Chapter Twenty-One
Molly
Molly knew she should get out of her car. She had been sitting in Keller’s driveway two minutes too long to be normal. But she couldn’t stop her hands from shaking, or her heart from racing. She was nervous and excited and blissful and scared. All at the same damn time. She didn’t even know that was humanly possible.
Only hours before, she had walked into Corey and Dom’s house and wished she could be part of their crazy group, and now she was. As Keller’s mate.
Wow, Keller’s mate. Molly could barely wrap her head around what that meant. She had gone from single to bonded with a shifter in less than a week. Her whole life had been completely turned upside down. Everything she thought she knew… The whole world seemed different now. And, god help her, she was happy. Crazy happy. Like, couldn’t stop smiling happy. She felt loved and cared for, her heart felt…full.
Except, Keller had accidentally claimed her. Hell, she basically forced him to claim her. Part of her was fearful that he thought he’d made a mistake. Like, if she hadn’t started things between them last night, would he have ever told her the truth? Would he have ever claimed her?
She rested her head against the steering wheel. Damn, she needed a drink. Molly jumped and let out a little shriek when someone tapped on her window. She looked over and saw Keller, leaned down and peering inside her car chuckling. Wow, he looked good. His jeans hung low on his hips and his white t-shirt was tight against his chest. She was almost afraid her mouth had started to water at the site of him. She opened the door and climbed out. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“I’m sorry, darlin’. Why were you sitting in your car? I’ve been waiting for you to come inside for five minutes now. Were you waiting on me to come open your door? Is that something I should have done?”
Molly sighed, embarrassed. “No. I wasn’t waiting on you. I was calming my nerves but I’m better now.” She truly was; being in his presence and feeling his skin against hers had put her at ease. “You ready to head to Corey’s?”
Keller placed his hands on her shoulders and stooped down to her eye level. “Is something wrong? Did you change your mind? About me? About all of this? Talk to me. Please.”
“No, I didn’t change my mind. Of course not. I, uh, this has been a big day, you know? Lots of information and changes. But, actually, I was sitting my car thinking that above all else, above the nerves and the fear, I’m happy. I’m so happy that we’re together and that you can finally be yourself around me. Your whole self.” She wanted to ask him if he was happy too. Ask him if he regretted the claiming, but she couldn’t get the words out. Now wasn’t the time anyway—they needed to get to Corey’s.
He trailed his hands down her arms before taking her hand as they made their way across the front yard. “I know I’ve given you a lot to think about. And I know that there is still a lot for us to talk about. But me and you? We’re a team. We’ll figure all this out together, okay?”
“Okay.” Molly smiled and felt relieved. He was being so sweet and understanding. She felt ridiculous for being nervous in the first place. When they made it to Dom and Corey’s back door, Molly put her hand on the knob and took a deep breath. She gasped in shock when she walked into the house. There was a banner that said, Welcome to the family, Molly. And there were flowers everywhere and a big tray of cupcakes.
“Oh my gosh. You guys are so nice. Thank you so much. This is really great.”
Keller put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Corey walked up and grabbed her in a tight embrace. “We are so happy for you and Keller. And I am beyond thrilled to have a sister here now. Between you and this baby, the boys are well on their way to being outnumbered.”
When all the congratulations were said and all the hugs given, everyone sat down at the table to eat. Molly looked back into the kitchen. Even though the food was in bowls and platters on the table she could see the takeout containers in the trash. “Not that I’m complaining, this Italian food is amazing, but do any of you guys cook?”
“I cook. Sometimes.” Corey took a sip of her water, her eyes darting around the table like she was waiting for someone to dispute the fact.
Linc didn’t disappoint. “Heating frozen corn dogs is not cooking, Corey.”
“Oh yeah? I didn’t hear you complaining when you ate four of them. Nor when you polished off half a tray of brownies on Tuesday.” Corey turned her attention back to Molly. “I would much rather bake than cook.”
“You know, I can cook, I don’t mind at all. If you’ll let me know in advance when there is a dinner scheduled I’ll go to the grocery store and I can cook here.” Molly was curious as to how much money these guys spent on takeout each month. There were five shifters including Riley and every single one ate like he hadn’t had a meal in months.
Keller put his hand on Molly’s knee under the table. “Gorgeous and she can cook? How did I get so lucky?”
Molly returned Keller’s smile and then addressed the rest of the table. “Okay, so how does this work? Does someone call the meeting to order?” When Keller had invited her to their dinner/meeting at Dom and Corey’s tonight, he’d given her the lowdown. This was the time they used to talk about shifter stuff, the investigation, the kids. All the supernatural secrets. “Is there like a scheduled list of topics? Does someone take notes?”