by Devney Perry
“He might destroy everything you built.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He might. And I’m not going to say that won’t be hard to watch. But I’m not selling this place cheap. He’s coming to the table with a hell of a check. I’m thinking he’s plenty motivated to keep Alcott at the top of its game.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe this is happening. I’m dreaming. This has to be a dream.”
I walked to my desk and picked up the contract I’d printed yesterday. “Here. Maybe this will make it more real.”
She eyed the papers for a few moments then gave in and took them from my hand. She plopped down into one of the chairs next to my desk, set the contract on top and started scanning. I knew right away when she read the purchase price.
“One point five million dollars. He’s buying Alcott for one and a half million dollars?”
I nodded. “We’ve had a good few years in business.”
“Understatement,” she mumbled.
“With that kind of money, we can pay off the house, set aside a good chunk for the kids and then get creative. Maybe start another business. Together.”
“I don’t want to quit my job at the restaurant.”
“Then don’t. The point is, this gives us the freedom to do whatever we want. And it gives me a chance to right some wrongs. I love Alcott. I always will. I’m proud of what we created here. But it’s time to say good-bye.”
“Are you sure? I mean, really sure? I don’t want you to resent me for this later.”
“This is my decision. And I know in my bones it’s the right one.”
She nodded hesitantly. I gave her time to think on it, to let the surprise of my announcement fade. Molly nodded again, this time with more confidence.
When she met my gaze, it was solid as a rock. “Okay. Then I’ll support you.”
“Good.” I picked up a pen and handed it over. “Then sign on the last page.”
Molly flipped to where my attorney had flagged the signature lines with yellow tags. The pen hovered over the paper as she sucked in a deep breath. Then, as she blew it out, her hand moved, signing her name.
With it done, she pushed the paper and pen my way.
I didn’t hesitate to scribble my name alongside hers, not even a second.
Alcott had been the dream. I’d achieved more success here than I ever could have imagined, but it had come at a price. Molly’s heart.
Somehow, I’d been lucky enough to win it back. And I wasn’t going to risk losing it ever again.
The room was quiet as I set the pen down. We sat there, listening as the air whirled.
“I feel lighter,” I confessed.
She met my gaze, her brown eyes swimming in tears. “So do I.”
We took one last moment to look around the room, then I stood and went to her chair. I took Molly’s hand and led us outside. We got into the Jeep, smiled at the kids and left Alcott behind.
The life I’d had was in the rearview mirror.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Pretty spot, isn’t it?” I asked Kali as we stood on top of the ridge we’d hiked. Beneath us the entire Gallatin Valley was spread out in a carpet of green fields and golden hills. The trees were a fall mix of deep green, lemon lime and cherry red.
“Have we ever been up here before?” Kali asked, leaning into my side.
“A couple times when you were a baby. Your mom and I used to come up this trail a lot.”
“Why did you stop?”
“There were lots of other great spots to explore with you guys too.”
It was a partial truth. I’d done a ton of hiking in other parts of the valley with the kids, but I hadn’t brought them up here. It was a harder climb. And this trail was Molly’s favorite. It hadn’t seemed right to come here without her.
Behind us, Molly and Max were looking over a different part of the ridge. Max was standing on a tall rock, making funny faces as Molly snapped pictures of him on her phone.
“I love it up here,” Kali said quietly, more to herself than to me.
I hugged her closer to my side. She smiled up at me, then looked behind us as Max and Molly laughed.
Then she dropped her gaze to her feet. “They worked.”
“Huh? What worked?”
“The let—” Her body tensed. Then she was gone, twirling out of my embrace and hurrying over to join Max on his boulder.
“What the hell?” I muttered to the wind.
Maybe I was wrong, but my gut was telling me that Kali had just slipped up and almost said the letters.
I wanted to pull her aside and ask again, but I forced myself to let it go. For now. I’d ask her when we were home and alone.
After a family selfie, we made our way down the trail. The kids took the lead, setting the pace on our descent as Molly and I brought up the rear.
“That was fun.” She nudged my shoulder with her own.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Are you okay? When we were on the ridge, you looked upset. Is it Alcott? Because we can rip those papers up when we get to the Jeep.”
I pulled her into my arms, stopping us on the trail. “No, it’s not Alcott. It was nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
My answer was to put my lips on hers and kiss her breathless.
“Gross!” Max shouted.
Molly smiled against my lips. “He’s grounded.”
“For at least an hour. Kali too. Long enough for us to shower together when we get home.”
“You’re brilliant. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I kissed her again. “Race you to the bottom?”
“Oh, I don’t think we should. Your first hike out, you’d better take it easy.”
“No, I’m fi—” Before I could finish arguing with her, she’d shoved me away and was running down the trail. “Cheater.”
Her laughter echoed through the trees as she flew past the kids. “You’ll never catch me, Alcott.”
Max and Kali giggled as they took off after her.
I chuckled, jogging slowly along to give them a head start.
I’d catch her, all right. I’d never stop chasing.
“Hey.” Cole saluted me with his bottle of beer. “About time you got here.”
“Sorry. We got delayed at home.”
We were late for the barbeque at Cole and Poppy’s place, but it had been worth the scolding from my sister. Molly and I had showered so long that we’d run the hot water heater down to cold.
“Beer?” he offered.
“Please.” I followed him through the house, away from the noise of the kids playing and the adults visiting in the kitchen. He kept his stash of beers in a mini fridge in the garage, as well as the car he was currently rebuilding in his spare time. “How’s the ’Cuda coming along?”
“Great. It’s going to take a year or so to finish, but it’s been fun to tinker on. My dad’s been helping too. I heard you’re unemployed.”
“News travels fast.” Though it came as no surprise that Molly had already told Poppy.
“What are you going to do?” Cole asked.
“Enjoy life.” I sighed. “Buy Molly a diamond ring. Drive the kids to school every morning. Mow the lawn in the summer. Shovel snow in the winter.”
“Good for you. I’m glad for you guys.”
“It was the right move.” I took a sip of my beer. “I owe you.”
“For?”
“The letters.”
Cole tried to hide his grin behind his beer bottle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We went for a hike today and Kali almost slipped up. She caught herself, but it was enough to get me thinking.”
There was no way my daughter could have done it alone. There were no dates to put them in order without more context to our relationship. There was no way she could have timed their delivery to the mailbox just right. But if she’d had help, if she’d been the mailbox delivery person, that I could belie
ve.
There were few people in the world Kali trusted. Her uncle Cole was one. My guess was that he’d found the letters, and Kali had become his little mouse, helping him sneak them into the mailbox.
“When did you get them?”
“Remember that year we played city-league softball?” he asked and I nodded. “You forgot your cleats. You were working and didn’t have time to run home, so I stopped to get them.”
“That was . . .” I mentally tallied the years. “Four years ago. You’ve had them all this time?”
He nodded. “I was just waiting for the right time. When you broke up with Brenna, I decided it was now or never. You’d been so hell-bent on dating someone for so long. Every relationship was a disaster. Poppy was pushing Molly to date her neighbor, and I thought I’d give it a shot. I asked Kali to keep a secret. She was more than happy to be my minion.”
“Did she know what was in them?” Say no.
“No,” Cole promised. “She never knew. I just asked her to deliver some letters that would be good for her mom to read. She never knew they were from you, just that I hoped they’d make Molly happy.”
They hadn’t at first. But in the end, they’d been the catalyst to heal our hearts. To mend them together.
“Why?” I asked him.
“I’ll do anything to make my wife happy.”
My jaw fell open. “You did this for Poppy?”
“And for you.” He shrugged. “When Poppy and I first got together, it was right after you and Molly divorced. You’d just found kind of a truce and you’d decided to start dating again. Poppy told me it was because you wanted to find happiness again and love, like she had with me.”
“Not my smartest move,” I muttered.
“Honestly, at the time I thought it was smart. You and Molly were divorced. You were moving on. Eventually she would too. Poppy had such a hard time with it. She knew you both still loved each other and thought you were wasting love.”
And for a woman who had lost love unexpectedly, it was no surprise Poppy had taken it hard.
“Our opinions swapped, Poppy’s and mine,” Cole said. “At first, I’d thought it was a good thing. Poppy struggled with it. Then she started to accept that you and Molly were through. The more I was around you both, all the years you’d look at each other across the room and smile, forgetting for that split second you were divorced, it started to make me crazy. But I didn’t want to get involved.”
“Then you found the letters,” I guessed.
“That’s right. I found those and took a wild guess that Molly had never seen a single one. I figured, maybe if she did, you two would stop fucking around.”
I chuckled. “Quite a gamble.”
“Nah. I knew you two wouldn’t let me down.” He brought his bottle to his smiling lips. “How’d you figure out it was me?”
“After Kali said that today, I knew it had to be someone close. I started thinking back to all the times Molly and I confronted you guys about the letters. Everyone denied it. Over and over. Everyone except you. You evaded.”
Cole had acted shocked. He’d had alibis for his whereabouts every night. But he’d never actually come out and said No, it wasn’t me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. I set my beer aside and stretched out my hand. “Thanks.”
“Do right by Molly. And by yourself.” He shook my hand. “That’s all the thanks I need.”
The door to the garage opened and Poppy poked her head outside. “Cole, you can start the grill.”
“Okay, beautiful.”
Cole and I left the garage with fresh beers. While he went to the grill, I found Molly standing in the kitchen, eating chips and salsa.
“Hey.” She took my beer away for a healthy swig. “Poppy and I were thinking of throwing you a party to celebrate your ‘retirement.’ We could have it at the restaurant. You could invite anyone from Alcott. What do you think?”
“I’m game.”
She smiled. “Good. We’ll get planning.”
The kitchen was buzzing with activity as people gathered around the spread of appetizers Poppy had laid out. My parents were here. Cole’s were too, along with his sister’s family. It was guaranteed to be a fun night, but before we got to the good times, I had to talk to Molly.
I had to tell her that Cole had been the one to send the letters. For that, I didn’t need an audience.
“Come with me for a sec.” I grabbed her hand, threading our fingers together as we snuck away to the front porch. Then I told her about how Cole had sent the letters and how Kali had helped.
“A part of me wants to hit him upside the head for putting us through everything. But I’m grateful. So very grateful.”
“Me too.” I pulled her into my arms, resting my cheek on the top of her head. She gave me her weight, settling into the embrace like we’d done a hundred times. Like we’d do a thousand more. “I’m not going to stop.”
“Stop what?”
I held her tighter. “The letters.”
From now until the end of our days, Molly would get my letters.
- LETTER -
Darling Molly,
* * *
I just might have to marry you. Again.
* * *
Yours,
Finn
Epilogue
Molly
Ten months later . . .
“Finn, would you please slow down?” It was the third time I’d asked.
“I’m going the speed limit.”
“It feels faster.” I couldn’t see the speedometer, but from the backseat of the Jeep, it felt like he was practicing for the qualifiers at the Indy 500.
He grumbled something I couldn’t hear before shooting me a glare through the rearview mirror.
“Eyes on the road!”
“Molly, we’re going to be late.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he fought to keep his patience.
I was in a bad mood today. Everyone in the car knew it. Kali was sitting up front in the passenger seat, doing her best to avoid my wrath by blending in with the leather upholstery. Max was next to me, his gaze aimed out the window to avoid all eye contact.
“I’m sorry, guys.” I sighed. “I’m just tired. And I really don’t want to do this today.”
Finn’s eyes softened as he looked back in the mirror. I gave him a small smile.
The last thing I wanted was to go to this memorial today. They weren’t fun to begin with, and today’s would be doubly miserable considering the week I’d had.
On Monday, I’d spent twenty hours in labor attempting to birth our son. And when the baby just wouldn’t come out, my obstetrician had wielded her scalpel and sliced me in half. That was on Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday had been spent in an uncomfortable hospital bed because at thirty-seven years old, my doctors were worried I might have complications from the C-section. Finally, after a mandatory seventy-two-hour postop hospital stay, they’d set us free on Saturday morning.
Finn and I, along with James Randall Alcott, had been able to go home. What I wanted more than anything for my Sunday was to laze around on the couch enjoying our new baby. Instead, I’d shoved the watermelons that were my breasts into a nursing bra. I’d showered, done my hair, put on makeup and dressed in my most nonmaternity maternity shirt with my pregnant jeans.
And we’d all piled into the car to go to a memorial service for Randall.
I wasn’t sure how I’d summon the energy to stand by a tombstone for more than twenty minutes. The last week had exhausted me completely. I didn’t remember feeling this tired after having Kali or Max, but with Jamie, my age had become an issue.
“Is this going to take a long time?” Max asked.
“I hope not. I really hope not.”
“Let’s make the best of it, okay? After we’re done at the cemetery, we’ll go to the restaurant and you guys can run around.”
We were closed today for a family function. That was going to be my saving grace
. I only had to make it through the service, then I could hide away at the restaurant, where everyone wouldn’t care if I sat in a quiet corner to nurse the baby. There’d be plenty of people to bring me things.
It wasn’t my couch at home dressed in my ratty maternity sweatpants, but it was the next best thing.
Plus, it would give everyone a chance to fuss over Jamie.
Finn and I hadn’t planned on another baby. Two weeks after he’d moved in, I’d found a letter on the bathroom counter. Underneath was a diamond engagement ring.
I wasn’t wearing it at the moment because my fingers had swollen into sausage links during my pregnancy. But the second I could make out knuckles again, it was going back on my hand.
I toyed with the chain around my neck. It had the first engagement ring Finn had given to me in college along with my first wedding band.
Finn wore the wedding band from Marriage Part One, as he’d been calling it, on his right hand. The band from Marriage Part Forever was on his left.
We’d opted for a destination wedding, jetting off to Hawaii to get married on the beach with our families close by. My parents even made the trip, despite my mother’s irritation that I was remarrying Finn.
In the last ten months, she hadn’t gotten over it. Maybe she never would. But if she had thoughts, she kept them to herself and that was all I could ask for.
Everyone else was ecstatic to see us tie the knot again. Finn wore a simple cream suit. I opted for a tea-length chiffon dress. We partied the night away with tiki torches and loud music. We enjoyed the beach until the weekend was over.
Finn and I stayed for a honeymoon while his parents took Kali and Max home. We spent a week exploring Maui, hiking in the jungle and relaxing on the beach when we weren’t busy in bed.
It was a rainy day that we think I got pregnant. I’d missed a birth control pill somewhere along the way and had hoped it wouldn’t matter.
It mattered.
