If I Can Dream (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  Tennessee snatched the paper up and read it, tossing it toward Zane. “Is this legit?”

  Zane took a few minutes to peruse it. He turned toward Molly. “Yes, this will dissolve the union. But I think it would still be wise to get your wife’s signature on these forms.”

  He pushed some papers toward her and she picked them up. “What is this?”

  “It merely states that you have no claim on anything Tennessee owns and that you will never seek to assert any claim.”

  Molly smiled, picking up a pen. “Not a problem.” She put her signature on the papers.Mollina Maite Reyes. Seeing her sign the documents, Tennessee picked up another pen and did the same to the annulment.

  “Let me get copies of these. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” Zane stood up, leaving the two of them alone.

  Molly started to stay quiet, but the overwhelming need to say something had every nerve in her body straining. “Now, that our marriage is over, and I have no reason to lie to you, I just want to say that I did none of the things you accused me of. One day, the truth will come out and when it does, I hope you’ll have the good grace to realize what you’ve done.” For most of her speech, his eyes were cast downward, only toward the end did they raise to meet hers. “I loved you, Tennessee McCoy, I never betrayed you.” Standing, she didn’t wait for a reply. Molly laid her wedding and engagement rings on the table in front of Ten, then walked out, choosing to wait on Zane in the hall.

  Tennessee almost went after her. Her words had hit him like a hammer. She seemed so insulted, so hurt. Her attitude was of one who felt they had been wronged instead of someone who had committed the devious acts. With a shake of his head, he cleared his mind. Any woman who could stab him in the back as she had done, would be able to lie convincingly.

  When Zane returned, he handed the copies to Molly. “Drive safely, Miss Reyes. Thank you for being so cooperative.”

  “I didn’t do what I did to be cooperative, I did it to escape an untenable situation. All I want to do is move on and forget any of this ever happened.” Molly took the folder, gave the lawyer a brief nod and walked briskly from the building. She didn’t take a breath until she was outside. Leaning against the stone wall, she gasped for air, nearly oblivious to the traffic driving by on the downtown Austin street. Funny. She’d hoped once the paper was signed, she’d feel better.

  She didn’t. Molly still felt as if part of her was missing.

  Tennessee was out of her life and her heart was broken in two.

  * * *

  Life goes on.

  Molly was just existing. It had been a month since the annulment, two months since she’d lain in Tennessee’s arms. Even though she’d been the one to resign her job, Rita had followed through on her threat. As soon as she started to look for employment, it became crystal clear that a job in Alpine would be a scarce commodity. The only thing she could find was a waitress job at Penny’s Diner. Penny didn’t put much stock in threats. The wages were low but the tips were decent.

  She’d been on her feet for hours. Her ankles were swelling and she felt nauseous. Heck, she hoped she wasn’t coming down with a virus. That was all she needed.

  “Hey, honey! Where’s my water?” An older man dressed in overalls called to her from across the room.

  “Be right there.” She filled four glasses with ice, one for him and three for another table. Adding the water, she picked up the already full tray and headed around the counter. As she passed the front window, a ray of bright sunlight hit her in the eye and her stomach rolled. What was wrong with her?

  Seeing Molly sway, the man rose. “What’s wrong?” She tried to tell him, but her mouth was so dry she couldn’t form words. A tide of blackness enveloped her as the tray slipped from her hands.

  The next thing she knew, Molly was in the emergency room, a luxury she knew she couldn’t afford. “Where am I? I need to go back to work.”

  Penny, her boss, stood over her. “You’re not going anywhere, Missy, not until the doctor tells us what’s wrong with you. I can’t have you contaminating my customers.” The middle-aged bleach blonde’s voice was tough, but Molly knew she sounded gruff on purpose. She was actually an old softie.

  “Okay,” she answered weakly. “Maybe, I’m just hungry or dehydrated. Sometimes I forget to eat.”

  “Well, that will have to stop, Miss,” the doctor announced from the opening in the curtain. “In your condition, staying healthy is not an option.”

  Yes, life goes on. And sometimes it throws you a curve ball.

  Six hours north, Tennessee handed a glass of punch to his sister, Ryder. “Our Tebow cousins sure know how to throw a party.” He glanced around at the beautifully decorated pavilion. The wedding of Isaac McCoy to Avery Sinclair had been much anticipated. The whole family and half the Hill Country appeared to be in attendance.

  “I can’t believe Libby is here. She’s due any day. If I was that pregnant, I’d be sitting at home with my feet up.” Ryder stood primly by Ten. “Philip seems in better spirits today.”

  “Zane is optimistic. He’s still analyzing the thumb drive Noah and Skye found that belonged to Dalton Smith. It has thousands and thousands of pages of documents on it.”

  “Come on.” Pepper came sweeping by. “Let’s sit down. The ceremony will start soon.”

  Heath, Philip and Jaxson joined them as they started down the aisle. “I hate weddings,” Heath mumbled.

  “Shhh,” Ryder tried to quiet her brother. “Someone will hear you.”

  Tennessee understood his brother’s sentiment, he felt the same way.

  “There seems to be several beautiful women here,” Philip observed. “I think I saw Tamara Greyson, Jax.”

  “Yea, I knew she was coming. We’re supposed to meet up a little later.” Jax made his way on crutches, Tennessee could tell he felt awkward and in the way.

  Finding their place, the Highland McCoys sat down to watch the Badass of Kerr County tie the knot. Tennessee became amused at the thought. Knowing Isaac was a Dom, he was sure he knew how to tie all kinds of knots. Just as quickly, his smile faded. As the ceremony started, Tennessee’s mind wandered, he hadn’t had an opportunity to try all of the things with Molly that he’d dreamed about.

  As the music played and the lucky couple said their vows, Tennessee indulged in letting himself remember how it felt to make love to her. Since being home, a little over a month, he hadn’t even looked at another woman. Despite the horrible way things had ended, his body only reacted to Molly. He knew he couldn’t go on like this, but healing would take time.

  Once the preacher pronounced Isaac and Avery man and wife, everyone stood. Heath was acting funny. No one in the family had missed the pretty brunette making eyes at him. Ten started to repeat the advice that Heath had so freely given him – the advice he’d ignored – but he didn’t. Deep in his heart, Ten still believed in love. If his brother could find it, more power to him. All he knew was that it would be a cold day in August before he let himself be hurt again.

  The congregation was heading to the reception area. Tennessee was moving along with the crowd toward the receiving line when he felt his phone vibrate. Since he was constantly on-call for search and rescue, he pulled his phone from his pocket. What he saw made his breath hitch.

  Molly Reyes was calling.

  He stared at the screen, debating whether to answer. His brain told him no. His heart told him yes.

  They were no longer married. They had no ties. Why would she be calling?

  Glancing at Jaxson, he held up his phone. “I’ve got to go take this, I’ll be outside.”

  “Trouble?” Jaxson asked.

  “I hope not,” he muttered, walking off.

  “Hello?” Tennessee spoke into his cell as he made his way through the crowd.

  At the sound of his voice, Molly almost hung up. What was she doing? It wasn’t as if she expected anything from him. She would stand on her own two feet if it killed her. Then a tsunami of guilt swamped her. Mo
lly couldn’t be selfish anymore. Now, there was more than just herself to think about.

  “It’s Molly.”

  “I can read.”

  His tone was curt. He didn’t want to talk to her. Molly closed her eyes, her free hand was clenched into a tight fist. Was she doing the right thing? Only the memory of how they were at the beginning kept her from hanging up. Essentially he was a good man. She’d got caught up in something bigger than the both of them – some long standing feud, and she didn’t know enough about it to defend herself. What was missing from their relationship was trust. They’d been together long enough to fall in love, but not long enough to build a foundation of faith in one another.

  Sometimes love wasn’t enough.

  Still, she owed him this. Every man deserves to know. “Hey, I won’t keep you long.”

  “Good. I’m at a wedding.”

  A wedding? She didn’t ask whose, Molly assumed it wasn’t his. And even if it was, nothing he did was her concern anymore. Unfortunately – something she was doing was his.

  Molly took a deep breath and just said it. “I’m pregnant.”

  There was no response. None.

  Tennessee couldn’t breathe. Just the sound of Molly’s voice was enough to tear his heart out by the roots. But this? “And why are you calling me?”

  “Because it’s yours,” she whispered. “I thought you deserved to know.”

  A hard, harsh laugh sounded through the phone. Molly winced. “Nice try. You were on birth control. Or was that a lie too?”

  “No, I was. I…” She’d struggled with this herself. “I guess accidents happen.”

  “Right.” Tennessee walked farther out into the yard to get away from the crowd. “You signed a document stating you wouldn’t come after my money. Call Greg. He’s the father, not me.”

  Molly bent almost double, holding her head in her hands. “I haven’t had sex with anyone but you.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Tennessee shouted, then glanced around to see if anyone heard him. Thankfully, they didn’t. He didn’t need to be airing his dirty laundry in front of anyone, much less his extended family.

  “Look,” Molly wiped her eyes so she could see through the tears, “I don’t want anything from you. I just thought you deserved to know. Someday you might want to meet your child. I never knew my father, so I know how it feels. But if you don’t, we’ll be just fine.”

  Before Tennessee could say anything else, the line went dead.

  “Fuck!” Molly was gone, and once more she’d turned his world on end.

  After he learned about the baby, Tennessee could think of nothing else. His emotions flew from anger to hope, from disbelief to suspicion. The first chance he got, Ten cornered Heath. “I need to talk to you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Heath kept scanning the crowd as if looking for someone.

  “Molly called, she says she’s pregnant.”

  This got Heath’s attention. He froze, turning to Tennessee. “Is it yours?”

  “Could be, I guess.” Tennessee knew mistakes happened, but this was just too much. How could he believe anything she said? He couldn’t trust Molly.

  “Tell her you want a paternity test,” Heath advised with a serious face.

  “Maybe we should talk to Zane,” Tennessee suggested. But as the day wore on, the events at the wedding weren’t conducive to decision making. Zane approached them, but it was to inform the family that Philip’s trial date had been moved up and he would be standing before a judge and jury within a month.

  Excitement seemed the order of the day. Libby, Aron’s wife, went into labor and all of the Tebow McCoys left for the hospital, leaving his family in charge of the party. Heath was doused with a cup of punch by a woman and everyone had a good time giving him a hard time.

  It was a few days later before Ten had a chance to talk to his lawyer. But when he did, Zane agreed with Heath. “Let me contact her officially. We’ll insist on a paternity test. If she refuses, we’ll know this was just a ruse to extract money from you.”

  Even as Zane laid out the possibilities, something within Tennessee balked at the thought. “She didn’t ask for anything.”

  Zane dry-scrubbed his face. “I know this goes against the grain. You had feelings for her at one time. And I’ll admit, her showing up with that annulment threw me. But you won’t know she’s coming after your money until you get slapped with a lawsuit. It’s better to know where you stand for sure.”

  * * *

  Down in Alpine, Molly wasn’t doing much better. Of all things, she’d been diagnosed with mono. The kissing disease. As if she’d been kissing anyone. The only thing she could come up with as to how she contracted it was a customer’s little girl who’d planted a wet one on her when Molly gave her an extra scoop of ice cream. They were passing through, so she had no way of notifying the mother. At first, she’d been afraid the disease would be dangerous for the baby, but the doctor assured her it wasn’t – IF – she got off her feet and got some rest.

  Which wasn’t possible.

  If Molly didn’t work, Molly didn’t eat. And now, she had to think about the baby and save up enough money to take care of it.

  At night, she’d lay in her bed and imagine none of the ugliness had ever taken place. She would picture Tennessee there with her, holding her, touching her, assuring her that he loved both his wife and his child.

  Dreams, that was all she had. But dreams were better than nothing.

  Telling Tennessee about the baby hadn’t been her finest moment. If she could do it all over again, she would just keep the information to herself. He hadn’t cared, all he’d been worried about was protecting himself and his precious money.

  Typical rich man.

  The bell over the front door of the restaurant jingled and Molly looked up to see a woman who looked vaguely familiar. “Miss Reyes?”

  The moment her name was said aloud, Molly realized she was from the lawyer’s office. Instantly, a knot came in her stomach. “Yes? How did you find me?”

  “We traced your paystubs.”

  The explanation didn’t make sense to Molly. She felt vulnerable. Lawyers had connections and could hack databases she assumed.

  Accepting the envelope she was handed, Molly heard the words. “Tennessee McCoy is asking for a paternity test to determine if he is the father of your child. He’ll pay all costs for the test. If you refuse, a judge will order you to do so, and if you refuse you could be looking at fines and or jail time.”

  The woman didn’t linger. Molly had to sit down. Luckily, they were between shifts. The breakfast crowd was gone and the lunch rush hadn’t begun.

  “What’s wrong, Molly?” Penny came rushing over. She’d been trying to cut Molly as much slack as possible, but her establishment was small. Minimum wage was all she could pay and benefits were out of the question.

  “My ex-husband wants me to have a paternity test.” Molly broke out in a cold sweat. Telling Tennessee had been a mistake. He was a McCoy. The baby would be a McCoy. What if he tried to take it away from her? She cupped her belly with its still almost invisible bump. She couldn’t let that happen, no matter what she had to do. Molly couldn’t give up the only thing she had left in her life.

  * * *

  The annual Highland BBQ was upon them. People were coming from everywhere. Heath’s friend Jimmy Dushku was well connected and all of the celebrities and movie stars living in and around Austin would be in attendance. Caterers had set up in tents outside, yet Ryder and Pepper were still cooking up a storm, insisting that some of the food should be home-cooked.

  As Ten leaned on the kitchen bar, he could see Cato Sinclair climbing out of her jeep. Heath and the girls were helping the beautiful woman in. Since she’d baptized Heath with punch at the wedding, their paths seemed fated to cross. The whole family was fascinated by Heath’s seeming reluctance to acknowledge his attraction for the attractive brunette.

  Tennessee hadn’t gone out to welcome them in, he ha
d something more pressing to attend to. The letter had arrived that would tell him whether or not Molly’s baby was his. She had fought taking the test tooth and nail. To Ten, her reluctance could only mean she knew he wasn’t the father. What else could it be? But Zane had pressed, getting a court order to force her to submit to the test. She’d finally complied when faced with being placed in contempt of court.

  Shaking his head, he hated how ugly all of this had become.

  Being alone for a few minutes, Ten saw his chance and slipped into one of the back rooms, taking the letter out of his back pocket. With a tiny tremble to his hands, he opened the envelope and took out the letter.

  The last sentence stuck out like a sore thumb.

  Based on the blood tests and DNA samples, we can conclude that Tennessee McCoy is the father of Molly Reyes child with 99.99998 percent certainty.

  The world shifted beneath Ten’s feet. It couldn’t be any clearer than that.

  CHAPTER NINE

  When the result of the paternity test arrived on the first day of the BBQ, it was just bad timing. Tennessee was hard-pressed to even find a minute to worry about it. When he told Heath, they both agreed that he needed to talk to Molly. But then the unthinkable happened on the trail ride. Someone fired a shot and Cato was hit. She wasn’t badly injured, but no one could understand why anyone would want to hurt her. After some investigating, Tennessee and Bowie Travis concluded she wasn’t the real target. Heath, Zane and Cato were convinced that Philip had been the target and this had something to do with the murder trial. As far as they could tell, Cato had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Doing what he did best, Tennessee began tracking the shooter, spending days going over every inch of the Highlands to try and determine who had attempted to kill a member of his family. But no matter how hard he and his friends tried, they found no clue. Nothing.