“Catherine, that’s enough! Please,” Ginger said. Her face turned bright pink, matching the little girl’s nightshirt.
Scout winked at Samuel, who was at a loss for words. Scout then steered back to the visitors. “I’d better go get Hunter. We’ll search the area to make sure their story checks out.”
“All right, I’ve got to stay here until Jimmy shows up,” Samuel said.
Catherine giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Scout asked her.
“Ginger’s heartbeat just sped up,” Catherine said.
Ginger pinched up her face and squinted at her housemate. Scout figured anger probably wasn’t something she kept stocked in her emotional arsenal because she didn’t hold the expression for very long. Her features gelled back to normal as she switched her gaze to Scout.
“I almost forgot. You said someone has a crush on me. Who were you talking about?”
Scout jumped up to leave and pointed at Samuel. “Ask him. I’m sworn to secrecy.”
Nothing beats a hot bath, especially on a cold morning. At least Molly thought it was still morning. The absence of sunshine, hidden somewhere behind dark, gray clouds since she woke up and enjoyed her playtime with Hunter, made her judgment in time unreliable. She knew it was Saturday and her store was closed. Nothing else mattered.
Molly felt slippery and alive surrounded by bubbles. She was using soap from the town’s stockpile, but those supplies were dwindling and last week the town council talked about producing their own. Molly thought she would lose her lunch when they mentioned boiling animal fat. You would never catch her doing that job.
Hunter had found her some real bubble bath soap on one of his searches, but Jimmy stopped him from going out so far now that winter approached. Jimmy always messed with things. Molly didn’t understand what she ever saw in him. He was pathetic.
Steam covered the bathroom windows, which were rapidly icing over due to the temperature difference outside. The sink and the toilet sat in their spots as nothing more than decoration. Water no longer ran to the house so it took some effort to bring hot water to the tub. Luckily Molly now lived with someone who provided the effort.
Molly noticed the water turning chilly as the heat diminished. “Hunter, I need more hot water.”
The bed creaked and Hunter’s heavy feet pounded on the stairs. Her boyfriend was fulfilling her wishes. She laid back and closed her eyes. This was about as close to luxury as one could get in Independents.
Hunter was a willing servant, and why not? Molly had all the right tools for getting her way. He was very useful. Splashing her hands upon the soapy surface, she caught herself smiling at just how useful.
The door to the bathroom swung open with a hard bang against the towel rack. Hunter walked in with an orange bucket, sloshing water all over the floor.
“Watch your feet,” he said.
The hot water dumped into the end of the tub and Molly quickly paddled the mixture into perfection. “Ah, this is heaven. Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
Hunter stood there, the bucket dangling from his hand. His eyes were droopy above his cute little frown. Molly didn’t know why he was so tired all the time. All he ever did was ride around on his motorcycle, like that could be strenuous. He never had to spend a day trying to keep Ginger busy.
“I’m positive.” He turned to leave.
“Shut the door, please.”
Hunter grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. Molly blew off her boyfriend’s agitation as a little phase he’d been going through, probably relating to the cold weather. She swirled her hand through the heated water as the bed creaked again.
“Hunter, I’ll need one more refill in a few minutes, pretty please. Last time, I promise.”
She heard someone yell, but couldn’t make out the words. The voice sounded faraway and muffled. “Did you say something, Hunter?”
“No!”
The yelling was probably one of the brats playing outside. Molly sank her ears below the waterline, listening to the muted sounds of the house swish around her. She closed her eyes and floated in relaxation. After all of her years of suffering, life was finally improving.
Time passed and the temperature of the water dropped below her comfort level. “Hunter, I’m ready for another refill.”
Molly waited for the familiar sounds, but there was no creak from the bed or the tread of heavy feet on the stairs. “Hunter?”
She frowned at the silence behind the door. “Hunter! Where are you? I’m getting cold.”
She shivered as the bubbles evaporated with tiny pops. Her limbs actually shook. Now she was furious because her boyfriend was not showing up and her bath was being ruined.
“Hun — Ter!”
Molly rose from the tub with goose bumps sprouting over her body. She left the cold, dirty water in the tub for Hunter to empty and quickly dried off. She tugged her pink terrycloth robe down from its peg and wrapped her cold, dripping-wet hair in a dry towel before exiting the bathroom that was connected to their bedroom. Hunter was not in the bed and the door to the hallway was closed. He better not have taken off somewhere without telling her first.
She checked her complexion in the full-length mirror, marveling at her smooth skin and the clean pores on her face from the regular baths. Then she sorted through her clothes in the closet to find the perfect outfit.
When she first moved in she had Hunter relocate his things to the hall closet; a girl needed her clothes nearby for modesty. She even had him install a couple more shelves to fit all her stuff inside and keep it organized. He was so handy when he was around-unlike now when she really needed him to dry her hair.
She decided on her cute little v-neck sweater and her Gap jeans with the flared bottoms that Hunter had found. He liked when she wore them. She pulled on a clean pair of Hunter’s wool socks and went searching for her missing boyfriend.
She discovered him downstairs on the couch, snoring in front of a roaring fire. It must have been close to lunchtime and her lazy boyfriend was down here sleeping. Even she didn’t lie around that much.
Molly cleared her throat, but Hunter didn’t budge.
“Hunter, wake up!”
He stirred, driving his nose further into the cushions. He was awake. She knew he was. He was just ignoring her for some reason, trying to make her mad. It was a game he played that started about a month ago after she moved in. He’d pretend to be mad at her and then she would give him the sexy eyes and then it was game on. But she was not going to play that way today. She was really mad and a little fooling around wasn’t going to make her feel better this time.
Molly sat in the crook of Hunter’s legs and pounded him on the back. He twisted around with blurry, red eyes. Drool slid from his mouth, making him look stupid with his matted hair.
He’d actually been asleep, and now he appeared angry with her. But she’d been the one forced to rinse off in cold water. Why was he mad?
“What do you want now?” he asked, rolling back into the couch and closing his eyes.
“What do I want? I wanted some hot water. Now I want my boyfriend to pay attention to me. That’s what I want.”
“And I want some sleep. I figured after the tenth five-gallon bucket, you’d be good.”
“Well, I wasn’t, and I’m still not. What’s your problem?”
“I was asleep. If you’re done, I’d like to go back to sleep.”
“Why are you being such an asshole? You don’t care how I feel, do you?”
“No, not right now,” he said without looking at her.