Page 65 of Restless Ink
Chapter 25
“You should be in bed.”
Shep’s sharp comment from the driver’s seat didn’t worry Thea. After all, he’d said it about fourteen times since she’d gotten dressed at the hospital, quickly signed a few papers once the doctor let her go, and jumped into his car. She’d practically pulled him out of the hospital, leaving the others behind. She was worried about Carter and knew that her family could take care of Roxie until Thea got back, but she needed to make sure Dimitri was okay.
Not that she thought he was hurt or anything, but she was leaning more toward the idea that Molly had cornered him into a conversation or situation he didn’t want to be in. She had to hope that they were just overthinking everything that her friend had done in the past. Maybe they were seeing things that weren’t there, and everything would be fine.
Only now, Thea couldn’t get every snide remark, every put-down out of her head. How had she let that go on for so long?
“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” Shep asked as they made another turn.
“The fact that I was so blind to how Molly treated me. It’s a cliché, you know? The ex-wife and the former friend. I just…I just can’t believe how things got so out of hand and that I didn’t see it.”
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“What do you mean?”
“I remember when you met her. I wasn’t living here at the time, but I was here for a full month visiting the folks and doing some work at the local shop. Remember?”
“I do.” She nodded, her body aching from the fall but still bouncing on the seat as she waited to get to Molly’s and see if Dimitri was there.
“She was nice. I mean, I didn’t know her all that well and only met her a couple of times, but she’s always been part of a different circle than us. We’re heavily blue collar, and that’s fine with me. You know? She wasn’t blue collar. She married someone who was, though, and I guess that surprised me.”
“I introduced them.” She sighed. “I try not to think about that because everything changed when I did. I knew them both before they got married, and while I didn’t know they’d click like they must have if Dimitri married her, I thought they’d make it work.”
“And it didn’t. That’s not on you. Hell, it’s probably not on Dimitri’s or Molly’s shoulders either. Sometimes, marriages don’t work, and even though Molly’s always been a bit self-centered in my opinion, I thought the divorce was pretty amicable. No fighting from what you told me, no yelling or even complaining when it came to the divorce proceedings.”
“You’re right. I don’t know everything that happened during that time, but from what Dimitri’s told me, they just…didn’t work. And the divorce went quick. And though he still had Captain at her place, they didn’t do anything together after everything happened. But it wasn’t like they hated each other.”
She paused.
“I think…I think something’s wrong with Molly.”
“What do you mean?” Shep asked, taking another turn.
“I don’t know. She’s made small comments about my job or wardrobe over the years, but I don’t think she ever meant it as meanly as I believe she’s doing now. It’s like when she tried to convince herself that Dimitri and I could be good together and even tried to push us together, something snapped.”
Shep cursed under his breath. “That might be the case. But it’s not like we can figure it out on our own. There’s no proof that she had anything to do with the flour or the explosion. But shedidlie to you a few times in what seemed to be a way for her to sound better than you or at least more connected to Dimitri. It could be she changed her mind about being okay with your relationship.”
Thea picked at her bandages, her pain meds starting to wear off. She’d have to be careful, but she couldn’t wait to see if Dimitri called her back or not.
“I know.” She let out a breath. “If we discount everything else, the idea she was so happy about our relationship was too good to be true. I so desperately wanted to believe it, though, I ignored my instincts. She had a right to be hurt.”
“But she didn’t have the right to hurt you. Or Dimitri. Just be careful, okay?” Shep parked behind Dimitri’s car, and Thea’s heart raced. He was here…but he wasn’t answering his phone, and she didn’t like that.
“Let me go in by myself,” she blurted, undoing her seatbelt.
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“You can wait right by the car, but I don’t want to go in there and bully her. Just in case I’m wrong about everything and she’s lashing out verbally because she’s hurt. Bringing you in there could only make things worse.”
Shep cursed again. “Fine. I’ll be leaning against the car in the cold, ready to run in there if something happens. And, fuck, I’ll keep an eye out for Captain because, for all we know, Dimitri and Molly are out without reception trying to find that dog. Storm’s coming in, and I don’t want him to get hurt either.”
She leaned over and kissed her brother’s cheek, wincing when she pulled at her stitches. He caught the movement and glared, but she hopped out of the car as quickly as she could. Everything was going to be okay. She was just overreacting because of the explosion and Carter and now Captain being gone. It was all just too much, and as soon as she saw Dimitri, everything would be okay.
And if she kept telling herself that, she’d totally start believing it.
Thea made her way to the front door and knocked, but the door opened without her even trying, as if it hadn’t been latched properly. Her heart lifted to her throat, and she turned to look at Shep. He must have seen something on her face because her brother was at her side in an instant.