Howdy howdy, it's ya girl back with a new chapter again! I promise this is the last chapter set on the literal first day in Oak Tree and then we can start getting to the good stuff! Hopefully you lovelies enjoy! ~Shaymie

Angela

"A large pizza, lasagna, a burger with a side of onion rings, a quiche, Caesar salad, and a... slice of apple pie for dessert... Is that all?"

Raeger had a slight grimace on his face as he read through all of Angela's order. She nodded. She was initially going to see if Molly wanted to come out to eat as well, but she was apparently out on a walk with Chase. Strange. Usually when Molly was on her period, she didn't feel like doing much of anything. Maybe it wasn't so bad this time, especially considering it's her first one in who knows how long.

Or maybe she just can't say no to Chase... Angela smiled at that thought. Yeah. Probably that one. No matter. It got Chase out of the restaurant, which meant she was free to talk with Raeger without him potentially walking in and ruining things.

She leaned back in her chair as Raeger left to cook her food. The dining room was surprisingly empty. She knew she came around a bit late in the evening but it's not like it's closing time or anything. She refused to be one of those people. She could only work retail for a short while because she swore she was going to strangle one of those bastards who had the nerve to come in ten or fifteen minutes before closing. She's lucky it was her bad attitude that ended up getting her fired and not physical violence.

Apparently it's "inappropriate and unprofessional" to call paying customers whiny, greedy little bitches. Dad probably would have bailed her out if she had gotten violent but the lecture she would've gotten from Kasey would almost make the whole thing not even worth it. He was always getting on her case about controlling her temper. She liked to think she's gotten better over the years. After all, Chelsea managed to leave Castanet with her face intact. That had to count for something.

Past Angela would have beaten her to a pulp the moment she stepped off of that boat. Maybe even pushed Mark into the water for good measure. After Molly's accident, she had to learn a lot of patience. She sat at her sister's side for a week straight, only leaving either for the bathroom, food, or just to stretch her legs for a bit. And after Molly woke up, things progressed almost painfully slow. Getting her to eat was a challenge. Getting her to keep the food down after she ate was an even bigger challenge.

Angela quickly learned to bite her tongue. Molly was upset enough. Losing it wouldn't help anybody. She wished more than anything that Aunt Dee and Fritz could have been there, but they'd just been in town for Dad's funeral and there was no way they could have afforded another trip.

If Kasey hadn't been so stubborn, they could have bled Chelsea Jacob's stupid family dry. Made them pay for Aunt Dee's trip so that the two of them wouldn't have been alone to care for their sick sister. Angela argued with him over it for days. She made sure to have the arguments away from Molly, of course. She already felt like shit. No need to make it worse.

Angela drummed her fingers against the laminated menu. It's too damn quiet. Couldn't Raeger at least play some music or something? God, how are people just okay sitting in silence?

"So... You run this place by yourself?"

"Yep. Used to be my grandfather's but he left it to me when he passed." Angela hummed. Seemed like a lot of work for one man. She sat up a bit straighter when Raeger came out of the kitchen with a pitcher of water and a glass. She didn't realize how thirsty she was. All she's had to drink today was coffee and some energy drinks from a vending machine at the train station.

Damn, no wonder Molly always got on her case about taking care of herself. A bit hypocritical considering how much she's been working lately, but at least she remembered to drink water.

"Ever think about hiring help?" Angela asked. Raeger snorted as he poured some water. So far that snort is the only thing he's done that reminded her of Chase. Unlike his brother, this guy actually seemed likable. At the very least he didn't have a resting bitch face like his brother.

"Tried that once. Ms. Lila asked me to hire Fritz part-time for the winter. Ended up with more broken dishes in a month than I'd broken myself in the past three years." He muttered something about maybe asking Maisie to help out, but she wasn't listening at that point, too hung up on what he'd said just before that.

Haven't heard anyone call Aunt Dee Lila in years, Angela thought, a hint of a frown on her face. God, did Dad ever even talk to Aunt Dee after Mom died? She tried to picture it but all she could think about was the quick escapes he always made whenever Aunt Dee visited. It didn't make any sense to her, especially considering how different her aunt started to look over the years. She's gained a ton of weight and muscle. Honestly she looked nothing like Mom anymore.

Maybe Dad would have noticed if he hadn't been so intent on running away every time she showed up.

"That... sounds like Fritz, alright. He's not allowed anywhere near Molly's kitchen." Molly loved Fritz like he was her little brother, but she had to put her foot down after he made a mess of her precious kitchen. He'd done it to try and make a birthday cake for her so she quickly forgave him (nearly instantly, actually), but she was still pissed at the mess she had to scrape from her pans.

Raeger's brows lifted slightly the moment she said Molly's name. Angela waited patiently, hoping he'd say something, but he just excused himself so he could get started on her order. She felt a bit bad for ordering so much food, but it's not like she ordered the entire menu. If anything, she held back a bit. There were a lot of good options. She was determined to try as much as she could before going back home.

It'd be pretty hard since she knew Aunt Dee wanted to have everyone over for meals as much as possible.

The food was done in near record time. Angela nearly drooled at the sight of it. She'd never tell Chase, but his burgers were one of her favorite things on the planet. There's a reason she ordered them nearly every time she came to the bar. It looked like Raeger used the same recipe. Or maybe Chase just brought their family recipe over to Castanet. Either way it was incredible. She barely managed to thank Raeger for the food before she started digging in.

"I'm assuming Molly is your sister?" Raeger asked. Angela swallowed a hefty bite of burger and nodded. "And she's the girl that was with you at the station? The one Chase is obsessed with?"

Obsessed? Angela's eyes widened. Even now when it was so plainly obvious, Chase denied feeling any sort of attraction towards Molly. Angela could catch him staring at her with hearts in his eyes (or ogling her body, something that's become far too common lately), and he'd still insist that she was imagining things. So he'd deny it to her face then turn around and talk about Molly with his brother?

"What has he told you about her?"

"He... told me not to tell you. Said you'd kick his ass if I did." Raeger chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Angela fought to keep her composure and just barely held herself back from seeking out Chase. She could deal with him later.

"Was it some horny shit? Because he's already on thin fucking ice with the way he looks at her." Raeger's refusal to say anything was all the answer she needed. She wasn't too overprotective like Kasey but she at least wanted Molly to be looked at with a bit of respect. Was that too much to ask for?

"It's not all that, though! He talks about her smile a lot. Her laugh, too. God, and don't even get him started on her eyes." Raeger rolled his eyes and adjusted his posture, his voice taking on a slower drawl and slightly husky tone that let her know he was mimicking his brother. "'Every time she looks at me, it's like time just stops. I can't say no to those eyes. They're like warm honey.' I've never heard him sound like that before. It's kind of scary."

"Are we still talking about Chase?" Angela asked in disbelief. It was hard to imagine him gushing over Molly. He still hasn't actually acknowledged his feelings. Sure, he acted sweet around her, but he brushed Angela off whenever she asked him about it. Raeger's nod shocked her. It's not like he had any reason to lie about this, but still...

"Molly likes him, too. She doesn't go around writing poetry about him or anything, though. She just looks at him like a lovesick puppy. Watching them dance around their feelings is annoying but I promised her I wouldn't meddle." Angela sighed dramatically. If it was up to her, she'd lock the two of them in a room until they confessed. She knew what was holding Molly back but what could possibly be stopping Chase from making a move? Was he scared of Kasey's reaction? Her brother could look intimidating when he wanted to.

Molly was a dense fool who couldn't tell when people liked her (Ash was the prime example of that), so it's easy to understand why she didn't seem to notice how different Chase acted around her. But Chase had no damn excuse! He's smart. He's perceptive. He could tell when something's wrong with Molly even before Angela can sometimes—which, in all honesty, was a bit of a hit to her pride. He had to have noticed the blushes, the longing stares, the way she hung onto his every word.

Was he trying not to see it? Was he trying to desperately cling to the single life as long as humanly possible? Great, that's just what she needed. Another Jack to deal with. Why are guys like this? Why couldn't they be more like Luke? Her sweet, handsome boyfriend was all but ready to leave his solitude behind. Couldn't Chase see how happy Luke was? Did he not want that?

"Well, how about I meddle?" Angela looked up at Raeger and raised an eyebrow. He grinned and took a seat across from her. "A wink here, a flirty comment there... It won't take much to rile Chase up. He gets ridiculously jealous."

"As long as you don't lay it on too thick, okay? Molly's shy and has trouble speaking up when she's uncomfortable. The last thing you'd want to do is scare her away from here when it's where Chase is going to spend most of his time."

Angela munched on an onion ring between sentences, noticing that these were softer than the ones Chase made. She didn't want to admit it but she might like Chase's better. She'd never tell him though. Asshole didn't need to get an ego or anything.

"I'll be a perfect gentleman, Angela. So... You're in?"

On one hand, this is a complete stranger she's leaving to mess with her baby sister. How could she be sure if she could trust him? Molly would never forgive her if she found out about this. But... it'd be nice to help her out with this. Angela could see how much she was agonizing over Chase. Isn't it an older sister's job to help out with whatever's bothering her younger sister?

Besides... she felt like she kinda owed it to Molly. She moved here to support her but she's barely done a thing for her. This, at least, would be something. Even if Molly was unaware of it.

"Yeah. I'm in."