Christian
Once I know they are happy, distracted, and being taken care of I throw on my boots and head out of the house and across the field to the farmhouse and my girl. I walk in and instantly spot her sitting at the kitchen table next to Tom. I walk over to them and rest my hands on her shoulders before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "How's the shopping going?" She tilts her head up to look at me and rolls her eyes making me smile. "Great! I have everything that I wanted." Tom says sounding very proud of himself. "And how about you darling, you bought yourself anything?"
"No, she hasn't despite my pleas." Tom groans dramatically. "I don't need anything sweet cheeks, not right now anyway." He gives her a look as if she has offended him making me laugh. "You do not have to need new clothes to shop my girl, have I not taught you anything in our long and lively friendship?" She laughs at his dramatics while sipping on her coffee. "One outfit and that's it I mean it!" She scolds him like a child but he looks like he's won the lottery. "One outfit and that lingerie set that I showed you earlier, although picking a colour will be hard" He turns to face me with a smirk.
"Trust me brother you will thank me for it." he winks while Molly slaps his arm. "In that case order one of each colour!" I pull out my credit card and hand it to Tom whos laughing while Molly hides her face in her hands while lightly laughing. "Right get out of here then so we can order them. Don't worry well be finished soon and you can have your girlfriend back." I smile at his comment then kiss Molly's head before walking away from them and heading for the stairs. "Where are you going? wait... who's with the kids?" I turn around to answer Tom when the front door opens and in walks Zack.
"Hey, I thought you were working the bar with Callum tonight? He takes off his boots and jacket and then starts heading for the kitchen. "It's quiet so I came back for an hour to order some stock online, the stupid computer is being an ass again!" That fucking computer! I've had the dam thing fixed more times than I care to remember. Maybe I just need to admit defeat and order a new one. "Leave it with me, I'll get a new one. I refuse to pay out for it to be fixed again when it'll just break down in a few weeks." He nods agreeing as he pulls out his laptop. "I've sent what I need to my email so I can get that done for now. Callum is gonna call me when it starts to get busy and I'll head back down."
"Why didn't you just use the laptop in my office you know the code for my draw. I trust every one of my staff but still, there's information on there that is both work and private and not for anyone's eyes but my own. If someone was to turn rogue on me I'd rather have myself covered. I also keep all my staff information backed up in paper form just in case and that information is also in that drawer along with a gun for protection and the emergency cash box so the only people that have that code are myself, my brothers and my parents. Of course, I also trust Molly I just haven't had a reason to give it to her but if she ever asks I have no problem in telling her.
"Lexi is at the bar tonight." The grim look on his face along with his words is too much and has all three of us in stitches. "She still wants you dead I take it?" Tom asks once he finally manages to pull himself together. Zack nods then stands up and heads to the fridge before bringing out some beers. He holds out one to me but I shake my head. "I've already had two, I'm good." Both Tom and Molly take one while we all wait for Zack to say more. "Yeah... I think it's safe to say that she's still a little angry with me."
"Angry would be an understatement!" Tom grunts. "Fuck I know but what can I do?" He looks at Molly like she has all the answers when the girl doesn't even have all the facts. "Don't look at me, I can't help you. All I know is that you have some girl who wants to murder you so unless you give me details I'm out," He grunts as he shuts the laptop and I sense a conversation coming on that I don't want to miss. I know the basics of his troubles but I don't know all the details.
"About a year ago I met Lexi when we went for a night out in the town over. I swear the moment we walked into the club that I instantly spotted her. She was on the dance floor with a few other girls but she was without a doubt the most beautiful girl that I'd ever seen and I didn't waste a second in introducing myself and within just a few minutes of us talking a strange feeling hit me, I don't know what it was but it felt like there was going to be more to her than just a bit of fun. It scared the shit out of me but I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity. Anyway, we ended up spending the entire night together and it was incredible but as my per emo I left the next day before she was awake and didn't think I'd see her again."
He takes a moment while he drinks some of his beer before looking back at Molly. "Four days later I saw her again, I was pretty shocked because I hadn't been expecting it to happen but there she was working in our local Walmart. I go there often so how I have never seen her before I don't understand. I decided to leave before she could see me but of course, it didn't go as I wanted. That night I was working the bar with Chris when in she walks with some of the girls that were with her when I first met her and once again she floored me." Both of us chuckle at the memory of her busting his ass that night.
"She walked straight up to the bar not even seeming to be surprised at seeing me and then ripped me a new one. It turned out that she had seen me at Walmart but what's worse is she had seen me notice her and then run... she wasn't too impressed with that. Of course, I managed to charm her and got back on her good side and it resulted in two months of insane fun between us. Neither of us wanted any more than that. "
"So what happened then?" Molly asks fully invested in his story. "I... I... fuck. One night I went over to her apartment and she ended up telling me that she has developed feelings for me and wanted more than just fun but I didn't... I couldn't so I left. We've seen each other several times since then but nothing has happened between us. Anyway, a few months after we stopped seeing each other she met someone else only he turned out to be a real jerk and ended up robbing her place and leaving her and she blames me for it, Says that if I hadn't left her it wouldn't have happened and now every time she sees me I get hell from her." He runs his hands threw his hair looking defeated.
"Ok, that's a lot," Molly says as Tom goes to the fridge for more beers, he offers me one and this time I take it. "So first of all... she doesn't hate you, and she also doesn't blame you for what that guy did she's just hurt, upset and gutted that you didn't want anymore with her." Her words confuse him and me too. "That doesn't make sense, not with how she's acting." Molly lets out a little laugh that I find cute as fuck. "Tell me something. Did she ever visit the bar before you met her that first night?" He shakes his head. "No, not as far as I know anyway." Molly nods her head then looks at me and I know that she's silently asking me the same thing. "I never noticed her there either.
"Ok, and how many times have you seen her there since you ended things?" He takes a moment to think. "I'm not sure... maybe ten times." Molly seems pleased with his answer but I'm just plain confused. "If she hates you, really hates you then why would she keep coming back to a place that she knows your gonna be? There are a lot of bars around that she could go to but she chooses the one your family works at. She doesn't hate you, she just doesn't want you to see how hurt she really is but she keeps coming back in the hope that you'll change your mind bout her."
"Jesus Christ am I glad that I'm gay, Women are hard work!" Tom barks making everyone laugh, everyone except Zack that is, he just looks like he's completely lost. "That makes sense... I just... I don't know what to say or do." Molly stands up and walks over to him then wraps her arms around him from behind. "First you need to decide what it is that you want?" He looks up at her as she stays wrapped around him. "What do you mean? I already said that I didn't want any more than what we had." She nods while giving him a gentle smile. "You did and maybe that was true at the time but I don't think it is anymore. If it was then her being around wouldn't bother you. The fact that you are bothered by how she acts towards you says more than maybe you realize. You need to figure out what it is you want from her then you can go from there."
He leans up and places a kiss on her cheek before standing up. "Thank you, darling. I'm going to take the laptop upstairs, I need to do some thinking before Callum needs me back at the bar." Tom stands up and walks towards him. "I'll head down to the bar and get the stock ordered and help Cal. You take the night off and do what you need to do." Callum gives him a quick hug and thanks before passing me and heading upstairs. I've never seen him even slightly interested a girl for more than one night before so this is new for us and him.
The front door opens once more and suddenly the room is filled with the giggle of my children. "What's going on?" Jack gives me a smirk as he sets Sophie down on her feet next to Brody. "Sleepover with Uncle Jack!" Brody screams before running toward the lounge. "Katie woke up while we were having cookies and we decided it was the perfect night for a sleepover. He shoots me a wink and straight away I get what he's done here. He's taking them so I can have the house to myself with Molly, Fuck I love this guy. "You sure?" He nods smiling while bouncing Katie on his hip. "Absolutely! We're gonna have a great night!" I nod silently thanking him as he walks into the kitchen and sits at the table as Sophie jumps into Molly's arms.
While Molly is being distracted by Sophie I run upstairs and into her room making quick work of getting her essentials into a duffle bag, she can get the rest tomorrow. Once I'm satisfied I head downstairs and don't waste any time in moving over to her. Once I reach her I take her bottle of beer out of her hand and set it on the table then lean down and throw her over my shoulder laughing at her cute little screech.
"Chris, what are you doing?" She laughs as she asks me making me smile, "You heard Jack, we're child-free tonight and I plan on making the most of it." I smile when I feel a shiver run through her body glad that she understands what I'm silently trying to say. "Well let's get going then, cowboy!"