Chapter 96: Scott's Warning

Molly-

“Is Becca not joining us?” my mother asked as we sat down for dinner that night.
It had been the first time in a while that we had all been home for a meal, and my mother had been very excited when I had joined them at the table. The smile she gave me had almost made it worth being in Paul’s presence and enduring the not-so-subtle glares he threw at me since I walked into the room.
However, I wasn’t about to let him push me out of this meal with my mother. This was her favorite time of the day, and I didn't know if I would get another chance to spend it with her.
“No,” I answered with a shake of my head. “She just needs some time alone.”
Williamina clicked her tongue. “I don’t blame her at all. I can’t believe that Ingram would be so cruel and heartless as to kick her own daughter out of her house just for spending the night with a MAN. I mean, for goodness’ sake! Becca is over the age of 18 now!”
I shrugged and refused to look up from my plate, even though I was dying to see what Paul was thinking of my tangent.
“Well, Mrs. Delaney has never been the picture of sane and reasonable, Mom. Surely you have noticed,” I replied, trying to sound flippant.
“True, true. Well, no matter either way. You let Becca know that she has a home with us. There’s nothing she could do that would force me to kick her out of here,” my mother reassured me with a pat on my hand.
I couldn’t help but look up at Paul to see his reaction to my mother’s words. There was no expression whatsoever on his face as he ate his dinner silently as if he hadn’t heard a single word.
“Isn’t that right, honey?” Williamina looked to Paul for backup.
Paul looked up from his food and gave my mother a soft smile. “Very true, dear. There is nothing Becca can do that would make us kick her out.”
My jaw tensed, and I had to look away from them both to maintain the small string of control I had over my temper. In my head, I shoved all of the food off the table before knocking it over and screaming at Paul that he was a hypocritical bastard. I wanted to tell my mother everything and risk whatever the future held without Paul Monroe and his damn money. Even as I tried to keep myself together, my mind screamed at him, calling him every name under the sun.
But I kept silent and allowed my mind to collect another memory of my mother’s family dinner time. I didn’t know how much more of these I would have until I had to leave. Hell, I had no idea where I would go or how I would get there. I could wait the two weeks that Paul gave me and allow him to help. But I didn’t want anything to do with him, and God only knew what he would do when he found out I really WAS pregnant.
No, I needed a different avenue.
Before dessert was brought out, I excused myself to check on Becca. After we returned from the hospital, where she had given the Horton family a piece of her mind, she had headed up to the guest room, and I hadn’t seen or heard from her since.
Peeking into the room, I heard the soft snores of deep sleep. I hoped it helped Becca more than it had been helping me the last few days.
“How is she doing?” Scott’s voice startled me into shutting the door harder than I had meant to.
“Damn it, Scott!” I hissed out. “Don’t scare me like that!”
He chuckled a bit. “Sorry, thought you heard me come up.”
Yeah, right, the man moved like a jungle cat if he wanted to. I cleared my throat and shook off the last bit of adrenaline pumping through me.
“She’s sleeping now, which is probably for the best. How are you doing?” I asked as I searched his handsome face for signs of the earlier exhaustion.
There were still tight lines around his eyes and lips, but beyond that, he looked a bit more rested.
“I’m better. I was just getting ready to head to the club to talk to Esme and Laurent before they returned home to Paris. Then I’m going to check on Noah again… if he’ll see me,” Scott explained, then moved in close to me and gripped my chin gently. “Are you okay? You look… exhausted.”
I winced at his hesitant description. After barely sleeping last night and all the strain of today, I would be surprised if I JUST looked exhausted.
“I’m fine, Scott. It’s just been a hard day, and I’m worried about Becca,” I explained with a weak smile.
Scott just stared at me for a few minutes before finally sighing. “Molly… I know something else is going on. I can tell. I wish you would let me know what it was. But tonight, I’ll let you rest, and we’ll sit down tomorrow to discuss this. Maybe I need to have another rule added. When I ask you what is wrong, you tell me so I can help you… What do you think?”
It sounded perfect to me. Being able to tell Scott everything about me and have him to lean on when I didn’t know what to do. But I knew that was just a pipe dream right now.
“I think you should get going, or you’ll be up all night again,” I answered, pulling away from him and trying to put some distance between us before I melted into his arms.
I knew it was the wrong move to make when I saw Scott stiffen. He wasn’t used to me putting space between us unless there was something wrong. If I was hoping to convince him that he and I were okay, I had just royally screwed up.
Scott’s eyes narrowed on me. “Maybe I should make time to talk tonight.”
I panicked. “No! It’s really okay, Scott. I am just tired and don’t want to keep you. We need to find out what is going on with Noah. It’s really important to Becca that she knows what’s happening.”
“It is not more important than you and I, Molly,” Scott argued.
I bit my lip as I searched my head. “I know… but… what about Esme and Laurent? Shouldn’t you go speak with them? I’ll be here in the morning. We can talk then. I promise.”
I was lying through my teeth and could feel the punch of shame in my chest. Carefully schooling my face to not react to it, I forced a bright smile and moved into his arms. I stood up on my tippy toes and brushed a kiss on his lips. My heart twisted painfully at the feel of his lips under mine. They were sweet, warm, and delicious, even though my own felt cold from the lies I told him.
Scott let out a low growl and pulled me into his arms, slanting his mouth over mine to seal our lips together perfectly. His tongue swept into my mouth to dance and tease my own, spreading goosebumps over my entire body.
I was breathless and weak-kneed by the time Scott pulled away. My lips felt slightly bruised from the power of his kiss, but the rest of me was buzzing and more than ready to do whatever he asked me to so I could feel his arms around me once more.
“I’ll see you in the morning, baby girl. Get plenty of rest. Because tomorrow night you will tell me everything, or you will regret it for days, do you understand me?” Scott warned me, giving me a stern look.
I swallowed hard and took a step back from him. I really was running out of time. I knew Scott well enough to know that his words were not an idle threat.
“Yes, Sir,” I whispered.
“Good girl. Now get to bed,” he instructed, pointing to my door.
I turned on my heel and hurried to my room, not wanting to risk speaking to him anymore. Not to mention… I had twenty-four hours to figure out a way out of here, or I knew I would be spilling everything out to Scott. There was no way I could keep dodging his questions.
“It’s time for me to leave,” I said to the empty room, feeling those words echo in my empty heart.