Page 7 of Someone to Hold

My lips twitch. I can’t remember the last time a woman gave me this much shit, and I kind of love it. “Because I have a debt to pay to your mother-in-law.”

It’s the truth, just not all of it.

She inclines her head. “What kind of debt?”

“The kind she’s called in,” I say. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

“Hard pass,” she answers as she chews. “I don’t trust you. Why would Linda have set this up without asking me first?”

“Because she knew you wouldn’t agree to it,” I say, likeduh.

“I’m not agreeing to it,” she confirms, likedouble duh.

“I owe Teddy and Linda a lot,” I say quietly. “Helping you will repay that debt.”

That should be a mic drop moment.

She draws in a sharp breath but doesn’t exactly look impressed. “What does that mean?”

“Your late husband and his mom saved me. They gave back my future when my asshole of a father took it from me. Hard to tell what would have happened if?—”

“I’ve never been a big fan of puzzles, Chase.” She holds up a hand. “Stop talking in riddles or get the hell out of my house.”

Her full mouth thins. Like I needed another reason to notice her sweet pink lips.

“I spent a lot of time in this house as a kid.” I run a hand over the back of the sofa, tracing the worn spot where we used to vault over the back instead of walking around like civilized humans. “Linda wasn’t the greatest mom in the world, but she loved Teddy to distraction.”

She closes her eyes briefly, exhaustion written in every line of her face. “He could do no wrong in her eyes.” Those quiet words tell me everything I need to know about how the years since Teddy’s death have been for her living with his mother. Not that I’m surprised.

“But what does that have to do with him saving you?” she asks before my thoughts wander too far.

“Part of the reason I was here so often is because I didn’t want to be at my own house. My dad is…well, things were rough.”

She goes brows-up again, and I wonder if she’s aware of her ability to have an entire conversation with just her eyebrows. “How rough?”

“Very.”

She studies my face for a long moment, and I can see her weighing whether to dig deeper for the details I’m unwilling to share. Whatever she finds there must convince her to leave it alone, because she sighs and looks away.

“I won’t pretend to understand what that means, but I’m glad Teddy helped you.” Her voice lacks the edge it’s carried since I arrived. “And I’ll think about letting you help me.”

It’s not a yes, but it’s not the flat rejection she gave earlier.

“That’s all I’m asking.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” she says, struggling to her feet with the crutches. “You need to be gone by the time I get out.”

“Understood,” I answer, telling myself not to think about this woman in the shower. I head for the door, but pause with my hand on the knob. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes, Molly.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she says with a tired laugh, and then starts up the stairs.

The urge to beg her to let me follow leaves me wondering what exactly I’ve gotten myself into.

3

MOLLY

I textedthe book club chat an hour ago and asked for an emergency meeting. Within minutes, Sadie Barlowe offered to drive and Avah suggested meeting spots. We’re so different as individuals, but I know without question they’d drop everything for me if I asked. Just like they did today. We’re having lunch at the diner where Iris’s brother runs the kitchen because she convinced him to save the big table in back for us.