“You know, um…to get married? To help me keep Clover Hill?” she says, hope dancing in her eyes.
I don’t answer right away because I’m too busy staring at her like a tool and realizing that she actually wants to do this. Some kind of cocktail of nerves roils deep in my gut. What’sunexpected is the mixture of relief and a dash of excitement thrown in.
“Yeah.”It speaks.“Yeah, the offer still stands,” I confirm a little more clearly.
A breath releases from between her lips as she gazes at her lap a moment, looking relieved. “Okay, well… I’d like to take you up on it.”
“Okay.” I nod, but should I reach across the table and touch her in some way? Shake her hand? Hi-five her? I should probably at least talk again as my hands have no clue what to do. “That’s what we’ll do then.” My focus lands on the one long, intricate braid hidden in the mess of brown locks that hang around her back and shoulders. Then I force myself to look directly at her.
She surprises me by gazing right back at me and saying, “I don’t know how to thank you.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to.” And she doesn’t. Something in my gut says marrying Molly is the right thing to do. She must think so, too, as she came to me just now, so why is there a frown on her pink lips? Why is she giving me a dubious look with those hazel eyes?
“What you’re doing is sort of a big deal, Wolf. You’re practically signing your life away. And it drives me nuts that you more than need to be thanked, yet there’s no way I really can.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find some way during our eternity together,” I say facetiously, surprising myself. It even dares to make my imagination wander a little bit.
“Hoo boy,” she blows out a breath. “I can’t believe?—”
“Holy mother-fucking shit biscuits, Wolf!” Forest booms from the open kitchen window, his mouth still full. “First of all, what the fuck?! You have some serious shit to explain to me. Secondly, if you don’t marry her, I will! These muffins are bomb! I’m on my third!”
I lean closer to Molly, trying but unable to ignore the flowery perfume that tickles my senses. “Well, if the whole thing stresses you out that much, you could bake some more. I’m sure my ass-face brother would love some coffee cake next.”
Molly lets out a quiet giggle that lights up her eyes and gives me life. Joking around with my family is one thing. But I don’t think I’ve ever made a woman smile like that. Never even occurred to me to want to. It’s gone quickly though, when a worried shadow falls over her eyes, and she points over her shoulder. “Is he going to tell… anyone?”
Oh shit. She’s worried about the idea of this being a fraud marriage making its way around town. “No,” I shake my head adamantly, “no, he won’t say a word.”
“What about your other brothers?”
“Don’t worry about them either. Forest and I will figure out what to do.”
“Okay.” She nods softly. “Because I did go talk to my lawyer. That provision is real, and I can’t get past it by merely signing a piece of paper. It has to be a real marriage, and no one is to believe otherwise. The last thing I need is to go through with all this and still lose Clover Hill over marriage fraud.”
None of my brothers will say shit to expose us, not once they know the reason behind it. All of us are banded together for this land and its inhabitants and not because we get paid to. “I won’t let that happen. Neither will my family,” I promise her. Then again, usually the fewer people who know a secret, the better. I really will have to talk with Forest. He’s acting like a dick right now, but that’s brother stuff. When it comes to serious shit, he knows what to do.
Speaking of brother stuff… “One thing you’re doing to thank me is getting me away from these clowns.” I raise my brows and hook a thumb toward the kitchen.
“Oh!” Molly’s eyes flit from the tabletop up to mine. “Oh my god, that’s right. You’ll have to move in, at least for a while.”
Shit, I hope I didn’t catch her off guard. I’ve been stewing over the idea of living together all weekend. I’ve never shared living space with a woman before and one that I hardly know? This should be…interesting. “I don’t have to right away,” I say, holding a hand out, hoping to settle any nerves she has.
“No, you should.” Molly nods firmly. “Wolf… are you sure you want to do that?”
She has a look of helpless worry in her eyes, which is different from what I’m used to. And now I’m transfixed by the long, dark lashes that fan out around her eyes. Have I really never noticed them before?
“I already told you I would.”
“Yeah, but that was before you knew it would have to be more than just a formality.”
What she doesn’t know is that the very moment I made that wild-ass offer, a flash of me living with her in that beautiful home developed behind my eyes. I saw myself protecting her and the land, even kissing her goodbye in the mornings. The feeling it gave me wasn’t a hurtful one. But, I’m not sure she’s in the mindset to hear that right now, or if I’m even willing to share it. Since we began this discussion, a ball of nerves has been forming, nestled in that cavity between my gut and my chest. No matter how much I tell myself all these thoughts are just thoughts, it’s there, burning hot and making itself known.
I take a breath and then another and give the bill of my ball cap a squeeze as I think about what to say. I know I’m doing this either way; I just want to ease her mind about it. “I’m more than okay with it, Molly,” I answer, looking down at the planked floor of the deck, hoping that the words are enough for now.
12
MOLLY
What does one wear to their very unhyped, impromptu wedding?