirmed that Mac had already opened his big mouth.

  “Thanks, man. Yeah…yeah we’re kinda freaking out. But we’re excited.” Joe sounded sincere as he smoothly lied to my brother. I was impressed, considering he’d made it through so many years of his life without developing the skill. I figured it was his survival instinct kicking in, since Mason had nearly broken Joe’s jaw when he found out we were dating.

  “Yeah, I know. Yep, I’m working on it.” He continued, sounding serious. “I don’t have to tell you what a pain in the ass she is.”

  I glared over at him suspiciously, but he completely ignored me and kept on chatting. I picked up my phone and pulled up Facebook. Ignoring the rest of their conversation, I quickly typed the status “Joe and I are expecting twins in April, y’all!” I figured my friends would be pissed at this type of reveal, but they’d be more pissed if I waited another 4 weeks to tell them. It was better to roll the dice and make it public.

  “Yeah. We’ll be there. Ok, hold on.” He handed me the phone. “Robin.”

  I took the phone and endured the happy hysteria of my favorite sister-in-law with all the patience I could muster. Once she’d spun down a bit, she shifted in nurse-mode. “I need info. Identical or fraternal?”

  “Fraternal.”

  “Figures. Fertile Hildebrandts. How far along are you? Mac sucks with details.”

  “Eight weeks.”

  “Have you had morning sickness?”

  “I’ve had every time of the damn day sickness.” I replied, and then decided to make the most of the conversation by asking her a few questions about the drinking and medications I’d taken before I knew about the babies. She told me the same things Joe had, and promised to look up each of the questionable substances and text info on them to me. After agreeing to go to my nephew’s soccer game the following weekend, I hung up. I handed Joe his phone.

  “Mason asked us to do dinner with them after the soccer game. He thinks we should get married, too.” He said levelly, as he slipped his phone in his front shirt pocket.

  “It’s a good thing I wasn’t born in the middle east.” I snorted, spotting Mom’s car as we passed by the front of our building. “They’d have given you three chickens and a goat to take me off their hands months ago.”

  Joe braked a bit too enthusiastically as he parked. I shot him a look, but again he wore an unreadable expression. My phone began a steady stream of chiming that I assumed were responses from my Facebook announcement, but I ignored them and hurried toward my mother’s van. Both she and Granny were climbing out of it.

  “Molly! Get over here!” Granny H. had been on my case since I’d become a teenager and sprouted boobs. She always dropped snide comments about my life choices and on more than one occasion said I reminded her of her when she was my age. Mixed messages were her specialty. I stopped, and then after a brief hesitation, I approached her with apprehension. She reached out for me and yanked me into a sweaty, wrinkly embrace.

  “I’m so happy for you, child!” She stunned me with her genuine laugh, which admittedly sounded like mine if my voice had been run through a cheese-grater. “Joe’s a hell of a catch!”

  “Yes, he is.” I mumbled, eyeing Joe from underneath her jiggly arms. His amused eyes shifted from her to me.

  “Two babies! Maybe you’ll get one of each and knock it out in one shot. Then you’ll have a hope of keeping your figure.” She added, evidently elated at my prospect of twins. “Mine wasn’t wrecked until I had your daddy, bless his heart.”

  I looked over her shoulder at my mother, who seemed a whole lot less exuberant.

  “Oh, honey.” She muttered sympathetically, her sheepish expression squelching the sliver of joy I had at Granny’s greeting. “I hope you had fun having a social life because that’s done for.”

  Considering she was my subject matter expert on twins, I was immediately conflicted.

  “We brought you presents! It’s a new mommy goody basket!” Granny overrode my mother, reaching into the back door of her minivan. She pulled out some ridiculously long cylinder that just kept coming and coming like handkerchiefs at a magic show. I blinked at her blankly, as Joe stepped forward and grabbed the end of it from me. “It’s a Comfort-U. A special mom-to-be-pillow for when you aren’t snuggled up to that sexy man of yours. Trust me, it’s hard to get comfortable when your legs start to swell and your belly is the size of a watermelon.”

  “And here’s your gift basket. The salesladies at Motherhood gave us some ideas. They’re up on all the newest stuff.” Mom chimed in, handing me an oversized basket that Joe ripped out of my grasp. It had books, something called a ‘Bellyband’, coconut oil lotions, and even Ginger flavored Altoids in it.

  “Oh, my goodness. You didn’t have to go all out.” I replied, unsure of what to make of the incredibly generous nature of their present.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re only a first time mama once.” My mother scoffed and came over to hug me. Joe vanished into the building with the basket and three mile long pillow. She whispered in my ear. “How’s Joe dealin’?”

  “It’s hard to say.” I whispered in return, hoping Granny couldn’t hear me.

  “If you ever need me, you know where I am.” She kissed my cheek and I felt tears sting my eyes for the seven billionth time.

  Joe came out of the building with a couple of bottles of water for them. “Are you sure y’all don’t want to come inside?”

  “Unless you’ve put an elevator in that building, darlin’, there’s no way in hell.” Granny laughed.

  “I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you.” Joe offered dryly, and Granny flushed deep purple. Granny was a bit of a flirt and Joe’s appeal transcended generations. I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

 
“Mama Hildebrandt, we need to go. Molly’s tired.” Mom interjected with a conspiratorial wink at me and I wanted to give her another hug.

  Minutes later, Joe jumped in the shower and I collapsed into bed. He’d unwrapped the giant body pillow when he brought it inside, and I snuggled into it, instantly seeing the appeal. It coiled around me, supporting my back and cushioning my knees. I’d nearly drifted off when I felt the motion of Joe climbing into bed. There was a shift in the weight of the pillow behind me and I felt his warm, rock solid body spoon against me. His arm came around me, and his fingers splayed over my womb. This simple action slayed my defenses and I relaxed back against him with a huge sense of unexpected relief.

  “Baby girl.” He murmured into my hair.

  “Hmmm?” I shifted slightly, and he rolled me over onto my back so that we could lock eyes.

  “I can’t wait to see them.” His earnestness was undeniable as he took in my face. He ran his thumb across my cheek, and traced his index finger down my nose, “Little pumpkins that are part me and part you…I can’t imagine anything more perfect.”

  His words touched me so deeply that I found I couldn’t reply. Instead, I simply tilted my lips up to meet his.

  “UNFORTUNATELY THAT’S ALL we have time for today.” Dr. Greene gestured his head toward the clock and removed his wire-rimmed glasses. His longish greying hair flopped in his eyes and he flipped it away as he looked up from one last scribble in his beloved notebook. “Come back on Monday. That’s not a request, Joe. When I asked you to stop skipping appointments, I meant it.”

  I nodded slowly. I deserved his ass-chewing. It had been a little over a month since I’d told him Molly was pregnant, and it was my first time back. I wasn’t ditching on purpose; there was just too damn much to do. Even with two price hikes, we were busier than a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest, and we’d finally been forced to hire another guy.

  Graham recommended Nick Marshall, the son of a guy I’d once worked for back before ‘the dark era’. Only twenty years old, Nick was a bit of a punk with his giant ear gauges, Fu Manchu facial hair, and permanent smirk. He’d made quite an impression when he came for his interview. First there was the “Legalize it” t-shirt he opted to show up in. While I was working, I’d observed him take a selfie on his phone with the Good Wood sign out front. Then there was the annoying sound effects of the video game he was playing on his phone while he waited for me. The icing on the cake was the way he reacted when Molly turned up just as we were about to begin the interview.

  “Hi, y’all!” She called, sweeping in with a box full of wraps for us. She’d called an hour before and asked what each of us wanted for lunch.

  “Hi.” Nick blurted, his eyes wide and ecstatic as he took her in.

  Molly did a double take at his exuberant response. She walked around to the employee side of the counter and perched the box on its surface. Nick bounded up to the customer side of the counter like an enthusiastic puppy.

  “You must be the new guy.” Even though I couldn’t see her face, Molly’s grin came through in her voice.

  “I hope to be.” His dimples appeared as he went for the modest approach. “I’m Nick.”

  “Well, hello, Nick.” A hint of Texas found its way into her Yankee-fied voice. “I’m Molly.”

  “Do you work here?” He boldly slogged on, and I had to give the kid an A for effort.

  “Nope. Just bringing the boys a lunch delivery. Joe wasn’t sure what kind you’d like, so I brought you one of my favorites. It’s a California BLT Wrap. I hope you aren’t a vegetarian.”

  He looked taken aback for a moment that she’d brought him lunch, but recovered immediately, giving her a shark-like grin. “Oh no, I’m definitely a carnivore.”

  I hung back for a couple of minutes, cleaning my tools and watching the show. Nick proceeded to hit on Molly as she passed out the wraps to Francis and Mac. She smiled patiently at him as if he were a toddler climbing a bookshelf and she was going to have to yank him down and scold him.

  She handed Nick his wrap and he took a quick bite.

  “You made this?” He sounded like the man on the verge of an orgasm.

  “Yep.” She handed him a wad of napkins. “You like?”

  He told her that it was perfection and asked her if she was going to Austin City Limits. He was launching into how he had VIP passes to the main stage when I joined them at the counter.

  Molly handed me my wrap. We exchanged a brief glance and my cocked eyebrow elicited a knowing smile from her.

  “Well, you’ll have a great time, Nick. Eminem puts on a hell of a show. And good luck on your interview. Don’t let Joe intimidate you too much. He looks grouchy, but he’s a big teddy bear.” At that, she slinked into my arms and kissed me goodbye, lingering a little longer than usual for her audience of one. A few feet away, I heard Mac snort. Molly made a show of putting a hand on her already visible baby bump, which she’d finally exposed when she’d discarded the empty cardboard box. “Gotta run, darlin’. The babies are craving Verde Chili Fries from Casino El Camino.”

  With an innocent little wave to Nick, she breezed out the door. His youthful eyes were the size of saucers as he watched her go and when he turned back to me, he smartly fell all over himself to apologize. I held up a hand and shook my head, wearing a smirk of my own. Between Molly’s sassy bounce in her walk and Nick’s abject horror at his faux pas, I was genuinely entertained. I’d already decided to let it the entire thing slide.

  “Save your breath, kid. You obviously have an eye for perfection. It’s a major job requirement for what we do, and if you’re going to apprentice with me, you’d damn well better have excellent taste.

  Nick and I headed back to my tiny office. We chatted for a while between bites of wraps and it didn’t take long for me to get the vibe that he enjoyed building and knew what he was talking about. He’d brought some photos of some carving he’d done, and I was pleasantly surprised at his raw skill. I decided the shop could use an infusion of young blood, and told him I’d give him a shot.

  Nick had to give two weeks’ notice and was supposed to start late next week. In the meantime, Mac and I had been working a lot of twelve hour days. Mac wasn’t complaining; he’d finally broken down and bought the Harley Davidson he’d always wanted. A SuperLow 1200T. It was a pretty sweet ride, I had to admit. As stressed as I was, Mac seemed to thrive in the midst of our slammed workload. He’d always been an adrenaline junkie (both the twins were) and he was getting to spend more time with his son, Malcom Jr. There seemed to be a temporary truce between him and his loony ex-wife. Probably because he was able to pass her a little extra cash beyond the court ordered child support.

  Francis got a big bonus from me and was spending his free time shopping for a used car. He’d also begun to pay rent, though I’d told him on numerous occasions that his apartment across the hall from ours was a perk of the job. Things got a little heated when I initially refused to take his money. When I tried to cut the conversation off, he switched tactics and pulled Molly into the argument.

  “She’s going to have to quit working for a while, Joe. Even if it’s just for a few months after the babies are born. You need to start putting something away for that eventuality.”

  This stopped me in my tracks, and I had no rebuttal. Francis may have lost his way for a while, but he’d always struck me as having uncanny insight. He had a solid foothold on his life again, and who was I to deny him the opportunity to pitch in? The diligent expression he wore as he watched me consider was what actually made me cave. I remembered all too well what it was like to feel like a burden. That dark period of my life was behind me now and I saw just how badly he wanted to put distance between himself and his. So I folded and agreed to let him pay me three hundred dollars a month for rent. Francis cackled at that.

  “You can’t get a studio in Austin for that, let alone a remodeled two bedroom.” He tilted his head and opened his mouth to counter. “Maybe I should ask Molly what
she—

  I cut him off. “It’s my building, not Molly’s. Three hundred dollars or nothing. Take it or leave it.”

  Francis was a smooth talker; it’s what I paid him for. But after several years of living on the streets, he had developed excellent survival instincts. He could tell I was a man on the edge and didn’t seem like he was anxious to push me off. It didn’t take an expert like Dr. Greene to see I was about to go insane.

  Molly and I had been franticly house hunting nightly for the past three weeks. To say it wasn’t going well was a major understatement. Molly had always been a handful, but trying to agree on a house gave us all new and interesting things to argue about.

  At first, Molly approached the subject of moving with extreme caution. I couldn’t blame her. I’d been in the apartment above the shop since Jess and Jack died At first it was because I couldn’t stand to be in the house I’d remodeled for Jess and being surrounded by her things broke my already mangled heart. Then, I discovered that my late wife had been embezzling from me, and selling the place had become a necessity.

  Finding out Jessica had been lying to me the entire time we’d been together destroyed what little faith I had left. Robbed blind by my own wife. It had been humiliating and embarrassing, but it also made me mourn for my memories that I now dissected like some sort of amateur archeologist. It would have been better to have had the illusion that I’d lost my soul mate than the certainty that I’d been living a lie.

  Then I found out I wasn’t even special in the regard of her treachery. Jess had been a successful C.P.A and she’d “borrowed” money from several of her clients as well to pay off her various gambling debts. When she was no longer around to keep the plates in the air spinning, her scheme collapsed like a house of cards and all I was left with was my building, my truck, the clothes on my back and two marble tombstones in the local cemetery.

  When Molly finally gathered the courage to broach the subject, I had been surprised at how ready I was to make the move. It was pretty straightforward. Before Tamryn opened her big fat mouth, I knew we had to find a new place. Even if we’d been on the ground floor, our place wouldn’t have had the space for two children once they were old enough to crawl. Starting my life with Molly invigorated me, and I’d already been thinking hard about our future before we found out about the pregnancy. I knew we had to sort out a few issues, but I’d seen things heading down this path. Now I was beginning to wonder if I’d misread the situation entirely, since she still dismissed the idea of marriage as easily as if I were suggesting we buy leopard print wallpaper.