by Sable Hunter
Taking her home with him wasn’t what he’s intended when he came to Alpine, but Ten had no choice. She and the baby were his responsibility.
The next time Molly awoke, Penny and Frankie were there. “Your ex seems nice,” Frankie said almost accusatory. “He stopped by the diner a few minutes ago to tell us how you were.”
Not wanting to air their problems, Molly answered, “He can be.” Turning her head to look at her boss, she apologized. “I’m sorry for walking out on you like this.”
Penny patted her hand. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. I was worried about you. This is all for the best.”
Molly didn’t argue, she had her doubts, though. A nurse came to place a blood pressure cuff around her arm to check her vitals. “Are you hungry?” the woman asked as she kept an eye on her watch. “You missed the evening meal, we served it while you were being admitted.” Pointing up at the IV bottle, she laughed. “I don’t think this will help your hunger pangs.”
“I’ve brought her some food.” Ten’s voice sounded from the door. She looked up to see him looming over the nurse, always bigger than life.
“You’re a lucky woman to have such a good looking man,” the nurse whispered.
Molly didn’t feel lucky.
After he arrived, Frankie and Penny said their goodbyes. “We want to know when the baby’s born.”
“Oh, I’ll be back before then,” she assured them. “Just as soon as I’m feeling better and can get on my feet, I’ll be back.” The look in their eyes as they shifted their gaze between Molly and Tennessee said that they doubted it.
Molly buried her face in the pillow, wondering how in the world she was going to survive being around the man she loved every day and not be allowed to show it.
CHAPTER TEN
The next day Molly found herself on the road with Tennessee, heading to his home. He was quiet, which gave her a lot of time to think.
She knew in her heart that they’d moved way too fast. From the moment she’d seen him in the national park, so cocksure he could save Ben Hunt, she’d knew the big sexy cowboy was trouble. He’d done all the right things, said all the right things. Molly had fallen head over heels for him. Tennessee swept her into a serious relationship and she’d never questioned his feelings or his commitment to her.
No one could dispute what they had in common. Their love of the outdoors, rock climbing, not to mention their insatiable sexual appetite for one another, those things should’ve given them a foundation to build on. The only problem was that the foundation was laid on sinking sand. Tennessee was out of her league. His family, or at least his older brother, had disapproved of her from the beginning. Molly had dreamed she could fit in with his lifestyle, that she would prove herself worthy to be a McCoy.
Now she knew that would’ve been an impossibility.
She had no money or connections. Her pedigree was questionable and her heritage was different than his. She wasn’t a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, of course he wasn’t a Protestant either but that didn’t really matter. Molly was a quarter Spanish, a quarter Native American and fifty percent who-the-hell-knows. Her mother had refused to talk about her father. Things like breeding or status weren’t supposed to be important, but they were.
Face it, she’d been stupid. She’d gotten involved with a man who wouldn’t stand by her, who believed the absolute worst of her without even giving her a chance to defend herself. Getting involved with him had pitted her against her boss’s daughter who wanted Ten for herself and brought her into the crosshairs of his enemy. What had happened or how, she couldn’t answer. The one thing she did know was that her life had changed, and not for the better. She was without a job, forced to quit school, sixteen weeks pregnant and now on her way to stay in a place where she wasn’t wanted.
Molly knew she’d been under the mistaken impression that love could conquer all. But Tennessee hadn’t loved her enough. A bad case of lust was more like it. The way he’d turned on her so easily was proof he hadn’t really cared for her at all.
Closing her eyes, Molly willed herself not to cry.
“Are you cool enough?”
His voice suddenly breaking the silence made her jump a bit. “No, I’m good.”
Tennessee changed lanes, glancing over at Molly. She’d moved so far away from him that if her door were to suddenly come open, she would fall out onto the road. Worrying, he hit the lock button, which caused her to jump again. She cut those big blue eyes at him and he shrugged. “Better to be safe.”
Damn, she smelled good. Like wild honeysuckle. And she was wearing some short little skirt that showed off her legs. Those long, sexy legs. Tennessee felt himself grow hard.
Hell, what was he doing?
He’d called home and told his sister he was on his way. The one thing he’d neglected to say to Ryder was that he was bringing a guest.
As if she could read his thoughts, Molly asked. “So, is it going to be okay that I’m coming home with you?”
The question bothered Ten. “I don’t need my family’s permission. The Highlands is my home too.” He guessed her question was legitimate. How many families lived together after they were grown up like his did? The only ones he knew were the Cartwrights on the old show Bonanza and J. R. Ewing’s family. Oh, and their cousins at Tebow. He smirked. Maybe it was a McCoy thing.
“Oh, I know.” She really didn’t. Molly had no idea what to expect, she didn’t have a lot of experience with family and meeting the rest of the rich powerful McCoy clan wasn’t something she was looking forward to with any anticipation. “I just don’t know if this is such a good idea.”
“Why?” Not that Tennessee hadn’t had the same thought. All he knew was that he would rest better knowing his baby was safe. As for Molly, his feelings for her were all over the place. He’d been trying to figure out how this was going to work. Forgiving Molly for what she’d done was a long way off, but somehow they were going to have to come to terms and co-exist for the sake of their child.
Molly turned to look out the window. She didn’t feel like rehashing their differences. “You hate me. Your family is going to look at me like I’m the enemy.” Molly laughed harshly. “I can’t imagine that’s going to make for scintillating dinner conversation.”
“My family isn’t the problem,” Ten said slowly and evenly.
“I don’t know,” Molly muttered. “Are they assholes like you?”
Tennessee took a deep breath. “I’m not the one at fault, I didn’t cheat on you and I didn’t betray you.”
Molly held up her hand to tell him to stop talking. “This isn’t going to work. Turn around and take me back.”
Sighing, Tennessee said, “No, you can’t be by yourself right now.” Cutting his eyes toward her, he swallowed the hurt and offered an olive branch. “Let’s call a truce. Okay? For the baby’s sake.”
At a loss, Molly didn’t know what to say. She’d quit school because she needed to work double shifts to save every penny she could for the baby. Every corner she could cut, everything she could do without, she did. All so she could give her baby a better life. Now, Tennessee had popped back into her life and attempted to take control. She really didn’t know what all of this meant. Bending over, she laid her head on her knees and let out a frustrated cry. After a few seconds, she got control of her emotions and sat up. “What would this truce entail?”
“Cooperation. Civility. Common decency,” he whispered. “Nothing kinky.” He added the last two words partially out of spite. To his surprise Molly laughed.
“I would never be rude to your family or ungrateful for their hospitality.” She shook her head. “It’s a shame about the kinky sex. We just weren’t married long enough to try everything I wanted to do.”
Tennessee felt his cock twitch. “Like what?”
“Tying you up and having my wicked way with you.”
Damn. “If anybody was going to be tied up, it would be you,” he drawled.
“At one ti
me, I would have provided the ropes.” She leaned her head against the window. “Now, I would be afraid…”
“Do you think I’d hurt you?”
Tennessee’s voice sounded horrified. Molly rubbed her forehead, willing the dizziness to go away. She was so tired and in no shape to argue. “I don’t know you that well…but no, not physically and you’ve already hurt me more than you’ll ever know.”
Tennessee refused to feel guilty. He wasn’t the one in the wrong. Swearing under his breath, he shoved his fingers through his hair. ‘That’s ridiculous, you were the one…”
“Just stop.” She laid her head wearily back against the leather seat.
“You’re hungry.” He put on his blinker seeing a Dairy Queen up ahead. “There was no food in your apartment. You weren’t taking care of yourself or the baby, standing on your feet all day.”
“Quit pretending to care anything about me,” Molly chided him. “We both know you never did.”
Pulling into the parking lot of the fast food joint, he put on his brakes. “Oh, no. You can’t lay this on me. I didn’t throw our marriage away, you did.” Cutting the engine, he opened the door. “What do you want?”
Molly lifted an eyebrow. “To turn back the clock and tell you to go to hell when you asked me out.”
Climbing out of the truck, he gave her a scathing glare. “Since I can’t perform magic, I’ll get you a chicken fried steak sandwich and a vanilla malt. Sound okay?”
“Yes.” Molly’s stomach growled in gratitude at the thought.
“Be right back.” He slammed the door. Molly watched his progress from the truck to the door of the restaurant, and so did three other women standing outside their car to her right. She heard their giggles and she didn’t need to hear their conversation to know what they were saying. Ten was hot. A small twinge of jealousy sizzled in her empty stomach.
Trying to tamp the discomfort down, Molly realized she needed to use the bathroom. Opening her door, she stepped out and had to grasp the handle to keep from falling down. After she felt steady on her feet, she made her way into the burger joint. Tennessee was in line at the counter, so she was able to slip by him to the restroom area without being seen. Once she’d finished her business, she leaned on the sink and ran water into her hand to splash on her face. Staring into the mirror she watched the water droplets run down her cheeks. “You’re a mess, Reyes.”
After wiping her face and hands, she started back out. Tennessee was no longer in the restaurant. When she stepped outside, she heard him. “Molly! Molly!” He was on the far side of the Dairy Queen, looking toward a field.
“Tennessee!” She yelled his name, heading toward him. Did he think she was trying to escape? “I went to the…” With her gaze on him, she wasn’t watching where she stepped and she hung her foot on a curb. Down she went.
“Molly!” Hearing her voice, then seeing her take a header to the concrete made his heart jump in his throat. “Molly!” Rushing up, he scooped her up off the ground. “Where did you go?” he demanded.
“To the bathroom.” The feel of his strong arms, the touch of his breath on her hair was so familiar. Her body recognized him and she ached with the effort to remain aloof. Any possibility that she was over him had just been shot to hell.
Tennessee looked a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t think of that.”
She tried to hold herself away from him, but that was impossible. Molly even held her breath, doing anything to make herself less aware of him. Once he deposited her in the seat, he sat a bag in her lap that smelled like heaven. With slightly shaking hands, she took out the sandwich and began to eat. “You didn’t get anything?” she asked between bites.
He smiled slightly and shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”
Molly ate her sandwich faster than she probably should have and drank every bit of the malt. “How much farther?”
“A little over an hour, we’re nearing Fredericksburg.”
She wadded up the sandwich wrapping and crammed it and the empty drink container into the sack, sitting it carefully by her feet. “Have you thought about a name?”
Her question took Ten by surprise. “No. Have you?”
She could answer this truthfully. “No, I guess I’ve had other things on my mind.” After turning off Interstate 10, the scenery had changed abruptly. Now, there were oaks and the grass seemed greener. “Will I be able to explore your ranch? Ride, maybe?”
Why did everything the woman do irritate him? “You’re not going to be a prisoner, Molly. Although I’m not sure riding would be the safest thing for an expectant mother to do.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Ten opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. He needed to know. “How many times have you seen O’Neil after I left? Because I sure as hell don’t want him contacting you at the Highlands.”
Molly didn’t know whether to cry or scream, so she did neither. She seethed. “I’m only going to say this one more time, Tennessee.” She spoke slowly and emphasized every word. “I’ve seen him twice. At the restaurant with you was the first and when he came to the trailer looking for you. He asked to use the bathroom, I let him in and he left. I never touched him, much less fucked him!” By the time she was through, Molly was shouting.
“Calm down, your outburst isn’t good for the baby.” If Molly was acting, she deserved an Oscar. He didn’t even know why he’d asked the question unless it was a form of self-torture. Hell, he hadn’t been able to be with another woman. He’d tried. One Saturday night at Isaac’s Hardbodies bar, he’d taken a beautiful blonde up on her invitation to go home with her. Everything had been going according to plan until he got her stretched out naked on the bed. To his unbelievable frustration all he could see was Molly’s face in place of hers. Ten had made some lame excuse and got the hell out of there. He hadn’t been with a woman since Molly and he didn’t know when he would be able to.
Ten didn’t say whether he believed her or not and Molly didn’t ask. What did it matter? “I think I’ll rest my eyes.” She laid her head back and pretended to try to sleep.
After a few minutes it wasn’t pretend.
“Molly. Molly, wake up. We’re home.”
Home. Molly opened her eyes, eager to see the place that held so much of Tennessee’s heart. But it wasn’t her home. It would never be her home. She didn’t wait for him to come around and help her out, she wasn’t even sure it would have crossed his mind. Their relationship had changed so drastically. As she stood on McCoy soil, seeing the house and the land for the first time, it hit her that the child that nestled under her heart would belong here. He would be a McCoy. By blood if not by name. Since their marriage had been annulled, Molly had no idea if he’d give their baby his name or not. Oh well, the child would always be hers.
“It’s beautiful.” There was no way she could hold back the sentiment. “Everything is so green here.” Gone were the craggy mountains of southwest Texas. This was gently sloping rolling hills and sparkling blue water. This was paradise. “No wonder you love it so.”
“I’ll show you around later,” he offered as they heard a door slam.
“Tennessee, you’re home!” A female voice called out and running footsteps could be heard, but when they drew nearer, they stopped. “Oh, you’re not alone.”
Molly looked up to see a gorgeous woman with long hair the color of warm chestnuts flowing past her waist. She looked like a Disney princess, but the expression on her face was guarded and suspicious.
“Pepper.” He accepted her hug. “Molly, this is my sister Penelope, better known as Pepper. And this is my…”
He verbally stumbled and Molly stepped up, not to rescue him but to put them out of their misery. She gave Ten’s sister a nod, not insisting she take her hand. “I’m Molly Reyes.”
Tennessee dreaded the next few minutes and he had reason to. One by one, his siblings came to join them and their reactions ran the gamut from warm and hospitable to cool and calculating. Ryder
was the most welcoming. She gave Ten a questioning glance, then wrapped Molly in a hug.
“Welcome, Molly, I’m Ryder and I am so glad you’re here.”
Philip was his congenial self. “Molly, I’m Philip, the smart McCoy.”
Molly laughed at this.
“Where’s Jaxson?” he asked, and then noticed the worried look that passed over his sister’s face.
“He’s with the vet in the barn. One of his prize cows is giving birth.” Pepper answered.
Heath, when he finally joined them, was the most standoffish of course. “Miss Reyes, I’m Heath McCoy.” No welcome.
“Hello, Heath.” She greeted him the same way she had greeted everyone. To give her credit, if Molly noticed any underlying tension, she didn’t let on either way.
While Ryder walked her in with an arm around her shoulder, the others hung back and the questioning looks, widened eyes and raised eyebrows was perhaps one of the most heated conversations they’d ever had – and not one word of it was spoken out loud.
Molly tried to take in the house and the grounds, but there wasn’t a lot of time. Ryder herded her inside quickly. The general impression she received was a similarity to the ranch called Southfork on the TV show Dallas. “Let’s get you settled. I’m sure you’re exhausted after that long ride.”
Before ascending the wide staircase, Ryder turned to Tennessee. “Where will Molly be sleeping?”
Everyone drew strangely quiet and Molly stiffened. “Any old couch will do.”
“She’ll stay in the room next to mine. Molly’s been ill and she’s going to be with us for a while.” Tennessee announced in a tone that brooked no argument.