Chapter 3

Molly was nervous. Thanksgiving was so family-centered. It always brought home to her the things that would never be hers, a husband, children, a family. Everything she had ever wanted, everything she wished. Having Percy, Laura and their baby girl living with them was a true blessing, but she couldn’t help but feel alone.

This year they were celebrating Thanksgiving with the Hardings. It was Kat and Laura’s idea. Molly knew there was a hidden agenda behind this whole thing. And she was sure, the agenda included John Harding.

She knew John enough to know he wasn’t comfortable with the idea. However, she let the girls do it, because secretly, she hoped they could rekindle the relationship she and John had many years ago.

Thanksgiving Day went well. Tony outdid himself. Turkey, roast beef, and ham competed for the family’s attention as the main course. Of course, there was a vegetarian option for Laura, potatoes, yams, corn, peas, carrots, rice, and buns. There was never enough room to put all the food out at once. They would have a week’s worth of leftovers despite eating so much they would almost get sick.

John found himself relaxing, as the evening progressed. He enjoyed the smiles they shared, the laughter, and the stories they told.

After dinner, Molly and John were left alone. Percy, Laura, Red and Kat went out for an evening walk.

“They are not very subtle,” Molly said softly, looking at John.

“So, you’re in this too, or you’re an innocent victim like me?” John asked Molly when she sat at his side, on the couch.

“A little bit of both, John,” Molly smiled at John. “I knew what they were trying to do and I let them.”

Molly took a deep breath and let the air out slowly.

“Are you feeling okay?” John asked her. “I have some great digestive pills.”

“If you must know, it’s Percy and Laura. They look so incredibly happy together. And I’m glad for them, I really am. More than I have words to say. But ... when I watch them I can’t help but wonder how it would have been for me ... and you.”

John nodded. “I felt a stab of envy too when I saw Kat and Red together. Since Kat gave birth to her baby she’s practically glowing,” John admitted in a low, understanding voice.

“Did you ever wonder how things would have been between us if my father hadn’t intervened?” Molly asked.

John exhaled. “Many times, Molly. But he did. And you chose to run away instead of facing him.”

The tears Molly had been doing everything to stop, flowed anyway. “It was the right choice at that time. It wasn’t an easy one, please believe me. And yet ... Looking at the two of them...”

John picked up where she left off, “ ... I couldn’t help but feel we missed out on something pretty spectacular.”

“Yeah.” Molly forced a watery smile. She dabbed at her eyes and took in a deep breath. “Although if we see them again in a year, they’ll probably be fighting over who leaves the toothpaste cap on and who leaves it off.”

Molly leaned back into the couch, reminiscing about all the travels she did around the globe. She looked around, seeing the treasures she had collected from almost every country in the world. They didn’t seem so important now considering what she had missed.

“What’s on your mind?” John asked.

Molly folded her arms in front of her. “Nothing.”

She studied the strong column of his throat, visible in the open neck of his shirt. Finally, she gave up and said, “Us.”

John didn’t look unhappy about that. “Well, duh, I guessed that. What about us”

She felt herself begin to relax and smiled. “Do you think they know what happened between us when we were in high school?”

Molly looked into John’s deep blue eyes, noticing all over again what a ruggedly handsome man he was. And it was more than just the symmetry of his features. It was his kindness and compassion. The humor he exhibited. The way he picked up on a person’s slightest change in mood, the way he was always willing to help.

John Harding was one man who was beautiful inside and out. A man who revered family and friends. He should not be going through life alone.

“I don’t think so,” John said. “Your father, the almighty Maximilian Carter, did a good job erasing any trace of our relationship.”

Molly let out of long sigh.

“We were really in love at that time,” Molly smiled with dreamy eyes.

“Yes, we were,” John conceded.

“You were my first real boyfriend, you know? The first to cuddle and hold me close. The first to touch me, with your strong hands. The first inside me,” she whispered, her cheeks blushing.

Molly felt once again as if she was eighteen. They’d been so happy, crazy in love. They’d had problems, sure. But they’d been young and in love for the first time. They’d believed they could overcome anything. Together they’d seemed strong, invincible. They’d learned differently.

“And then your father caught us in flagrante delicto, ” John muttered under his breath.

“What the hell were you doing?” Maximilian Carter shouted at his daughter, Molly.

Molly and John had been sneaking around the whole summer. Molly hadn’t been able to resist the danger, the intrigue ... and let’s face it, the sex. But above all, she loved John. He was the one. She had no doubts about it. One day she was going to marry him.

However, Molly really couldn’t blame her father this time. Finding a boy with his hands all over your valedictorian daughter would make any father murderous.

“None of your damn business, Dad,” Molly snapped back, climbing off John’s lap and pulling her skirt down.

John slid an uh-oh glance her way, but he kept quiet. He knew anything he said right now would only make things worse.

Maximilian Carter’s mouth opened and shut like a fish thrown on the banks of a lake. “What did you say, young lady?”

“You heard me, Dad. I’m eighteen years old. Who I date and what I do with him is none of your business.”

“You’re not going out with this half-wit again,” her father retorted.

“Half-wit?” Fury spread through her with such force her hands shook. “John has a higher IQ than you do.”

“What?” John blurted.

Molly shrugged. “I peeked in the files when I was at the principal’s office.”

“Bad girl,” John said with a smile.

“What have you got against John?” Molly demanded.

Her father’s lip curled. “You mean besides the manure under his fingernails?”