Butterfly Kisses

by Samantha Hicks

  Jac’s heart rate spiked, her anger rising. “You son of a bitch! Why would you do this? You know she isn’t well.”

  “Not my concern. You have three days to leave or I’ll be getting a high court judge to order your removal.” He smiled sweetly at her and left just as quickly as he came. Jac glanced at Tiffany.

  “I tried to stop him, Jac.”

  “It’s okay, Tiff.” Jac took a breath and went back into the lounge. Molly didn’t meet her gaze. “Did you know about this?”

  Molly nodded. “I forgot about it though. I’ve lived here so long I didn’t even think to tell you it wasn’t part of the lease.” She turned wounded eyes to Jac. “What are we going to do?”

  “You could claim squatters rights, you’ve been here so long it would take him months to get you out. By then you’ll be back on your feet and it won’t matter.”

  “I really don’t think Barry is the type of person not to try and intimidate us out of here. It’s not worth it.” Molly looked down at her lap. “I think I should go back to the rehab ward at the hospital.”

  Jac dropped the piece of paper onto the floor in her rush to get to Molly’s side, taking her in her arms as she cried. “But you’ve only just come home. That’s not fair.”

  “Jac?” Tiffany spoke from her place in the doorway. “You don’t know Barry like we do. The last year has been hell. We’ve had equipment go missing, the door to the butterfly garden broken into, and I even had some of my plants trampled on. We could never prove it was him, but we all know it was Barry trying to get us to break the lease. Who knows what he’ll do to get Molly to move out.”

  “But why? You’re doing what he wants, why is he rushing you now?”

  “Money,” Molly said. She lifted her head from under Jac’s chin to look at her. “The quicker we go the more money he’ll probably make. It wouldn’t surprise me that us staying for months is costing him more on the land deal. They weren’t exactly thrilled we asked for so much time to leave.”

  Jac stood from the bed, not liking that Molly was so quick to give up. “So we just let him have his way then?”

  “Is it really worth it?”

  “Peter is coming in a couple of days to collect the inventory for Insects Go Wild,” Tiffany said. “All the plants and trees have been picked up already. All that’s left is the auction for equipment and closing down our accounts. We don’t really need to stay for that.” She looked at Molly and shrugged. “My new job is ready to start whenever I’m ready. We only needed longer here for Molly’s recovery. If she isn’t here, we can be gone in a few weeks.”

  “I don’t believe I’m hearing this,” Jac shouted. “What was the point of me drawing up the contract for them to sign if you’re just going to let them have their way?”

  “Jac,” Molly said, her voice laced with sympathy. “There are more important things to worry about now.” She looked at her leg, frowning, then back up to Jac. “I really don’t want to lay here waiting for him to do something stupid. I just want to get better and start a new life. This place is done. There’s no need to hang on any longer. As long as the insects are taken care of that’s all that matters to me. He can take the land and burn it, for all I care.”

  Jac looked at Molly, noting she was resigned to the fact that she was okay with it. She tried one more time. “What about Gabe and Jay and the other staff? They’ll be losing three months’ worth of pay.”

  “Already taken care of,” Tiffany said. “Their redundancy was paid two weeks ago out of our running costs. As we were closed I had more funds to play with. They could have left already but wanted to help close-up with us.”

  “So that’s it then?” Jac asked, rubbing her forehead. She looked at Molly. “You go to rehab,” she glanced at Tiffany, “and you start a new job, and we hope Barry doesn’t wreck the place before the auction? If he does that, you,” she looked back at Molly, “won’t have the money to buy anywhere to live.”

  “I’m not going to be out of rehab for months. I’ll think of something then.”

  “You’re both crazy.” Not wanting to listen to any more of this, Jac grabbed her keys and shoved her feet into her boots. “I need some air.” She stormed past Tiffany and out the front door. She settled behind the wheel and started the engine, revving it high. She was about to throw it into reverse when Tiffany banged on the bonnet. “What?”

  Tiffany came around to the driver’s side window. “Molly’s crying. She doesn’t want you to drive.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “She probably thought the same a month ago when she got slammed by a truck.”

  “Shit.” Jac shut off the engine, then ran her hand through her hair, trying to calm down. She took the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car, and then tossed them at Tiffany. “I didn’t think.” She slammed the door. “Tell her I’m sorry.” She stepped around Tiffany and strode up the dirt track toward the main entrance. She still needed time to think, but she wouldn’t drive angry.

  It was clear to Jac that Molly and Tiffany had made up their minds. They were going to leave, even after all the work they had put in place to safeguard their time at the farm. Jac kicked herself, she should have checked to make sure the cottage was part of the deal. What kind of solicitor am I? Well, it was a done deal. They would be leaving a lot sooner than they planned, but one thing was for sure. She wasn’t going to let Molly go to the rehab ward for months, Molly would hate it. No, Jac would have to come up with something, and soon.

  After stomping through the property for forty minutes, Jac returned to the cottage. It was quiet when she stepped inside, no sign of Tiffany. She peeked around the lounge door. Molly was propped up in bed, her eyes downcast.

  “I’m sorry I left.”

  “You keep making a habit of that.” Molly glared at her. “It’s not fair when I can’t go after you.”

  “I know.” Jac leaned a hip onto the mattress and took Molly’s cold hand in her own. “I won’t do it again. I needed time to think.”

  “And what did you come up with?”

  “I want to buy you a house.”

  Molly blinked. “Come again?”

  Jac drew in a deep breath, certain this was the right thing to do. “Molly, I love you, you know that. I don’t plan on leaving you again. I earned a great deal of money working for Ralph that I never spent, I had no need to. I want you to pick somewhere you want to live and let me buy it for you.” Molly didn’t answer, she just stared at Jac with her eyes wide, so Jac continued. “I’m not saying we have to live together. Lord knows we’re aren’t ready for that yet. I just want you to be safe and settled. The thought of you going into rehabilitation for months and then not knowing where you’ll go, it’s killing me. Please, Molly.”

  “Jac, you’re already paying for my care. I can’t let you fork over your life savings for me. We had this conversation before. It’s not happening.”

  “You’re still my wife. I have a legal responsibility to look after you.”

  “Bullshit.” Molly pulled her hand away. “I’m a grown-ass woman and don’t need you to pity me.”

  “I’m not doing that.” Jac was shocked she would even suggest it. “What would you do if the roles were reversed and it was me lying here and not you?”

  Molly glanced away and sighed, retaking Jac’s hand. “I’d want to look after you. But, Jac, buying a house is a lot of money.”

  “To use your words earlier, there are more important things to worry about.” She leaned forward and punctuated her statement by kissing Molly soundly on the lips.

  “Okay.” Molly’s breath fluttered over Jac’s skin, making her tingle. “But nothing fancy.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Jac smiled widely and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “It’ll take a couple of weeks to find something. Do you think you’ll be okay in rehab until then?”

  “I was planning on being there for months, so yes, a couple of weeks will be fine.”

  “I
’ll go to an estate agent later this afternoon after your physio is done, and you’re resting, to pick up some brochures.”

  “There’s no rush.”

  “The sooner the better.” Jac was thrilled Molly was allowing her to do this. It was a big step forward and hopefully, one day, Jac would be able to call this new house ‘home’ as well. But even if Molly decided not to pursue their budding relationship, Jac would still let Molly have the house. It would be hers to keep no matter what.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “At least the view is nice,” Molly said three days later, propped up in her new bed on the rehabilitation ward of the hospital. She was on the fourth floor which overlooked the town centre, beyond that were the fields where Bloomin’ Butterfly could just be seen amongst the woods. Her heart ached that she wouldn’t ever see the place again. As the private ambulance had pulled out of her driveway the tears had started and hadn’t stopped until the doors were open at the hospital and she saw Jac’s worried face smiling at her. Molly had been admitted and then had X-rays of her legs taken just to make sure everything was healing nicely. Now, coming up to lunchtime, she was settled in her room, Jac sitting in an uncomfortable-looking guest chair. The room was sparse. One bed, end table, and chair. A lonely painting hung from a wall which, in Molly’s opinion, was older than dirt. Not for the first time she wondered if leaving the farm so soon was a good idea. True to her word, Jac had gone to three estate agents but Molly hadn’t found anything she liked. It didn’t help Jac was showing her houses that were far too pricy. As much as Jac said it didn’t matter how much it cost, there was no way Molly was going to let her spend everything she had worked for.

  “Huh?” Jac glanced up from her phone, looking from Molly to the window. “Yeah, you’ll be able to watch the sunset.”

  “Something wrong?” Jac had been distracted ever since they had come into the room. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had changed her mind about all of this. Molly was worried that her worst fear would come true and Jac was thinking of leaving, even though she promised she was staying. She still found it hard to trust her own feelings for Jac, she knew she loved her, but was she still in love with her? Molly gazed at Jac. Yeah, she was. Just looking at her caused her pulse to quicken. She needed to have faith in what Jac said if they had any hope of a future together.

  “Everything’s perfect.” Jac smiled, the sincerity in her gaze making Molly believe her. “I was checking online for houses and I think I’ve found the perfect one.”

  “Really? Let me see.” Molly held her hand out for the phone but Jac shoved it in her pocket, out of Molly’s reach.

  “I want to go look at it first. Take some other pictures to show you.”

  “It’s not too expensive, is it?”

  “I wish you wouldn’t worry about that.” Jac frowned, her forehead creasing.

  “I’m not arguing with you again about this.” Molly shifted in the bed so she could see her better, the pull in her leg muscles screaming out in torment, but Molly ignored it. It was a recurring thing now anyway, so she tried to put it in the back of her mind. If she didn’t take any notice of it she could usually bear the pain. “I’m grateful you want to help me out with this, but I won’t take all your money.”

  Jac frowned again but didn’t comment. She nodded and relaxed into the chair. “The person selling wants a quick sale. I think if I offer him the full amount up-front, I might be able to get a good deal and we could be in there pretty quickly.”

  “You’ll need to make adjustments for my recovery like you did in the cottage.”

  “No problem. I was thinking of heading back to the farm with some boxes to start packing up your things. I want to get your stuff out of there before Barry turns up and starts tossing things out.”

  The conversation Molly had been dreading had finally come up. If Jac was going to move all her belongings into storage, she would see the boxes in the shed, boxes of Jac’s possessions. Molly had been meaning to talk to Jac about it for days now, but she could never find the courage to bring it up. Now, she didn’t have a choice. Her heart rate increased. She knew that Jac knew the boxes were there, Tiffany had told her that, but Jac didn’t know she knew. It was time to tell her that she had never stopped loving her.

  “About that. Tiffany told me about the night you found her in the cottage packing your stuff up.” Jac raised her eyebrows but didn’t speak, obviously content to let Molly squirm. “I guess I owe you an explanation as to why I kept everything.”

  Jac leaned forward, resting her arms on the mattress by Molly’s side. She gazed into Molly’s eyes, nothing but love shining from them. “Tiff already told me it was because you hadn’t stopped loving me all these years. Is that true?”

  Molly looked away for a moment. “Yes.” She looked back and smiled sadly. “As much as I wanted to hate you for Dillon, my heart couldn’t let you go.” She took Jac’s hand. “There were so many times I wanted to call you, to go to you, but my stubborn grief stopped me.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I was so stupid to let you go. We wasted so much time.” She lifted Jac’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Since the moment you came back, my heart began to fill with love again, but I couldn’t let myself believe it was real. I was still so trapped in the past that I tried to block it out. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you I love you.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You needed time. There was also a lot going on. When I saw all my stuff still there, I knew you still loved me. I was happy to give you all the time you needed.”

  Jac let Molly’s hand go and stood from the chair. She went over to the door where her jacket was hanging from a hook. She fished inside a pocket for a moment then came back over to the bed. In her hand sat the velvet jewellery box from Molly’s nightstand. Molly stared at the box, knowing what was inside.

  “When I saw this I cried. I hoped at the time maybe one day we would wear these again.” She lifted the lid, both of their wedding rings sat beside the other. “I know it’s too soon to be thinking of putting them back on, but I want you to know that this is where my head and heart are at. I want us to be married again.” Jac reached out and cupped Molly’s cheek. “I’m not leaving, and one day, when I think we’re both ready, I’ll be proposing once more.” Her hand fell away, and she closed the lid, putting the box in her pocket.

  Tears gathered in Molly’s eyes at Jac’s earnest words. She wanted to yell out that she was ready now, that she wanted to claim Jac as hers once again. There was no doubt in her mind she wanted to be with Jac forever. She had always felt that way from the moment they met. As the box disappeared from view she was about to do just that when the door opened and Craig walked in, ruining the moment.

  “It’s good to see you again, Molly. Sorry it’s not under better circumstances.” He smiled and glanced through her chart.

  “Maybe one day we could all double date,” Jac said, causing him to blush.

  “Play nice,” Molly admonished while smiling at his discomfort.

  Craig cleared his throat. “I’ve checked you’re X-rays. Everything looks good. The bones in your right leg are coming together perfectly. I think in a week or so we can remove the cage and get you fitted with a cast. Once that’s in place you’ll be ready to start vertical physiotherapy.”

  Molly hadn’t been upright for weeks and she knew she had lost a lot of strength in that short amount of time. The thought of using parallel bars and trying to manoeuvre a giant cast didn’t bring her any joy. Not only was she sure she wouldn’t be strong enough, but she also knew her left knee was still in bad shape. Would it even be possible to put any pressure on it by then? Molly held back from voicing her concerns. Instead, she smiled and said, “That sounds great, the sooner the better.” She tried to put as much enthusiasm into her voice as she could but it sounded false, even to her own ears.

  Craig’s gaze softened, understanding her bravado. “Molly, we won’t have you do anything we don’t think you’re ready for. The staff here are great a
t what they do. You’ll be having your daily physio, working on your strength, and we won’t push you until you’re ready.” He reached out and patted her left foot. “Everything will be fine.”

  Molly gazed at Jac, seeing her encouraging smile lessened her fear. She was still petrified of not healing properly, but with Jac by her side, she knew it would all be okay.

  ***

  The next morning Molly was upright in bed, a pair of high-powered binoculars held up to her eyes. Jac sat next to her on the bed, her arm around her shoulders. Any minute now the butterflies Tiffany hadn’t managed to sell would be let loose from the butterfly garden and Molly hoped to see them fly away. Peter had come by the farm two days before to collect what he wanted and now it was time to let the rest go. Molly had wanted to be there for the release, however, there was no way she would be able to stomach another trip in the ambulance. All the jostling in her legs made them throb for hours and she could do without the pain. Jac had understood how emotional she was over it all, so had arrived early that morning with the binoculars. She hadn’t said anything but handed them over then positioned Molly so she could see better. Her arm had come around her and she kissed her on the cheek.

  “Tiff texted, should be any minute now,” Jac said.

  Molly nodded but didn’t answer. She focused the binoculars onto the farm, the strength of them making it easy to pick out the top of the butterfly garden. Molly couldn’t help but feel sad. The life of the butterfly wasn’t very long, she was used to the circle of reproduction, but some of the butterflies needed the humid weather to survive, and without the confines of the garden, most would surely die quicker than they should.

  The sun reflected off the retractable roof as it began to open and then she saw the first flurry of butterflies making their way out. They only had about one hundred left and in no time at all they had all flown away. Tiffany and Gabe had already relocated the caterpillars into the nearby woods so these last few butterflies were all that was left of the life of the business. The auction sale would take place the following week, but Molly wasn’t sad over that. It was the butterflies that she cared about.