Living Again
Chapter 3
Mike knew it wasn't one of his wiser moments, moving a single mom and two kids in with him, but it wasn't like he had anyone to be accountable to anymore or had anyone to spend his money on. Tucker was a total joy and Molly was sweet but scared of her own shadow. Ella was still very young and Mike had gathered that she had been sick; in that Molly was not able to eat properly so Ella was not able to eat properly either. Mike had every plan of changing all that.
The first night had been fairly calm and Mike kept his distance, but Molly was up when he got up that next morning, cooking breakfast; all while holding Ella and keeping Tucker occupied. She handled it all with grace and it reminded him a lot of Christine when the kids were younger. Of course, Christine had never had bruises on her throat, so that's where the similarity ended.
"So, did you all sleep well?" Mike asked after Molly sat his breakfast in front of him. Tucker was sitting next to him, already eating his plate of scrambled egg and bacon pieces.
"Yeah! My bed was super comfy!" Tucker said.
"Molly?" Mike asked.
"I slept well too. Ella only woke up twice." Molly answered. She sat down with her own plate and began eating.
"Good. A few good meals will make a huge difference for her; I think." Mike answered as he smiled down at Tucker, who gave him an eggy grin back.
"I hope so. So, I figured I would deep clean the kitchen today." Molly said.
"No need to hurry." Mike told her.
"I have to earn our keep. Besides, you've already done so much." Molly answered.
"You just gave birth two weeks ago." Mike argued.
"Yes, but I can still cook and clean. Besides, having just given birth means that I won't be able to do anything to pay you back for a few weeks." Molly answered. It took a minute for Mike to understand what she was actually saying. She thought she was trading cooking, cleaning and housing for herself and the kids for sex. While the idea of having sex with her somewhat thrilled Mike, it was not going to happen in trade.
"You are not expected to do that. I didn't bring you here for that reason. You needed help and I needed help with my house. Its mutually beneficial for both of us. For whatever reason, you might believe me, but that is not in my plans at all." Mike said, hoping he wasn't cutting his nose off to spite his face.
"That's what you say now." Molly said.
"I will just prove it to you." Mike remarked. He knew he was going to have to prove to Molly he was a good person before he could ever try to charm her, if he wanted to.
"We'll see." Molly answered. She got busy with Tucker, so Mike concentrated on his own food, glad to just have someone to eat with. He would figure out the rest later. Right now; he just didn't want Molly to overwork herself and enjoy having a safe environment for her and her kids.