Page 42 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

MOLLIE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Mark Bell

Need a plumber. Bathroom. Can’t explain more than that.

Comments:

Jade Clark : Sounds like a ... shitty situation

Jade Clark : A shituation, if you will

Kerry Winsor : Oh, you’ve got jokes. Funny, coming from the woman who told me the wrong definition of gyatt.

Jade Clark : You JUST figured it out?

Kerry Winsor : I SAID IT AT CHURCH, JADE.

Mark Bell : PLUMBER, GUYS!

Hu Gh : Doesn’t goggle do that?

Marjorie Brown : @Theo Murf can you help?

Kerry Winsor : You’re actually being helpful?? Has hell frozen over?

Theo Murf : Dammit, Marj. Poop? Really?

Theo Murf : @Mark Bell Yes, I can help.

Henry Connor : Please just wash your hands afterward.

Winter settled in, then turned to spring. Our already busy days grew even more hectic as the chickens ramped up egg production and I had to monitor the strawberries.

It hadn’t been a hard winter, but I’d gone out every day to check on them in case something went wrong. Cain had told me I couldn’t control everything with the farm, but I wanted this so badly that I’d felt like I’d needed to.

And as the sun stayed in the sky longer, I grew more and more nervous.

I wanted to open the farm this year. When Cain and I went into town for breakfast, people asked about it, and I wanted to deliver.

“They’ll get over it if you can’t,” he told me every single time.

“I know, but this is exciting. I’m making it happen.”

Keeping up with the farm and sneaking into each other’s rooms every night was almost enough of a distraction from our problems, but not totally. As the court date loomed, both Cain and Eric had grown more and more restless.

“Who all do you have who’s willing to help?” I asked over breakfast. It was the first somewhat-warm day, and we were eating on the porch to enjoy the beautiful weather.

“Tammy and Ron, Jackie, Henry, and you.”

Tammy’s husband was the only recent addition, and we were both pretty sure it was because they went home at night together and he’d figured out some of it.

“That’s it?”

He shrugged. “It’s been hard to figure out who wouldn’t tell the whole town.”

“But they’ll know eventually.”

“I’m hoping to keep some of it under wraps. ”

I narrowed my eyes. Cain had started backsliding into some of his old ways a few months ago. I didn’t know why he was worried about everyone knowing.

I was half tempted to beg Kerry to let me into the Facebook group so I could see if anyone else knew. We’d discussed it when we’d run into each other at the square, but I’d never gotten to talk to her for long before Cain would interrupt.

There was obviously some sort of bad blood, something that Cain didn’t want to share.

“What’s the worst that can happen if you don’t?” I asked. “Sure, being in the center of gossip isn’t fun, but it’s better than ... the alternative.”

His lips pressed together. I’d caught him staying up late at night, more than likely thinking about Eric.

“Theo might be a good choice,” he said. “He’s the guy who fixed the heat at Center Point the other week.”

I nodded. “Yeah, and he talked to Eric for a bit. Seemed pretty open-minded.”

Cain nodded. “That’s one more down.”

“What about his teacher?” I asked.

“Nope. Not an option.”

“But she would be?—”

“Mollie, I’m telling you she’s not an option.”

It was rare that he got so firm with me these days. The last time it had happened was when I’d tried to feed Hennifer for the third time in a day to get her to like me.

“Would you like to tell me why?” I asked.

“Not really.”

“Fine,” I huffed. I didn’t know why he was keeping secrets, but I knew that getting him to open up before he was ready was like trying to take down a brick wall with a thumbtack. “What about Jade?”

“She . . . might work. ”

“Grace seems to like you.”

“Yeah, her too.”

“And Kerry?—”

“Not her,” he cut in again.

“Lemme guess, you won’t tell me why?”

“You don’t wanna know why. Trust me.”

“Okay.” I stood. “Keep your secrets. When you’re ready to tell me everything so I can help you, I’ll be around.”

“Mollie . . .”

“We’ll talk later.” The last thing I wanted to do was fight, especially when stress was so high for him. I may not have known everything going on, but I did know that sticking around when I was already annoyed would do me no good.

I went to my room and opened the window to get some fresh air. I was ready for the strawberries to come up so the air would smell sweet like it had when I was a kid, but we were a few months away from that. I reached for my strawberry candle from Jade’s shop, only to find I’d burned through it.

Well, a little shopping wouldn’t hurt. And it would probably make my mood better.

Grabbing my purse, I got into my car and drove to the square. There were people all around enjoying the weather, most of whom I knew.

“Hey,” I greeted as I walked into Jade’s shop. “Got any more strawberry and vanilla candles?”

“Duh,” she said. “I know you love them.”

“I’ll get two. Then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Please don’t be. It’s so slow today that I’m dying of boredom.”

“I suppose we could catch up. I’m giving Cain some space and I don’t need to be home.”

“Space? Is everything okay? ”

“Everything is fine. Mostly. He’s just stubborn about things.”

“Don’t I know it. Though, you can get through to him like no one else.”

“When he chooses to tell me everything.” I muttered it under my breath, but regretted it once it left my lips. “You didn’t hear that, though.”

“Seems like you’re pretty annoyed at him. Welcome to my daily life.”

“You’re annoyed at Cain all the time?”

“No, just men in general. Especially one .” She rolled her eyes. “You’re right, though. Space is good. And you could get even more.”

“I’m not going back to Nashville or anything like that.”

“Um, no. I was thinking a girls’ night.”

“Where?”

“At the bar. I’m going tonight.”

“But—”

“Grace will be there. Come on. You’ll love it.”

I bit my lip. I’d had fun the last time I was there, but that was because Cain had gone with me.

Then again, I did want to get closer to Jade. Wren was still filming, especially since the show paused due to the holidays and a burst pipe, and I was feeling her absence more and more as time went on.

“Okay, I’ll go,” I said. “Sounds fun.”

“Yes! I can’t wait.”

We talked about other things going on in town, mostly petty gossip about who Brooke had been seeing, before I went back to the house. Cain was still working, so I went upstairs to look through my closet.

I didn’t usually reach for my nicer outfits since I worked outside so much. Cain had been right when he’d said I needed the work clothes—my existing collection had been ruined over time.

Still, I had a few dresses to choose from. And I knew just the person to help me pick.

Are you around to help me pick a dress?

Wren

For like ten seconds. What’s the occasion?

Girls’ night. I have three options.

Ugh, I’m so jealous. I need girl time.

Definitely the red one.

We’ll have girl time when you’re done filming. Maybe here in town?

I’m counting down the DAYS.

When I walked downstairs, about to leave, Eric was home and working on his homework.

“You look pretty!” he said with a smile.

Cain turned, eyes wide. “Are you going out?”

“With Jade,” I said. “I figured I should do a girls’ night.”

He stared at me, and I could see all the questions he wanted to ask, so I went to the front door and gestured for him to follow me.

“Is this because of what I said earlier?”

“Not entirely,” I said.

“You’ve avoided me all day.”

“You’ve been busy.”

He sighed. “Come on, princess. You never care if I’m busy.”

I pressed my lips together. “I just wish you trusted me.”

“I do trust you. It’s others I don’t.”

“And why not? ”

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s just say ... people are nicer to you than they are me. Especially when they’re talking among each other.”

“Seriously? But you’ve been so friendly.”

He shrugged. “The past is the past. But they’re good to you .”

I opened my mouth to ask who was so two-faced, but my phone went off with a text. Grace had offered to be the designated driver, saying I shouldn’t be burdened with it on my first girls’ night, and they were outside.

I usually didn’t drink, but there had been a few girls’ nights where I’d let loose with Wren. Each time was hilariously fun. Maybe I’d try with Jade and Grace too.

“I wanna know who, but I have to go.”

“I’ll tell you what Jackie showed me when you get back.”

“It’s not Grace and Jade, right?”

He shook his head. “No. They don’t really post in the town group.”

I nodded. “Good. But you better not go back on telling me everything.”

“I won’t,” he said, and he pressed a kiss to my mouth. “Have fun.”

I was tempted to stay and hear about everything, but I went out and got into Grace’s tiny sedan.

“Girls’ night!” she cheered the second I was in the car. She wore a blue dress and her curly hair was tied back. Jade had on a green top and her hair was freshly dyed to match.

“Wow,” I said as I looked at them both. “I feel underdressed.”

“Stop, you look amazing.” Grace rolled her eyes. “And you’ve been to the bar before. Half of the people never wear anything nice.”

“I’m only looking like this because I hear it’s packed with people from other towns.” Jade winked. “I’m gonna try not to go home alone.”

“And don’t worry,” Grace added. “Even if she bails, you’ll have me to bring you back.”

“Thank you for coming all the way out here,” I said.

“It’s not much farther than the nearest Walmart,” she said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Jade caught me up on what they were talking about.

Apparently, Brooke had decided she wanted to be a country singer and was considering auditioning in Nashville.

Grace wanted her to do well, but wasn’t sure that singing was the career for her, especially since she’d heard how her sister sounded in the shower.

No one wanted to be the one to break that news to Brooke, however.

The town square was packed when we finally pulled in, and the inside of the bar was even worse.

“Wow,” I said loudly. “It’s busy.”

“When Tammy volunteers to run it for Mark, she makes special drinks. Everyone wants one.”

Tammy was behind the bar, hands busily pouring and shaking drinks. She had on blue eyeliner and laughed with all the women waiting for their order. Some of them I didn’t recognize.

“Are they from Strawberry Springs?”

“No, some of these ladies travel to be here. Karaoke night gets really wild.”

“Please tell me we’re not singing,” I begged.

“It’s not in the plans.” Jade shook her head. “Unless we get drunk enough to not care about our pride. You are trying one of Tammy’s drinks, right?”

I thought about turning them down, but I trusted these people. I liked it here. I could let loose just this once.

Between the strong cocktail and me being a lightweight, I felt the effects immediately. I was laughing louder at the ladies singing their hearts out on stage, and by the second one, Jade and I were on the stage singing a country song about killing cheating exes.

By the third, I was telling people how I never enjoyed my life back in the city, and everything started going blurry by the time I was on my fourth.

I must have really been out of it, because I thought I saw someone hanging out by the bar I didn’t expect.

“Kerry?” I asked. “Are you really here?”

She turned with a laugh. “Oh, you look drunk. I bet Cain’s gonna love this. And yes, I’m here. I might be a mom, but I can have fun too.”

“Good,” I said. “You deserve to have fun. All the fun in the world.”

“What did you do to her, Jade?” Kerry asked.

“Girls’ night!” she exclaimed. I blinked, wondering if there were enough words there for Kerry to understand. Jade then grabbed my shoulders. “Come sing another song with me.”

“I want another drink.”

She pouted. “Fine, but I’m inviting the cute guy to join me.”

“Have fun!” I yelled at her as she ran off. Slowly, I made my way to the bar.

Kerry followed me.

“It’s nice to see you out and about,” she said. “I was worried Cain was keeping you hostage.”

“Nah. I like being there. It’s fun most of the time.”

“Most people don’t associate Cain with anything having to do with fun. You must have put some kind of spell on him.”

“I wore him down. Plus, I help with a lot.”

“Like what? I thought he was too stubborn for that.”

Tammy put down another drink, which I grabbed immediately. I took a sip before answering. “Secret stuff. ”

Kerry’s eyebrows went up. “Secret stuff? I love secret stuff.”

“I’m not supposed to tell you.”

“Hey, in this town, we’re all like a family. You can trust me with anything.”

My mouth twisted as I thought about it. If I had been sober, I might have remembered that Cain didn’t trust her. It didn’t matter if I did.

But I wasn’t sober at all, and I took Kerry at her word.

“Stuff about a stupid biological dad. Stuff where he could lose Eric. He needs help, but he would never ask.”

Kerry stared at me while I took another drink. “Wow. Is that why he’s been so nice to everyone lately?”

“Yeah.” I nodded enthusiastically.

“Interesting.” Her voice was sharp and her eyes were narrow.

I was too drunk to think about what that could have meant.

But then Grace found me, saying it was near midnight and that I needed to get home. I followed her blindly, stumbling through the crowd and nearly falling asleep in the car.

I wouldn’t know what I’d done until the next morning.

When it all fell apart.