Leslie kissed and held Molly through the shockwaves. When she could speak again, Molly grinned up at Leslie, rolled her over, and said, “My turn.”
When they finally collapsed in the wee hours of the night, Molly pulled Leslie into her, spooning against her back. She whispered into to Leslie’s ear, just before falling asleep.
“May I keep you?”
Leslie turned her head to look at Molly, smiling. “Does that mean I get a second date?”
Molly touched Leslie’s cheek and bared her soul once again, something she was finding Leslie elicited from her without prodding.
“I want to come home to you.”
Leslie spun in Molly’s arms to face her, kissing her softly. She gazed into Molly’s eyes, and said the one thing Molly had longed for and not known how desperately she wanted to hear, “Welcome home.”
#
Molly untangled herself from the sleeping Leslie, just after seven in the morning. She had stayed as long as she could, studying Leslie’s face as she slept, more amazed than ever that she was really there. Molly wanted to wake up like that for the rest of her days, but the call of nature could not be ignored one minute longer. She carefully retracted her arm from beneath Leslie’s head and climbed out of bed. She made it to the bathroom just in time, then brushed her teeth and decided to take a shower, letting Leslie sleep. Her plan was interrupted when Leslie pulled back the shower curtain and stepped into the tub with her. Molly was under the showerhead, so she did not hear Leslie enter. She felt her before she saw her. Hands moved along Molly’s body as she tried to get the shampoo out of her eyes.
She had one eye open, grinning at Leslie, when she said, “Good morning.”
Leslie was in no mood for chatter. She had her way with Molly right there. When she was finished, leaving Molly plastered against the wall, breathless, she smiled and said, “Good morning to you.”
They stayed in the shower until the water turned too cold. It was eight o’clock when they bounded down the stairs, hair still wet, and starving. Knowing smiles from Tammy and Randy greeted them. Brad had already left for work.
Molly knew Randy could not resist a comment, and she was not disappointed. “Well, aren’t we glowing this morning?”
Molly just grinned and said, “Jealous.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Tammy said, pouring cups of coffee for Molly and Leslie. Indicating Leslie with a nod, she added, “It’s about time somebody lit a fire under that one.”
Randy tilted his head toward Molly, who was now seated beside him. “This one too.”
Leslie, sitting on the other side of Molly, reached for the pitcher of orange juice, saying, “When you’re finished talking about us, as if we were not here, would you pass the eggs, please?” She winked at Molly and continued, as she poured the juice, “Unfortunately, circumstances being what they are, this very private moment has to be shared with others. Hopefully, we are in the company of adults and the teasing will be kept to a minimum.”
Molly took the platter of eggs from Randy, nearly bursting at the seams. She chuckled to herself and scooped eggs onto Leslie’s plate. So, Leslie was going to shield them. Molly did not need protecting, but she found Leslie’s attempt endearing. She was still baby-stepping Molly through the process. It was very sweet. She should have warned Leslie that pointing out Randy’s immaturity was pointless. Molly spooned eggs on her plate and waited.
Randy was quick with his comeback. “Tammy, is it teasing to ask for a room change? If they’re going to go at it like that for the remainder of our stay, I’m going to need a new room or ear plugs.”
Molly burst out laughing, when Leslie shot back, “We were not that loud!”
Randy’s response sounded like he was cross-examining a witness. “So, you admit that you were loud, just not that loud.”
Leslie looked at Molly for help. Molly shrugged. “Don’t argue with an attorney. He’ll use your own words against you. The best thing to do is give him a new room. It’ll drive him crazy not knowing what’s going on.”
“Scratch the request, Tammy,” Randy said, quickly. “At least, this way I don’t have to sit with a glass to the wall.”
Leslie sighed. “It’s a no win with him, isn’t it?”
Molly patted Leslie’s hand. “Don’t try. It just makes it worse. We’ll move to your room.”
Randy had to get one more shot in. “See, Tammy. Typical lesbian, slept with her once, and now she’s moving in with her. Although, I’d have to say that would be an anomaly for Ms. Kincaid.” He dropped the teasing tone and turned to face them. “She looks good on you, Molly, and Leslie, nicely done.”
#
Molly and Randy spent the morning finishing the motions and the exhumation request. Leslie took Tammy to see Joey. Tammy was hoping to sneak him a few homemade biscuits. Molly turned a blind eye to this attempt to thwart the law, but she did offer them her card in case they were arrested. They came back an hour and a half later, with Tammy steaming because the officers broke the biscuits during inspection and Joey would not eat them that way. The enthusiastic group response to her grilled chicken and pasta lunch consoled her. Tammy was making an effort to feed them healthier foods and it was much appreciated.
After lunch, they retired to the den. Brad came home with a copy of Amber Stovall’s accident report, just in time for the games to start. March Madness, the NCAA college basketball national championship tournament, was in full swing. The fight for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen was underway on this Sunday afternoon. Brad and Randy were stretched out in recliners waiting for the tipoff of the next game, North Carolina State having just taken Georgetown to the wire, winning sixty-six to sixty-three. Normally a huge fan, Molly had not watched a single game. The tournament began on her birthday, five days ago, the night she arrived in Dobbs County. Duke lost out in the first round, so Molly did not have a favorite left in the tournament, but Leslie’s Tar Heels were still in the hunt.
Molly sat in the corner of the couch, Leslie leaning into her, both with laptops. She alternated between watching the game and reading the Stovall report Brad handed her on a flash drive. Molly was very conscious of Leslie absent-mindedly brushing her fingertips across her knee while she read more of Joe’s files. Leslie found a journal where Joe wrote about his experiences with Joey. She said it was enlightening to read about Joey from Joe’s perspective. Molly found everything Leslie did fascinating, but her passion for her work was most attractive. It dawned on Molly that Leslie would never leave her students, particularly not Joey.
She was thinking about that, when Leslie suddenly sat up. “Look, Molly. This untitled file, it’s a letter to you.”
Molly exchanged laptops with Leslie. She checked the date the document was created, November 27, 2011. That would have been right after Joe found out he was dying. Molly braced herself for what she knew was a dying man’s confession, after reading the first line.
Dear Molly,
I have lived with this for a long time. I am not writing to burden you with my troubles, but I’m dying. I can’t go to my grave and not tell you the truth of what happened the day Evan Branch died. At the time, I did what I thought was best, but you shouldn’t have to think you killed a man when you didn’t.
Molly slammed the laptop shut and sat back against the couch. All eyes in the room turned to her. She stood suddenly. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, excusing herself and taking the laptop with her. The shock propelled her up the stairs to her room. She needed to read the rest, but the first part had yet to set in. Molly did not kill Evan Branch, something she carried around for years. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, Molly had worked up a great deal of anger. Once in the room, she sat down at the desk and opened the laptop. The document popped up on the screen, just as she left it. Molly wanted to read the rest of Joe’s letter for one simple reason. She had to hear how two adults justified dumping a load like that on a child.
When I ran into the house, your mother was standing over E
van with the bat I gave you. She killed him Molly, after you left. She said if he got up, he’d kill you both. She didn’t think she had a choice. I couldn’t let her go to prison and that’s where she would have gone. You can’t beat an unconscious man to death, no matter what he done to you, not in Dobbs County, and sure as hell not Evan Branch. I told her it was best if we burned the house up and tell you not to say anything. You didn’t know nothing anyway and if you talked, you would tell them you did it. They weren’t going to put a ten year old in jail. No one looked real good at Evan’s skull. The Fire Marshall said he’d seen skulls crack like that from the heat. Evan being at the center of the fire, with kerosene spilt on him, it could have happened like that. The prosecutor had his own reasons for wanting Evan’s death to go away. Like I said, I thought I was doing the right thing. I’m sorry we did that to you. I know it was a lot to put on you. I just wanted you to know, the only thing you were ever guilty of was loving your mother too much. I hope
It ended there. Joe never finished the letter. She wondered what he hoped. That she would not hate him, that she could forgive him. She slammed the laptop shut.
Molly was pacing the floor when Leslie knocked on the door. “Molly, may I come in?”
“Come in. It’s not locked.”
Leslie entered, asking, “Are you okay?”
Molly shrugged. “I didn’t kill him, Leslie. I’m not sure how I feel at the moment.”
“What did the letter say?”
Molly pointed at the computer. “Read it.”
Molly sat on the edge of the bed, while Leslie read the letter. When she finished reading, Leslie turned in the desk chair to face her.
“Boy, you’ve had a tough week.”
“I’m at a loss for words,” Molly began, not angrily, simply bewildered. “What else am I going to find out wasn’t true? Evan Branch probably wasn’t my father, I didn’t kill him, my mother didn’t die in a drunken stupor, all things I’ve based a lifetime of belief on. It’s as if I lived someone else’s life.”
Leslie just listened, while Molly talked it through.
“The really ironic thing about all this is that I just opened up and told my life story to several people, and now I have to tell it to them again, the amended version.”
Leslie smiled, because Molly seemed to be working through this rather well, progressing from angry to reflective in short order. She ventured a bit of humor. “You might hold off on the retelling until you’re sure that’s all of it.”
“You have a point,” Molly said, chuckling. “Oh, well. It really doesn’t change anything. If somebody digs Evan up, I’ll make it public, but there’s no need to soil Joe with this without cause. We both did what we thought was necessary to protect my mother. I can’t fault him for that.”
“That is an incredibly healthy attitude for a kid with such a screwed up childhood,” Leslie said, and winked.
Molly had to agree. Despite it all, she achieved her goals. It could have turned out so much worse, but for the kindness of a few very important people in her life. Molly counted her blessings, one of which was sitting across the room from her. Her past was becoming less important to Molly. The future, however, was looming large.
She grinned at Leslie. “If we don’t go back down there, you know Randy will start up again.”
Leslie closed the distance between them in two steps, pushing Molly backwards onto the bed. She hovered over her, inches from Molly’s face, grinning from ear to ear when she said, “I’ll tell him you needed intensive therapy.”
#
They eventually made it downstairs. Randy was on his best behavior, and let them off with a wink. Molly informed the others of the letter’s contents, since they were working so closely with her. Brad and Tammy, who knew nothing of Molly’s involvement in Evan’s death, were confused, until she explained the whole story.
Brad rubbed his chin, thinking, and then said, “I appreciate your not making this public. Joe did what he thought was best. It wasn’t legal, but it would serve no one to dredge that up now.”
Molly reassured him. “Unless something drastic happens, Joe’s secret stays in this room.”
Brad seemed satisfied with that, and they all settled in to watch more basketball. After a light dinner of leftovers and enough time passing to be polite, Molly and Leslie excused themselves to go upstairs.
They passed the hours alternating between making love and talking in hushed whispers. Now in the tower, Molly sat with her back to the wall, Leslie leaning back against her chest. Naked, except for a shared blanket, they sat gazing at the stars and lights around the city.
“Leslie, what happens when Joey is released? Where is he going to college?”
“He’s enrolled for the fall at the community college. We were gradually moving him toward an independent living situation. I think we’re going to have to speed that process up. Joe and Cheryl both had good insurance, but Joey’s going to need someone to manage his money and expenses.”
“I can do that for him,” Molly said, adding, “Joey will have whatever he needs, Leslie. I’ll take care of that. I owe that to Joe.”
“That’s sweet, but I don’t think you’ll have to contribute too much. He really is quite the programmer. His game sequences are flawless. I’m sure he will be able to support himself. He could go to work right now, but college gives him more structure and opportunity to socialize. It will be good for him.”
Molly was going somewhere with this conversation, but she was hesitant to continue. It was all happening so fast. Six days ago, she did not know who Leslie was. Now, Molly could not imagine going a day without her.
“Is Joey your only private client?”
“No, I have a few others, but I’m less involved with them and work as part of a support team. I mostly work for the county and the school system.”
Molly had to ask. “If you never had to work again, you’d still do want to, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.” Leslie tilted her head back so she could see Molly. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?”
Molly kissed her on the forehead and hugged her closer. “When I go back to Durham, what am I going to do about you?”
Leslie sat up, turning her body to face Molly. When she did, the blanket fell away, bathing her skin in soft white moonlight. It made it difficult for Molly to listen to Leslie’s words. Swaggering Molly thought Sappy Lovesick Molly should get busy.
Leslie put her right index finger over Molly’s lips. “Shh, don’t jinx this. Baby steps, Molly. You start letting that brain of yours in this and you’ll scare yourself. You will rabbit, I know it.”
Molly pulled Leslie back into her arms, laughing. “You think so? What about you? You said yourself that you didn’t feel the need to mate for life.”
“Wow. You lawyers listen to every word, don’t you? I believe there was an ‘at the first opportunity’ qualification to my statement.”
“And how many opportunities have you had, Ms. Walker?”
Leslie answered nonchalantly, her head resting on Molly’s shoulder. “Opportunities to mate for life? None. Slim pickin’s in this town. Seems the good ones move away.” She winked. “Had to wait for one of them to come back.”
Molly bent to kiss Leslie lightly on the lips, before saying, “If I had known you were here, I would have come back sooner.”
“Ooh, smooth, Kincaid. You’re going to make it impossible to live without you.”
Molly stared straight into Leslie’s eyes. “That’s the plan.”
Leslie’s eyes searched Molly’s face and, with what Molly was learning was an uncanny ability to answer her unspoken questions, said, “Molly, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll work it out together. You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. If I tell you I love you, will you trust that I do?”
Molly broke out in a huge grin and answered quickly, “Yes.”
“You’re sure it’s not too soon?” Leslie said, smiling slyly. “I don’t want to spook you.”
Molly shrugged. “If this isn’t what love feels like, then I’m not sure I know what it is.”
Leslie climbed up on Molly’s lap, wrapped her arms around her neck, and said, “I love you, Molly Kincaid. Now, will you just relax and enjoy this?”
Molly may have stood on the street as a child, staring up at this house, dreaming of being the little girl in the tower, but she never imagined what dreams would one day come true up there. Above the city of her birth, in the dim moonlight of the tower, Molly began to believe in forever. More importantly, she believed Leslie would be there with her, and a heart that was never whole began to heal.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
They rose early and went for a run, dragging Randy along. One of the agents assigned to watch Molly ran too, followed by a black SUV each step of the way. James arrived and ate breakfast with them, before taking Molly into the downstairs bathroom. Molly carried the little black bag that Rainey left in her car. It was time to bait the trap. After finishing with Molly, James left, promising to be just steps away should trouble arise. Molly prayed he would not find it necessary to reveal himself. If he did, that would mean she was in mortal danger.
Leslie tried to be brave, but she stopped Molly at the back door. “Are you sure this is the only way to do this?”
Molly brushed a stray hair from Leslie’s cheek. “I’m not alone out there. I’m not going to risk my life unnecessarily.”
Molly: House on Fire Page 35