Taming Molly: Heroes of Henderson ~ Book 2.5 A DuVal Cousins Quickie Read Free Page B

probably wasn’t.
    Because Molly knew herself well. Now that she’d been working and living in Raleigh for five years, she’d figured out a few things. Family and friends were just about everything. And most of hers lived and played in Henderson. Or at least, that is where they gathered from time to time.
    Sure, she would arrange the DuVal-Cousins-Take-On-Raleigh Night each year. Molly, Lilly, Lucy, Jacey, Lolly, Tipi, Vivi, and Tinley would gather in her tiny apartment for drinks and dinner, catching up before heading out on the town. Standing back and watching her younger sisters and cousins take over the dance floor at The Charlie Horse or Solas made her wonder how she was the one with the bad rap. It certainly wasn’t like she was dragging a pack of wallflowers around town. Oh, she was happy to see them all having fun. She just wished she were still like them. Fun.
    Because something had truly been crushed over the years since she was forced to move out of Henderson.
    At first, her friends would come and spend the weekend. They’d go out and really raise hell on Fayetteville Street and Glenwood South. She wondered why she hadn’t moved to Raleigh earlier.
    But then life started to happen. Everybody took on real-life jobs and the time between visits stretched longer and longer as everyone’s responsibilities increased. It wasn’t like Molly could reciprocate with the travel and make the drive home to Henderson to play. She had to wait for them to come to her.
    Rent came due every month and not just for her apartment, but for the tiny artist’s co-op space and equipment she used to indulge in her crafts. Though she eventually made some new and interesting friends through the artistic connections in town, it still felt lonely.
    Her hours at the art gallery weren’t long, so she began focusing on her ceramics. Never one to do anything casually, she ended up spending a lot of time in quiet solitude, throwing clay. Eventually she started spending her extra cash on art supplies rather than club cover charges and drinks.
    Perhaps that was the silver lining in all of this.
    Because her pottery was now selling. And selling at outrageous prices from the gallery in which she worked. Which was really just a happy accident—because in a panic, Lana Bristol, the store owner, had strategically placed a few of Molly’s brightly colored, hand-painted, and glazed pottery pieces in the empty spaces when store merchandise was low. The crazy prices they’d slapped on her items were simply in keeping with the range the fine art store was known for. So when the first piece was purchased not two days later, Molly and Lana spent the afternoon in total shock, laughing over the sale.
    The fact that patrons had the opportunity to meet the artist seemed to be a bonus and a selling point. After they conversed with Molly, they’d want her to sign the bottom of her piece with a Sharpie right next to her signature stamp. If they were purchasing it as a gift, they’d ask her to personalize the plate or vase with her Sharpie. Then they’d special order her pieces in certain colors and sizes, which Molly was only too happy to fulfill at a premium. And just when Molly thought things could not get better, calls began coming in from other art galleries in other cities, asking for information about ordering her pottery.
    It was all quite thrilling. And so very, very lonely. Because no one she cared about had any idea this was going on. It just wasn’t something she could bring up to her starving artist friends. “Guess what? I made real money this month doing exactly what I love to do.”
    No.
    Nor had she told her long-distance friends and loved ones about her success. That she wanted to share in person.
    But she had a plan. A plan to get herself moved back home. And Aunt Genevra’s wedding provided the perfect opportunity.

Chapter Four

    Molly was a little flustered that the parking valet was at her door so quickly, opening it up and helping