Chapter 70: Intimate Objects
Vaughn
“Mirabelle, I’ve got something to tell you before I leave,” I said. “It’s going to be awkward, and I don’t know what your reaction is going to be, but—”
“No,” she exhaled. “You never did, did you?”
I frowned at her. “Never what?”
Mirabelle rushed over to Mollie and pulled her into a hug. “Oh, Mollie,” she reassured her. “Everything is going to be just fine. Don’t worry. Julia and I will always be here for you.”
Mirabelle pulled back just enough to rest her hand on Mollie’s stomach. “Whether Vaughn accepts it or not, no matter what happens—”
What the fuck?
Mollie looked over Mirabelle’s shoulder at me, wide eyed and completely flustered. Mollie is kind of shy around Mirabelle. I do not know why. Mirabelle worships the ground that girl walks on.
“Uh,” I asked, “what the fuck are you doing?”
Mirabelle backed off, though she still had Mollie in her grip. “You,” she accused. “It explains everything. It explains why you turned down that job in the first place. It explains everything.”
I frowned harder. “What the hell?”
“You got poor Mollie pregnant,” she scolded. “I should have known. All those nights you spent over there. I should have talked to you more through—”
Mollie’s tense body loosened, and she let out a small laugh of relief. Relief that it did not have to be her and Mirabelle against the world after all.
“Am I the only one in this town who thinks I’m a stone cold asshole?” I sighed. “Fuck.”
Mollie laughed. “I’m not pregnant, Mirabelle.”
Mirabelle turned tomato red, which oddly suited her. With her round face, she looked exactly like one.
“I didn’t leave the job because I have daddy duties here,” I muttered, cringing at the thought of being a father. “I turned it down because I don’t want to leave Mollie.”
Mollie nodded, excited now. “That leads to the news.”
“Since Mollie has so much on her plate right now, she decided she needs to hire someone to help out,” I said. “Since I’m jobless, she decided I fit the criteria she’s looking for. I’m going to be helping her around the farm and shit.”
It is harder than it sounds, trying to explain that you are moving in with the girl you have only been dating for a month.
“I’ll mostly tend the animals. She’ll handle the crops. I’ll be there every day. Well, I might not be in this house as much as you’re probably thinking I will be, but—”
“Oh, dammit, Vaughn,” Mollie snapped. “What he’s trying to say is that he’s moving in with me. We’ll be living together.”
Mirabelle’s jaw dropped into an odd O as she stared at me. “Is that so?” she asked. “And when did you two reach this conclusion?”
“Well,” I said, “yesterday. Before I came back here and called the company with my answer.”
Mirabelle nodded, forcing a smile as she sat at her desk and pulled out a pen. Mollie frowned up at me, hurt clear in her eyes.
“Mirabelle?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, dear,” she said quickly. “I knew this day would come. Just not so soon.”
Mollie turned toward the window, her navy eyes filled with rejection. It shattered my chest.
“What’s your deal?” I hissed under my breath. “Look what you did. It’s a fucking sin.”
Mirabelle slipped a folded piece of paper into my pocket. “Read it on the boat. Do not let her read it.”
Then she stood. “And for your information, I think Mollie is the finest girl you will ever meet. I just don’t want you to mess it up.”
She walked into the kitchen.
“Mollie, dear,” she called. “Would you like to learn how to make iced tea? You’ll need it in this summer heat.”
Mollie’s eyes lit up. She looked back at me, smiling. Accepted.
That was when I knew Mollie was not the problem.
I was.
Vaughn
I shook the memory away and stared around my empty apartment. It was pathetic how little I owned. Three boxes. That was it.
I still had one more stop in town before heading out. Paperwork. Goodbyes. I would crash with Gray for a couple of nights. Mollie’s farm was going to be chaos for the next two seasons.
I stared at the folded paper on the table. Mirabelle’s letter.
I did not want to read it.
What if she was right?
I grabbed it anyway.
Mirabelle’s Letter
You two are head over heels in love. I understand that.
Peter and I moved in together young, just like you. We were madly in love. That resulted in Julia. I never regretted her. But Peter did.
When he found out I was pregnant, everything he ever promised became a lie. He left. He did not want a child.
I am not comparing you to Peter. I am saying that you should only live with a woman if you are ready for everything that comes with it.
If Mollie is anything like I was, she is dreaming about the rest of her life right now. If you leave, it will destroy her.
So ask yourself this. If she were pregnant tomorrow, would you stay? Would you be the man she deserves?
Until I see proof that you are ready, I cannot accept this.
But when you are, I will support you fully.
Love,
Mirabelle
Vaughn
I crumpled the letter and tossed it into the trash.
Fuck it.
Then my phone alarm buzzed.
As I lifted one last box, it broke open. A small oak box slid across the floor.
Inside was the gold feather.
I froze.
Five things flooded my mind. Her eyes. Her laugh. Her smile. Her. Her hand.
“Oh fuck,” I muttered.
I slipped it into my pocket.
Mirabelle knew.
Mollie
“Order the biggest bed you have,” I told the delivery clerk.
“And the washer and dryer,” I added.
Two people meant double the laundry.
People smiled at me now. Town folks talked. Even Natalie managed a half smirk.
Mirabelle and Julia were family.
And Vaughn was everything.
I spotted the blue feather replica displayed behind glass. A local Appalachian heirloom. Symbol of commitment.
“I’ll take that too,” I said.
Vaughn
I burst into Gray’s workshop.
“I need your help,” I said.
I handed him the feather.
“I’m going to ask Mollie to marry me.”
Mollie
My hands shook as I walked through town gripping the black box.
I ran straight to Lanna.
She opened it and gasped.
“You’re going to ask him to marry you.”
“I am,” I whispered.
Mark
“She’s going to ask him to marry her,” Sabrina said.
I went silent.
If those two joined forces completely, taking that farm would be impossible.