Molly's Mr. Wrong

by Jeannie Watt

  “You can’t prove this.”

  Finn gave a short, humorless laugh. “Guess what? I don’t want to. I just wanted your kid to think before he attacked.” And he didn’t mind wiping the superior look off his face for all of a split second. He got back to his feet. “How did you find me?”

  “Wasn’t hard. Jonas knew your name.”

  Finn shook his head and led the way to the door. “Tell your kid that there are other people on the planet who matter.”

  Mrs. Simon looked as if she wanted to argue the fact, but her husband took her by the arm and propelled her forward toward the exit.

  “I hope Jonas survives your parenting,” Finn muttered as the door swung shut behind them. He headed out of the office toward the side door leading to the warehouse when Lola suddenly said, “What?”

  Finn stopped and then moved toward the counter as Lola sent him a wild look before focusing back on the phone in her hand. “You’re sure? Yes. I’ll tell him.”

  She hung up the phone and her eyes were wide when she said, “That was Chase’s mom. Can you give her a ride to the hospital? He rolled his truck off some mountain road. She just got word.”

  Finn was almost to his truck when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out, answering as he opened the truck door.

  “Finn...” Molly’s voice cracked before she got his name out.

  “I heard. Do you know anything?”

  “No. I’m heading to the hospital now.”

  “Have Mike drive you.”

  “I—”

  “Please.”

  A few seconds of tense silence passed, then she said, “Sure. Fine.”

  She hung up and Finn hoped she was really going to do as she said. He didn’t want Molly driving around in a state of shock. He’d done that a time or two. Never good.

  * * *

  MOLLY HATED THE smell of hospitals, but she could see from the way Mike’s body stiffened as he opened the door for her and Elaine that he hated it more. He had reason to, she knew. The first person she spotted in the waiting area next to the admitting area was Finn. He headed toward her the moment he spotted her, pulling her against him. She allowed her one brief moment of holding him close, drawing strength, before pulling back. She needed answers, not comfort.

  “They’re both okay,” he said.

  But Molly needed to hear it for herself. She eased back another half step and he let her go, gesturing with his head toward the ER waiting room. “The nurse should be back in a few minutes. Chase took the worst of it. Georgina just got bruised up. Has a concussion.”

  Molly’s eyes widened. “What happened to Chase?”

  “Broken arm for sure. Ribs. The air bag on his side didn’t deploy.”

  “How did this happen?”

  “Road gave way. Weakened by rain.”

  “Should he have been driving on it?” She hated the sound of blame in her voice and did her best to soften it when she added, “I mean, was it an obvious danger?”

  “No. Lots of other people had driven on it.”

  Mike took her by the shoulders. “Come on over here and sit.” Molly nodded and allowed him to lead her away from Finn, who went to sit beside a small woman who seemed drawn into herself.

  Chase’s mother. The resemblance was strong. She met Molly’s eyes across the waiting room and then looked away. The nurse came out from the swinging doors then and headed straight for Chase’s mother. Molly got to her feet and crossed the room.

  “You’re the sister?”

  “I am.”

  “Well, your sister will be released shortly. No internal injuries. Just a lot of bruising.” She turned to Chase’s mother. “Your son will spend at least a day with us. Precautionary. But rest assured, he’ll be fine.”

  The woman closed her eyes as the nurse walked away and Molly saw her lips move in a clear prayer of thanks. When she opened her eyes again, she said, “I can’t afford too many days in the hospital.”

  “The store will cover it,” Finn said from behind Molly.

  “His insurance only pays fifty percent.”

  “The store will cover it, Lilah.” This time Mike spoke, in a voice that would brook no nonsense.

  “Double-teamed,” Lilah murmured. She looked up at Finn. “He’ll be okay.”

  “That’s what they said.”

  “And so will Georgie.”

  Georgie. Molly pressed her lips together. Her sister had never been a fan of that name, but somehow, hearing it on Chase’s mother’s lips, it sounded like an endearment. His mother liked Georgina.

  Part of Molly instantly thought, of course she does. What’s not to like? Then another part shot back, and what’s not to like about Chase?

  “Yeah, she’ll be fine, too,” Molly said when she realized all eyes were on her.

  “Chase carried her up the mountain.”

  Molly frowned at Lilah. She was in shock, obviously, and so was Molly because she didn’t understand what the woman was saying.

  “The truck rolled off the mountain and wedged against a tree. Georgina got knocked loopy,” Mike explained. “The tree was unstable Chase wouldn’t leave her in the truck. He hauled her out and up that bank.”

  “That’s...amazing, what with injured ribs and a broken arm.”

  “That’s the kind of man he is,” his mother said softly.

  Molly opened her mouth, but couldn’t push any words past the thickness in her throat. She met Finn’s gaze, then closed her eyes briefly as he settled a hand on her shoulder, then gently pulled her against him, slipping an arm around her waist.

  “I really appreciate what he did today. It shows a lot of heroism.”

  Lilah smiled weakly and then focused on the floor once again. Elaine sat beside her and took her hand, speaking to her in a low voice as Finn loosened his hold and led Molly to a chair not far away. There they both sat, side by side, hand in hand.

  No words.

  None necessary.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  ONCE GEORGINA GOT HOME, her biggest concern was Chase, until he called her from his hospital bed in the early evening and she finally relaxed, as did Molly. Her sister was bruised up and sore, had a pretty decent shiner, but she was home. Safe.

  “It was a crazy thing,” she told Molly as they shared a cup of tea sitting side by side on the old sofa, Georgina surrounded by pillows to help support her bruised body. “One minute everything was cool. The road was clear. No sign of any kind of danger. We weren’t even on a curve.”

  Molly hugged her cup with both hands, taking comfort in the warmth because she’d felt cold all day. Shaking nervous cold. Being near Finn had made her feel better, but he was gone, helping Chase’s mom wrangle her three kids and doing the chores that Chase normally handled around their small acreage.

  “It just happened with no warning. I saw Chase reach out for me, then the air bag hit me and that’s all I remember until we somehow got to the road.” She closed her eyes. Shuddered. Then she pulled in a deep breath.

  “But we’re okay. You know?”

  Molly reached out to stroke her sister’s long dark hair. “I know. I’m beyond grateful. Chase did something pretty awesome, too.”

  “Yeah.” Georgina sipped her tea. Closed her eyes. A few seconds later her hands relaxed and Molly rescued the tea, setting it on the side table. She got to her feet and paced through the empty house.

  You can’t control everything in your life. Things happen.

  Or as Finn had said, shit happens.

  Finn was a good guy—one that she wanted to have in her life. Was it too late to try to convince him that she was working toward change? That she didn’t want dull and boring and predictable? That she wanted him?

  He’d said he’d tried twice and wouldn’t
try again. That meant that the ball was firmly in her court. Now she had to figure out how best to handle it without screwing up again.

  He was there for you at the hospital. He held you, demanded nothing of you.

  She went to the window, saw the light of the television through Mike’s curtains. Elaine’s car was still parked in front. She turned away from the window, then, before she did something stupid, like talk herself out of things, she went to the front door and let herself out into the cold night air.

  A coat would have been lovely, but Molly ignored the cold and dialed her phone. When Finn answered, she said, “Are you busy?”

  “Heading for Mike’s place.”

  Now or never. Well maybe not never, but she wanted Finn now. “Could you stop here first?”

  “That was kind of my plan.”

  Molly’s throat went a little dry. Instead of asking why, she said, “Good to hear.”

  When Finn parked his car in front of Mike’s house five minutes later, Molly was waiting at the window. He got out and she bit her lip when she saw that he had the kitten, who was approaching teenage-cat size, with him.

  She went to the door and pulled it open. For a moment he stood on the cold porch, then moved past her into the warmth of her small living room. “I thought Georgina might enjoy a visit from Buddy. He’s kind of a miracle worker, you know.”

  “In what way?” She took the kitten from Finn and curled him under her chin. His motor started and Molly closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the comforting scent of his warm cat fur.

  “Wherever he is, things seem to start working out.”

  Molly opened her eyes. “Maybe wherever you are things start working out.”

  Finn snorted. “Call me crazy, but it doesn’t feel that way.”

  “What does it feel like, Finn?”

  He gave her a long narrow-eyed look. “It feels as if I have to fight hard for everything I want.”

  “Do you keep fighting?”

  “Well, I tried to drop this English class once, but the instructor wouldn’t let me, so I fought on.”

  She gave a nod. “Anything else?”

  “There was this woman...”

  She couldn’t help it. Her insides tightened at the mention of “this woman.” “Yeah?”

  “She gave me all kinds of hell.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I tried to fight on, but eventually honored her request to be left alone...hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Molly stroked the kitten, who continued to purr close to her ear, drawing strength. “She needed you to do that.”

  “So I hear.”

  “I kind of fell in love with you, Finn.”

  He didn’t move. “That doesn’t matter unless you let yourself do something about it.”

  “Like telling you that I’m done huddling on the safe side of life? That I’m not looking for a guy who fits my cookie-cutter mold so that I’m not forced into taking a calculated risk?”

  “Something like that.”

  “It scares me to love you.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  What was she going to do? The only thing she could do. “Make the leap.”

  “Can you?”

  She took a step toward him—it wasn’t a leap, but it was a move in the right direction. “You aren’t Blake. And I’m not the Molly who loved Blake and was taken in by him.”

  “You’re honestly ready to take a chance?” His tone was still less than convinced. Well, she hadn’t expected this to be easy. Not when she’d shot him down in so many ways. Not when she’d worked so hard to build the barrier between them that she now wanted to obliterate.

  “Look at me,” she said softly, setting Buddy on the sofa so that she could move closer, slide her arms up around his neck, press her lower body against his and feel his rather gratifying reaction. “I’m stepping right up to the edge.”

  A small smile started playing on his lips.

  “Look at you,” he murmured. His hands came to her waist. “You feel good up against the edge.”

  “I’d feel better underneath you.”

  His eyebrows lifted and she leaned back, keeping her hands around his neck. “More than that, I want to be with you. Build with you. Believe that even though we’re different we can tackle things together.” She drew in a deep breath. “I want to take a chance on us.”

  His hands tightened on her waist. “I’d like that. I love you, you know. I have for a while now.”

  She rose up on her toes and kissed him, welcomed him. Into her life, into her heart. She jumped a little as something brushed her leg and she looked down as Buddy threw himself against her ankle. She laughed and reached down to pick him up, cuddling him between herself and Finn.

  “Good job, Buddy.”

  The kitten butted his head against her chin and then Finn kissed her.

  All was well.

  EPILOGUE

  “I DIDN’T SEE this one coming,” Elaine said as she tucked her hand in the crook of Mike’s arm.

  “Neither did I,” Mike muttered. His friend Cal had essentially cleared the dance floor at Dylan and Jolie’s Lightning Creek Ranch wedding by requesting a tango.

  Jolie had confided to Molly that she assumed that Cal’s plus-one for her wedding would be Karl and vice versa. No one had dreamed that Cal had not only found a serious lady friend on his online dating site, but that the two of them shared a love of ballroom dancing.

  “I wonder if Karl’s jealous?” Finn said with a laugh as Cal executed a series of kicks in tandem with his lady friend. “I mean this whole online dating thing was his idea and he’s now the odd man out.”

  “I don’t think Karl is a tango kind of guy. Besides, he’ll meet new women when he moves to Dillon,” Mike said.

  Molly knew that Mike would miss his friend, but he had Elaine in his life now and no longer spent most of his waking hours at the feed store. And neither did Finn, who was working on his second semester at EVCC, working toward his associate’s degree so that he could teach metals there. Chase had been hired on full-time to do the warehouse work and Jolie had taken over Mike’s job as manager.

  Mike turned toward Elaine as Cal did another flamboyant turn. “I’m just glad you’re sane.”

  Elaine laughed and put a light hand on his chest. “You say the sweetest things.”

  She looped her arm through his and they moved toward the buffet table where the new bride and groom stood holding hands and looking very satisfied with life.

  “Do you think Mike and Elaine will get married?” Molly asked Finn as he took her hand and they walked together toward the trees that lined the driveway of the Lightning Creek Ranch. Mike had been a rock during Elaine’s successful radiation treatments, and now they rarely spent time apart from one another.

  “No telling. But I think we should get married.”

  Molly’s gaze flashed up to his. He was dead serious. And even though she’d entertained thoughts of their relationship becoming permanent, her breath froze in her chest.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said gruffly. “It doesn’t have to be soon or anything.”

  “No. It’s not that,” Molly said, because being close to Finn didn’t scare her. “It’s...”

  “What?”

  She broke into a broad smile. “The best thing ever? Yes. I’ll marry you.”

  A relieved look crossed Finn’s face as he reached out for her. “I thought I was going to have to talk harder and longer. I wrote out a speech—used note cards and everything so that it would be well organized.”

  “Right,” she said against his shoulder, before raising her lips to his.

  “Hey now!” Chase called from the direction of the buffet table and th
en Molly heard her sister laugh. She smiled against Finn’s mouth.

  “Caught,” she murmured.

  “Don’t care,” he muttered back. He took her lips again in a quick kiss that held the promise of heat, then ran his hands over her bare shoulders. “I did have some convincing arguments ready.”

  “Unnecessary. I’ve been thinking about this, too.”

  “You might have given me a hint,” he said as he laced his fingers with hers and they started walking again. “Saved me all the speech writing.”

  “I’d like to see this speech,” she said as they slowly headed back to the party.

  “No way. You’d either red-pen it to death or give me a higher mark than I deserve.”

  Molly stopped walking. “That red pen brought us together.”

  “As did my persistence in proving that I was the perfect guy for you.”

  She squeezed his fingers as she smiled up at him. “That, too.” She raised her chin. “I love you, you know. For your persistence and steadiness and dependability.” Characteristics she’d never dreamed he possessed when she’d graded that very first paper of his. She drew in a small breath, “But mostly I love you because you’re you.”

  Mr. Wrong had been Mr. Right all along.

  * * * * *

  Be sure to check out the other books in the BRODYS OF LIGHTNING CREEK

  miniseries by Jeannie Watt!

  TO TEMPT A COWGIRL

  TO KISS A COWGIRL

  TO COURT A COWGIRL

  All available now from

  Harlequin Superromance.

  And look for the next

  BRODYS OF LIGHTNING CREEK story

  from Jeannie Watt, coming soon!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE OTHER TWIN by Nan Dixon.

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