“I like kids,” he told her. “As many kids as you’ll let us have so I guess that’s two or three.”
Holly tried not to smile. “You’re that certain, are you?”
“Certain that if I had the money in my bank account for a proper ring, I’d put one on you,” he responded soberly.
“Molson,” Holly didn’t know what to say.
“Too fast, huh?” Molson had a self-depreciating smile. “I got time. All the time that you need. I ain’t going nowhere.”
“You don’t have any doubts?” she could hardly believe it.
He nodded. “A few. Mostly about how I’m probably not good enough for you. How you might come to regret ever tying yourself to me.”
“I wouldn’t do that Molson,” she protested.
“When you came with me and helped hand out soup to all those people, I knew,” Molson shrugged, still playing with her hand, gently drawing his fingers over her skin. “I could see a future with you.”
Holly smiled. “You mean you just want me to be a pack mule for you forever.”
He had a sloppy smile, even though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You found me out.”
“I’m glad,” Holly leaned down to give him a kiss. “That day made me think of a possible future with you.”
“It did?” Molson looked at her with interest.
“Yes,” Holly traced a finger down his cheek. “I’m not quite at a ring moment. Yet I am thinking we need more dates.”
“That we can do,” his eye caught her watch. An annoyed look flitted across his face. “Is your watch on time?”
“Yes. Why?” Holly frowned.
Molson sighed. “I need to get going. I have check on Ma before going to work.”
“Before you go, have you had much luck convincing the gang leaders to testify?” Holly asked curiously. “Did Huss get back to you?”
“Huss has decided he’s willing under certain conditions,” Molson told her. “Conditions which I’m not sure we can ever fulfill. Delate says he’ll do it, only as a payment for my helping his sister. Yolan is on the fence. He’s waiting to see what happens. The others won’t even talk to me.”
“Is two of them testifying enough?” Holly wondered.
“Agent Kepler said it was all or nothing,” Molson grimaced. “He also needs proof of Agent Lawe tampering with Michael’s case. Without those two things, we have nothing.”
Molson came into the kitchen, tossing his keys on the table. He investigated the fridge, foraging for something to eat. Normally, he knew better that to look for something edible in the house unless he’d brought it through the door with him. Half-filled bottles of condiments stared back at him. There was a Tupperware container growing some sort of mold. The lone egg in the door was blue.
Grimacing, Molson grabbed the container of mold and carefully handled the egg. The oval was a ticking timebomb and he was glad it hadn’t gone off in the fridge. Heading out the back door, he dropped the egg and the container over the fence into the neighboring yard.
“Ma!” Molson yelled into the empty house as he came back in. “Ma! You home?”
Just because Margo didn’t answer didn’t mean she wasn’t home. Sometimes she didn’t hear him because she was sleeping. Sometimes she was in her own little world.
Molson was still hungry, so he went to check in a cupboard. Maybe he’d get lucky and there would be something better there. Pulling out a box of cereal, he opened the top, crunching on the sugary dry stale bites when he paused.
His keys weren’t on the table anymore.
There was a single light on in the living room. Molson put down the box of cereal, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. The house was eerily quiet and suddenly contained a vibe that was uneasy, even a little threatening. Putting his hand in his pocket, Molson wrapped his fingers around the jackknife he always carried, before approaching the living room.
“Welcome home,” said a man as he sat in the beat-up armchair beneath the lamp. He was gently tossing a set of keys in one hand. “The décor could use something.”
Molson knew he was referring to the holes in the walls. He casually leaned against the doorjamb of the room. “My old lady sometimes hears the roaches in the walls. She likes to liberate them.”
