Читать книгу Nyc Angels & Gold Coast Angels Collection - Lynne Marshall - Страница 47

DAN PACED THE LENGTH of the kitchen while Josh ate cereal for breakfast. He felt at a loss as to what to do with himself now that he had so much time on his hands. He’d given Gemma the weekend off to visit her daughter and granddaughter, and now the hours stretched endlessly ahead of him. When was the last time he’d had a week off work? Or a weekend that wasn’t filled with peewee football, birthday parties and soccer?

He felt bad that Josh couldn’t take part in sports anymore, although he sincerely hoped his son would be able to join again next year. And he couldn’t help feeling guilty that he’d been a little annoyed with the chore of driving his son around prior to the car accident.

Now he’d give anything to see his son running up and down the soccer field again.

He flexed his sore muscles, having already worked out in his weight room, trying to sweat thoughts of Molly from his system. It was ridiculous to lose sleep over a woman.

Not just any woman, he corrected himself grimly. His son’s physical therapist, a woman who wore sunshine and happiness like a brightly colored dress.

A woman so different from him that they may as well be suspended in different solar systems.

The phone rang, and he welcomed the distraction, jumping to answer it. “Hello?”

“Dan, Marcus here. One of your patients, Carrie Allen, came into clinic with pneumonia. I just wanted you to know I started her on antibiotics again.”

He frowned, thinking he should go in to see little Carrie for himself. “Did you admit her?”

“No, luckily her mother brought her in early, so I think she’ll be all right. I’m going to see her again next week and if anything changes, I’ll admit her to Angel’s.”

Dan rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relax. “Okay, great. Thanks for letting me know.”

“Are you planning to attend Jack Carter’s going-away party next Friday?” Marcus asked.

“Where is Carter going?”

“He resigned as Chief of General Pediatrics to work with Nina Wilson at her pro bono clinic.”

“Really?” He felt like he’d been away from Angel’s for months, instead of just a few weeks. “Our loss. I would like to attend the party. Where is it?”

“Eight o’clock at the Ritz Carlton. Nothing but the best for Jack.”

Dan made a note of the date and time. “By the way, what do you know about Molly Shriver, the physical therapist?” he asked, trying, and failing, to sound casual. “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?”

“I don’t know, but I think one of the nurses here is a friend of hers. Just a minute.” Before Dan could stop him, he put Emily on the line, who cheerfully explained how Molly had broken up with some guy a little over a year ago.

Feeling like a fool, he thanked her for the information and quickly ended the call. He wasn’t proud of himself for eliciting gossip about Molly, but he couldn’t help feeling pleased that she wasn’t seeing anyone at the moment.

“I’m finished, Daddy,” Josh said, pushing away from the table. Before he could move over to help him, Josh had swung himself from the kitchen chair into the wheelchair.

He’d been amazed at how quickly Josh had adapted to using the wheelchair and had found getting from one place to another far harder than he’d ever imagined, giving him a new perspective for what his patients had to go through.

Heck, he’d even fallen out of the stupid contraption yesterday at the park. Although the minute Molly had come over to tend to him, embarrassment hadn’t been his biggest concern. Instantly, he’d wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

An impulse that he thankfully hadn’t acted on.

He needed to stop thinking about her, or he was going to drive himself crazy.

“What are we going to do, today, Daddy?” Josh asked.

Good question. How pathetic that he had no idea how to entertain his son. What did other parents do with their kids on the weekends? He had no clue. He racked his brains.

“We could try that new indoor game place,” he offered. What was the name of it? Fun and Games? “Even with your wheelchair, I think there are lots of things you can do.”

“Really?” Josh’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Can we ask Molly to come, too?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to refuse, except for the fact that he’d had the same idea. “I’ll give her a call, but I don’t know if she’ll agree to come,” he cautioned Josh. The last thing Dan wanted was to get his son’s hopes up. “She might already have plans for today.”

Or she might refuse, simply because going with them was crossing the line of professionalism.

His hands were damp as he dialed her number. She didn’t answer so he left a message, giving his phone number and asking her to call him back if she was interested in going to Fun and Games with him and Josh. When he hung up the phone, he had the depressing thought that she might not bother to return his call.

He hid his disappointment when he turned back to his son. “Sorry, champ, but Molly wasn’t home. I left her a message, but I think we’re on our own today. But we’ll have a great time anyway, right?”

“Right,” Josh agreed without enthusiasm.

Dan wished there was something he could do or say to cheer him up. But it was hard to be upbeat when he felt the same way.

He was worse than Josh, counting the hours until Monday when they’d see Molly again.

Molly listened to the voice-mail message at least three times, secretly thrilled at hearing Dan’s husky voice inviting her to go along with them to Fun and Games. She’d managed to push him from her mind during her three-mile run, but now he was back there, front and center.

Although it wasn’t as if he’d invited her out on a date or anything, as Josh would be with them. And the indoor games place was hardly a romantic setting but even so, she was tempted, oh, so tempted to say yes.

She tried to rationalize her desire to go, telling herself this little outing could be just an extension of Josh’s therapy. Josh had already made great progress in just five days—surely he’d be even further along if she helped him today?

Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed Dan’s phone number. He picked it up on the first ring and for a moment she couldn’t speak.

“Hello?” he asked again. “Is this Molly?”

“Ah, yes, this is Molly,” she blurted out, finally finding her voice. “I’m, um, returning your phone call.” Brilliant conversation, she told herself, rolling her eyes. Just brilliant. Could she sound like a bigger dope?

“Molly, I’m so glad you called back. Would you be willing to go to Fun and Games with me and Josh? We’d love you to.”

The eagerness in his tone soothed her frayed nerves. “Sure, what time?”

“Well, I thought we’d go later this afternoon and then stay for dinner, although they mostly serve pizzas and burgers. With the traffic in New York, I could pick you up at two or two-thirty. If that’s all right with you.” Was it her imagination or did Dan sound nervous? “We could also play more of your games before heading out, if you think that would be all right.”

“No, of course I wouldn’t mind. Two o’clock sounds fine. Would you rather I meet you at the clinic? That way you don’t have to drive all the way out here to the Bronx.”

“Josh and I will pick you up, right, Josh?”

She had to grin when she heard Josh yelling “Yeah!” in the background.

“All right, I’ll see you around two.” She was about to hang up when Dan asked for her address. Feeling a little embarrassed, she rattled off the number of her apartment building. She knew it wasn’t exactly in the best neighborhood, but it was all she could afford on her therapist’s salary.

“See you soon,” Dan murmured huskily.

“All right,” she managed, before hanging up. For a moment she couldn’t move, stunned by what she’d just agreed to. Was she crazy? Didn’t she have any self-preservation left after James had dumped her last year?

Apparently not, since she didn’t make a move to cancel her plans. No matter how stupid, she was looking forward to seeing Dan and Josh again.

She usually cleaned on Saturdays, and as she had a few hours to kill, she stuck to her routine. When she’d finished, she showered and dried her hair, deciding to keep her hair down rather than pulling it back into a ponytail, the way she usually wore it at work.

This wasn’t a date, but she still managed to try on just about every article of casual clothing that she owned, which admittedly wasn’t much. She wore scrubs to work and didn’t have enough money to be a clotheshorse. In the end, she settled on a pair of well-worn jeans and a bright green short-sleeved shirt that brought out the color of her eyes. Perfect attire for Fun and Games, although she wished she had something to wear that would make her look nice for Dan.

Stop it, she lectured herself. She was going along to help Josh with his therapy. Nothing more.

And maybe if she repeated that several more times, she’d find a way to believe it.

When her apartment buzzer went off at five minutes before two, she quickly crossed over to answer it. “I’ll be right down,” she said through the intercom, not wanting Dan to see her sparse furnishings. She’d gotten most of them from a secondhand store, and nothing matched.

She was surprised when only Dan was there, waiting for her in the minuscule lobby. “Where’s Josh?” she asked.

“He’s in the car, I’m double-parked outside,” Dan admitted with a wry grin. “Let’s go before I get a ticket.”

She laughed and shook her head. “They wouldn’t dare give Dr. Daniel Morris, renowned pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Angel’s, a ticket.”

He didn’t say anything in response, but when he put his hand in the small of her back, gently urging her forward, she felt his light touch all the way down to her toes.

Get a grip, she told herself sternly.

Thankfully, Josh was excited to see her, diverting her attention from the ridiculous attraction she felt for his father. “Hi, Molly!”

“Hi, Josh. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Are we gonna play some more games today?” he asked. “I have more fun with you.”

She winced at Josh’s blunt statement and glanced over at Dan, noticing his mouth was set in a grim line. She knew he cared deeply about his son, and it couldn’t be easy for him to hear Josh express his feelings.

No wonder Dan had asked her to come along today.

“Sure, we’ll play some more games,” she agreed, covering the awkward silence.

She was relieved that Josh kept up a steady stream of chatter as Dan drove back to their place. When they arrived, she waited patiently for him to pull Josh’s wheelchair out of the trunk of the car, before heading to the elevator. She wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that Dan lived in a luxurious apartment on the top floor, one that no doubt cost twenty times her annual salary. She tried not to feel intimidated as Dan showed her to the playroom.

“Where are you going?” she asked, when he turned to leave. “You have to play with us, right, Josh?”

“Right,” Josh agreed.

She thought Dan’s smile dimmed a bit, although he stayed in the playroom with them. Determined to make the most of the time they had, she ran them through a series of games, which had Josh giggling with enjoyment by the time they were through.

“Enough,” Dan cried, throwing his hands in the air. “I give up!”

“What do you think, Josh?” she asked. “Should we let your dad off the hook?”

“No,” Josh said, shaking his head. “Let’s beat him again!”

She felt bad for ganging up with Josh against his father. “No, that’s not fair. This time I think you and your dad should go against me.”

“Actually, I don’t think we have time,” Dan said gently. “We have to get going, if you want to eat dinner any time soon.”

She glanced guiltily at her watch, realizing they’d played far longer than planned. “All right, then, let’s go.”

Technically, after the time she had just spent with them, there was no need for her to really go to Fun and Games with them. For a moment, it crossed her mind to beg off. She could easily take the subway home.

But she held her tongue as Dan helped Josh put on jeans and a T-shirt. “Look, Molly, we match!” Josh said excitedly, pointing to his green shirt.

“So we do,” she murmured, knowing that she didn’t have the heart to disappoint Josh by backing out of their plans now.

Not even to save herself from more heartache.

“I’m hungry, Daddy,” Josh complained as he drove to Fun and Games.

He glanced at his son, in the rearview mirror. “I know. We’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Okay,” Josh agreed.

“I’m hungry too, Josh,” Molly said, swiveling in her seat so she could face him. “What are you going to have? Pizza? Or a burger?”

“Pizza!” Josh shouted.

Dan smiled, but kept quiet as Molly chatted with Josh. When he’d first picked her up at her rundown apartment building, he’d almost turned round and left. The fact that Molly didn’t have a lot of money made him wonder, just for a brief moment, if she was looking for a rich husband, the way Suzy had been. But it wasn’t fair to compare her to Suzy, so he thrust the thought aside.

And when she’d come down to the lobby, a bright smile on her face, he’d nearly swallowed his tongue. She was stunning, even wearing simple figure-hugging jeans and a bright green blouse. He appreciated the curves that had previously been hidden by her baggy scrubs. And she’d left her red-gold hair down, gently framing her heart-shaped face, leaving him to wonder if the strands would feel as silky soft as they looked.

Did she have any idea the effect she had on him? How distracted he’d been by her the entire time they’d played therapy games with Josh? He’d hardly been able to tear his gaze off her long enough to catch the ball. He didn’t even care that they’d ganged up on him, not when the sound of their laughter rang through his home.

He couldn’t remember the last time Josh had laughed so much. Too long, he decided. Far too long.

And he had Molly to thank for it.

He pulled into the jammed parking lot, realizing that many other parents must have had the same idea to bring their kids here to play. Normally, he’d avoid these types of places like the plague, yet for some reason, tonight he was looking forward to it.

Something else he could thank Molly for.

He pulled out Josh’s wheelchair, and quickly unfolded it. He’d become an expert over the past few days.

“Wow,” Molly murmured in awe, when they took the ramp into the building. There were games lining all the walls, a bouncy house in the middle of the room and of course plenty of picnic table type seating. “This is amazing!”

“It’s loud, that’s for sure,” Dan mumbled with a sigh. He had to smile at the way Molly glanced around in awe, as if she’d never been inside a place like this.

“What do you want to play first?” she asked Josh.

“I want to hit the gophers!”

He grimaced and led his son and Molly over to the video game where several gophers popped out of holes and the goal was to bop them on the head to push them back in. The player scored a point for every gopher they hit.

Molly giggled as Josh started smacking the gophers. “Get ‘em, Josh, get ‘em!”

“Are you hungry?” Dan asked, once Josh had finished his game. “There’s an empty table right over there.”

Molly nodded, and quickly crossed over to the table. He was impressed at how well Josh managed to finagle his way through the games room with his wheelchair.

“What will you have?” he asked.

“Well, Josh wants pizza, so that would be fine with me,” she admitted.

“No problem. I’ll put in our order.” He felt a little guilty that the only food he’d provided for her so far had been fast food, but when the pizza arrived, she and Josh both dove into the meal with such relish that he suspected she didn’t mind. Besides, there was no point in wishing he could take her to a nice restaurant, where they could enjoy a quiet meal by candlelight.

This evening was for Josh. Not for him.

He discovered Molly was a kid at heart and she threw herself into the games with gusto. She also had a highly competitive streak, getting frustrated when he beat her score on the gopher game. And when she finally topped his score, she jumped up, whooping as loudly as his son.

“I think you’ve lost your voice,” he said, when they made their way back out to the car some hours later.

“I know,” she said hoarsely, with a tired smile. “But it was worth it.”

He gave her credit for thinking that, since his ears were still ringing from the bells and whistles shrieking from the various games.

Josh yawned widely, trying to keep his eyes open. “That was so fun, Molly. I’m glad you came with us.”

“Me, too,” she whispered.

Dan watched his son in the rearview mirror, smiling to himself at how hard Josh fought to stay awake on the way home. But they’d only been in the car for fifteen minutes when his head dropped off to the side and he fell asleep.

Now that he was essentially alone with Molly, he found he couldn’t come up with a safe topic of conversation.

“You’re doing a good job with Josh,” she said hoarsely, breaking the silence. “How is it that you’re able to come to all his therapy appointments?”

“I took a leave of absence from work,” he admitted. “And it’s well worth it because he’s responding so well to therapy.”

“Yes. He is.”

He was tempted to reach over to take her small hand in his when suddenly Josh cried out. “Ow, Daddy, it hurts. It hurts!”

“What’s wrong, Josh?” Instantly, Molly twisted in her seat, reaching back for Josh. “What hurts? Tell me what hurts?”

“My legs,” he cried. “Make it stop! They hurt so bad!”

“What’s going on, Molly?” Dan asked, keeping his attention on the road. He’d been about to head for Molly’s apartment to drop her off, but they were closer to his place, which was only five minutes away.

“I think he’s having muscle cramps,” Molly said, with a worried expression on her face. She quickly unbuckled her seat belt and managed to climb into the backseat. “I’ll work on massaging his legs, but it would work better if he was lying down.”

“We’ll be home in less than five minutes,” he told her.

Dan could hear Molly trying to talk soothingly to Josh as she worked on his legs, but his son was still crying out in pain.

“Mommy!” Josh cried, sobbing as he arched his back in the booster seat. “I want my mommy!”

Helpless fury banded Dan’s lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, listening in agony to his son’s suffering, as he pushed the car as fast as he dared to get Josh home.