CHAPTER 13

Their mission was clear. Molly had seen Evelyn drive by many times, same direction each time, nearly each night, parking in or around the same spot each time. Evelyn seemed to make it inside wherever she was going completely undetected. It couldn’t be far, so Ben’s made sense, just like Cady had said. But why?

Cady was confident in her declaration of such just days prior, so confident that not elaborating on such spoke volumes. If Molly had learned anything these past months, it was that Evelyn wasn’t the only one who seemed to have her finger on the pulse of this town — Cady and the bitty brigade mafia posse did too.

Why Ben’s, though? It was long past business hours at Ben’s Brakes & BBQ, and her car was always outside — clearly not there for service. A car needing that much service probably just needed replacing anyway. Barbecue…every night? Evelyn didn’t strike her as the afterhours pulled pork and barbecue beans kind of lady. So, Ben…what did she want with Ben?

He was a sweetheart of a man, never on her Facebook blasts, or was that the answer right there? Ben had a secret? Evelyn knew it, and she’d been blackmailing him, hence no Facebook posts? Is she that dark and ornery? She was Evelyn Shirley — of course she was.

So, what was she holding over poor Ben’s head? This was going to be the victory worth waiting for. Not only were they going to even the score, but they would reveal Evelyn for the snake in the grass she was and spring Ben from her venomous grips!

She’d figured it out! Molly had the mystery solved, most of it anyway, and she couldn’t wait to tell Seth.

They needed to get there early, before Evelyn could sneak in…

The sun had just passed the hills to the west, leaving only stray shadows of light dancing across the valley. Seth and Molly had arrived at Ben’s, which had long since closed, leaving the parking lot quiet. The couple pulled straight into a parking space in the far corner, rather than back in, hoping to look less conspicuous that way. They perched themselves in the rear cargo area and watched from the shadows, one empty parking lot over from where Evelyn was expected to be.

It would be less obvious to eagle-eye Evelyn, and they could duck down low, not to be seen, without missing any action. After sharing her suspicions with Seth, he agreed with Molly’s ideas and took their sleuthing a step further. Seth had stepped into Ben’s earlier, just before closing, to order Ben’s famous pulled pork sandwich to go.

When he entered from the front, he slipped a small piece of heavy-duty tape on the inside of the door, so it could shut, but not latch, allowing them easy access later in the evening. He made sure to leave through the back, taping that door as well.

They were becoming real 007s, proud of the high level at which they were playing the game. Tonight was the night. The couple was certain they were going to get the last laugh, beating Evelyn at her own game. Facebook would document the entire scandal, once and for all.

The final rays of light faded as the starry night took over. They had long since finished their delicious barbecue and gone over their plan and the possible discoveries numerous times. It was fool proof. They quickly exited Seth’s SUV and made it to the back of the vehicle where Seth began to put the rear seats down so they wouldn’t feel so tight.

While he fidgeted with the buttons, Molly caught a glimpse of something familiar. Upon closer look, she noticed it was a bag from her store between an emergency kit and the rear seat slowly folding down. As the seat gave way, Molly saw not one, but several bags, and each contained…you guessed it — books!

Molly reached inside the vehicle and picked one up and looked inside, gaining Seth’s attention. She picked up a second one, then another. All full. Confused by her findings, she turned to Seth, only to find his surprised face and him already stumbling for words.

“You haven’t read any of these? They’re still in the plastic sleeve.” Fluster and what sounded like a bit of hurt laced Molly’s question.

“Uh, no. Not yet. I, uh…haven’t got to those yet.” He had about as much confidence in his own words as he did that Evelyn was a saint.

Molly pulled out more bags, finding more and more books, all still carefully placed in their protective sleeve. “Seth, this is…this is like everything from the last few months.”

Molly’s face dropped from confusion to sadness. She didn’t understand. Molly wasn’t sure she wanted to understand. There was not a good reason for something like this. Not one she could decipher anyway.

“Some of these are the special editions I ordered in,” she went on. “We talked about these books. You told me your favorite parts. I don’t understand. What gives?”

Seth was reeling, panic was settling in. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. He never imagined her finding them, so he didn’t have a good excuse prepared. “I just haven’t read them yet.”

Lame excuse, but all he had for now.

“Seth, then why keep coming in for more?” Molly asked.

He looked around, aware of their surroundings and the high chance Evelyn could swoop in at any moment and catch them. Again.

“Here,” he grabbed her hand and helped her into the SUV, following close behind, “let’s get in before we get caught out here.”

They climbed in, Molly somewhat reluctant, not sure what to think of her discovery. As they settled in, she couldn’t help but notice the cooler — the same cooler he had packed with food, snacks, and drinks for every one of their super snooping outings — and her heart warmed.

“The books?” Molly asked, hoping there was good reasoning in his behavior.

“The books.” Seth looked out the window, then to his wringing hands before he looked at her. “I don’t read.”

“Don’t read?” she asked. The whole situation struck her as odd, but his admission even more so.

“I mean I can read.” Seth laughed. “But don’t like to…read,” he finished on a quiet note. Seth was embarrassed by the admission and knew Molly would piece this together to figure out his weakness.

“I don’t understand. If you don’t read, why keep coming in?” she asked. “Why all the books?”

“Uh, look. I don’t like reading, it’s not my thing, never has been.” Seth paused, mustering up the courage. She was really going to make him say it. “I like…you,” he confessed, feeling the weight of his secret and insecurities finally lifting from his weighted shoulders.

Molly’s head cocked, still confused by whatever was going on. “Me?”

“You,” Seth emphasized. “I would come in to see…you.”

Molly shook her head. He still wasn’t making any sense. He spent good money on these books. “Seth, but we talk books. You seemed…”

“Interested?” he interrupted. “I was — am…in you. I would come in to ask you out and never quite got the courage. You would start talking about books, get so excited, and you were so passionate about it, so I just…bought them.”

“That’s a lot of books. I’m not that great at sales.” She laughed.

“I was there to see you. The books were just a means to see you, Molly.” He let out a deep sigh, feeling relieved to finally tell her what he had been wanting to tell her for months. “You took my breath away the first time I saw you. You were painting the storefront, covered in paint, days before opening. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since.”

“Seth, that was nearly nine months ago,” Molly snorted, her face quickly turning serious when she realized he wasn’t kidding.

“I know. I just thought I’d eventually get the nerve, and then…Evelyn,” he admitted. “I didn’t have to ask you out. Molly, I’ve spent the last nine months falling for you and I don’t think there’s anywhere else to fall. You’re always on my mind — morning, noon, and night. My best days are spent with you. When I’m not with you, I can’t stop thinking of you.”

Molly sat expressionless. “Seth…I don’t know what to say.”

Disappointment crept in as he anticipated what was to come. What Molly was about to say, and what she thought about his declaration. Seth tried to read her expression, but she wasn’t giving anything away.

“I didn’t think — I didn’t know, Seth,” she said quietly, finding his eyes again with hers.

This, Seth thought, is where it happens — where Molly says she isn’t looking for anything but friendship. This was the big letdown, so he braced himself for what she was about to say. Here was the friend-zone speech.

“I didn’t think you wanted to date me. I thought this was just…it,” Molly went on. “I mean, we had fun, but I thought that was all it was for you,” she admitted.

“You what? You just want to be friends, then…with benefits or something?” Seth’s tone was a little harsher than he intended, but it was the best he could do. He was about to get a broken heart.

With her head shaking wildly, Molly corrected, “No. I wanted you too, Seth.”

And there it was, the words he had been hoping for and thought he would never get. “You…want me?”

“I have been chasing something for years, looking in all the wrong places. Then there was you.” Molly smiled. “I’ve never had someone listen to me, protect me, care for me like you do. You wanted me for me. I thought what I saw in you was an image of what I wanted, not what I could have. I thought this was just about…Evelyn.” Molly’s words warmed Seth as much as they stung. The time they had wasted playing cat and mouse when they could have been something so much more was frustrating, but he would find a way to forgive himself for that later.

Right now, he was going to kiss her, and he did. Long, hard, and full of new promise. For a man of few words, Seth had plenty to say tonight — but not nearly as much as this kiss spoke to her heart. He held her close with no intention of letting her go, and every intention of telling her what she needed to know more than anything else tonight.

With her sweet face in his hands, Seth held her stare. “Molly, I lo—”

Before Seth could finish his thought — his big emotional declaration — he was interrupted by Molly yanking him down. Headlights entered the parking lot, scanning for a place to park. Evelyn Shirley.