As soon as Molly was out of sight, the arguing began. Everyone tried to talk over each other, with accusations and hurtful words thrown around like candy at a parade. The noise was so loud he almost didn’t hear Molly screaming for him, her voice full of fear.

“That was Molly,” Max said, turning on his heel and sprinting towards the back of the house.

“Oh, come on, Max. She’s just trying to draw attention to herself,” Keith yelled after him, scorn and hatred filling his words. But what Sara said next had him running to follow.

“Where’s Carter?” Her voice held a hint of panic as she hurried to catch up, but when they all heard the loud splash Max felt her fear.

They raced out onto the patio to find Molly in the deep end of the pool, holding a crying Carter above her head so his face was out of the water, but obviously struggling.

“You have to go help her,” Gina screamed. “She doesn’t know how to swim.”

Max didn’t stop to ask how Gina knew that bit of information when he didn’t. He dove into the pool, aiming straight for where Molly was desperately trying to hold on to Carter and not drown herself. Relief filled him when he heard someone else jump in right after him.

It only took two powerful strokes to reach her, and as soon as he did, he grabbed her around the waist supporting her so she could keep her head out of water.

Carter started to move away, making Molly scream until Keith’s spoke.

“I’ve got him. It’s okay, Molly. Let go.”

She did and then started flailing around in a panic.

“Stop. I’ve got you. Wrap your arms around my neck,” Max ordered, harsher than he would have liked but he needed to break through to her. Her fight or flight instincts had kicked in and she was beyond reason.

Thankfully, she stopped kicking and struggling against his hold as soon as she heard him, and did as he’d instructed. From there it only took another minute to get them to the shallow end and the built in steps, where he helped her out and over to a chair.

“Are you all right?” He asked, running his hands over her in an effort to reassure himself that she was alive and in one piece. She was shaking, from the cold water and the adrenaline, and her eyes were as big as saucers, but otherwise she appeared fine.

“I’m okay. Is Carter going to be okay? He was only underwater for a few seconds before I got to him, I think. I came into the room and the door was open, and then I heard a splash and I had to jump in and get him. I know I’m not supposed to be anywhere near him but I had to, Max. I had to.”

His heart broke over her worry that she’d be in trouble and her obvious fear for Carter. Even though he knew she couldn’t be a mother to the boy, it didn’t mean she didn’t care about him.

“Let me go see,” Max said, taking a stack of towels from an openly sobbing Gina who had appeared at his side. “You dry off.”

“They’re inside,” Gina said, wiping away her tears. “I’ll sit with Molly while you go check on them.”

Max nodded and gave Molly a kiss on her forehead before jogging back into the house, leaving a trail of water behind him. He found everyone in Derek and Gina’s master bedroom. Everyone except Keith and Carter.

“Where are they? Is he okay?” He glanced around the room and took in everyone’s expressions. Sara looked relieved, but shaken, so that was good news. Derek and Kevin were both standing against the wall with similar expressions of concern. And Angie was glaring at the men, clearly blaming them for the situation.

“Derek’s got him in warm bath. He coughed up a little water, but that was it. Molly got to him in time.” Sara’s words were filled with gratitude and a love for her cousin that she’d never lost, no matter Molly’s sins.

“She said he was only under there for a few seconds. She heard the splash and jumped in after him.”

“She must not have been thinking when she did that,” Sara said. “She’s terrified of water.”

Small giggles came through the bathroom door before anyone could say anything else, making the entire room let out a sigh of relief. The door opened, and Carter darted out, heading straight to Sara.

“Up,” he demanded, and she bent down to grab him.

“How are you little man?” Sara asked, giving him a fierce hug.

“Went swimming,” he announced, proudly patting his damp hair.

“Yeah you did. But no swimming without Mommy or Daddy, you hear me?” Her stern admonishment made Carter’s smile drop and he nodded solemnly.

“I no swim without Mommy and Daddy.” He sealed his little promise with a kiss on Sara’s cheek, making everyone relax and grin.

Gina walked in and pulled some clothes out of her dresser. “I’m going to give Molly something to change into. She’s freezing. Here’s something for you too, Max.”

Keith had obviously borrowed something from Derek since he exited the bathroom in fresh athletic pants and a t-shirt, and Max felt like shit for not getting something for Molly. He didn’t even care that his own clothes were soaked.

“I’ll take those to her and we’ll get changed and get out of here. I’m glad everything turned out all right.” He nodded at Keith and Sara and took the stack of clothing from Gina. Even though there was a happy ending for Carter, Max wouldn’t soon forget the events of the evening, and what ultimately led to him falling into the pool. A bunch of grown ass adults arguing and ignoring their responsibilities. Carter could have drowned, and no one would have noticed because they were too busy yelling about something that shouldn’t even matter.

Max never imagined the night unfolding like it did, even though Molly tried to tell him it would. He knew Keith would likely never accept Molly, but he’d thought his oldest friend would support him and be happy for him.

“Max,” Derek called from behind him. Max stopped but didn’t turn around. “I’m sorry.”

Max didn’t respond. The apology was too soon, and might very well be too little, too late, but now was not the time to hash it out. He needed to get his woman home, get them both warmed up and then spend the rest of the night, hell maybe even the week, begging her for forgiveness.

* * *

The night of the disastrous dinner party, Molly took a hot shower and collapsed into Max’s bed with barely a word. The next day she slept in but still looked exhausted by lunchtime. The two days after that were more of the same—she got up, went to work, came home, ate dinner then went to bed by eight. She hardly spoke to him, and by the end of the week, Max knew he had to figure out what was wrong. She’d slipped into a depression that worried him.

As soon as they finished eating, he took her hand and guided her into the living room, pulling her down onto his lap despite her protests. He situated her feet so they were up on the couch and turned her so he could see her face while they talked.

Max had decided earlier not to dance around what he wanted to say, instead attacking the problem head on. “What’s wrong, babe? You haven’t been yourself since the night we went to Derek and Gina’s and I’m concerned.”

“I’m fine, Max. Just tired.”

“Nope. I’m not buying that, and if you lie to me again you’re getting a spanking. That’s your one and only warning.” That got her attention, making her eyes go round. Now she was beginning to catch on that he wasn’t fooling around. “Is it because you saw Carter? Is that what’s upsetting you?”

He thought she might be having regrets or second thoughts about giving up her rights to Carter now that she was in a better place and had actually seen the boy. Hell, she saved his life.

“What? No, not at all,” she replied, looking stunned at his suggestion. “I wouldn’t be a good mother. I’m happy he’s with Keith and Sara.”

Max let out a sigh of relief hearing that. He didn’t want to have to tell her there was no way that was ever happening.

“Then what is it, babe?” He gave her a squeeze and looked deep into her troubled eyes. “You know you can talk to me? Tell me anything?”

It took a few minutes for her to put her together her thoughts, and for a second Max thought she wouldn’t respond, but then she started talking.

“I don’t want to come between you and your friends, and that night at Derek and Gina’s proved that I was right about how people see me and our relationship.”

Max opened his mouth to protest but Molly held up her hand to stop him.

“Please let me finish.”

Max shut his mouth and nodded for her to continue.

“The things that Derek said about me were exactly what I’d been expecting him to say, like he pulled the words straight out of my brain. I know you want to believe that people will get over my past, but I’m not sure they’ll ever think I’m good enough for you. No matter what I do. I know that I’m a different person, and I know you know that I’ve changed, but your friends are always going to judge me for what I did. And I deserve that, I know I do.”

Max had heard enough. “Stop right there.”

“Max, I need you to listen to me. Not brush off my concerns,” Molly cried, clearly frustrated.

Max gentled his tone, and gave her a little shake so she’d look at him and not the couch cushions, which she’d been studying intently up until now.

“Babe, I do hear you and I realize that I gave my friends way too much credit. But I stopped you because I’m not going to listen to you talk shit about yourself. We’ve gone over this before, and I’ll say it as many times as it takes to get rid of all that guilt and self-doubt. You do not deserve to have people judge you forever for what you did. Yes, you made bad choices and committed a crime.” She flinched at his blunt words, but he wasn’t going to start sugar coating anything now. He knew her counselor never did, and Molly didn’t really want that either. “But you’ve paid for your crime and have turned your life around; you’re still working on improving yourself and I am nothing but proud of you. I’m sorry the people I thought were my friends treated you the way they did, but their actions show me that they’re not really my friends.”

“Don’t say that, Max. They just care about you,” she protested. “The women seemed nice and willing to give me a chance.”

“If they cared about me they wouldn’t have treated you the way they did. They could have shared their concerns with me privately, at any time over the last few months. They knew we were dating; it wasn’t a secret. Instead they attacked you when you weren’t expecting it.” He grew angrier with every word he spoke.

“Oh, I was expecting it. You were the one that thought everything would be fine,” she reminded him.

“And I’m sorrier for that than you know. I never anticipated that Derek would do that, and I feel terrible that I dismissed your concerns and forced you to go when you didn’t want to.” Max had been beating himself up for days over that decision. Especially as he watched Molly withdraw more and more ever since that night. “Can you forgive me, babe? I promise I won’t disregard your feelings like that again. I told myself I was just pushing you a little and everything would be fine, but you were right and I was wrong.”

Molly appeared surprised by his apology, and that hurt him a little but made him realize that maybe he’d been too heavy handed in their relationship. He could be in control but still listen to her concerns and react appropriately rather than behaving as if he always knew better than she did.

“Of course I forgive you, Max, but are you sure you want to be with me? I know I’m no prize and if you’re going to lose your friends it’s not really worth it.”

“You are worth it, to me. You’re beautiful and caring and I love you. And before you ask, I’ll tell you why. We like the same movies and we like to go hiking and take long walks around the city. You work hard and don’t expect me to take care of you, even though I would in a heartbeat. You’re cute when you get frustrated and sexy all of the time. I can tell you anything and you know you can do the same.”

Her eyes widened with every word he spoke.

“In my eyes, you’ve more than redeemed yourself. If my friends can’t see it, it’s their loss. Sure, I’ll be disappointed, but not because I’m losing them. Because it would be sad if they can’t see how wonderful you are. So no more questioning my love for you. I have faith in us, and you should too.”

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, but her smile let him know that they weren’t from sadness.

“I love you, too, Max. I’ll try not to be so insecure anymore. I believe in us, and I believe in myself. As long as I know you feel the same way I’ll be good.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, pouring every feeling she stirred inside him into it.

When they finally parted, they were both breathless and aroused.

“You better be good, or I’ll have you over my knee before you can blink,” he warned. He said it playfully, but she still knew he meant every word.

She snuggled into his chest, resting her head on his shoulder after their emotional week. Even though he’d made a mistake that night, she didn’t try to argue about him retaining control.

Instead, she said, with a sleepy grin, “I’m counting on it.”