Every New Beginning: Scientific Method Universe

By Kris Ripper

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And that goes double for New Year's at the beach house.

Molly's at the beach house for the first time in years and she's got a lot on her mind. She wants a more stable career than the one she has, but that might involve going back to school (which she swore she'd never do). It also might involve imposing more regularly on her...friends in London. Which might be fine? But what if seeing each other more often means they lose the thing that makes their relationship special?

Of course, she could spill all this to her family and let them reassure her, but that's a can of worms she's not so sure she wants to open. Plus, she has plenty of distractions. Some folks are contemplating parenthood, some are contemplating the nature of love, others are dealing with loss, everyone's favorite triad has finally admitted their feelings for each other, and then there's Lucy. (Mmm, thank goodness for Lucy.)

Hugs, gossip, cuddling, speeches, long walks on the beach, new friends, and loads of laughter. Sure, decisions must be made. But for now all she has to do is eat some good food and love on her family. Happy New Year's at the beach house to Molly!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kris Ripper
• Release date: Nov 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386942221

Book preview

Every New Beginning

Kris Ripper

Chapter One

Molly blocked out the rest of the car (Beccs driving, Ads cracking jokes to put Davey at ease, though Davey, beside her in the back seat, seemed terminally awkward). The note Ads had given her was handwritten and she didn’t think she’d ever seen Hugh’s handwriting in all the years they’d been friends. She recognized his playful-edged-in-wry tone, though she’d never been the subject of it before.

To Molly, Mistress of House Two,

Enclosed please find the key to your domain. (And a gate key as well; House Two does not have beach access but as it is next door, we decided the beach house gate will suffice.) As meals will be provided at the beach house, we have not stocked House Two with more than coffee, milk, and a few necessities (in consultation with Eddie, of course, though Lucy offered additional input which we, after some consideration, accepted). As visits to the grocery store are inevitable, we can supplement with whatever is needed.

You are welcome to institute whatever laws you deem reasonable. You are the ruler supreme and your subjects will be expected to bow to your power. (I expect Lucy will assume subjecthood purely for the pleasure of doing so.)

As I’m sure my partners have already expressed, we are delighted to have you, and I am personally gratified that you are willing to be Mistress of House Two. Please consider staying an extra night. I know Will, in particular, would enjoy having you to ourselves, but do know that he is not the only one.

—Hugh

It was going to be a strange week, Molly thought, dabbing her eyes.

What’s old Hugh say? Ads asked, craned around in the front seat.

That you guys are my subjects and you have to do whatever I say.

Beccs laughed. "That’s really sweet, actually. And Lucy’s gonna love it."

Ha, he said that too.

The harnessed cat in Davey’s lap meowed.

Ads laughed and held out his hand. Even Ru knows how horny Lucy is!

Ru permitted herself to be rubbed on the cheek and meowed again.

Oh god, I’m so fucking anxious, Davey mumbled. Sorry.

It’s cool. Ru’s got you covered in the social skills area. Right, kid?

Ru meowed as if agreeing, and Davey took a shuddering breath. I think it’s actually harder than last year. How is that possible?

Molly smiled. It’s hard for me this time too, so I think it’s way more than possible.

Seriously? I mean. Not that I’m…asking? Just you seem so totally together and like also it doesn’t seem like you should be nervous or…or whatever…oh my god, I’m just gonna stop talking. They rubbed their eyes.

Seeming together and being together are two different skill sets, honestly. She tucked the letter away in her pocket. We have a whole house, you guys. That’s exciting.

"Well, Davey doesn’t. They’re in the first house for, uh, better access. Ahem."

Molly raised her eyebrows at her seatmate. Oooh. This sounds like a story I haven’t heard. Fill me in?

They groaned. "It’s nothing. I mean. It’s not nothing."

She glanced at Ads, who only said, Eddie.

It’s not…like that. Davey frowned, as if they’d protested the wrong thing, or possibly the right thing in the wrong way.

"Dude, you’re talking to Moll. She doesn’t even have a ‘like that,’ so it’s not a thing."

She pondered that for a minute. Or my particular ‘like thats’ aren’t the usual ones, anyway. But you don’t have to talk about it. Eddie’s really a lovely person, so no explanation necessary there.

"Uh, yeah. More like what’s he thinking? They covered their mouth with one hand. Oh my god, I’m so glad Will didn’t hear that."

You know… It was way too easy to fall back into the family customs. Molly wasn’t actually sure she should finish that thought with Will’s ex, but since they were already looking up at her from under their fringe, she figured what the hell. I was going to say none of us are so dismissive of Will’s taste in people to think anyone needed an explanation for being with you either.

Truth. Ads nodded wisely. So much truth. Plus, practically everyone Will’s ever had decent sex with is gonna be at the beach house so—

Beccs hit his arm without looking over.

What? I’m so innocent right now!

Molly didn’t have to meet her eyes in the mirror to watch her roll them, but it had been so long, and she’d missed them all so much. She grinned at Beccs’s reflection.

Davey, blushing miserably, started murmuring to Ru.

God, it was good to be home. Molly added the new keys to her ring and sat back to enjoy the ride.

* * *

Her domain was small, but it felt like a beach house. One level, three bedrooms, one bathroom, an open common area with kitchen and living room. And windows out to the sea.

Jesus, this is beautiful. She stood at the windows and allowed the last week to recede in her mind. Two nights in London with Gav and Mandy, a flight to LA, Christmas with her family of origin, and a rental car trip up through the central valley, which she’d belatedly realized she should have done up the coast instead, and showing up late yesterday at the Richmond house for midnight ginger beer.

Gav and Mandy had proposed she stay in London instead of flying to California, and it would have been fun in a very different way, but now that she was finally at the beach house she was glad she’d gone with the original plan. The windows were already open and while the house was freezing, it smelled amazing.

I’m closing like half of these, Beccs called. Also, I think I might like this house better than the beach house.

Oh my god, sacrilege! Ads did a twirl in the center of the main room. This does feel more like a beach house, though. Instead of a rich guy mansion.

It’s just more contained. Beccs stuck her head into one of the bedrooms. I think this is you, Moll. If I’m interpreting the French Press correctly.

Molly laughed out loud and went to investigate. This note was on a card, not a piece of paper, and read, For the mistress of the house. A pound of delicious looking French Roast and a press. Also Hugh’s writing.

So, Hugh…seems to be doing well. She didn’t quite smirk in Beccs’s direction.

"It’s weird. He went from…worse than it sounded like really anyone had ever seen him. To…saying he’s better isn’t even the right way to phrase it."

He’s happy! Ads called. We thought he was happy before, but it’s a whole order of magnitude more happy now. He swung into the room. The kid thing is super weird. Not weird. Very Hugh? So in itself that makes it weird.

They’re holding off until summer?

‘Letting things settle down.’ His tone indicated some repetition of the phrase.

She raised an eyebrow at him. So?

We have a theory.

Oh my god, I missed you guys so fucking much. Not that Moll was gonna cry in the middle of a good gossip sesh, but damn, she’d missed them so fucking much.

You too. You should think of visiting more. Anyway, you know how much of a, like, administrative cluster fostering is, so they’ve filled out all the paperwork and it’s just sitting there ready to be turned in somewhere.

But they’re waiting? She sat down on the bed and gestured around, hoping Davey knew they were welcome to join in if they wanted, though they had been poking around in the kitchen when she last saw them.

Beccs took the armchair. Well, it’s only going to take one kid, right? You know they have regular shifts at the drop-in center in La Vista. It’s gonna take exactly one kid who needs a place to go more than the others—

—or who tugs on old Hugh’s heartstrings more than the others— Ads put in, stretching out on the bed.

—and they’ll turn in their paperwork and start the process.

Moll nodded. Yeah, that makes sense. How conscious do you think they are that that’s what they’re waiting for?

I bet Truman is pretty aware of it. It’s harder to tell with Hugh.

And Will?

Ads and Beccs looked at each other.

"What does that mean?"

You ask Willie. We already have and got nowhere. The familiar frustration line in Ads’s forehead deepened. He doesn’t really seem to take it seriously that he’s part of that whole deal.

Part of them becoming parents? Actually, that did make sense. When he talked about it, it was always about Hugh and Truman. "Is this him distancing himself from them again? Because I’m seriously not doing this for another five years."

We can’t decide, Beccs said. Part of it is logistics. The paperwork is all about, you know, stable married couple interested in adoption. Not so much…

Yeah. No slot for third committed partner on the forms. But I’m sure that’s not how they’re seeing it.

Right.

A