Ashley and Jared exchanged a look, a silent conversation passing between them before turning back at Molly.
“Let’s take a seat,” Ashley said.
Molly led them over to her couch, and they sat down. She took the chair across from them.
“Honey, we’ve been trying to give you space. We didn’t think you’d want us calling you constantly,” Jared said.
“But why wouldn’t I want to hear from you? You’re my parents.”
Ashley sighed. “We were worried you would think we were trying to guilt you into staying in Denver. And we didn’t want you to come back for a job. We want you to find your own way.”
Everything she had believed since the moment she left Denver had been wrong. “Even if it means I’m not working for you and wouldn’t take over the company?”
“We don’t care about that,” Jared said.
“All we care about is that you’re happy. And if that’s in a small town taking a completely different career path, then that’s your choice. We will support you in whatever you decide,” Ashley said.
Molly swiped the tears from her cheeks. “I won’t be a barista forever.”
“But it’s okay if you are,” Jared said. “You can do whatever you want to do.”
“Thank you. That means a lot,” Molly said.
“Never doubt that we’re proud of you. We knew it took a lot of courage to leave your safety net working for us and move to a completely different town. I’m honestly very proud of you,” Ashley said.
Tears sprang to Molly’s eyes again. “Really?”
“Really. There’s nothing you could do that would disappoint us,” Jared said.
“You’re our daughter. We love you no matter what,” Ashley said.
Molly stood and walked over to them, bending over and wrapping her arms around their necks. “I love you.”
“We love you,” they both said.
When they pulled apart, Molly wiped her eyes and smiled. “Would you like a tour?”
After showing her parents around her apartment, she drove them to Storyville’s Stories. Once they had parked, she led them inside.
“And this is where I work,” she said proudly. The small cafe was busy as usual, but Katie had it handled. Eli was behind the register ringing up a customer, but he looked up when the bell jingled at their arrival. His eyes lit up immediately.
“This is such a cute store. I can see why you like it so much,” Ashley said.
Eli approached as soon as he was done with the customer. “Hey. Welcome in,” he said to her parents before giving Molly a questioning look.
“Mom, Dad, this is Eli, my boyfriend. Eli, these are my parents, Jared and Ashley. They surprised me a little bit ago,” she said.
A smile spread across Eli’s face, and he shook Jared’s hand before giving Ashley a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you. Welcome to Storyville.”
“We love your store,” Jared said. “It looks like you’re pretty busy too.”
“Thanks to Molly,” Eli said.
Molly furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a questioning look.
He continued, “She designed a new website for us. It was posted on social media and took off. We’ve already received a dozen online orders today alone.”
Molly’s eyes widened. “Really?”
