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Ilya held a hand out. “Hey, now.”
Molly shook her head at him. “No, she’s right. I don’t fall apart. I get mad and overcome. Why in hell have I been moping about this when I really should be seething?”
I lifted a shoulder. “You’re hiding your feelings because you weren’t ready to feel that much anger. You’ve come face to face with a challenge you don’t know how to get through. So, you threw yourself a pity party. I’m familiar. But getting good and steamed is more productive so long as you direct it in the right way.”
She crossed her little arms. “How?”
I gripped my mug. “You don’t want to walk away from the team. I know that and so do you. So, what do you want?”
She bit her lower lip and started pacing. “I want to be heard.”
I nodded. “Good. What else?”
She stopped and hit the counter. “I want my voice to matter.”
Smiling, I prompted her again. “And?”
“I want others to listen to me and take my suggestions,” she said her eyes snapping up to catch mine, “because I’m right.”
I leaned forward on the counter resting on my palms. “And what does that look like, little wisp?”
She paced a few more minutes, then stopped, her eyes wide, and her lips popped open. “I know! But I want to wait for the guys.” She pulled out her phone and concentrated on it for a while.
Picking up my coffee mug, I took a sip. Even though it burned my tongue a little, I didn’t care. A smile took over my features. I was so proud of this kid! She knew her worth, but with a little push, she now knew how to fight for it.
Ilya glanced over at me, looking a little more relaxed than he did a few minutes ago. He tipped his chin at me realizing that while I pushed her, it was for the right reasons. I wasn’t trying to be a bitch about it, but sometimes us stubborn types needed a shove in the right direction.
In the next few minutes, cars began filling up the driveway, yard, and road outside the house.
I tipped my chin to the window. “You ready for this?”
She took a sip of coffee and sat up a little straighter. “Yeah. Bring it on.”
Now my girl was back. Whatever happened here, I knew she would be okay. Because she knew her value. It had nothing to do with how she looked or what age she was. It had everything to do with her skills, her perceptions, her abilities. With the team’s support behind her, no matter what, she’d be okay.
When I started toward the door, Ilya gave me a slight head shake as he helped Molly move to my side of the island. “You stay with her,” he directed me. From the look on his face, there was no questioning him. He was a papa bear and he was taking care of his cub. It was so sweet I felt my heart squeeze.
Playing hostess, I redirected the men from Molly over to the snacks on the dining room table. Turned out they served a dual purpose: quelling hungry men and moving them further from Molly. When Ransom came, he joined me.
Leaning down to Molly, I held my hand up to shield my words. “Where’s your mom?”
Molly looked up at me with a sparkle in her eye. “Making some Christmas miracles happen with Maddy and Katy. Angus is playing Santa Claus for the kids at the hospital.”
I felt a smile infect my face. “That’s great. Does she feel torn, though? Did she want to come?”
She scoffed. “She’s not really in a listening mood. More of a yelling mood. Then crying. Then back to yelling. We convinced her to focus on the kids for everyone’s well-being right now and Angus is keeping an eye on her. We’re also keeping her away from Coach until this gets worked out. He helped get her hired. Not sure if he has any power to fire her, but we’re not going to find out. She loves her job too much.”
I nodded. I got it. She was a mama bear. And she hated seeing Molly upset. I did too, but she needed to either rise above this or duke it out on her own. Life was bound to throw this kind of shit at her. She needed to learn how to deal with it in an environment where she was supported.
When most of the team had gathered in the living room, sprawled on sofas, chairs, and even the floor, I let out a whistle to get everyone’s attention.
Ransom took charge. “We all know why we’re here, but we can’t let this get out of control. Ilya sets the tone, here, guys, so don’t piss him off.”
Ilya tipped his chin to Ransom, then looked out at his teammates. “I think of you as my brothers, but she’s my daughter. Be good or I’ll pound you into dust.”
The guys grunted.
I cleared my throat. “Okay, so Molly asked me to get involved to help us all work through this. I think we can all agree that Molly’s intuition here prevented a worse injury last night, right?”
