CHAPTER 6

Reading Grounds was Seth’s first stop the next morning before heading to the fire station for his next shift. He worked forty-eight hours on, seventy-two hours off at a time. Molly found herself a little disappointed when she saw him in his uniform ready for work. She probably wouldn’t see him for a few days.

“Have you seen it yet?” A sense of anxiety ran through Seth’s words.

“No. I couldn’t look — thought I would wait for you,” Molly replied. Truth be told, she woke up half a dozen times during the night trying to decide if she should rip off the proverbial Band-Aid and check #RumorHasIt on Facebook. Each time, she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and the anticipation was killing her.

Seth let out a deep sigh. “Same here. Shall we?”

He held out his arm, motioning toward one of the nearby tables. He pulled out a chair for her before taking the seat beside her as she opened her laptop and pulled up their fake Facebook account.

Ex stripper heating things up with steamy windows — newest Pine Valley Fireman there to put her fire out, or start it?

There it was, Evelyn’s latest Facebook post accompanied by a very unflattering picture of the caught couple. Her cell phone flashlight was blinding them, and they were each squinting and making awkward faces that went with their disheveled hair. Of course, she was able to snap a picture in the midst of their twenty second encounter.

“I didn’t think she got a picture,” Molly said. “Oh, that looks…”

“Obvious what was going on?” Seth guffawed as he scrolled down the page. “There’s more, and I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing.”

Interestingly enough, there was a second picture and caption below. But it wasn’t of Seth or Molly this time. Evelyn managed to catch Kinley and the good doctor leaving the dance studio together saying a rather intimate and unflattering goodbye.

Late night shenanigans around Pine Valley. There must be something in the air… Looks like the doc is checking the dancer’s tonsils.

Well played, Evelyn. Well played.

Evelyn — two.

Seth, Molly, Doc Jace, and Kinley — zero.

Molly unexpectedly ran into Seth at Pine Valley General Grocery while he was shopping for the fire station with his crew. Evelyn had been quiet the past twenty-four hours. She was leaving everyone alone at the moment, so it seemed. But sometimes the silence was worse than cyber-attacks because it could be that she was just plotting her next move. The anticipation was killing them both.

“Hey, I was going to call you,” Seth said in greeting.

“You were!” Molly pinched herself for sounding so eager. “I mean, you should!”

Seth didn’t miss her excitement, and it pleased him that she looked forward to hearing from him. “Looks like Evelyn might be moving on. Nothing for a few days now.”

“That’s what scares me — the nothing at all.” Molly laughed. “I saw her drive by last night when I was doing inventory in the shop.”

“Really? Headed to the same place?” he asked.

Molly shrugged. “She was headed that direction, so maybe?”

“Tonight is my last night on, and then I’m off for a few,” Seth said. “Want to keep watch? You know, in case she isn’t done with us yet?”

“Of course, I do!” Molly would do just about anything to spend time with him, even chase old ladies. Maybe one day he’d ask her out on a real date — until then, super sleuthing.

“It’s a date!” he proudly stated, then realized what he said when he felt heat rise to his cheeks. “I mean — it’s a plan!”

“Yes! A plan!” Molly smiled, even though she couldn’t help but be disappointed.

Seth turned to walk away, hollering over his shoulder, “Okay. I’ll call you!”

Molly would look forward to that call. It felt ridiculous to be at her age and pining away for a boy. Why was she waiting on him? She was a modern woman, and it was perfectly acceptable for a woman to ask a man out. It wasn’t like she hadn’t asked a guy out before — she just couldn’t ask this guy for some reason. Just when she thought she’d banged up enough nerve, the butterflies in her belly left her dizzy.

“Hey!” Seth said from behind as Molly was on her way to check out.

“Yeah?” she said with a start, hoping she hadn’t been thinking out loud.

“Drunk and Dirty,” he replied.

“Drunk what?” she asked, confused.

“The annual Drunk and Dirty Crawl! It’s a huge event. Wine makers compete with each other. It’s like the Oscars, but for wine! They’ll have brewers and distillers there too, but the focus is wine. It’s harvest!”

“Oookay, sounds…fun?” She wasn’t sure what this Drunk something or other was, but it was an opportunity to spend time with Seth, which was an automatic I’m in.

He laughed, realizing how vague he had been about the event. “It is. It’s like an all-day wine tasting — it’s part of Drunk and Dirty Days. There are vineyard tours, and different activities for spectators. It would be a great place to check up on Evelyn too! Everyone goes!”

“Oh…well, then count me in!” She gave a dishonest smile, wishing they were spending the day together for reasons other than Evelyn, but the old lady was as good of an excuse as any to spend time with him. She was starting to think Seth was friend-zoning her and she’d misinterpreted everything.

He smiled back. “I’ll pick you up. Tomorrow morning, nine okay? We’ll make a day of it!”

“Sounds perfect! I mean, we’re bound to see crabby pants at some point if we are there all day,” Molly said in a singsong voice that annoyed even her.

Seth smiled while backing away. “Sounds like a plan!” He turned on his heels and met the rest of his crew a few checkout lines over.

It was a warm sunny fall day in Pine Valley, so Molly had opted to walk to and from the market — no need for a car for such a short jaunt. Seth was heavy on her mind. He brought a smile to her face just thinking about him. He was the kind and thoughtful nurturing type…and something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. It didn’t hurt that he was all kinds of handsome to look at. So why was she questioning so much where he was concerned?

She thought about all his visits to Reading Grounds over the past six months. He seemed so intrigued by everything she had to say about pretty much everything, especially books, hanging on her every word. Their unsuccessful super sleuth outings weighed in on her mental debate. Despite the lack of results, their time was well spent together and thoughtfully planned with his sweet picnics. It was intimate even — and not just physically.

Was she becoming insecure? Seth clearly paid close attention to her likes, and dislikes, even though she’d never voiced either. Each time she found more and more of her favorites — things picked just for her. Then there was their last rendezvous. Despite stumbling upon an embarrassing moment or two leading up to it, it ended with foggy windows because it was H-O-T! It was like Seth knew her body. He may not have been one for words, ninety percent of the time, but his hands and beautiful mouth said it all.

He knew exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to do it such a way that gave her as much pleasure as he could, responding to the sounds that escaped her. He was exciting and thrilling as much as he was chivalrous and sweet. Where had this man been hiding?

He was someone she could spend all her time with, devote forever to even. Though the thought of forever coming to mind surprised her, it wasn’t far-fetched. Seth was quickly piecing together pieces of her heart she didn’t know were broken. If he could fill all the empty cracks, she was certain it would be his to keep always. Maybe he wasn’t friend-zoning her and she was overthinking things. It wasn’t like Molly to be so scattered, especially over a man.

Molly was starting to become annoyed with her own thoughts. The back and forth ups and downs of her inner monologue and those damn insecurities. She was hot, then cold. Needy, then satisfied. She was a hot mess and needed to get it together. If he didn’t ask her, she’d ask him out for an official date. That’d really give evil Evelyn something to talk about.

A loud rumble crept up from behind her and got louder as it approached. It was a fire truck, Seth at the helm, smiling back at her with a wink as soon as he drove within viewing distance. She couldn’t help but notice the chief, Hunter, sitting to his right, looking back and forth between them. Hunter tossed his shaking head back with laughter as they passed, earning him a fist to the chest from Seth.

With a final wave her way, she watched them drive off, turning to the firehouse. Molly couldn’t wait for morning. Tomorrow was going to be a game changer, Evelyn be damned.