Page 62 of Ruined
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
The sound of laughter bounced off the walls, filling my heart with nothing but happiness. I snapped the picture, then I swiped right to reveal another filter. Molly broke out in a fit of giggles as our warped faces appeared on my screen; our eyes were round and our lips big and puffy. Who knew a face-altering app on my phone could entertain us this much?
Dropping the device into my lap, I wiped at the happy tears streaming down my face. My cheeks and tummy ached from all the laughing I’d done tonight; having Molly here had been an absolute blast.
“Can you braid hair, Miss. Zoe?”
I took a deep breath as the last bit of giggles died down. Molly was staring at me, her big, blue eyes filled with curiosity. Smiling at her, I answered, “Why, yes I can.”
Her eyes went wide. “Can you make a French braid?” With a nod, I repeated my answer from earlier. Thick, black lashes fanned her cheeks as she lowered her gaze when she spoke again her voice was soft and hesitant, “Will you braid my hair, please?”
Taking her little face between my palms, I lifted her eyes to mine. “Of course I will.” Unfiltered happiness washed over her features, hitting me in the chest. In the past, I hadn’t spared a second thinking about what it would be like to have kids of my own; I was too busy having fun.
Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without this dark-haired girl and her father in it.
After I retrieved a comb from my bedroom, I had Molly sit on the floor between my legs. Starting at the top of her head, I gathered some of her hair before dividing the section into three equal pieces. Then I folded the right over the middle followed by the left over the middle. I repeated this pattern until every strand was worked in, resulting in a thick braid running down her back.
When I was done, she jumped up and immediately wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. It occurred to me then that even though Eli had done an amazing job raising this little girl on his own, there were still things she didn’t get to experience. Things she’d been denied because the woman who gave birth to her had walked out on her.
“Come on, sweet girl.” My voice was thick with emotion, I had to swallow a few times for it to sound normal again. “I’ll make hot chocolate while you pick the movie.”
Molly drew back and rewarded me with the most incredible smile, right before she dealt a knock-out punch to my heart, “I’m so happy my daddy met you, Miss. Zoe.” I couldn’t speak; hell, I could barely breathe. Tears stung the back of my eyes, I knew it was a matter of seconds until they rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t want her to think she’d said something wrong, so I pulled her in for another hug.
The longer I held on to her, the more my emotions overwhelmed me. After dropping a kiss to her head, I handed her the remote and escaped to the kitchen. Holding on to the counter with one hand, I pressed the palm of the other against my racing heart. My breaths came fast and hard while my mind tried to make sense of everything I was feeling.
For the longest time, I’d believed that I was incapable of feeling or experiencing love from anyone who wasn’t family. How wrong I’d been. Eli and Molly had opened an entirely new world for me, one that I was still finding my way around.
Dealing with all these new emotions had been scary at times, but one look at the two people who’d healed my tattered heart and all that fear dissipated, leaving a certain four-letter word in its place.
In my head, I knew it was way too soon to be talking about love, but that’s what I felt for Eli and Molly. Even though I hadn’t uttered the words yet, I loved them with a fierceness that was both terrifying and empowering.
Breathing in slowly, I filled my lungs with air and my heart with determination. I was done living a partial life. The past no longer mattered and tomorrow was worth fighting for. I’d been handed a second chance; not grabbing it with both hands would be tragically stupid.
My lips curved upward as my mother’s face popped up in my mind while I prepared our chocolatey drinks. She’d always been there for me, no matter what. Always ready with a hug or words of wisdom. My smile faltered the moment guilt seeped into my pores. After all this time, my parents still had no clue regarding John.
It was a good thing I’d told Mom about the gallery because a few weeks ago a detective from TCPD had contacted them, asking about my financial stability. Of course, she jumped on the phone, more than a little curious as to why they were investigating me in the first place.
I’d told her that the fire had been the work of an arsonist, that the police were just doing their jobs. I finally figured it was time to come clean about John, but then my mom told me about the woman they went to see about Adam. Apparently, cases as severe as my brother’s were her specialty. Mom sounded so hopeful and excited, I couldn’t bring myself to burst her bubble.
To be perfectly honest, I was cautiously hopeful that the ordeal with John was over; he hadn’t tried to make contact since that last text message more than a month ago. When Eli and I went to pack up my stuff, everything had been the way I’d left it the day I’d been there with Kenzie.
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I believed he’d finally given up.
I topped the floating marshmallows with a sprinkling of cinnamon, then headed back to the living room where I found little Molly asleep on the couch. She was such a beautiful little girl inside and out, it humbled me to think that I was lucky enough to have a place in her heart.
After I set the mugs on the coffee table, I scooped her into my arms and carried her to my bedroom. Once she was tucked beneath the blankets, I couldn’t resist touching my lips to her forehead. “Have wonderful dreams, sweet girl,” I whispered.
I ran my fingers over the cold walls as I made my way back to the front of the house, my heart smiling along with my lips with every step I took. This place wasn’t enormous, it was intimate and cozy, and it was home.My home.
In the living room, I muted the TV as I walked over to my easel. After months of not even being able to look at my brushes, I’d finally started painting again. I’d even arranged a meeting with the headmistress at the primary school in hopes of getting an art program underway.
As much as I would have loved to start up a new gallery, I had to wait until TCPD completed their investigation. They were finally treating the fire as arson; the only problem was that they suspected I had been behind it to claim insurance money.
Over the past few weeks, I had been interviewed – more than once – a forensic accountant had been hired to go over my financial records. It didn’t matter how many times I told them I had no motive and that I was being harassed, the detectives working the case simply didn’t believe me.
Of course, all this ticked Eli off too. Getting him to agree to let the detectives do their job had taken a lot of convincing. Every time I told him that I’d been questioned, he looked about ready to commit murder.
I had to confess, whenever he got so protective of me,everythinginside me melted.
