Page 10 of Letters to Molly (Maysen Jar 2)

The mowing duty had always fallen to me.

But here he was, pushing my red mower in diagonal stripes across the grass. The Weed Eater was propped up against the garage door next to a pile of extension cords.

“What’s he doing?”

“Uh, mowing the lawn.” Max laughed. “Duh.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for clarifying, Max.”

“Ask a stupid question, get a stu—”

“Don’t say stupid.” I was glad he couldn’t see my smile from behind me.

My son was a smart-ass. He dished out comebacks faster and wittier than most adults. Teasing Finn and me was one of his greatest pleasures. The only person he was gentle with was Kali.

She didn’t have his thick skin. Maybe it was because she was getting into those difficult teen years. Maybe it was because the divorce had been so hard on her. Whatever the reason, Kali was more sensitive these days. And I’d always been grateful that Max loved his big sister so much that he went out of his way to protect her soft heart.

“Can you guys take the pizza inside?” I asked Max and Kali as I parked in the garage.

“Sure, Mom,” my girl volunteered.

“Thanks.” I had to find out what their father was still doing here.

As they carried the boxes inside, I walked out front to find Finn.

His shoes were coated with grass clippings, ruined for anything fancier than manual labor now. He spun the mower around, coming in my direction. When he reached the end of that row, he stopped the machine, the noise settling.

“What are—”

“Hey, Dad.” Max appeared at my side, a stolen breadstick in one hand and a huge bite in his cheeks. Kali was right behind him.

“Hey, guys. How was the ride?”

Max swallowed. “Sweet. Kali and I have our own screens so we don’t have to watch the same thing.”

Finn chuckled. “Did you like it, Kali?”

“Oh, yeah. Mom has the coolest car of any of my friends now.”

I smiled. Mission accomplished. “Will you guys go inside and set the table, please?”

Their feet stomped up the porch steps before they burst through the door, not bothering to shut it behind them.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I told Finn.

He shrugged. “No big deal.”

Who was this stranger? Well, whoever the Finn imposter was, I at least owed him dinner. “We got pizza. You’re welcome to stay.”

“That’d be great. I’ll finish up out here and hit the back. Then I’ll be in. You guys go ahead. Don’t wait for me.”

“If you want to just do the front, I can handle the back. Really.”

“Molly, it’s fine.” His voice was soft, smooth like the spring breeze. “I had nothing to do tonight but go home to an empty house.”

“Okay.” My shoulders relaxed. I wasn’t putting him out, and his help was much appreciated.

I left him to it, walking over to the porch steps and glancing over my shoulder as Finn tugged the pull cord and brought the mower’s engine to life.