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“I have you to thank, Mol.” Ah, damn her and her use of Molly’s nickname.

“Nah, you would have done it regardless of knowing me.”

“No, Molly, I owe you. Watching you and seeing the difference you make inspired me to do better. You made me better.”

Silence hung on the line as Molly tried to decipher what Carmen meant. “Carmen,” Molly whispered. She was losing the battle. Hearing Carmen, picturing her beautiful face, was destroying the meager wall of resistance Molly had built up. Scrunching her face, Molly asked the one thing she knew would snap them both back to reality. “How’s Rachel?”

The sound of Carmen’s breath filtered down the phone. “She’s fine, thanks.” Wow, okay, not the ringing endorsement of someone happy in a new relationship.

“Just fine? You guys have been dating for a few weeks now, right?”

“Yeah. I like her.”

“Carmen, is everything okay?”

“Um, I’m not sure you’re the best person to talk to about this with to be honest, Molly,” Carmen chuckled.

This was the closest they’d come to acknowledging what had happened between them. “Why? We’re friends, right?”

“You seriously want to hear about my love life?”

Nope, not one tiny little bit. But if they were to move forward and get along when Molly was in Seattle, they needed to bridge this gap in their friendship.

“Sure, why not? Come on, what’s going on?”

“Molly!” Bessie yelled from downstairs. The urgent tone in her voice sent Molly scrambling for the door. “Shit, Carmen, I need to go. I’ll call soon.”

Throwing the phone down on her bed, Molly raced downstairs. Bessie stood on the front porch looking out over the driveway. Molly skidded to a halt, checking Bessie over for signs of injury. “Bess, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, love, but she’s not,” Bessie said, indicating to the woman standing in front of a beat-up car.

Whipping her head to the woman, Molly gasped. “Maureen?”

“Molly,” Faith’s mom hissed through what looked like a broken jaw and a severely bruised right eye.

Wasting no time, Molly descended the porch and approached Maureen, carefully laying a hand on her forearm. The state of the woman’s body was shocking. It was amazing she could still stand. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

Bessie helped Molly gently lead Maureen to the kitchen. “What happened, honey?” Bessie sat in the chair opposite, her eyes never leaving Maureen’s.

“Alan.” Maureen simply stated. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Alan had done this.

“Do you want to tell us?” Molly asked, her voice soft.

“Seeing Faith,” Maureen began. “Seeing her looking so happy and free.” Maureen shook her head, tears falling from her battered face. “I couldn’t believe the woman in front of me was my little girl. I thought for so long that staying with Alan was the best thing. I know I’m as much a monster as he is for allowing Faith to be hurt by him, by us. I swear to god, Molly, I never wanted this life for her, or for me.”

Molly swallowed a lump. “I can’t say I understand, Maureen. Faith should never have had to experience a life like that. But you’re here and I presume, looking at the state you’re in, you left him?”

Maureen nodded her head. “I told him I was leaving, and he did this. I waited until he was asleep and left. I don’t care who Faith loves. I just want my daughter back. I need her to know I love her and will do whatever it takes to make amends.”

Molly looked from Maureen to Bessie. What the hell was she supposed to do? Faith was settled. Her life was just starting, but this was her mom. If Molly had the chance to have her parents back, she’d take it in a heartbeat, but that wasn’t to say Faith wanted the same thing.

Taking a steadying breath, Molly faced Bessie. “I need to take care of this, Bess.”

“I know, love. You need to go.”

Chapter 24

Faith