Sealed with a Kiss

CHAPTER FIVE

HUNTER HELD the door for Molly as she walked into the Starbucks on Main Street in town. Except for the fact that they were in a shopping center with a huge parking lot out front, they might as well be in Albany. All Starbucks looked alike, which would have given him a feeling of comfort if not for the woman leading the way.

He hadn’t looked beyond her luscious lips in the hallway earlier. He did now and she was still the Molly he admired but he realized that the woman who dressed for maximum impact was nowhere to be seen. Sure, she’d been in her red cowboy boots the day she’d come to see him, but he’d noted her bland-colored top then, and taking in her outfit now, he wasn’t the only one who’d changed.

She wore a pale pink V-neck top and soft faded denim jeans with a pair of running sneakers. No bright colors, no dazzling accessories, no red cowboy boots. Since seeing them on her long legs again in his apartment, red had become his favorite color. Just last night he’d had another dream about making love to her while she rode him wearing nothing except those sexy boots.

Today she’d ridden behind him on his bike.

She said she’d never been on a motorcycle before yet she’d settled in like a natural. She’d wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight, aligning her body with his and pressing herself into him harder with each turn they’d taken. He’d imagined her breasts flattened against his back as he drove. The bike always gave him a rush and an adrenaline high, but with Molly plastered against him, he could add arousal and a surge of sexual energy he desperately needed to work off.

Considering the way she’d kissed him in the hall, Hunter didn’t think getting Molly into bed would be all that difficult. Unfortunately he still wasn’t sure it would be smart. He wasn’t certain sex would be the way to get her out of his system. Instead, he feared he’d want her even more, since that was the state he’d found himself in ever since that kiss.

As she walked ahead of him now, her clothes might indicate a woman who didn’t want to be noticed, but the sexy sway of her hips and the occasional flip of her hair told a different story. Everyone in the store took notice of Molly as she entered, and the farther they walked inside, people recognized her and called out a greeting.

“Hi, Molly.”

“Hey, Molly.”

“How’s your dad?”

The hellos and questions came rapid fire from around the shop and Molly answered each person by name and with a smile. She seemed more at ease and happier here than she had at any time in law school or in his hometown.

She really had found the home she’d been looking for. Could he begrudge her that?

They stepped up to the counter.

“Grande fat-free decaf latte with sugar-free vanilla?” a young guy behind the counter asked.

He had dark brown hair cut short and a roving eye that liked to settle on Molly’s chest. He was young and obviously cocky enough to think he could compete for a woman like Molly.

Hunter gritted his teeth as Molly treated the other guy to a wide smile. “You could have just asked if I was having the usual.”

The barista shrugged and picked up a cup. “But I wanted to impress you.”

Molly placed her hand on top of his. “You always impress me, J.D.”

“I’ll have a large black coffee,” Hunter said, fully aware he was being ignored by the kid who wanted to hit on Molly.

“How’s your father hanging in there?” J.D. asked Molly as he got to work on her drink.

“He’s fine. Confident he’ll be exonerated.”

“Glad to hear it. Once he’s out, you tell him anytime he needs a breather to come by. Coffee’s on me.” J.D. grinned at Molly.

“The way to a woman’s heart is through her father’s stomach?” Hunter asked.

Molly nudged him with her elbow. “Shh. He’s just being friendly.”

Over Molly’s objection, he paid for their drinks, hoping the gesture would make it clear to Romeo that Molly was here with him.

Finally, J.D. handed Hunter his change and turned his attention to the next customer, freeing Hunter and Molly to settle into a small table in the back.

“Don’t you have to be at least sixteen to work?” Hunter asked. “That guy is barely old enough to shave.”

She leaned back in her chair, her eyes glittering with laughter. “You’re jealous of J.D.?” She seemed seriously amused at his expense.

“I’m not jealous of anyone.” He couldn’t believe he’d gotten himself into this kind of discussion. “Now, about your father,” he said, choosing the one subject guaranteed to shift her focus.

“He’s innocent,” Molly declared forcefully.

And Hunter realized this topic wouldn’t be any easier. “It doesn’t matter whether he’s guilty or innocent, he’ll get my best representation anyway. You went to law school. You know that.”

She folded her hands together on the table and leaned closer. “But I need you to believe he’s innocent.” Molly frowned. A cute frown, but a turndown of her lips nonetheless.

He didn’t want to argue over this, but she needed to understand it wasn’t his job to take moral sides. Not as the attorney of record and certainly not as the man who could too easily fall under her spell once again. If he cared about her father’s guilt or innocence, if he cared about Molly’s emotional state, he’d set himself up for a rejection that would take a lot longer than eight months for him to get over.

“Molly-”

She leaned forward. “You’ve read the file, you know the facts, but you don’t know the man and my father. General Addams would not kill his best friend,” she said, imploring him with her voice, begging him with her deep eyes and soulful expression.

Hunter groaned and tried to give her the speech he gave to every client or relative who insisted they needed him to believe in their innocence in order to represent them. “Listen to me. You need me to be your father’s advocate not his champion. There’s a difference.”

She shook her head and he caught a whiff of her fragrant scent. His groin reacted as if she were plastered against him, but his brain somehow managed to function and focus on their conversation.

“He’s my father. My real father. One who cares about me and…” She paused and swallowed hard, fighting what he felt certain were tears.

Shit.

“Look,” he began, “I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling right now, but I’ll do my best for him.”

Molly nodded. “I never doubted that or I wouldn’t have called you. So let’s just enjoy. There’ll be time enough to get into details later.” She pushed his cup toward him.

He nodded in appreciation and lifted his cup to take a long, hot sip, burning the roof of his mouth in the process. They sat in surprisingly comfortable silence, sharing their morning coffee and talking about general subjects like the news and the weather. Not in a stilted way that people tended to do, but in a relaxed, understanding one, causing Hunter to remember just how well they’d always gotten along.

He gradually brought the subject back to her current situation. “Do you like living with everyone or do you hate being surrounded by people? After all the years of living on my own, I’m not sure I could move in with strangers.” It reminded him too much of foster care.

She pursed her glossy lips as she thought about his question. “It was uncomfortable at first and there are still things about being on my own that I miss,” she said at last. “I’m definitely not going to stay with them forever. It just seemed like a good way to get to know my family and make up for lost time.”

“Even with Jessie’s hostility?” he asked, seriously wondering how she could handle it day in and day out.

“She’s been the biggest challenge. I just try and put myself in her place. It usually calms me down enough to ignore her, you know?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I was an only child, so I never had to get used to brothers and sisters. At least not until later on.”

“Until foster care.”

At her use of the term, everything inside him froze and he wished he’d never said anything at all. “Right.” His jaw locked tight.

“Was it that bad?” she asked softly.

He never talked about his past. Even when he’d told her he’d grown up in the system, she’d known better than to ask for details. Obviously now that she’d successfully dug into her own roots, she thought she had carte blanche to ask about his.

“Yeah, it was that bad. The nightmare you hear about. Can we leave it at that?” Hunter was deliberately abrupt in the hopes she’d drop the subject.

“No, we can’t.” Molly reached out and covered his hand with hers. She looked at him with a combination of caring and curiosity in her gaze. No pity.

He’d never had the sense that she pitied him. Maybe because her own childhood hadn’t been a picnic, she was so able to understand his.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve gotten beyond the past. Maybe talking about it will help.” The hope in her voice implored him to open up.

“Just because you’ve found some freaking fairy tale doesn’t mean I will. Leave it alone.”

He expected a wounded look.

“Do you ever wish you could look up your family?” she asked instead.

Hunter closed his eyes and counted to ten before meeting her gaze again. “Do you ever wish your mother would show up and ruin the good thing you’ve got going? No, you don’t. Just like I don’t want my deadbeat, alcoholic father who walked out on me and my mother to knock on my door. And I sure as hell don’t ever want to see the woman who turned me over to foster care showing up for a handout. That’s the beauty of stupid questions. They don’t deserve answers.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the hard chair, pulling his hand away from hers.

Molly raised her eyebrows, seemingly unfazed by his outburst. “Actually I’d like to see my mother again because I have a lot of unanswered questions for her. But I wouldn’t expect anything from her this time. Lesson learned on that score.”

He nodded, her calm, quiet answer deflating some of his frustration, which hadn’t been directed at her but at his lousy childhood, at least until the year he’d spent in Ty’s home. But that had been ripped away from him, as well.

She was right. She’d come to terms with her past. He was still powder-keg angry.

He let out a deep breath and exhaled hard. “Not everyone can get things wrapped up in a neat little bow like you did.”

“That’s true, but you’re only hurting yourself by holding on to so much anger. I’m here if you want to talk about it, that’s all.”

But for how long? Hunter wondered. How long was Molly here for him before she walked away the way she did before? The way everyone in his life tended to do.

“Thanks,” he muttered, unwilling to engage in that particular conversation.

“If I ever had kids, I’d never treat them like they were less important than the gum wrapper on my shoe,” Molly said, taking him off guard.

“Or the next drink,” Hunter added without thinking.

A cute smile pulled at her lips. “See, that wasn’t so hard. Joining me in my griping, I mean. It felt good, didn’t it?”

He inclined his head. “I’m sure neither one of us would leave a kid in the restroom of Penn Station without a look back.”

“Is that what your mother did?” she asked, obviously horrified by the prospect.

He’d never admitted it before. “I was there half a day before someone noticed. Eventually she just washed her hands of me and gave me over to the state.”

“That’s an awful thing to do to your own child.” Molly fidgeted in her seat, unable to sit still, wanting to jump up and hold on to Hunter tight, yet not wanting to show him any pity that would force him to build up his walls against her. He was finally talking about himself and she considered it progress.

“I used to lay awake at night in whichever home I was in, thinking she must have known what she was doing by leaving. She must have known some deep dark secret about me that made me unworthy.” He glanced into his half-finished cup of coffee, looking lost.

“Oh, no. She was the one not worthy of having a child. Definitely not worthy of you.” Her stomach twisted in tight knots, her emotions on edge.

He groaned aloud. “Whatever. It’s in the past.”

She only hoped it had helped to talk about it with her now.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Definitely.” They’d bonded, whether he’d admit it or not. Molly was grateful for the progress she’d made. “Are you all set?”

“I’ve had enough caffeine to take on the justice system,” he said.

“That’s good enough for me.” She rose and he stood, too.

“I’m going to buy a bottle of water before we go. Want one?”

“No thanks.” She glanced at the line at the register. “How about I just meet you outside, okay?”

He nodded.

“Don’t give J.D. a hard time,” she said teasingly before she walked past Hunter and pushed through the door. After their intense conversation she could use some fresh air. Once outdoors, she breathed in deep. The breeze felt cool and good on her cheeks.

Molly walked to the corner and leaned against the brick wall, taking in the dark buildings. They had character, she thought. She really did love this town and wouldn’t mind putting down roots here.

She wondered when Hunter thought about the future, what he envisioned. All that talk about kids earlier had brought up a longing she’d held on to for a long time. One that had only grown stronger on meeting her own father and his other children. Molly had always wanted a family that belonged to her alone.

“Hey.” Hunter came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”

She shivered at his warm touch. “I’m just enjoying some fresh air.”

“No, you’re worrying about your father.”

Her father hadn’t been on her mind at the moment but he was never far from her thoughts. Better Hunter think that than know the truth, that she was longing for a future that was probably out of her reach. “Okay, score one for you.”

He stepped closer. “Everything will be fine, Molly.”

“You can’t promise me that.”

“You’re probably right,” he said, his breath warm against her ear. “But I can promise you have the best lawyer in New York and Connecticut combined.”

“Not to mention the most egotistical.” She chuckled and eased back against him.

Now that he’d dropped his anger, he had a calming effect on her that she desperately needed. And when she remembered their earlier kiss and the vibration of the bike between her thighs, Hunter had another effect on her altogether.

But while she had him here, she might as well push him harder on a subject that was very important to her. “Promise me that once you talk to my father, we’ll revisit the conversation about guilt and innocence?” She needed him to believe in her father as much as she did.

She was putting not just her faith but her entire family’s welfare in his hands.

“We’ll talk,” he promised cryptically. No wonder he was such a good lawyer.

And such a fine man.

They’d been brought back together by her father’s case. Molly hoped she could use that time to strengthen other bonds between them, as well.

JESSIE LAY BESIDE Seth on his bed in his room. Her head was at the top on the pillows, his at the foot propped against a load of clothes his mother expected him to put away.

She’d sat with him every day after school, but he wouldn’t talk. About anything. “I know you’re upset about your dad being, um, killed, but you have to talk or you’ll never feel better.”

He rolled his head to the side. “It’s not just that.”

“What is it then?” She wanted to know so badly.

He sat up and she did the same until they faced each other. “That night? My dad hit my mom,” he said in a rough voice she’d never heard from him before. “I heard him.”

“What?” His dad had a temper, sure, and sometimes he’d been a little scary when he was in a mood, but he was her uncle Paul and he’d never hit anyone. She was sure of it. “Maybe you just thought that’s what happened, but-”

He shook his head. “I’m positive. He hit her and she said she’d had enough, that it was the last time he’d lay a hand on her.” His voice shook and his body trembled.

Jessie suddenly shivered, too, nausea rising in her chest. “Wow,” she said. “Wow.” She didn’t know what to say to Seth or how to make him feel better. “I’m sorry.” Those were the only words that came to mind.

He stared across the room with glazed eyes. She didn’t know if he’d even heard her. “I never knew,” he said. “I lived in the house and I never knew my dad hit my mom. I should have known. I should have stopped him.” He rocked back and forth on the mattress.

Jessie couldn’t take another second. She crawled next to him and put her arm around his shaking shoulders. “How could you possibly know if your parents didn’t want you to? You’re the kid. They’re the adults. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I can and I do.”

He suddenly sounded like his father. His dad was an officer in the army, just like hers. He knew how to give orders and both men lived to protect the people they loved. Jessie didn’t consider herself overly smart, not like her sister Robin who went to Yale. But she understood people, especially people she loved. Seth had just discovered his father wasn’t the hero he thought, and he blamed himself for not knowing. For not stepping up and being the man of the house when his dad hadn’t been.

“There’s more,” Seth said before Jessie could say anything. But his tone of voice scared her. “After my dad stormed out, Mom was crying and I wasn’t sure what to do. I went back to my room for a little while, then I went downstairs to talk to her but your father was already there.”

Jessie nodded, still scared, not knowing what was coming next.

“I stood by the door and listened. Your father was furious. He was angry for not forcing Mom to leave Dad before now.”

“Which meant Dad knew about the abuse.” Jessie bit down on her lower lip.

Seth nodded. “And Frank swore that if Dad touched her again, he would kill him. But it should have been me who said that. It should have been me who took care of things long before.”

“It’s okay,” she said helplessly, her heart breaking for him.

He met her gaze. “You need to know, I don’t believe your father killed my dad,” he said before burying his face in his knees, his body convulsing in heaving sobs.

“Shh. I understand.” His father was gone and he blamed himself for not confronting him before he died, Jessie thought.

But she knew Seth also had to miss his dad. And he probably felt guilty for doing so since his dad had hurt his mom. This mess was tearing Seth apart and there was nothing she could do except be there for him now.

She swallowed hard and held her friend. A long time later, after he’d wiped his eyes and finally met her gaze, she swore she’d never tell anybody she’d seen him cry.

AFTER STARBUCKS, Molly surprised Hunter by asking him to drop her off at her friend Liza’s art gallery. Though he could see the desire to come along when he visited her father in her eyes, she understood that she’d only be a distraction. Molly knew Hunter needed to meet alone with his client for the first time, but she let him know that she still intended to be involved in the case from this point on.

In the meantime, she said she’d keep busy with her weekly volunteer session at the senior citizens’ center downtown. Before Hunter left for his meeting, Molly had introduced him to Liza, a brunette with a pretty smile and quiet intelligence who taught painting classes to the older folks who resided at the complex above the senior center.

Molly explained her role at the center in animated detail. She read, played gin rummy or just talked with the seniors. Her eyes and expression came alive with love and care when she spoke about them, and though she claimed she merely helped them pass the time, Hunter knew better. She not only listened to their frustrations, she provided legal aid, too, guiding them in the making of basic wills, and walking them through selling or renting their homes or apartments.

He thought he’d been the pro bono junkie, taking on the underdog because he’d been one himself while growing up. Helpless in the child-welfare system, he’d vowed he’d never be that defenseless again and he’d aid others who felt the same way. Now he discovered Molly shared his passion, too.

This was a new side to her character, or at least one he’d been unaware of until now. While in law school, Hunter and Molly had shared a singular drive to succeed with no thought to volunteer work, deep friendships…or much else. Nothing had been different when she’d moved to his hometown last year. She’d worked for a bank, handling real estate closings and other property-related cases but her social life had been nonexistent. She’d been focused on her family, on what she hoped would be a new beginning and the start of a relationship with her selfish mother.

If Lacey’s uncle had actually inherited the trust fund, Molly might have gotten the happy family unit she’d so desired, but Lacey’s resurrection had ended her uncle’s chances. Without the inheritance as a draw, Molly’s mother had dumped her fiancé and left town, once again without a thought for the daughter who’d banked on finally having her mother’s love. Any inroads Hunter had made with Molly as a result of her short-lived happiness had crumbled and she’d taken off, as well. At no time in her past had Hunter ever seen Molly emotionally settled.

Now, despite the murder charge hanging over her father, deep in her heart Molly was happy. She’d found the acceptance she’d been searching for, and that sense of peace had enabled her to broaden her horizons without fear of getting close to others. She had a job, a routine, friends and volunteer work. She had people she loved and cared about and she had a life worth living.

Hunter envied her those things and he was determined to win the case that would enable her to keep the life she’d created. Molly needed security to thrive and Hunter was determined to give it to her.

And so, Hunter realized, he found himself in the exact position he’d promised himself he would not be in. Caring about Molly’s father’s guilt or innocence, and her family’s future.

He cared about Molly.

Apparently he’d never learn to insulate himself from this woman, so the best thing he could do would be to win the case and leave before he got any more entangled.