AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sorry, I need a…” Royce spins around, running inside toward the bathroom. He no sooner gets that door open than we all hear him start to vomit.
“He issucha tool,” Charlie mutters from the pit she’s working in, holding her hands up in apology when I frown at her. “At least he didn’t puke on you this time.”
“There is that,” I reply with a smile.
“Molly, if you could pull the truck up, I’ll take care of it,” Connal instructs me and I comply, looking sheepishly over my shoulder at the waiting customers.
Flint
Watching Molly pull out of the driveway, I send a quick text before I carry two mugs of coffee to the bedroom. Placing one on Bree’s side, I walk around the bed to put mine down before climbing under the covers and reaching for my wife.
Ragnar lets out a huff when I get too close to him. “Shush.” I tell him, before kissing Bree’s neck.
“Mmm,” Bree sighs before lifting her head up, looking puzzled. “I thought you had an appointment to take the truck in this morning?”
“Molly’s taking care of it for me.” I can’t help but grin to myself, even when Bree clicks her tongue at me, understanding my machinations.
“You’re diabolical.”
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
Royce
Turning into an aisle in the sporting goods store, I happen to recognize a guy crossing the street with two kids.
Putting down the ice axe I need to get for my next job, I go running after him.
“Hey! Hey, wait up,” I call out. Barely throwing a glance over his shoulder, he recognizes me and turns, squaring up like he’s expecting trouble.
I reach my arm out, hoping to shake his hand as I look him square in the eye. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for what I did. I know the words don’t start to cut it, but what you said to me that day really stuck with me and I’ve made a lot of changes in my life. Positive ones, I think.”
We continue standing there, my eyes briefly floating to his kid who’s a couple years older than the last time I saw him, before meeting the man’s eyes again.
“I apologize for bothering you,” I say, once I’ve decided he’s not going to respond. “I had no idea how badly I needed to be called out for my shit untilyoudid it and I just wanted you to know…”
My voice trails off, unsure of how to express myself.
“Thank you,” he responds at long last, his hand gripping mine.
With a nod, I decide to forgo the weapon and head to the newly expanded bakery. Opening the door, I smile at my cousin-in-law.
“Hey Trinity, is Mols upstairs?” I ask, snagging an oatmeal cookie from the case as I continue toward the stairs.
“Yep, it was time to feed the monsters,” she goodheartedly quips from her seat behind the counter, barely looking up from her textbook.
Trinity lives in a two-bedroom apartment above the new café and bakery; it’s much larger than the old place and we fitted out the smaller room so Molly can take care of the infants here when she’s working.
At least until they get a little bigger. We’re hoping that Ma will retire and help us out a few days a week, if Mack doesn’t keep spiriting her away on road trips.
The sound of crying gets me moving faster, knowing what a handful the boys can be when they’re awake at the same time. Our twins were born a couple of months ago and the two of us have been juggling the responsibilities ever since.
“Oh, thank God,” Molly says when she sees me, and I immediately go to pick up the one in the bassinet.
“I love you, too,” I reply, crossing to give her a kiss. “Three more weeks and we get to stay at the cabin for two nights.”
“We’ve got this.” The determination in her voice gets me chuckling. We figured that at the three-month mark, we could leave them with Ma and Bree for a couple of nights as we made use of the club’s cabin just north of here.
