A Christmas Affair: A Seaside Cove Romance (Seaside Cove Romance Series Book 1) (4 page)

"Of course, we are leaving the store open and under the care of our niece, and she has promised to keep Santa's Workshop open and operating this year, as long as the town provides Santa and Mrs. Claus," Mr. Boughman said.

Molly nodded and looked into the audience, was anyone going to volunteer? She looked across the faces, stopping on each one that she thought would make a great Mr. or Mrs. Claus. She had forgotten about Jack until her eyes skimmed by him. He was looking at her again, or was it still? She did not know.

She could not believe he yelled at her like that in front of a room full of people about a flier on his door. A flier she did not even put there! Of course he was not going to comply with the Dickens Village. The council had been fools to think they could have one hundred percent participation this year, and now things were falling apart. Beer lights and no Santa and Mrs. Claus! If only she could come up with a way to convince Jack to join Dickens Village and to find a new Mr. And Mrs. Claus before Dickens Village started in a few days.

Think Molly.

Jack watched Molly with interest. Her emotions seemed to be all over this place this afternoon. He wondered if it had anything to do with the drunk man who was hanging around last night. Had he really spooked her so much it passed over into the next day? Or was something else bothering her? He stared at her, willing her to look at him, so he could... Well, he did not know what he would do if she looked at him. Right now he would settle just for looking into her blue eyes.

The town was losing the Boughmans. He liked them well enough, and was happy they could move on and get treatment for whatever her illness was instead of sitting around here waiting to die. No one should have to do that. But Molly seemed upset about the news. Was she actually so wrapped up in this Dickens Village stuff that she would rather they sit around here as the Clauses, instead of going off to live the rest of their lives? He was tempted to get her alone and ask her.

Of course, he wanted to get her alone to do a lot of things to her. For her. With her. All of his old feelings for Molly had been hammering at him since last night. He shuddered as he pushed the thoughts away from his mind.
Not the time or the place.

"We can draw names out of a hat. We can ask for volunteers," Doug said as the Boughmans walked back to their seats. Jack looked around. Volunteers for what? To be the Clauses? He quickly dragged his hands from behind his head, to under his butt. No way he was going to be mistaken as a volunteer. Not when they could not even tell him how to-

"I'll be Mrs. Claus," Molly said. "I'll volunteer, unless someone else steps up?"

No one else raised their hand. Doug cleared his throat, "Right Molly, do you think you can do it? It's a big responsibility. You won't be able to be at your store as much during Dickens Village. Do you think your staff can handle the rush?"

"Yes," Molly looked surprised and jerked her head to the side. "My staff is amazing."

"Right. Well then, that just leaves the role of Santa."

Jack sat up in his seat, leaning forward and fixed Molly with a strong stare willing her to look at him.
What the hell is wrong with me?
He did not want to volunteer. He did not want to be Santa. He was not in the Christmas spirit. But if Molly asked him, he would be Santa Claus this year. For a chance to spend time with her over the next month, he would do it.
So I repeat, what the hell is wrong with me?

"No one?" Doug said. "Well, I would do it, I will be out of town for the last few weeks in December."

Convenient
. Jack rolled his eyes skyward.

"I could ask on the news this evening." Bridget stood up. "We could see if we have a few Santa volunteers. Molly, you're a pretty girl, you'll make an adorable Mrs. Claus. Would you come sit with me this evening for a few minutes so the men could see the beauty they would get to spend the season with if they volunteer?" Bridget smiled her million-watt smile, the one that had so many men telling Jack to turn off the game and put on the news at the bar. Even he had to admit, it was some smile. Just not the smile that Molly had when she was genuinely happy.

"Um, uh, I guess so?" Molly stammered and ended her with her answer sounding more like another question. Jack noticed she had blushed when Bridget called her pretty. She was more than pretty though. She was the most beautiful woman Jack had ever seen, he was reminded of that fact when he saw her last night. It was a slap in the face for all the years they had missed out on being together. All because of Jack's stupid mistake.

"Great!" Doug clapped his hands together. "Now, on to other business, Jed were you able to fix the wiring on the toasted chestnuts cart?"

As all the other Main Street store owners and managers began to discuss their contributions and what they needed help with for finishing touches on Dickens Village, Jack began to wonder if he could sneak out of the classroom without anyone noticing. He looked at the stage, and all four council members seemed to be focusing on Ryan Dyson and how long he would need to tailor the Santa suit to a new owner. Molly was not going to talk to Jack this afternoon, he might as well leave. He seized his opportunity and slid out the back door of the classroom without making a sound.

He passed by a water fountain on the way towards the door of the building, and slowed down and turned around to take a drink. The fountain shot out in spurts, and Jack ended up with a face full of water before he realized it was coming, and began to cough. He did not hear footsteps come up behind him.

"Could you do that any louder?" Molly said with a laugh in her voice. He jumped up and turned around surprised to see her standing alone a few feet away. As soon as Jack locked eyes with hers though, she looked away from him. First to the ground, then back up and just to the right of his face. He looked over his shoulder expecting to see someone standing there, but there was nothing except for a few student council posters splashed on the wall.

"I thought I was going to get out of here without anyone seeing me," Jack said. "You left early too?"

"I had an idea," she said finally looking at him. He immediately fell under her trance, just like he did when he met her in high school. Every time she would look at him with those beautiful blue eyes he felt as though someone was taking all the air out of the room. "On how you can make money during Dickens."

"I'm listening," Jack said crossing his arms over his flannel jacket, soft and worn from years of washing.

"I heard what you said in there, and you're right." She was twisting her fingers together, just like she always did when she was nervous. "You shouldn't have to play along if it isn't going to benefit your business at all."

"It isn't that it doesn't benefit my business, I lose money this month Mols," the nickname came out of his mouth before he realized it, and he was surprised at how familiar it felt even though it had been ten years since he used it.

"Well, what if we can talk to the city, and get you a permit to sell beer outside? I've heard you brew your own beers? You could make a Christmas blend, and sell that, hard cider, and spiced eggnog to the tourists." Her eyes lit up, and he wanted to know if it was because of the business talk, Christmas talk, or because of him. "I'm sure you'd make a profit that way! I mean, what parent doesn't want a beer when they are dragging their children around a festival? I know I would!"

He squinted his eyes and looked at her. His mind began to wrap around her idea and the possibilities. "You know..."

"What? Bad idea?" she puffed out her chest like she always did when she got ready for an argument. "Well, at least I'm trying, instead of sulking around at Christmas time."

"Actually, I was going to say that was the best idea I've heard in a while." Jack laughed. He put out his hand to shake hers. "Now, who do I see about filling out permit paperwork?"

"Don't you have about half of city council in your bar every night?" she looked at his hand but did not offer hers.

"Not
every
night," he said, and the corner of her mouth twitched. His eyes stayed on her mouth, and he was resisting the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her long and hard.
Get it together, we're too close to where it happened.
With that thought, he looked down the hall and felt the anxiety from prom night return. Molly looked as though she was going to walk away.

"I'm sorry I blamed you for taking my lights." Jack forced himself to find something else to talk about, just so she would not leave.

"I almost did, those stupid things made me pretty mad last night," she said. Jack laughed as the anxiety washed away, and the stillness of her face softened into a true smile. "I also came out here because I wanted to thank you for last night. With that guy."

"I didn't do anything." Jack wondered how she knew he had checked the outside of her building several times the night before.

"You did, you helped Brian get that man to the cop car," she said and his heart sunk a little.
That
is what she meant. "It might not have seemed like a lot, but I was pretty scared. It makes me feel good to know I have someone across the street who will help me if I need it."

"It was nothing. I would have done the same for anyone," he said.
Why did I say that?

"I know." She sounded defensive.

"Well, if that's it." He did not want it to be it. But he also knew he could not stand with her alone like this much longer. Just a few feet away from her. He wanted to grab her and kiss her, and could see the scene flash in front of his eyes. If she made him stand in this hallway with her a minute longer, he might just do that.

"That's not everything," she said touching his arm just as he turned to walk away. He turned on his heel grabbing her tiny hand that was gently resting on his arm, and pulled her close to him. He held her against his body feeling her firm breasts against his chest. Jack's heart quickened, and he took his free hand to tilt her chin up towards his face.

Molly bit her bottom lip and he dove in stopping just a few inches from her mouth. He leaned his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. He wanted to taste her, and as he moved in just a fraction from her lips, she sucked in a sharp breath and turned her head away.

"I," she said sounding breathless. "I wanted to thank you for walking around my building, too. I saw you."

He leaned his forehead against the wall, his body still pressed against hers. He could feel his pants become tighter, being this close to her did that to him. Jack wondered if she felt the stiffness against her stomach. "You're welcome."

He broke away from her as quickly as he had grabbed her a moment before. He wanted to kick himself for forcing her into his arms like that. Of course she did not want him. She would never want him. All the more reason to get out of this town. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't know what came over me."

"I have a boyfriend," she said, as if that was the only reason she turned away from him.

"Yeah, and he's a great guy Molly," Jack's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"He is a good man," Molly said, but quietly, and even Jack wondered if she believed it.

"Thank you for the permit idea," Jack said feeling his heart sink low in his chest. It physically hurt to be this close to her and not be with her. "If you need anything, anything at all just call me Molly. I'm always around to help a neighbor."

Jack turned and walked quickly to the exit, pulling his beanie over his head as he left. He looked back right before he pushed the door open and saw Molly leaning against the wall, her head tilted back and looking towards the ceiling. She looked sad.
Stay away from her before you fuck her life up again.
Jack walked away.

Prom 2005

Molly listened as the pulsating music flooded the gym. Under the Sea was the theme of the night, but trashy booty shaking music must have been the DJ's theme.

"Where is Jack?" Crystal yelled at her over the loud music.

"I think he had too much to drink," Molly shouted back. Molly laughed as she thought of how drunk her boyfriend had become so quickly. She watched earlier as Jack downed a flask, knowing it would not take much. He was in over his head, but still trying to prove himself amongst the boys that ran in Molly's crowd. Her fellow cheerleaders mostly dated football players, cliché or not, that was the way things were in Seaside Cove until Jack came along. Molly had gotten some serious grief from her friends for dating a fisherman's son. How quickly everyone in school forgot where she came from once her parents came into serious money.

She and Jack had stolen beers from his dad's house before, but she had never seen him drink the hard stuff until the guys that day laid down some good old fashioned peer pressure. "I think he went to the bathroom to throw up."

Her friends looked at her shocked. They probably would have killed their boyfriends if they threw up during prom. Molly had sprained her ankle last week and was not able to do much dancing anyway. Besides, she was actually having fun catching up with her single friends. She and Jack had been together every day since their first kiss on Christmas a few months ago. As much as she loved being with him, she missed her friends.

It had been at least four songs since he disappeared though. "I'm gonna go check on him!"

She grabbed her crutches and made her way through the tables towards the hallway. A chaperon, someone's mom, stopped her. "Do you need help?"

"I'm just going to use the bathroom," she said.

"There is one in here," the woman said.

"I know, but with my crutches and big dress, it's so much easier to use the one by the lockers." She tried to give her sweetest smile. Jack had run out that way to use the bathroom earlier, she hoped he had not been caught vomiting in the hallway. "I'm a big mess, I don't want anyone to walk in on me trying to wiggle around."

The woman gave her a pitying smile and opened the door to the hallway for her.

Only lit by the fire escape lights, the hallway was dark and eerie. Molly began her hobbled walk with her crutches towards the locker bathrooms. Hopping around the corner, she almost fell over as she ran into a football player and his cheerleader girlfriend. Chad and Izzie.

"Oh! Sorry guys." She started to crutch around them, then she stopped. Chad looked as though he had been in a fight, bloody nose and half untucked shirt. Izzie looked as though she had been crying, and Molly noticed one of her spaghetti straps dangled, torn from her dress. "Um, is everything okay?"

Chad looked at Izzie, his arm around her. "Not really Mols. I was just getting ready to take Izzie home."

"Izzie?" Molly was concerned for the doe eyed pixie of a girl.

"It's alright Molly. I just want to go home," Izzie said from behind a tear stained face.

Molly stood her ground. "Did something happen Iz?"

Chad took a deep breath. "I didn't want to have to be the one to tell you this Mols, but I found Jack down by the bathroom, his hands all over Izzie."

Izzie burst into tears, covering her face. Molly shook her head. "No, what? What are you talking about?"

"He attacked me," Izzie cried, not taking her eyes off the floor. "He tried to... he tried..." the girl stopped speaking and broke into deeper sobs.

"If I hadn't got there in time, he would have raped her. I fought him off, he was so drunk. He was nothing to knock out." Chad almost sounded boastful to Molly. Blood drizzled from a cut on his lip.

Izzie suddenly looked to Molly, fear and desperation in her eyes. "Please don't tell anyone Molly."

Molly felt as though the world was spinning, sucking her down into the ground. Her mouth was dry and her stomach churned. "But, Jack? Jack wouldn't... He couldn't..."

Chad stepped in between Izzie and Molly. "Are you calling Izzie a liar?"

Molly shook her head. She had known Izzie her whole life. Even when Molly had been a poor kid, Izzie had always been nice to her. But, Molly loved Jack. They had only been together four months, but would she not have noticed if he had a side to him like this?
Believe Izzie.
She did not want to. Everything in her body told her not to. But Jack was drunk. Izzie was crying. Chad had been in a fight. She had noticed Jack spending more time with Izzie lately, he was giving her rides to and from school in exchange for tutoring in English. Could he have really...?

"I don't want anyone to know, I'm too embarrassed, please Molly, promise me you won't tell anyone?" Izzie pleaded. "Please?"

"I promise," Molly stammered pushing her emotions away. "Where is he?"

"He's by the bathroom, I knocked him out," Chad said standing a little taller as he said it. The couple continued towards the exit. Molly watched, and when they reached the door, Izzie looked back one last time. Then they were gone.

With a heavy heart, Molly continued to crutch her way towards the bathroom, and found Jack passed out, just as Chad had said. Molly hobbled over to him, checked for a pulse, and when she did Jack's eyes opened. He saw Molly and smiled, and she felt a confusion within her body of the usual way her heart leapt when he smiled at her, and a deep sadness wash over her at the same time.

"Izzie," Jack muttered. "Izzie, come here."

Then closed his eyes again and began to snore.

Izzie.
Molly backed away and crutched back towards the gym, fighting back tears. When she made it back to her table, a few of Jack's friends were standing nearby. Other kids Molly had known from childhood. Guys who she grew up next door to when she was grateful just for a roof over her head.

"Jack passed out drunk," she told them and a few started to laugh, another guy rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should get him out of here."

"Yeah, I'll take him home." Jack’s friend Mike walked up to her. "I haven't been drinking. You want a ride home too Molly?"

Molly nodded stiffly. There was no way she was going to hang out here at the prom after what happened. "You probably want to bring at least one other person; I don't think he's walking anywhere."