A Christmas Affair: A Seaside Cove Romance (Seaside Cove Romance Series Book 1) (16 page)

"Haha, no. Now." He stood up and smacked her butt. She twitched and laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I'm fine or else I would not have been able to do all that." She sat up leaning on her elbows, but he was already getting dressed. "Fine. I have to cover that window with something first though. Madison probably won't be too happy with me if she gets home to wolves making themselves at home in her cabin."

They crawled into Molly's bed the next morning after they returned from a long night at the emergency room. The doctor ordered x-rays of Molly's chest because she was complaining of pain, but he said everything came out clear. Besides a few scratches and bruises, Molly would be fine. The only bruises the doctor found of any concern where finger prints on both Molly's arms. Jack was taken out of the room, while Molly was questioned, then he was allowed to come back in.

He knew exactly why. The doctor thought Jack had given the bruises to Molly. But from the minute he saw the dark pattern on her arms, he had been biting down a rage. He did not ask Molly about them, and he did not have to. He knew Jeremy had given them to her, and he wondered how far the injuries she had received from him went. He could not help but think of his conversation with Rachel.

But now lying in bed in the quiet of the morning before the town woke up, he had to know. Jack gently stroked her arms, wishing his hands could act like an eraser. "I am going to kill him. I just thought you should know."

"Well, don't kill him, you'll go to jail, and I'm pretty sure we agreed not to be apart again." She looked at him with that sweet smile, those blue eyes that pulled him in like a strong tidal pull in the ocean.

"I knew what he tried to do with you the day he got back into town. When he picked you up for dinner last night, I shouldn't have let you go. I shoulda stopped it right then." Jack looked towards the ceiling, reliving the moment when she had left last night. What had he been thinking, letting her go out with Jeremy?

Molly pulled away and sat across from him on the bed. "Let me? Jack," she leaned in and kissed him swiftly on the mouth. "I like having a protector, someone to watch over me. But, there is no
letting me
do one thing or another. In case you haven't noticed, you're my lover not my dad."

"That's gross," Jack said forcing a smile, but he still had revenge on his mind. "How long has this been going on? How bad has it gotten?" 

"I don't really want to talk about it," Molly said turning away from Jack to fidget with a loose string on the blanket.

"I'm not a demanding guy Molly. I won't boss you around, and I won't tell you what to do in your life. I'll always support you. And I'll try to remember I can't stop you from going on fake dates with your ex boyfriends."
Never again will you want to though.
"But I want to go into this, with no lies, no surprises. If I have to build trust after Jeremy broke it, I'll do that. But I need to know what I'm up against."

"This way he has been acting," she started, and finally turned back to him. He saw the tears shining in her eyes. "Jeremy hasn't always been like this. I don't know what happened, but he's different since he's come home. That day downstairs, I thought... I thought he was going to force himself on me. That was the first time he has been like that, and last night was the final time he lays hands on me. Something is wrong with him, and I told him he needs to see someone, but that is up to him to fix himself now."

"That's right it was the final time, but it shouldn't have happened at all." Jack sat up, putting his head in his hands. "If I had been there, it wouldn't have gotten that far."

"What could you have done to stop me from going?" Molly asked wrapping her arms around Jack's bare broad shoulders. "If you had done anything in front of his mother, I never would have talked to you again."

"I know."

"You already beat yourself up for something you didn’t do, don't do it for another day." Molly rubbed Jack's shoulders. He loved the way her soft petite hands felt on his skin. "I won't let you do that."

Jack laughed at the thought of Molly letting him do anything. But, maybe that was how she felt too. After all, he thought turning around to wrap her in an embrace, isn't that why he fell in love with Molly in the first place? She was strong and confident. She was nothing like any of the other women he knew. Back in high school, and now, she was the one.

"Don't forget, I can defend myself Jack," she murmured into his hard chest. "Last night I kicked him in the balls."

Jack's shoulders began to shake as he laughed. "Wish I could have seen that. I'm just so angry, if I see him again..."

"If you see him again, let me know and I'll kick him in the balls again," Molly said seriously and Jack laughed pulling her in closer.

"Let's sleep," he said as the exhaustion of the past twenty-four hours finally sunk in. They crashed into the bed, a tangle of arms, legs, and sheets. Within seconds they were both asleep.

Jack woke up a few hours later alone in the bed. He rolled over and looked at the clock- almost time to open the bar. He stretched, feeling all of his muscles pull, then cracked all of his knuckles. Finally, he climbed out of the bed, put on his clothes and headed downstairs, careful to tiptoe as he went.

"Well, hello there Jack Frost," Rachel whistled. She was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you always here?" Jack did not feel as irritated as normal to see the woman, maybe she was growing on him.

"She told me you were upstairs, heard you sneaking out. You ain't quiet," she laughed and Jack granted her a smile.

"Thanks, is she out there?" he pointed to the door that led to the store.

"No, she had to go with Brian out to the accident. Get a tow. Fill out a report. All that good stuff."

"Thanks, well, tell her I'll talk to her later. Please." He walked towards the back door, but Rachel put her hand on the doorknob.

"Just go out the front." Rachel pointed towards the storeroom door and raised her eyebrows studying Jack. "From what I hear her and Jeremy are over, so unless
you've
got something to be ashamed about..."

"Thanks." Jack squared off with the woman for a moment. He realized this was the other person looking out for Molly's best. As long as Jack had known Rachel, she did not like Jeremy. She might actually be alright. Jack gave the woman a bear hug.

"Alright, alright," Rachel said between laughs. "I know I'm recently single and everything, but you ain't my type."

"Not on your life," Jack laughed. Then he realized what she said. "Single?"

"Yeah, life's too short to be waiting on a someday," Rachel said as Jack released the woman.
Good for her.

"You got that right," Jack said then pushed his way through the storeroom door. He had to walk through the front of the store and out onto Main Street, and while the store had been empty, the street was full of tourists and Dickens players. Several of whom recognized Jack.

"There he is, good job man!" Eli clapped his hand on Jack's back, and Jack gave him the best daggered look. "I don't mean about that up there." Eli laughed as he pointed up towards Molly's apartment window.

Jack laughed with his friend and headed into his bar. Eli followed right behind him.

"Look at this Jack," he showed him a piece of paper. For a mechanic, Eli was great at figures and money. Suppose that was why he was the treasurer for the Dickens Council.

"You're making a killing, an absolute fucking killing this month. Did you pass this Christmas blend onto your brewing partner yet?"

"Nah, I wasn't sure what he'd think of it. Besides, I'm thinking about staying," Jack said walking up the stairs. Jack knew he could not bear to move away from Molly, not when he just got her back. They would not do the long distance relationship.

Eli trailed behind, eyes on the clipboard he carried in front of him. "Oh yeah? Well, that'd be nice, for us, but man… You'd really clean up with this blend somewhere they could really push the Christmas stuff. Yeah, Dickens is great, but... Your brewery-"

Jack stopped at the door to his apartment and turned to face Eli. "I'm not going. Maybe I could look at opening a local brewery if I can find a partner. But I'm staying here."

"Huh? This Molly thing? Are you serious about her?" Eli finally looked away from the clipboard to Jack, his eyebrows raised quizzically. "Because isn't she still with that dick Jeremy?"

"They're done." Jack was grateful for his friend's protectiveness. "Molly's with me, and I'm staying."

"Hey, cool man, but then maybe you should look at selling the formula. I'm fucking serious man, look at these numbers." Eli shoved the clipboard to Jack.

Jack looked over the totals, then let out a long whistle. "You
are
fucking serious."

"Yeah, we got parents asking where they can buy this back home. When it will be stocked in their store? Some of them have even come back a few times to Dickens, just to buy the beer. It's too late to get anything major going this Christmas season, but by next year? You could start seeing your blend on shelves at major super markets around the east coast."

"This could be my ticket," Jack said, feeling slightly stunned.

"This could be your
fucking
ticket." Eli jabbed him in the shoulder then laughed loudly. "Get more excited! You've got the girl, you're about to have the money."

Christmas Eve

"Are you wearing that little dress under all that?" Jack asked with a twinkle in his green eyes. Molly swatted his arm playfully.

"Can you believe it's Christmas Eve already?" Molly asked straightening out the tinsel on the Santa's Workshop Christmas tree. It was already their last afternoon as the Clauses. "After this, I won't have a concrete excuse to see you every day for so many hours. I'm going to miss you."

He stood up and took her in his arms. So many kisses since that first, and she still felt butterflies every time his mouth met hers. "You never answered my question." He started pulling at the enormous Mrs. Claus outfit.

"It's a secret," she said pushing his hands away.

"You're evil." Jack flipped the open sign over on the door.

"Evilly adorable?" she asked innocently.

Their shift went by faster than Molly expected. There was no rest and no breaks between the children. How the Boughmans did this for years, Molly did not know. But before they knew it, five hours had gone by and all the children were gone.

Molly peaked out the door to make sure no one was working their way down to the Workshop for a last minute visit with Santa, and she saw a ghost town outside. "Dickens season is officially over."

"That wasn't too bad. More work for me than last year, but not bad," Jack said smiling and pulling Molly in for a kiss.

"Mr. Claus, you're terrible," she giggled.

"I'm going to make sure Jessie locked up the rest of the shop before she left," Jack said pinching Molly's ass. "Then I'm going to get changed into something not so... red. I'll see you at your shop in about fifteen?"

Molly smiled as she watched Jack walk towards the other side of the store. The Boughman's niece had forgotten to lock up three times this month. Luckily Jack had noticed and began to check up after her. The poor girl was still getting her life back in order after a breakdown she had in New York last year.

Molly double checked the lock on the front door before stepping out into the crisp Christmas Eve air. A lot had changed in December, so much more than she ever could have wished for. She smiled at all the decorations left hanging from street lamps and the front doors of shops. The Workshop had been important to her as a child, but after this month, nothing could ever replace it in her heart during the holiday season. Not even the Dickens Village.

Molly unlocked the shop's front door and stepped in the dimly lit room. She reached for the switch on the wall and flipped it up. Nothing happened. "Great, that's all I need on Christmas Eve."

Maybe it was just a light bulb going out. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped on the flashlight app, illuminating the area in front of her. She walked to her front desk and bent over to flip on the master switch. Nothing happened. "Hmmm."

"Imagine my luck," a male voice said startling Molly. " The last store open on Christmas Eve, and it is run by the lady who changed my mind about just passing through town."

Cold steel pressed against her neck, and she realized it was a knife at the same time she felt a hand moving over her stomach and pulling her back. She smelt the foul odor of sweat, booze, and dirt. She recognized the voice now, McGinley. "Take me to the cash register."

"If you touch me-" she started but he interrupted by pressing the knife tighter against her skin.

"I'm not interested in you, stupid girl, I just want your money. Consider it a little payback for putting me on the radar of the local police." His voice was raspy, like he smoked too many cigarettes, and he began to cough against her hair. "If you do everything I say, and if I'm in a good mood afterward, I might even let you live when I'm done."

He pushed her around the desk and brought her to the cash register. She punched in the code and the drawer popped open. If she could only reach a few more inches, she could push the alarm button. But he pressed a bag in her hand. "Put the cash in here."

There was not much in the drawer, there should not have been any, but Molly knew the new girl she hired kept forgetting to put the money in the safe at the end of the night. He pulled her further from the alarm button.
How do we get out of this one Mols?

"That's it? That can't be it. Where's your safe?" he asked pressing the knife just hard enough that Molly felt the blade dig into her skin.

"That door," Molly said careful to move her neck as little as possible. She inched her way towards the storeroom. If Jack looked in the window before coming in the store, he would see them. If they were in the storeroom, he would burst in and possibly get them both killed
. I can't believe I finally got everything I wanted, and now I'm going to be stabbed on Christmas Eve.

"Stop moving so slow!" McGinley threw her against the counter and Molly took the moment to try and scramble away. He kicked at her leg and she fell to the ground. She crawled a couple of feet, but he grabbed her hair and pulled her back as she screamed.

Just as suddenly as he had grabbed her hair, he let go and hit the floor. Molly stood and backed away but stopped when she saw Jack. He was standing there with the baseball bat she had left by the front door the other night.

"Jack, oh my god Jack." She took a step to him, but stopped at the look in his eye. "Jack."

"Not right now Molly," he said looming over the man on the floor, smacking the bat into his other hand.

"Jack, he's down, let's call the police, okay?" Molly asked walking slowly to Jack. "Jack!"

He looked at Molly and dropped the bat until he held it in just one hand. His eyes seemed to clear. "Molly."

She wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him with her behind the desk. She picked up the store phone, but found the line was dead. She pressed the alarm button, and put out her hand to Jack. "Give me your cell."

As Jack reached into his pocket to hand her his phone, he jerked forward without warning. He grunted, then slumped over and fell on the floor.

In Jack’s place stood McGinley, knife in his hand. "Why do you people keep wanting to call the police?"

"Jack!" she screamed as she fell to the floor over him. She wanted to make sure he was alright, but knew McGinley would be over the counter in just a moment for her blood, too. She grabbed the bat out of Jack's limp hand and stood upright. She turned just as McGinley lunged for her, and she swung the bat with all her might at the man's face. There was a sickening pop and crunch, then the man fell.

Molly sung praises for the Main Street softball team as she turned Jack over to find the wound. She found the place where he had been injured and grabbed a scarf from under the counter to stop the bleeding.

"Molly," Jack whispered her name. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes. Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing more fabric from under the counter to stop the bleeding as it began to soak his shirt.

"Is he down?" Jack asked.

"Um, you could say that," Molly forced a laugh.

"I love you Molly,” Jack said. “I’ve loved you since the first second I saw you in high school, and I never stopped. Even when you stopped, I did not stop.”

“I never stopped either Jack. Even when I should have.” Molly did not take her eyes off his wound, no matter how much she wanted to look at his eyes. See the life on his face.

"Molly, you are so damn hard to save," he said. "I like that in a woman. Keep saving yourself Molly."

"I will. But, I promise I'll let you change my tire on a dark highway one night or something. Then you can say you saved me," she said between the tears. "Jack?"

Molly heard sirens in the distance. Not close enough. She rested against his back, allowing her head to slowly rise and fall with Jack's each breath. The movements came further and further apart, until they finally stopped when she heard the first steps of the emergency responders on the floor of her shop.