One Night with her Bachelor(27)
She bundled herself up and shoved her hands in her pockets while Josh struggled to put his winter coat on. He didn’t ask for her help, so she didn’t offer it, even though she had to clench her fists to stop herself. Walking alongside Josh through the crowd, she stopped briefly to thank people along the way, still trying to find Lily. But with every step, she felt the burn of regret. Like cursing, her temper was something she normally had a tight rein on. Apparently she had a lot to learn about the darkness living inside her.
The frigid February air and a violent flurry of snowflakes slapped at her cheeks when she and Josh made their way to the truck. But reality stung far worse.
She’d just lost it with a man who’d been nothing but kind to her. And she had no way to contact him to try to explain why.
The next day she gave in to Josh’s pleas to let him play at his friend Jake’s house. Jake’s mom, Kira, had called a few days earlier to offer a play date, and Molly had been reluctant to let him out of her sight. But she had to listen to her son. So much of his autonomy had been taken from him. As difficult as it was, she would force herself to help him regain as much of it as she could.
She dropped him off, a process that took longer than she’d expected since the streets had been blanketed with snow, the driveway was slick with ice and the house had a porch with stairs. Her boots had slipped and slid all over as she pushed his chair up the driveway, but Kira’s new husband, Casey, rushed out of the house and said, “Let me help!”
Together they got Josh inside, where he, Jake, and their buddy Tyler Saddler immediately launched themselves into a rodeo video game while Molly quietly explained things Kira and Casey needed to know. When she left, she gave him a kiss on the head, but he hastily pushed her away, crying, “Mom, you’ll make me fall!”
Her heart quickened until she realized he was talking about his video-game avatar, which was hanging on to a bunking bronco.
Every step away from him was a challenge, but she got in her truck and drove to Lily’s apartment. She had a lot of questions, and Lily was going to answer them, whether she felt like it or not. Fifteen minutes later, Molly was standing in Lily’s living room, arms crossed, staring Lily down. “I’m not taking your money.”
Lily handed her a letter typed on letterhead from a fancy-looking law firm in Seattle. “Read this before you make any hard and fast decisions.”
Molly scanned the sheet of paper, quickly figuring out it was notifying Lily she’d inherited $10,000 from a man named Luther Pascoe. The name hit Molly like a bucket of freshly melted snow. “Luther. Isn’t he the one…?
“That’s right.”
Oh, God. Lily’s evil stepfather, the reason she’d run away from home as a teenager, had left her the money she’d essentially donated to Molly the night before. Molly rested her hand on Lily’s arm. “Are you all right?”
“I haven’t seen him for years. I’m fine.”
“Good. Because he is—was—an *.” Curse words usually felt so wrong. This one felt exactly right. No better word described such a monster.
Her own money troubles fizzled away for a while as she and Lily sat on the couch and talked about why Lily refused to keep the money. Molly’s pride screamed that she couldn’t accept such a huge amount from her friend, especially one who could use the money herself. But deep down she understood why Lily wanted to get rid of it as quickly as she could.
After pouring her heart out, Lily leaned forward and grabbed an envelope with a bunch of numbers scribbled on it. It looked like someone’s math homework.
“What’s this?” Molly asked.
“Guess.”
Molly stared at the numbers. Then she noticed the big one at the bottom, circled and underlined. She gasped. “No.”
“That’s the takings from the bachelors, plus the raffle money. And we still need to add in your share of the night’s tips, plus Jason said he’d match that, so it’s probably a lot more than this.”
“It’s too much,” Molly said, hardly able to breathe. “I mean, it’s just… I never imagined we’d raise anything close… I don’t know what to say.”
“No kidding.” Lily grinned.
Tears flooded Molly’s eyes, and most of the numbers blurred—except the most important one: $24,575.
Her beautiful, amazing friend had just changed her life. As angry as she’d been at Lily the night before, she now felt humbled and lucky beyond belief. “What did I ever do to deserve you, Lily Taylor?”
“Get outta here. It’s the other way around. Always has been.”
But Molly knew the truth. She’d never done anything this incredible for a friend. Lily hadn’t just helped her out—she’d changed Molly’s and Josh’s future.
The next few days rushed by as Molly paid off a bunch of bills—including the loan Greg had given her with five percent interest—and began researching wheelchairs for adolescents. Having her ex and other creditors melt away should’ve eased most of her worries, but it coincided with Josh going back to school for the first time since the accident. In Boulder, he’d had a few home-school classes so he wouldn’t fall too far behind, but he hadn’t experienced the rigor of a classroom in a long, long time—and he’d never been very good at it.