Hope Burns

by Jaci Burton

  "You left here a wreck, emotionally. Did that have to do with Carter?"

  She wrapped her arms around herself. "Please don't ask me to bring up the past when there's nothing I can do to change it."

  "Did he hurt you?"

  There was nothing that brought out her mother's protective instincts more than a wounded daughter. Her mother--and her father--had come to her defense on countless occasions, whether it was emotional or physical hurt.

  But she was a grown woman now, and she wanted to leave the past behind her. Or at least she was trying to. Dredging it up time and time again wouldn't help.

  "No, he didn't hurt me. We had come to a crossroads in our lives. I changed my mind about college. We had made plans for our future that no longer meshed. It was kind of a messy breakup--you know how it is for teenagers. He went one way, and I went another. I was an emotional mess about it."

  Her mother studied her for a few minutes, then nodded. "And the last thing you wanted was to come crying to your parents about it, because we might have blamed Carter."

  "Exactly. I just needed to get away. From Carter, from Hope, from everything that reminded me of the past. I needed a fresh start. I wanted to shake loose of everything here."

  Her mother looked hurt.

  "Not you or dad or Emma. I don't know, Mom. It's hard to explain. My independence came at a cost, and I know that. I never meant to hurt you."

  Her mom stood, and hobbled over to fold Molly into her arms. "Oh, honey, you didn't hurt me. All these years, I was just so worried about you."

  She hated lying to her mother, but she couldn't--wouldn't--share that part of her past. Knowing what had happened would only hurt her deeply, and she might blame Carter for it. That she wouldn't allow.

  So instead, she hugged her. "I know you were, and if I could take back all the years of worry, I would. But I'm doing good, Mom. I'm happy with the life I lead."

  Her mother pulled back. "Are you? Are you really happy?"

  She gave her mother a genuine smile. "I'm living my dream. I love the travel, the opportunity to meet new people everywhere I go. I've had so many interesting jobs and I've learned so much, not just about the work I do, but about myself. I don't know that I would have become as independent as I am if I hadn't chosen this life."

  Her mother grasped her hands. "I'm so proud of you, Molly. I've never told you this before, but I see a lot of myself in you. Our paths are different, but our passion is the same."

  That was the first time her mother had ever told her she was proud of her. Tears sprang into her eyes. "Thank you, Mom."

  THANKSGIVING DAY DAWNED clear and crisp. Just the way Carter liked it.

  He knew his mom would be up early, so he headed over there to help out, and spend the day with his parents.

  He didn't get to see them as often as he'd like. Work and other projects kept him busy. But they were busy, too. Now that they were retired, they'd bought an RV and enjoyed traveling the country.

  But days like today, when his aunts, uncles, and cousins were over, he could settle in, eat his fill of great food, and catch up on all the family gossip.

  Still, his mind lingered on Molly, who he hadn't seen for about a week, not since she'd abruptly fled his house while they were watching a movie.

  No idea what was going on there. They'd talked a few times, but he sensed she needed distance, and he knew to give her the space she needed to figure things out.

  But there was only so much he was willing to give her. Her mom had invited him over for Thanksgiving dinner, and once things started winding down at his parents' place, he said his goodbyes and drove over to Molly's parents' house.

  He knocked and Molly's dad answered.

  "Hey, Carter. Happy Thanksgiving."

  "Same to you, Emmett." They shook hands and Emmett led him inside. There was still a houseful of people, so he said his hellos to Luke, Logan, and Bash, and Samantha's grandmother, and a few of Molly's cousins and aunts and uncles that he knew from around town.

  Damn, was the entire town here? Leave it to Georgia Burnett to have one hell of a holiday shindig.

  Georgia was holding court in the living room, so he came over and kissed her cheek. Martha from the ranch was sitting next to her.

  "Hi, Martha."

  "Hi, yourself. I haven't seen you for a while. Keeping busy?"

  "I have been. Nice to see you off the ranch."

  "Georgia invited us all out here today to have lunch, so I'm taking the day off."

  "Good for you." He went over to Georgia. "And I hear you're doing cartwheels with your new casts on."

  Georgia laughed. "Nearly. I'm feeling pretty good these days."

  "You're looking even better."

  "And you know exactly what to say to make a woman blush. Go find my daughter. She's in the kitchen."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Molly was in there with Emma, Chelsea, Des, and Samantha, and Megan, all of them nestled up at the kitchen table, having what he could only assume was intimate girl talk. Their heads were bowed close, and they were all drinking wine and laughing.

  Until he walked in. Then they pushed their chairs back as if they'd been caught saying something they shouldn't.

  "Oh, hi, Carter," Molly said. "I didn't expect to see you today."

  "Your mom invited me."

  Chelsea stood, a little unsteady on her high heels. "What's up, handsome?" She kissed his cheek.

  "Not much."

  "Beer or wine?" Samantha asked. "Though I already know the answer."

  She went to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer, popped off the top, and handed it to him.

  "Thanks, Sam."

  Des got up, too. "How's it going, Carter?"

  "Good, Des. How's the movie business?"

  "Busy. How's the auto repair business?"

  He grinned. "Busy."

  "Let's go find Bash," Chelsea said.

  "Bash is here?" Des asked.

  "Somewhere. Maybe outside having a cigar with the rest of the guys," Megan said.

  "There are cigars?" he asked.

  "One of Molly's uncles brought them." Chelsea winked and slipped out the back door with Des, Megan and Sam.

  He took a long swallow of beer, then took a seat at the table. "I interrupted. Sorry."

  She shrugged. "We were just talking. Trust me, it was nothing important. Just gossiping about Chelsea's date the other night."

  "Really."

  "Yes." She crooked a smile. "It didn't go so well for him. He was late, obnoxious, checked his phone repeatedly during dinner, then wanted Chelsea to pay her half of the tab. And that was after he'd been relentlessly pursuing her for a month."

  Carter shook his head. "The poor guy. I can only imagine how badly Chelsea took him down."

  "It wasn't pretty--very loud and very public in a very nice restaurant."

  He leaned back in the chair and took another swig of beer. "I actually would have liked to have seen that. Sounds like the sonofabitch deserved what he got."

  "That's what I said."

  "Someday Chelsea is going to find a man worthy of her."

  She graced him with a warm smile. "That's what I said. And it's nice of you to think so."

  "I like Chelsea. She's ballsy, and a man would like that. She's also beautiful and smart. What man wouldn't appreciate those qualities in a woman? If I knew any men deserving of her, I'd set her up. Unfortunately, no one immediately comes to mind."

  She sighed. "I know. Emma and Jane tell me they're always on the lookout for great men for her. Sadly, few measure up."

  "There's someone for everyone. Her day will come."

  "So I keep telling her." She emptied her wineglass, then went to the refrigerator and grabbed the bottle.

  Carter got up. "Here, let me do that for you."

  "Thanks."

  He pulled the cork out and poured her refill. "How did your dinner go?"

  "It was hectic, but we pulled it off, and everyone seemed to enjoy the meal. How was
dinner at your parents?"

  "Great. They said to tell you hello."

  "I'm sorry I couldn't make it over there. I wanted to see them. I do want to see them."

  "Plenty of time for that. And speaking of time, how about starting work with me next week?"

  "Yeah, I've been thinking about that. You know, Mom's still hobbling around so I don't know if I can leave her just yet."

  "Quit using me as an excuse. Time for you to go back to work, Molly."

  Carter turned to see that Georgia had made her way into the kitchen.

  "Oh, Mom. I didn't see you there."

  "Obviously. Carter offered you a job. It's high time you started it, isn't it?"

  Carter folded his arms. He wasn't going to interfere in this conversation, though he had been the one to start it.

  "Are you sure you're going to be okay here by yourself?" Molly asked.

  "Yes. I'm dying to get you out of here to see if I can fend for myself during the day without you hovering over me waiting for me to fall. If I feel like I can't, you'll be the first person I call. How's that?"

  Molly looked from her mother to Carter. "Does that work for you?"

  Carter nodded. "Of course. Your mother is your first priority."

  With a sigh, Molly nodded. "Then I'll start on Monday."

  "Good. Now go enjoy the heaters outside with the rest of the young people. I'm going to get a glass of eggnog."

  "I can get that for you, Mom."

  Her mother shot a glare across the kitchen, and Molly stepped back. "Okay, you can get it for yourself."

  "Good girl. Now out of my way." Georgia made a shooing motion.

  Molly shook her head. "Guess we're going out back to play with the other kids."

  Carter laughed. "I guess we are."

  There were portable heaters set up, though it had turned out to be a pretty nice day today. Bash was out there, along with Luke and Logan and a couple of Molly's uncles, and Ben, Martha's husband.

  "About time you showed up," Luke said.

  "You're lucky we didn't smoke all the stogies before you got here," Logan said.

  "I heard there were cigars."

  Fred, Molly's uncle, offered him one.

  "Thanks."

  Molly had wandered off to sit with the women, so he stuck with the guys, catching up on life at the ranch with Logan and Ben, and listening to Bash complain about some personnel issues he'd been having with a couple of his cocktail waitresses. And Carter talked about how he'd hired Brady, and how he was doing.

  Typical guy stuff.

  But he kept skirting glances across the patio to Molly, who hadn't once looked in his direction.

  She was pretty engaged with her friends. They were all laughing and having a good time talking about God only knew what.

  "And then we all had sex with the suspect, but since she was a hooker, she charged us. We got a discount though, since we gave her a get-out-of-jail-free card."

  Luke's conversation finally entered his brain. He whipped his head around. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  Luke smirked. "Nice to see you finally paying attention."

  They all laughed.

  "You were so focused on what the women were doing, we could have been talking about anything. Luke asked you a question four times and you didn't answer," Logan said. "Why don't you just go over and sit with Molly? Be sure to hand in your man card on the way over."

  "Fuck you, Logan."

  "Aww, come on," Bash said, slinging his arm around Carter's shoulders. "My man here has obviously got issues."

  "Yeah," Luke said. "Serious ones. A woman's got him by the tail."

  "More like by the balls," Logan said.

  "You're one to talk." Carter pinned Logan with a glare. "And you, too, Luke."

  "I can at least keep track of a conversation," Luke said. "Whatever's going on with you and Molly has your brain scrambled."

  Maybe it did. And the only way he could address it was with Molly. In the meantime, he shrugged it off and concentrated--really concentrated this time--on his friends.

  After a while, the women headed inside and the guys stayed out, conversation turning to sports. They started debating the football game, so they went inside and joined Emmett in watching it, while the remaining women gathered around the dining room table, drinking coffee and talking, though Megan and Chelsea came over to watch football with them.

  Once he got into the game, that's where his concentration stayed, especially when they all argued over which team was going to win. It was halftime before he got up from his spot on the sofa to venture into the kitchen, deciding to switch from beer to coffee.

  "Having fun?"

  He turned from the counter to see Molly. "Yeah. How about you?"

  "I am. Thanks for coming over today. My mom was really happy to see you."

  "I was happy for the invite, though I guess you and I aren't going to have any time to talk tonight."

  She shrugged. "Too many people hovering around today. Sorry."

  "No big deal."

  She lingered, so he figured there was something on her mind. Then again, like she said, today wasn't the day to have that talk. So instead, he looked out the doorway. Everyone was busy talking or watching the game.

  "Molly." He moved in closer.

  "Yeah?"

  He slipped his arm around her and pulled her in for a kiss, intending on taking just a brief taste of her.

  Then she moaned, and clutched his shirt, dragging him in. He groaned and swept his hand across her back, down, letting his fingers skim over the top of her butt, lost in her, wishing they were alone.

  But they weren't, so with great goddamned reluctance, he broke the kiss.

  She licked her lips.

  "Careful," he whispered.

  "I'm not careful when I'm with you. I'm trying for distance."

  "Why?"

  She lifted her eyes to his, deep pools of blue, filled with the same desire and need that was tearing through him right now, making it hard for him to resist pulling her out of the house, driving her over to his, and throwing her down on his bed so he could sink inside her, satisfying both their needs.

  She laid her forehead against his. "I don't know." She put her palms on his chest. "I don't know. I just need . . . a minute. A day. I don't know."

  He grasped her hands in his. "Take what you need, Molly. I'm not going anywhere."

  She drew in a deep breath. "Thank you for that."

  She took a step back, and walked away.

  At least she looked reluctant when she left the room.

  Chapter 27

  MOLLY HADN'T BEEN lying when she'd told Carter she was hesitant to start working for him because she was worried about her mother being alone. But she and her father discussed it, and her mother had been getting around just fine on her own. They made her solemnly promise she wouldn't climb any ladders or do anything foolish.

  Her mom promised she would only do normal things and said she'd learned her lesson the hard way. And if she felt uncomfortable about being alone, she'd call either Molly or Molly's dad right away.

  That suited her just fine, so following a weekend of holiday decorating at the house and a little holiday shopping, Molly reported for work Monday morning at Carter's shop in Hope.

  Admittedly, she was nervous, though she couldn't pinpoint why. She'd started plenty of new jobs, always with anticipation and excitement. This should be no different, right?

  Then again, there'd been Thanksgiving, and that kiss. She'd wanted so much more. More of that kiss, more alone time with Carter.

  But she was confused about her feelings right now, so some space had been necessary.

  Not that she had any more clarity today than she'd had last week.

  She waited outside Carter's office while he met with an employee. She fidgeted with the hem of her button-down shirt, then found herself playing with the rings on her fingers, and doing a close examination of her fingernail polish.

  F
inally, disgusted with herself, she took out her phone to play a word game to pass the time until Carter's office door opened.

  "Sorry for the delay, Molly."

  She stood and grabbed her purse. "Not a problem."

  Time to put on her work face.

  She entered his office and took a seat while he closed the door to drown out the sound of engines and power tools.

  "You look nice," he said.

  "Thanks." He'd told her to dress casual, so she had. She looked down at her dark jeans and navy, button-down shirt, along with her brown, knee-length high-heeled boots. She'd also added a scarf. Not too dressy, but she also wasn't so dressed down that she looked like she could be working in one of the garage bays.

  "I have some employment paperwork for you to fill out. I've also cleared out the office next to mine so you'll have a quiet place to work."

  She took a quick glance at her new office. Small, but more than she'd expected. "That's great. Thank you."

  "There's a laptop in there, and a printer. The system is linked to all four of the shops. Once you fill out your paperwork, I'll walk you through everything and get you acclimated as far as the systems we use here to track sales, payroll, human resources, and accounting."

  Other than complimenting her appearance, he was all business, and she was thankful for that. She hadn't had a chance to tell him she wanted to separate their personal relationship from their professional, and it looked like she wouldn't have to.

  He handed her a stack of papers. "You can take these to your office and fill them out. I'm sure you know the drill. Once you're done, come see me."

  "Okay."

  The morning passed in a blur of paperwork, meeting the employees, and learning the various operations of his company. It wasn't a difficult one, but of course it was still new to her.

  He did take her out to lunch, but even then, everything remained centered on business. She asked him a lot of questions, and he gave her pointed, on the mark answers. They talked about ways to increase efficiency, all the while having salad and soup. Then it was back to work for more of the same.

  By the end of the day she had a fairly decent handle on how to streamline some of the processes, and a lot more questions, which she'd jotted down in her notes file.

  "I'll take you to each of the shops this week. Though the processes are the same, each shop works independently," Carter told her as they met up in his office at the end of the day. "Plus, I want you to meet with management at the other shops and all the employees so they get used to coming to you instead of me with questions."

  "Sounds good. It'll likely take me a week or two until I'm comfortable enough to answer some of the questions myself. But I'll be happy to field them, just so they get used to coming to me."