by Lara Lacombe
“Of course, of course,” Dylan said, his tone syrupy sweet. He stood, clasping his hands together as he leaned forward. “And believe me, I will do everything in my power to help you keep this town safe. I just think it’s best you not draw any premature conclusions before all the forensic data is available.”
“Fair enough, Mayor.” Daria managed to keep the edge out of her voice. She didn’t need him telling her how to do her job, but it was easier to play nice. “I’ll be in touch.”
She rose and shook hands with both men. “I look forward to hearing from you soon,” Dylan said. “Be sure to let me know if my office can assist your investigation in any way.”
Daria nodded. “Thank you, sir,” she said, knowing the diners at nearby tables were openly watching them. The last thing Daria wanted was for rumors to start swirling that there was bad blood between the mayor and the sheriff’s department.
She headed to the parking lot, pulling out her cell phone as she walked. The lab guys probably didn’t have any new results to report, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. The mayor wasn’t known for his patience—it was only a matter of time before he called her, wanting updates on the case. It would make her life easier if she had something to tell him.
Chapter 12
Molly applied the last strip of painter’s tape to the frame around the door on Wednesday morning and took a step back, eyeing her handiwork. She’d never painted a whole room before, but the guy at the hardware store had walked her through the basics and she’d followed his instructions. Now that the trim in the room was protected by blue strips of tape, she could start on the walls.
Transforming the guest bedroom into a nursery was going to be a big job. Molly was ready to throw herself into the project; hopefully, it would serve as a good distraction from the rest of the world.
She walked over to the paint can and tray in the middle of the floor and knelt, reaching for the opener. But just as she fit the metal tool under the lid, someone knocked on her front door.
Her first instinct was to ignore the sound. She wasn’t in the mood for company, especially not Max. He might think there was more that needed to be said, but as far as Molly was concerned, she’d heard enough yesterday.
Max had made it very clear that they didn’t have a future together. And while he might think he could swoop in and spend time with the baby whenever his schedule allowed, Molly knew that arrangement wasn’t going to last long. He’d already blown her off, and that was for a trip he took only four times a year. If he thought he was going to fly out here once a month, he was either delusional or lying to himself.
Molly felt like the biggest fool. She’d gotten involved with Max knowing he was only good for a fling. But somewhere along the way, she’d made the mistake of falling for him. Then she’d compounded her mistake by thinking he felt the same way about her. She’d convinced herself they could be a family, that the two of them could find happiness together as they raised their child.
She certainly knew better now.
The knocking persisted. Molly got to her feet with a sigh. She wasn’t going to be able to paint the nursery in peace with that racket going on in the background. Might as well open the door and tell Max to leave; otherwise, he was liable to stand there all day.
She flung open the door, ready to send him on his way. But it wasn’t Max who stood on her welcome mat.
It was Elaine.
“Oh,” Molly said dumbly. “It’s you.”
Elaine smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Hello,” she said. “I was hoping to talk to you.”
“Now’s not really a good time,” Molly hedged. She couldn’t handle another verbal attack right now, not while she was still trying to process Sabrina’s death and Max’s rejection. Her poor heart simply couldn’t take any more.
“Please? I’ll only stay a moment.” There was something subdued, almost broken about her that softened Molly’s resolve. She’s suffering, too.
“All right.” Molly nodded and stepped back, holding open the door for Elaine.
She led her into the living room and sat on the sofa, gesturing to the chair. “Can I get you something to drink?” she offered automatically.
Elaine sank onto the chair, clutching her purse to her chest as though she feared someone was going to jump out from around the corner to snatch it.
“No, I’m fine.”
“How’s Mason?” Molly hadn’t spoken to him since yesterday afternoon. Apparently, the police weren’t going to release Sabrina’s body anytime soon, so he’d put the funeral planning on hold. He’d still sounded tired, and Molly worried he wasn’t getting enough rest.
“He’s stressed,” Elaine confirmed. “He’s working so hard to help organize the film festival, but he hasn’t been sleeping. He says every time he closes his eyes, he sees Sabrina’s face.”
“Oh, God,” Molly said, understanding the problem far too well. Her thoughts were dominated by her sister and Max; neither subject brought much comfort right now. “He can’t go on like this. Maybe his doctor can give him something to help him sleep?”
“I’m going to call his office and ask,” Elaine replied. “But that’s not actually why I stopped by.”
“Oh? What’s on your mind?”
Elaine scooted forward until she sat perched on the edge of her seat. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I’ve figured out a solution for your issue.” She nodded meaningfully at Molly’s belly.
She felt her hackles rise. “I didn’t realize I had an ‘issue.’”
Elaine continued as if she hadn’t heard her. “The way I see it, this baby is coming at a bad time for you. You clearly weren’t planning on it, and I don’t think you’re ready to be a mother. But I am.”
Molly stared at Elaine, too stunned to speak. Was she actually proposing Molly hand over her daughter?
Apparently mistaking her silence for interest, Elaine carried on, the words flowing faster as her excitement ratcheted up. “Mason and I can’t have children. But we want so desperately to be parents. Why don’t you let us adopt your baby? That way, your life can carry on as normal, and we can complete our family.”
Her plea tugged at Molly’s heartstrings. Not because she was interested in giving up her child, but because it was clear Elaine was emotionally invested in this idea.
“Elaine, I—” she began, but the other woman cut her off.
“It really is the perfect solution. Mason would have a child he’s biologically connected to, and we would love the baby like it was our own.”
“What does Mason think of this idea?” Molly needed to know if her brother was on board with this preposterous plan, or if it was something Elaine had come up with on her own.
Her sister-in-law looked away. “He doesn’t know about it. I was hoping to surprise him with the good news.”
That made Molly feel a little bit better. At least her brother didn’t seem to have designs on her baby.
“Elaine,” she said, feeling her way into a response. It was clear the other woman was in a fragile mental state. Molly didn’t want her rejection to make things worse, but she had to make it clear she had no intention of giving up her baby. “I appreciate the offer. It’s clear you’ve put a lot of thought into this, and I know you’re coming from a place of love.”
Elaine nodded, her smile bordering on manic.
“So that’s a yes?”
Molly shook her head. “No, it’s not. I know your heart is in the right place, but I’m not interested in putting my baby up for adoption.”
“But...” Elaine’s smile slipped. “But you can’t possibly mean that! It would be the best thing for everyone! You don’t want to be a single mother, and Mason and I can give the baby everything!”
“I know it will be hard doing things on my own, but I’m prepared to make sacrifices.” Molly got to her feet. She was done talkin
g to Elaine about her baby. It was clear the other woman was struggling with her own demons, and while Molly felt for her, she didn’t have the emotional energy to help her.
“No.” Elaine shook her head, as if she could change Molly’s mind through sheer force of will. “No, you just need to give it more thought.”
Recognizing the futility of trying to argue with her, Molly instead focused on getting the other woman out of her house. “Elaine, as I said before, I’m really busy. I need you to leave now, please.” And I need to call Mason. She knew her brother was already overwhelmed, but he needed to know his wife was becoming unhinged.
Elaine got to her feet, one hand digging in her bag. Molly assumed she was fumbling for her car keys, but when she withdrew her hand, she wasn’t gripping a key chain.
She was holding a gun.
Molly took a step back, her heart jumping into her throat. “Elaine...”
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” her sister-in-law said. “But you leave me no choice.”
“Please, put the gun down,” Molly cajoled, her voice shaking. “This isn’t necessary.”
“Apparently, it is. Now come on.” She gestured to the hall, clearly expecting Molly to accompany her somewhere.
“No.” If she went with Elaine, she was as good as dead.
In response, Elaine cocked the gun. The sound turned Molly’s guts to water. “Move.”
Molly’s legs wobbled as she took a step. “What are you going to do? If you kill me, the baby dies, too.”
“I know that.” Elaine urged her toward the door. “I’m not going to kill you. Not yet, anyway.”
“Then what—” Molly stopped before the door, trying to stall. Elaine dug the muzzle of the gun into her lower back, pressing so hard against her that Molly cried out.
“Don’t get any ideas,” she warned. “I want you alive, but I can still make you hurt if you don’t do what I say.” She reached past Molly and threw open the door, then shoved Molly forward.
“My car,” she directed.
Gun at her back, Molly had no choice but to do as she was told.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said, glancing around as she walked down the porch steps. Her home was set back a bit from the street, in a small grove of trees. Normally, Molly enjoyed the privacy. Now she wished her neighbors could see what was happening.
“I tried to do things the easy way,” Elaine reminded her. “You didn’t want to cooperate.”
The car beeped softly as she unlocked it. She herded Molly into the passenger seat, then trotted around the hood and climbed behind the wheel. She placed the gun in her lap. Molly breathed a little easier now that it was no longer pointed at her, but she wasn’t out of the woods yet. Maybe she could distract Elaine and grab the gun? She thought about simply lunging for it, but Elaine wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. Molly couldn’t risk the baby getting shot in the struggle.
Elaine caught her eye. “Don’t even think about it,” she warned.
Molly decided to try a different tack. “Think about what you’re doing here. It’s not too late to let me go back inside. We can forget this ever happened.”
Elaine stuck the key in the ignition and turned. “We’re past that now,” she said.
It was horrifyingly clear to Molly that her sister-in-law was planning on stealing her baby. “What are you going to tell Mason?” she asked. “You can’t just show up with a baby and expect him to accept it with no questions.”
A shadow crossed Elaine’s face, and Molly realized she hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Put away the gun and let’s just talk. I’m happy for you and Mason to be involved in the baby’s life—parties, sleepovers, you name it.” It would be a cold day in hell before Molly let Elaine anywhere near her child, but the other woman didn’t need to know that right now. “We can all be one big happy family.”
“Sunday dinners and walks in the park?” Elaine sounded wistful.
Molly nodded. “Absolutely. All of it.”
Elaine looked at her, a glint of sadness in her green eyes. Then Molly’s head snapped back, her nose exploding in burst of pain that had her seeing stars.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
Molly grabbed her nose, squinting through tears as Elaine screamed, “I know you’re only trying to get me to let you go. It’s not going to work. Now shut up before I do something you’ll really regret.”
Molly slouched against the window, too dazed to react. The scenery passed by in a blur as Elaine stepped on the gas. Molly’s hands felt warm; she pulled them away from her nose, noting with a sense of detachment that her palms were slick with blood.
“Don’t touch anything!” Elaine snapped.
Molly didn’t respond. She tried to pay attention to where they were going, but Elaine turned onto an old logging road that took them into the forest.
“Put this over your head.” Something soft landed in Molly’s lap. A pillowcase.
She hesitated, only to hear the gun cock again. “Don’t make me ask you again.”
Molly tugged the fabric over her face, her view of the outside world disappearing. If she’d thought things were bad before, the loss of visual cues made it worse. Every breath she took remained trapped in the folds of the fabric, making her feel light-headed. Her nose throbbed with every beat of her heart, and a trickle of blood ran over her lips and down her chin to drip onto her shirt.
Claustrophobia reared its ugly head; Molly pushed down the panic, knowing if she started to cry she wouldn’t be able to breathe. Better to conserve her strength for later. She wanted to protect her baby, but that didn’t mean she was going to let Elaine treat her like a lamb being led to slaughter. She’d cooperate for now, but Elaine had to leave her alone sometime. That was when she’d make her escape.
Her life—and that of her baby—depended on it.
* * *
“Am I crazy?”
Furbert cocked one ear in Max’s direction, but otherwise didn’t move. Max sighed, feeling disgusted with himself.
“Of course I am. Who the hell asks a dog that kind of question?”
Furbert let out a soft woof of agreement, then closed his eyes again with a sigh. Max shook his head. If only he could rest as peacefully as his dog.
He hadn’t slept much last night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Molly’s face, her expression a mixture of hurt and betrayal. I did that to her, he thought. I caused that pain.
It made him feel like the lowest of the low, knowing he’d let her down. And truly, if there were any other way, he would have embraced it with open arms. But he just couldn’t be all that she needed him to be. The recognition of that fact filled him with shame, and he’d spent most of the night and all of the morning wrestling with his shortcomings.
The heart of the issue was that he wanted to be the one for her—her partner, her lover, her friend. If he was being honest with himself, he’d even go so far as to say he wanted to be her husband. But he felt like a little kid with empty pockets, nose pressed up against the glass of the toy store, gazing longingly at what he wanted but couldn’t have.
“She thinks she wants me.” He shoved off the sofa and began to pace, the movement helping him think. Little did Molly know that if he committed to her, she’d soon grow tired of him and his divided loyalties. Beth had hated K-9 Cadets from the start; it only stood to reason Molly would soon grow to hate it, too, since it consumed so much of his time.
So no, Molly didn’t actually want him. She wanted the idea of him. During his visits, it had been easy to shut out the world and pretend they were the only two people on the planet. The seclusion had made life seem better than it really was—after all, they’d deliberately ignored the problems and stresses of daily life, focusing instead on each other. It was a nice way to live, but it couldn’t last.
And while he agreed with Molly t
hat they were great together, he worried that the strength of their connection would fade when tested against the slings and arrows of everyday living. Would she still think he was funny when he forgot to put gas in the car? Would he still find her irresistible when she didn’t pick up her shoes?
They’d had a great run together, there was no denying it. And though there was a small part of him that wanted to take the leap and see how they fared going forward, a larger part of him thought they might be better off leaving their relationship in the past. They would always be connected, thanks to the baby. But that didn’t mean he had to continue to indulge in his feelings for Molly.
“It’s for her own good,” he told himself. He marched into the kitchen, poured another cup of coffee. Molly didn’t realize it now, but he was doing her a favor.
It was for his own good, as well. Now that he’d told her there was no future for them together, he could start getting a grip on his emotions. They were going to have to see each other a lot for the sake of their daughter—he needed to have his feelings under control so he didn’t wind up pining over Molly for the rest of his life. Better to close that door and move forward with his life; if he continued to look back, he was liable to go mad.
“Right,” he said to the empty kitchen. “That’s sorted, then.”
So why did he still feel at a loss?
No matter. He just had to keep moving. Draining his coffee, he set the mug in the sink. “Come on,” he called to Furbert. “We’re going out.”
What better way to test his newfound resolve than by visiting Molly? She wasn’t going to be happy to see him again, but he only had a few days left in town and he wanted to iron out the details of his visitation plan before he headed home. And yes, okay, he wanted to check on her. But his interest was strictly platonic; he simply wanted to make sure the woman carrying his child was feeling better.
Even though his heart still ached over leaving her so upset yesterday.
He walked into the living room to find Furbert still snoozing on the couch. “Seriously, dog, I mean it. We’re going out now.” Molly loved Furbert, Max knew that much. He wasn’t about to show up at her house without him.
