Chapter Sixty-Three

Once they'd finished showering each other and had breakfast, they made their way into town to get supplies; lanterns, banners, paper plates and napkins, as well as all the food. It was kind of funny buying things like the food and drinks together, as if they were running a household together. He drew the line at paying for the fairy lights though, they were all on her. 

Their afternoon was then spent getting the house ready. The fairy lights had to go up first, as they would most likely end up staying up for the rest of the year. As long as they didn't go on all year round, it shouldn't be a problem. Most people around here left them up. It meant that you could use them for parties as well as the holidays. Then the flag went up at the front of the house and they concentrated the lanterns at the back of the house and strategically along the fence and from some of the trees. It made it seem like the Matthews had an actual garden, rather than an outstretched field. Then they had to set up the BBQ. 

"Ye do have a BBQ right?" Jake asked when she gave him a blank look. 

"Eh yeah, I'm pretty sure we do. I think it's in the cupboard by the door for the car port," Molly said, not looking entirely certain. 

"Well, let's go have a look then," he suggested, as he gestured for her to lead the way. She knew they'd had BBQs when she was younger, but she'd been six, it's not like she would've paid any attention to where it had been kept. Under the car port there was a cupboard that they would've kept most outdoor type things, as they didn't have an actual garage or shed to put things in. She had to get the key from one of the kitchen drawers, as that was one of the few doors her pa had always locked. The contents were the usual; a sun parasol, deck chairs that they would need too, an old bike and the BBQ. "Good news, ye have one. Bad news, it needs a lot of cleanin'," he said when he saw the state of it. 

"We'd better get started then," Molly said as she symbolically turned up her already three quarter sleeves. 

He looked at her hesitantly. "Ye'd be better off getting a new one..." Even if they could get it clean before the others showed up, it was a very old one and not very big. Nowadays there were much better ones out there. 

"Yeah, like I can afford that," she scoffed, a little worried about how much that would cost her. 

"Okay, I'll go get ours for today. Plenty of time to save up for a new one for the rest of the summer," Jake offered now. 

"Thank you," she smiled at him sweetly, getting a teasing roll of the eyes back before he gave her a quick kiss and headed over to his house. 

"I didn't think I would see ye back here until Monday," Duncan said teasingly when his son crossed the yard. He'd been working on getting the hay from the barn to the stables, while Beth was mucking out. 

"Yeah sorry pa. Moll's old BBQ's in a bit of a state. Can she borrow ours for tonight?" Jake explained. 

"Sure thing," his father nodded. "Do me a favor though before ye head back? Make yer sister 'n me a sandwich before ye go," he added, thinking it should be the least he could do since the two of them were having to do all the chores this weekend. Of course he understood why his son and Molly wanted to make the most of this one off together, but the problem with ranch life was that the chores were daily tasks and still needed doing. 

"Gotcha," his son agreed with a small salute gesture and headed into the kitchen instead of their barn. 

By the time Jake got back to his girlfriend's house with the BBQ, she'd cleaned all the old deck chairs and had started on some of the salads. As a team they got all the food ready, and carried the dining table outside to put all the food on once they were sat outside for the BBQ. 

Beth was first over at 4.30, taking the start time given to her as the actual start time. She was too excited, if she had to be honest, to hang out with her brother and his girlfriend as part of a group. Hannah and Jo-Lillie showed up a bit later at 5 and Duncan showed up just as Jake wanted to get the BBQ started. He was still stood with his girlfriend close against him as they were talking to the other girls. The hand that was out of sight, was resting in the back pocket of her Daisy Dukes, cupping her bum. "I'm gonna start the BBQ," Jake told her and gave her a kiss, as he gave her bum a quick squeeze. She blushed as she nudged him with her elbow. He bit back a chuckle as he then left the girls to sort the BBQ out. 

With a beer in hand, Duncan went over to help his son with the coals as the girls continued catching up, sitting in the deck chairs. "She suits ye," he said by way of greeting, getting a slightly confused look in response. "Molly, ye look good together," he clarified now. 

"Thanks, I guess. Where'd that come from?" Jake asked, still a little confused as his hands continued shaking the coal into the BBQ. 

"Just the way ye were just now 'n when I saw ye ridin' together the other day," Duncan said with a shrug. "I know I gave ye a hard time, coz of yer chores, but I get it," he continued, making his son feel like it was becoming more like a father-son chat than a normal conversation. "I guess... if ye ever need me to, I can try talkin' to Jennifer, see if I can change her mind," he offered now. 

"That might be a bit weird, but yeah if we ever need ye to, that would be great, thanks pa," his son said gratefully. 

"Any time bud," Duncan said, giving him a clap on the shoulder. "Right, let's get this BBQ started huh?" he turned his attention to the task at hand now. 

Dinner was a nice and relaxed affair, with lots of laughs. They'd limited the amount of alcohol to 2 beers a person, not counting Beth. It needed to stay fun for all of them after all. 

As the youngsters got themselves ready to head out and watch the fireworks, Duncan headed back to the ranch to settle the horses in for the night. The best view they could probably get would be by the cabin, but Jake didn't want to take anyone there except for Molly, as he didn't want to risk it becoming a more popular place. It was nice having a place of their own to go to. Instead they ended up going not quite that far out, but where they were on slightly higher ground. They brought the chairs and a blanket each for when it started to get colder. 

When the fireworks finally started, they all got up to watch. Jake stood behind his girlfriend with his arms around her shoulders, letting her lean against him if she wanted. It was such a normal thing and it felt so nice to experience it. "Wow, they're so pretty," Molly said softly as she leaned back against him. 

"Yer so pretty," her boyfriend whispered in her ear, kissing her cheek after. She blushed as she put one hand on his arm and one reached back around his waist. "Ye blushin'?" he asked teasingly, recognizing her reaction. She shook her head, at which he chuckled as he rocked her a little, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I wish we was alone," he told her now, whispering again, as one of his hands that was hidden under the blanket she had around her cupped her breast teasingly. 

"I almost always wish that," she responded as naturally as she could, trying not to obviously enjoy his touch as he now massaged her, his fingers teasing her nipple. She forced herself to keep her eyes open as she leaned back a little to kiss his cheek. Her hand, also hidden from view, reached round to cup him, her fingers using his jeans to put pressure on him, feeling him harden against her.

"Now I definitely want ye alone," he groaned softly into her ear, nipping the ear lobe before he kissed her neck, using his tongue as much as he could. His fingers played her breast a little firmer.

"Ye started it," she accused, not letting go of his erection just yet.

"And I'll finish it once we're alone," he promised, agonizingly slowly letting go of her nipple. She gave him one last squeeze before she let go too, still feeling him pressed against her as they continued watching.

The little party didn't end too late, as Beth needed to get home and Hannah and Jo-Lillie were going to continue the celebrations in town. Molly and Jake went to bed at a normal time, if only so he could make good on his promise, which meant that Jake woke her up a little earlier than she would've liked on a Sunday. But they put the time to good use. Jake used his girlfriend's laptop at the table to do some studying, as she used the main computer to look for jobs. They had lunch and went for a long walk. Then when they got back, they made dinner with extra portions to put in the freezer and then settled in on the back porch, just listening to music and talking softly. 

They made plans for the upcoming few weeks, as much as they could. His deadlines were the end of July, so the next couple of weeks would consist only of lessons every other day. Then hopefully August would mean they could see each other a bit more often again. 

"Pa said he'd talk to Jen, if we needed him to," Jake said as they went over their options. 

"Good to know. We'll see how it goes," Molly nodded, not wanting to rock the boat just yet.