Page 101 of Letters to Molly (Maysen Jar 2)

“Please, Molly. I’m begging you. Don’t read them. Please, stop reading them.”

I stiffened. “How many more are there?”

“Promise me you won’t read them.”

I pushed him away and looked into his eyes. “Are they like this one?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The remorse in his gaze told me everything I needed to know.

They weren’t like this letter.

They were worse.

Fifteen

Finn

“You’re doing so well.” Ashley clapped. “I’m so impressed.”

“Thanks, Ashley.” I grinned at her then finished the set of bicep curls I was doing with an elastic exercise band.

The name of our game at the moment was Muscle Mass. My right arm looked like a limp noodle compared to my left. Both of my legs had slimmed down and my thighs didn’t fill out my jeans anymore. Instead, they draped down my legs, covering the toothpicks that had become my calves, so I’d been working hard to replace the muscle I’d lost after the accident.

I’d never been vain about my body. I wasn’t a gym rat or obsessive about my diet. I had a physical job and loved hiking in the mountains, both of which kept me in shape. But after months of being trapped in a bed or chair, I was not happy with the reflection in the mirror. I looked like a string bean.

When Ashley gave me the go-ahead to start bulking up, I dove in, doubling up on protein and throwing myself into these sessions. My arms were getting stronger. So were my legs. I’d even begun to gain back some definition in my abs.

It wasn’t lost on me how much Molly loved my flat stomach. Her nails had always lingered in the dips of my washboard abs. If I had the chance to get her into bed, to win her trust and heart once more, I wanted every bit of stamina I’d once had to make her toes curl.

“Done.” I breathed heavily after finishing the last rep. “What’s next?”

Ashley smiled. “I think that’s it for today. Don’t overdo it.”

“I don’t want to back off.”

“You’re doing great, Finn. That’s plenty for today.” Her hand rested on my shoulder. “Though, if you want to hang out with me, you’re my last patient for the day. I was thinking of going downtown and grabbing a drink after work.”

“Uh . . .” A rush of panic hit as I scrambled for what to say. Ashley was nice. She was beautiful and the hints she’d been dropping hadn’t been missed. But I’d hoped she’d picked up on the fact that I only had eyes for Molly. Besides, wasn’t there some rule about not dating patients? I wasn’t sure how that worked for physical therapists.

“Sorry,” a voice called behind me. “He’s already got a date.”

My head whipped around as Cole walked up. He’d taken the afternoon off and brought me here today because Molly and Poppy were both busy at the restaurant. I’d planned to buy him a beer for shuttling me here. Now I’d buy him two for coming to my rescue.

“Bummer.” Ashley pouted. “Maybe another time.”

“I don’t think so,” I told her, watching her face fall. “Sorry, Ashley.”

She shrugged and put on a fake smile. “It’s cool. See you next session.”

“All done?” Cole asked.

“All done.” I nodded, then looked at Ashley. “Thanks again.”

“Bye, Finn.”

I grabbed my crutch and followed Cole out the door. I’d decided last week, after about two days of dealing with both crutches, that it was more of a pain in the ass than it was worth. I’d given Max one crutch that he’d been pretending was a laser gun.

“Thanks for that,” I said as we walked outside.