Tangled Up In You, page 17
"I wouldn't say straight As, but I did a fair amount of extra credit."
"I figured you'd be an overachiever."
His heart sped up as the wheel lifted them higher. They made it up three more spots, before being stopped once more. "Uh, we're getting close."
"Not quite there." She gazed out at the view. "It's beautiful up here, though."
He supposed it was, but he was only looking at her. The Ferris wheel started once more. To his dismay, they reached the top and then kept on going.
"What the hell?" he muttered.
She laughed. "It could still happen," she said, as they continued their way around.
"Well, let me put it this way: we're not getting off until it does happen."
"I don't think they let you ride forever. That would be against the rules. And I don't believe you're a man who breaks the rules."
"You tempt me to break a lot of rules," he said, looking into her pretty green, sparkling gaze.
"I'm not trying to."
"I know. That makes it even more tempting."
"I like this rule-breaking side of you, Adam."
"Don't get too excited. It's not going to last longer than this ride."
"I know. That's okay, too. We need people like you to keep us all on track."
He frowned. "That's not what I want to be to you, Molly—someone who keeps you on track."
"But you also don't want me to be someone who takes you off track. So, where does that leave us?"
"Going around in a circle?" he said lightly.
"Good point," she said, as they moved past the beginning and started upward once more.
This time he was thrilled when they stopped at the very top of the wheel. "We're here, Mol—"
Her mouth was on his before he'd finished saying her name. And the kiss was everything he'd anticipated and more. She tasted so good, her eager lips parting, as he slid his tongue into the warm heat of her mouth and they got as close as they could.
Then their chair started moving once again, and she broke away. He put his hand around her neck and pulled her in for another kiss. And he kept his mouth on hers as they made their way around the circle.
He was breathing hard and so was she when their chair was stopped at the bottom, when the attendant pulled open the bar and motioned for them to exit.
For a moment, he wasn't sure he could stand.
But then Molly was holding out her hand, and he grabbed her fingers and followed her off the platform. She didn't stop walking, leading him toward a grove of trees. When they were in the dark shadows, she kissed him again.
He wrapped his arms around her, not wanting to let her go. The extreme weight of that thought almost made him let go. Because he couldn't do forever, and she was starting to feel like someone he might want to do forever with.
It was Molly who finally ended the kiss, her eyes glittering in the moonlight.
They stared at each other for a long, long minute.
"I wish…" she began.
"What?" he asked.
"It doesn't matter."
"Maybe it does."
She put a smile on her face, one that felt more forced than any other he'd seen. "The ride is over."
"It was over five minutes ago, but that didn't stop us from coming here."
"I just needed a little more time with you before I said goodnight. I have a busy day tomorrow. And like I said, the ride is over."
He didn't feel like it was over. He felt like he was still spinning around. "You keep knocking me off-balance."
"And you don't like that." It was more of a statement than a question.
"I'm afraid I like it too much."
She gave him a thoughtful look. "I'm afraid, too."
"Why?"
"Because I don't like to care."
"Back to your low expectations."
"Let's just call them realistic. This was fun, Adam. I like hanging out with you, but I need to go."
"I'll take you home."
She put up a hand. "No, I'm going to walk. It's not late, and it's not far."
"I just want you to be safe."
She gave him a small, somewhat sad smile. "The truth is, we'll both be safer if I go home alone. You know I'm right." She kissed his cheek. "Goodnight, Adam."
She was gone before he could stop her.
And he wanted to stop her, even though he shouldn't. It was safer to let her go, but he was getting damned tired of playing it safe.
By late Saturday afternoon, Molly was exhausted. The sidewalk sale had been a huge success. The street traffic had been constant all day long. She'd have to order more inventory on Monday, which seemed shocking considering how much she'd had to sell when she arrived.
It had also been fun to be part of the merchants who were selling their wares. At lunch time, she'd gone up and down the street and met her neighbors. Jackie had been her usual stuck-up self, but most of the other retailers had been friendly and interested in her business. The more she talked about the mission of the store, the more it became defined in her mind. She wanted to change things up a bit. She wanted to get away from the "magical witchiness" of Phoebe and focus in on more practical and modern methods of healing and wellness.
While manning her table, she'd also met a lot of Phoebe's customers and friends. Many of them had asked whether there would be a memorial at some point. They wanted to pay their respects, but they didn't know where to go. She needed to think about that. It still baffled her that Phoebe had left her ashes to her without any instructions on what to do with them, except a simple note that directed her to wait until she knew what to do. Phoebe was confident she would one day know exactly where her ashes should go.
Well, she still had no idea what to do with the urn that was currently at the attorney's office. And she would have to decide soon, because the attorney had asked her to collect it on Monday.
She'd worry about that on Monday.
She looked up as Drew and Cassie came out of the shop. Drew had been working all day, and Cassie had come by at lunch and stayed for the rest of the afternoon, volunteering to help out.
Molly suspected Cassie just wanted to be with Drew, but she wasn't turning away any help she could get. Plus, Cassie's friends had also shown up and made some purchases.
"What else can I do?" Drew asked.
"If you could put the card table in the back of the store, that would be great."
As Drew left, she smiled at Cassie. "I'd like to pay you for your time, Cassie."
Cassie waved away her offer with a careless hand. "It's not a big deal. I didn't have anything else to do today. And Drew said you don't have much money yet."
"Well, I am just getting started. But how about free yoga classes for the rest of the year?"
"I'll take that," Cassie said with a smile so dazzling Molly had a good idea why Drew was smitten. Cassie looked toward the store where Drew had disappeared and then turned back to Molly. "So, Drew is pretty great, don't you think?"
"I do. He seems to like you, too."
"I know he's not here for very long. My mom and my grandmother aren't thrilled with me seeing someone who isn't local, but he's so cool, and it's not like I'm going to stay here forever. I want to go away to school next fall. Maybe California. What do you think?"
She was surprised by the question. "Well, I'm nowhere close to being an expert on relationships, but I think sometimes we worry too much about the future that we miss enjoying right where we are."
Cassie nodded in agreement. "I like that."
"What do you like?" Drew asked, as he returned.
"Molly is going to give me free yoga classes for the rest of the year," Cassie said.
"That's nice." He looked back at her. "Do you want me to help you with this last table?"
"No, you two go and have fun. I can manage."
"I'll see you Monday."
"Actually, I'll probably see you tomorrow. Are you coming to Adam's birthday barbecue?"
"Oh, right, that thing at the lake. I'll probably stop by."
"You should. Bring Cassie."
"I'm up for that," Cassie said, throwing Drew another bright smile.
"We'll see you tomorrow."
She smiled as they walked down the sidewalk and Cassie slipped her hand into Drew's. They were cute together. She hoped they'd make it, but long distance was hard, and they were both very young. Who knew where their lives would go?
Grabbing an empty carboard box from under the table, she packed the last few remaining products. She was just about done when she saw a man walking toward her, and she stiffened. It was Neil Loeffler.
His steps slowed when he saw her, his eyes darkening with some emotion she couldn't decipher.
"Hello, Molly."
"Neil," she said shortly.
"How was your sale?"
"Very successful."
"I heard."
"From who?"
"One of my firefighters stopped by earlier, Shelley Dearborn."
"Oh, I didn't realize she was a firefighter."
"She's just about to come back from maternity leave."
"I met her baby. He was very cute."
As their pointless conversation came to end, she shifted her feet. "Don't let me keep you."
"How's your mother?"
She drew in a quick breath. "She's great. She's in New York. She's really happy."
"That's good. I'm glad she found what she was looking for. I wasn't sure she ever would."
Her gaze narrowed. "What does that mean?"
"She liked new over old, change over stability. I used to think she was running away from something more than she was running toward something, but she told me I was wrong. That the future called to her, that she couldn't turn away from the possibilities and just settle for what she already knew."
Something about his statement didn't jibe with what had happened between him and her mother. "I don't understand what you're saying. The only time my mother wanted to stay anywhere was here in Whisper Lake, but you didn't want to get married. That's why we left."
He shook his head. "That's not why you left."
"It is. She thought you were going to propose but you didn't. When she pressed you about the future, you said you didn't see anything long-term. She came home crying. We packed up a few days later. She was devastated by your breakup."
Neil stared at her in disbelief. "Molly, that's not what happened."
"Of course it happened. I was there."
"You weren't there when I asked your mother to marry me, and she said no."
His words were shocking. "That's impossible. She wouldn't have said no. She loved you. She wanted us to be a family. I wanted us to be a family. You were the only person I ever wanted to be my stepfather. But you pushed us away. You let us go."
"I can't believe she told you that," he said in shock.
He put out a hand to touch her arm, but she jerked away, her emotions reeling.
"My mother didn't lie to me. She was a lot of things, but she wasn't a liar. She would tell me when she wanted to leave somewhere. She didn't make up a story." The more she talked, the more desperate she became to convince herself, but seeds of doubt were growing in her mind.
"She made up a story that night. I proposed to her, Molly. I showed her a ring," Neil said forcefully. "I asked her to be my wife. She said no. She was sorry. She thought she could say yes. She thought she could settle down, but she couldn't do it. I never saw her again after that."
"Why would she lie?" she whispered, talking more to herself than to him.
"I don't know. Maybe it was easier for her to be the victim."
"Because I would have been angry," she said, answering her own question. "I wanted her to marry you. I wanted you to be my stepfather, and she knew that." She shook her head in bewilderment. "Why did she say no? She told me she was in love with you."
"Not enough to stay, Molly," he replied, a heavy note in his voice. "Like I said before, I didn't know if she was running away from something or toward something, but I knew she was running, and she couldn't stop. She couldn't stay in one place. She was afraid it would stop her from being who she was meant to be. It sounds like she's happy now. Is she married?"
"No. And I don't know if she's happy or if she's staying in New York. Nothing seems to last long with her. I guess she's just built that way."
He cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, I wanted to be your stepfather, too. I thought about you a lot after you left. I've actually been following you online."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, but not in a creepy way," he added hastily. "I just like to see what you're up to. I was shocked when I heard Phoebe left you the store. But then I remembered how close you two were." He paused, smiling to himself. "And now I understand why she told me a few weeks ago that eventually the people we love come back. I thought she was talking about your mom, but she must have been speaking about you."
"I don't think she knew she would die so suddenly and so soon, though. Although, she did read tarot card and tea leaves, so who knows?"
"Are you into all that, too?"
"No. I'm into health and wellness, but not the mystical stuff. I guess I just don't have that much faith in the universe. I prefer to call my own shots."
"I think that's wise."
She looked past Neil, startled to see Jackie Hunt bearing down on them, carrying what appeared to be two fast-food bags.
"These were left outside my store by your employees," Jackie said. "If this happens again, I will call the police."
Neil stepped between them as Jackie looked like she was about to toss the trash in Molly's face.
"What's going on, Jackie?" Neil asked.
Jackie stiffened. "Well, of course you'd be here, coming to her rescue."
Molly frowned. What the hell did Jackie mean by that?
Neil ignored her comment. "What's the problem?"
"The problem is this store is a scab on the block and it needs to go. She's selling nonsense and stealing people's money. I won't stand for it."
"I'm not going anywhere." She stepped around Neil so she could face Jackie. "This store is not a scab or a scam. That trash could have been left by your own customers or some random person walking down the street."
"I saw those teenagers who were working here earlier eating this food."
"They threw their bags away inside the store. But let me take care of that for you." She grabbed the bags from Jackie's hand. "Are we done?"
Jackie whirled around on her high heel and stormed back to her boutique.
"She's still a piece of work," Neil muttered.
"That seems like too nice of a description. She can't stand me or the store, as you just heard. I don't know how Phoebe tolerated her all these years. I've thought about trying to kill her with kindness, but I think she might kill me first. I wish she would just give me a chance to prove that I can be a good neighbor and I can show her exactly what I'm selling."
"I don’t think that will matter. I don't know about her relationship with Phoebe, but her animosity toward you is probably not just about the store; it's also about your mother."
"What are you talking about?"
"I dated Jackie for a few months. I broke up with her shortly after I met your mother."
"I had no idea."
"She thought your mom stole me from her, but that wasn't true."
She stared at him in amazement. "Really? You dated Jackie?"
"I didn't realize when we first started going out that she was such an unhappy person. She had only been in town a few years then, and I didn't know her sad history."
"What was her history?"
"She lost a child. It was an accidental drowning. Her husband left her shortly after that. She moved to Whisper Lake to start over. Her sister lived here. That's how we met—through her sister. But it became clear that we weren't right for each other. I was going to break it off. Then I met your mother, and I knew I had to end it with Jackie. The two events weren't as connected as she might have thought, but they did happen fairly close together."
"My mom said something once about how popular you were. I didn't know that someone hated her guts for stealing you."
"I don't think that Jackie and your mom had much to do with each other."
"Did Jackie try to get you back after we left?"
"No. The only thing Jackie has more than anger is pride."
"Well, thanks for telling me. I need to figure out a way to get along with her, which doesn't seem likely, but I have to try. We're neighbors. I can't have her bad-mouthing me and the store to everyone in town."
"Your customers will counter that with their own rave reviews. I wouldn't waste too much time on Jackie." He paused. "Are you going to stay in town, Molly? Is this where you plan to be for a while?"
"I'm here for now. That's all I can say."
His gaze filled with shadows. "You sound just like your mother."
"I grew up with her. It's hard not to be like her. We moved around so much, she was the longest and strongest influence in my life."
"I understand. I'm glad you're back, for however long. If you'd ever like to get coffee or a meal sometime, I wouldn't mind hearing more about your life."
"Sure, maybe once I get things more settled."
"Whenever you're ready—and only if you want to. Take care."
She let out a breath as he walked away. Had he told her the complete truth? Had her mother lied to her about the reason for their breakup, the reason why they'd left Whisper Lake? Only one of them was telling the truth.
She'd put her money on Neil. He'd never lied to her, and while she'd thought her mom had been mostly honest with her, she also knew that her mother had a way of shading the truth to her benefit.
Taking the trash into the store, she threw it away, then returned to finish the last of her cleanup. When that was done, she pulled out her phone, debating whether or not she should call her mom.
Maybe Neil was the reason her mother hadn't wanted her to come back to Whisper Lake. Her mom hadn't wanted her to find out she'd lied to her.
She stared at her phone for a long minute and then put it back in her pocket. This was her life, her relationships, and they had nothing to do with her mom. She could see Neil again or not. She could stay or go. She could do whatever she wanted.
