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“What the?—”
“Thought I would hand deliver this to you for what you told my girlfriend yesterday. You should enjoy it. Breathe it in.”
“This is disgusting! What’s wrong with you?”
“Oh, you don’t like it? I thought you wanted the land. This would be what you’d find there.” He glared, and I started down the stairs, only to remember the actual delivery I was planning. “And here’s this back.”
I tossed the ring to him, but it landed in the cow patty. “You’re demented,” Trevor growled.
“Yeah, probably. But hopefully, you’ll learn your lesson.”
“And what’s that? Never come to your shitty-ass town?”
“No.” My voice darkened. “Never mess with Mollie again, or next time, you’ll beeatingthe shit.”
Trevor’s eyes went wide, and I took the opportunity to walk away. He screamed obscenities after me, but I didn’t engage. He would be busy cleaning for a while.
I couldn’t stay too long. Mollie had only gotten a short napafter being out all night. She woke up to watch Eric, but I’d promised her she could get rest the second I got back. The six-hour round-trip drive was worth it, though.
Still, I pushed my truck and got back a few minutes early. The lights were on, though it was past Eric’s bedtime.
“Hey,” I said when I walked in. “Is Eric up?”
“What kind of babysitter do you think I am?” Mollie asked as she fought a yawn. She was on the couch and sat up when I walked in. “He’s out. Right on time too.”
“You’re exhausted,” I said. “I’d give you a pass.”
“Don’t need it.” She yawned again. “Who needs sleep anyway?”
She slowly stood and made her way over to me, but stopped as she got close. “Is that ... cow shit I smell?”
“Yep.”
“What did you do?”
“Gave Trevor a present. One to match his personality.”
Her eyes widened. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
“Oh myGod.”She laughed. “I probably should tell you how mean that was, but he deserves it.”
“He does.” I was about to go to the bathroom to shower, but I had one other thing to say. “No one messes with the woman I love.”
Mollie’s jaw dropped. “The woman youwhat?”
“Love. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I love you.”
“But I just messed up a lot of things.”
“And then fixed it. Even made the town see things no one else could. Mistakes are gonna happen. It’s what you do after that matters.”
Her cheeks went red. “For the record, I love you too. And I’d show you how much if you didn’t smell like shit.”
“Give me fifteen. I canfix it.”
“If I can stay awake,” she said. “Though the smell is pungent.”