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“It’s—“ The words caught in my throat. “It’s not mine, is it?”
“Hey, Macon,” Molly greeted me, her bright smile distracting me from the brutal memories the day had brought. “I really appreciate you taking the time to help us out. I know—” She hesitated, swallowing whatever she was about to say next. “Anyway, I—we really appreciate it.”
While I could give Jake the third degree until the end of time, I couldn’t do the same with his wife.
“Jake said you can’t get it started?” I said, always feeling a tad awkward around her.
It might not be fourth grade anymore, but she would forever be my first crush, and that wasn’t something you forgot.
“Yeah,” she began as we headed over to the truck in question. “Jake’s been trying to talk me into trading it in for years, but my frugal heart just can’t do it.” She exhaled a sort of exasperated sigh. “Like always though, I guess he’s right.”
She did a good job of trying to look annoyed with her husband, but the corner of her mouth turned up just a smidgen. “Well, let’s see if we can maybe keep her going a little longer. What do you say?”
Her smile turned into a wicked grin. “I say I might owe you a pie, Captain Green.”
“You know I can’t take bribes,” I quipped back in a mocking tone, which seemed to surprise her. It surprised me too.
I couldn’t remember the last conversation I’d actually had with Molly Jameson, let alone one that involved jokes—unless you counted that time in grade school when I’d called her a string bean.
After that, she let me work in peace, running back into the house to check on a few things. It didn’t take long to work out the problem, and by the time I was about to awkwardly meander through the front door to find her, she was walking back down the porch with two cold glasses of lemonade in her hands.
“I know it’s a little late in the season for it, but I’ve never been much into pumpkin spice,” she said, handing me one.
“Me neither,” I agreed, taking a hearty gulp of the lemonade. It was homemade, just as I’d expected, and it reminded me of warm summer nights and cookouts on the beach. “I’ll take the cooler weather any day. Makes for a much more enjoyable workday. But the mainlanders can keep the rest of it.”
“So, I guess I won’t see you down at the hotel for a pumpkin facial then?” She grinned.
“A what? Is that even a thing?”
Molly nodded. “Yep, Lani has a whole fall package printed up for the guests at the resort. Pumpkin facials, spiced cider massage. It’s crazy.”
Lani and her husband Taylor owned Windows Hotel and Spa, which was a relatively new establishment on the island. Lani was too, but that was a whole other story.
“And people actually pay money for that shit?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “Oh, a ton.”
I leaned against the door of her old truck, catching a glimpse of the bay through the trees out back. “There are times I seriously wonder why I stayed after…” My words died, just like they always did when the conversation veered toward Kristy. “But then I hear about shit like that, and I worry I’m not cut out for the real world anymore.”
A silence fell between us, and before I could say something about her truck, she spoke up. “I saw the article in the paper today.”
My body went rigid as I held my nearly empty glass of lemonade, staring at the water winking in the distance.
She must have seen me flinch because she chose her words carefully after. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—” She sighed. “I only meant to say I was thinking of you.”
I turned my head and saw the compassion in her eyes. “Why?” I asked, not beating around the bush—I never really did. “We’ve barely spoken in years, and I’m not exactly on good terms with Jake…or Dean for that matter.”
She bit her bottom lip before continuing, “Do you remember when Jake left?”
My eyebrow rose, and I let out a sort of strangled laugh. “Which time?”
She turned her head and glared. “The first time,” she said.
I shrugged my shoulders. “You brought it up. Not my fault he’s a bit of a flight risk.”
Everyone thought Jake and Molly would get married. But, then Jake’s mom died during our senior year and he left that summer and never came back. When he finally resurfaced for his father’s funeral over a decade later, Molly was engaged to his best friend Dean.
So much fucking drama.
