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Was I stalling so I didn’t have to go back home to Mollie?
Yes.
“They’re becoming best friends,” a voice said.
My heart sank when I turned to see Kerry. This was not what I needed today.
“Of course they are,” I muttered.
“Someone’s in a bad mood. Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?”
More like I woke up with the wrong person in my damn house.
“No,” I replied. “I’m fine.”
Kerry hummed, and I wondered if she was using her powers of deduction to see straight into my soul.
I hadn’t realized it until I was here, but Mollie being in town was going to be amassivestory, especially once people found out where she was staying.
Fuck.
Once again, I would be in the news cycle. It had been bad enough when I’d gone after Donny and when I’d taken in Eric.
I couldn’t take it again.
“I should get going,” I said. “I have a lot to do.”
She slowly nodded, her eyes still on me, and I ran out the door.
I hadn’t even toldJackieyet. Much less the town. All I’d been focusing on was the woman in my house and the fact that my nephew had just started school.
But I was still avoiding home, so I checked the mirror in my truck and realized I could use a trim.
I changed course and headed for the town square, hoping that a refresh and some advice could get me out of this hole I’d fallen in.
Jackie was usually busy, but I must have caught her between clients. She was sitting in her chair, reading a magazine.
“Cain,” she greeted. “Are you here to fill my free spot?”
“Yeah. Need a trim.”
Her lips twisted. “Four words, huh? What’s got you in a bad mood? Did Kerry try to talk to you? I heard Eric and Tommy are getting along.”
Jackie knew I didn’t like Kerry’s gossip, and she had her ownissues with it as well. She was a lifetime resident of the town, and had no problems with the smaller day-to-day things people talked about, but sometimes everyone went too far. Like they had with me. Like they could have with her if they knew her whole story.
“She did, but that’s not even the half of it.” I sat in the chair and Jackie put a protector over my shirt. “What do you remember of Bennie’s family?”
She paused, her smile slipping from her face. “Bennie was the best of them. His daughter was ... Well, she was smart. Sometimes thought she was smarter than us. Left right when she turned eighteen. And he didn’t have any other kids. His granddaughter, though, was sweet. I think her name was ...” She trailed off.
“Mollie,” I supplied. “It was Mollie, wasn’t it?”
“Yep.” She nodded as she worked. “Bennie talked about her a lot, didn’t he? Oh, he loved that little girl. And she loved him, but then her mom got all worked up about how much time she spent here and then she vanished. Now, why do you ask? Are you trying to get in contact with them again?”
“No,” I said. “It’s the other way around, actually.”
Jackie’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t sound right.”
“Mollie was left the farm. She’s ... back.”