Читать книгу Nyc Angels & Gold Coast Angels Collection - Lynne Marshall - Страница 48

MOLLY DID HER BEST TO massage the cramping from Josh’s legs, knowing that it was her fault the child was in pain. She wouldn’t blame Dan for switching therapists after this. She barely registered the fact that they’d arrived back at Dan’s until he opened the door of the backseat and reached for Josh.

She unsnapped the belt holding Josh in. Wordlessly, his features tense, Dan scooped Josh from the booster seat and into his arms before striding toward the elevator, leaving her to scramble along behind them. Thankfully the elevator arrived quickly and she continued to massage the muscles in Josh’s legs as they rode up to the thirty-second floor.

“His room is this way,” Dan said gruffly, as he swung through the condo to Josh’s bedroom. The boy had ceased screaming for his mother, but he was still crying. Each gulping sob broke her heart.

“I need some lotion,” she said to Dan when he’d gently set Josh down. She climbed up onto Josh’s bed in order to have a better angle that would enable her to use more pressure on his leg muscles. Dan returned quickly with a small tube of hand lotion.

She ignored the fatigue in her own fingers as she worked over Josh’s legs. After about twenty minutes he stopped crying, but she still continued to massage his legs until she only felt the smoothness of relaxed muscles beneath the angry red scars.

She nearly jumped when she felt Dan’s hand on her shoulder. “He’s asleep, Molly. I think you can stop now.”

With a brief nod she awkwardly tried to climb off Josh’s bed, wincing as the muscles in her back cramped painfully from being bent over for so long. When she managed to get back on the floor, she stumbled and would have fallen if not for Dan’s strong arms wrapping around her waist, holding her up.

For a moment she could only lean against him, reveling in the strength of his arms surrounding her as she breathed in his unique musky scent.

After a long moment she forced herself to break away, standing up on her own two feet. She avoided Dan’s gaze as she made her way back to the main living area. She dropped onto the sofa and mentally braced herself as she slowly raised her gaze to meet his, fully expecting to feel the scathing edge of his tongue.

“Thank you,” he murmured. He sat down heavily beside her, scrubbing his hand over his jaw. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been there.”

She blinked in surprise at his gratitude. “It’s my fault, Dan,” she said, unable to take credit for helping Josh through the crisis when it had been her fault from the beginning. “I shouldn’t have allowed him to overdo things this afternoon. I should have realized that he’d be moving around a lot with all the games.”

“Josh was enjoying himself,” he pointed out with a tired sigh. “If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

She shook her head, knowing he was shouldering blame that wasn’t his. She was glad Josh had fallen asleep and prayed that the muscle cramps wouldn’t return.

When Dan didn’t say anything for several long seconds she remembered how Josh had called out for his mother. She had to assume that Dan had joint custody of his son, but surely the boy needed his mother at times like this? “Are you planning to call Josh’s mother?”

Instantly, his expression turned grim. “No.”

She was shocked at his blunt refusal. How could he turn his back on his son like that? “Why not?” she pressed, refusing to listen to the tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her to mind her own business. “Josh was calling for her. He obviously needs his mother.”

Dan muttered something that sounded like a curse under this breath as he rose to his feet. “Despite what you heard, Josh hasn’t seen his mother in six years.”

She sucked in a harsh breath, wondering if she’d heard him correctly. He’d raised Josh since he was a one-year-old? “Six years? Really?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Besides, my ex wouldn’t come, even if I did call her,” he finally admitted. “Not unless I offered her money. And I refuse to pay her another dime to be a mother to her son.”

She opened her mouth and then closed it again, unable to think of anything to say in response. She found it impossible to imagine what had caused Dan’s ex to turn her back on her husband and her son. “Her loss,” she finally managed.

Dan’s tense facial features relaxed. “I think so, too,” he agreed softly. Then he cleared his throat and glanced toward his son’s room. “Look, Molly, it’s late and I know you probably want to get home, but I would rather you stayed here in case Josh’s muscle cramps return.”

His request caught her completely off guard. “Here?” she squeaked.

“In the guest room,” he hastily clarified, ramming his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “It’s the room right next to Josh’s.”

She didn’t have any of her things, not even a toothbrush or a comb, but the thought of Josh’s muscle cramps returning was enough that she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. Staying to ease the child’s pain was the least she could do. “Of course I’ll stay.”

Relief flooded his features. “Thank you. I have spare toiletries and will leave them in the bathroom you’ll share with Josh.”

She wanted to smile at the way he’d made a point of letting her know she wouldn’t have to worry about stumbling across him in the middle of the night. She assumed that his master suite had its own bathroom. Not that she should even imagine him in his master suite. She quickly pulled her thoughts away from the image that bloomed in her mind. “Um, great! Sounds good.”

“This way,” he said, gesturing to the doorway of the spare bedroom with one hand.

She rose to her feet and followed him across the living room to the guest room. He paused next to her, so close she could feel the heat radiating off his skin.

“Thanks again, Molly,” he murmured, staring down at her intently.

For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he simply took her hand and squeezed it gently. She was glad it was dark, so he wouldn’t see how she blushed. “You’re welcome,” she murmured, forcing herself to tug her hand gently from his when all she really wanted to do was to throw herself into his arms.

When he finally left, she leaned against the door and took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

She needed to remember that he’d only asked her to stay for his son’s sake, not because he wanted to be alone with her or anything. If she hadn’t been able to hold on to James, there was really no way in the world she had a chance with someone like Dan. He was way, way out of her league.

She brushed her teeth and vowed to take the subway home first thing in the morning, putting their relationship back on a professional level.

Where it belonged.

Dan didn’t sleep very well, and while he’d have liked to blame his son’s leg cramps, he knew the real reason was because Molly was just down the hall in the guest room.

So close.

Too close.

He finally crawled out of his bed at five-thirty, knowing that trying to sleep any longer was useless. And there was a tiny part of him that looked forward to seeing Molly this morning.

After a quick shower, he padded softly to the kitchen and peered inside the fridge. He wanted to make a nice big breakfast as a way to thank Molly for helping Josh through his crisis and staying last night.

He hadn’t heard Josh wake up at all, and since he’d been awake half the night, he could only assume his son had slept peacefully.

After brewing a pot of coffee, he began pulling out the ingredients for French toast, Josh’s favorite. He prepared the egg mixture so that he’d have things ready to go when Molly and Josh woke up. His stomach rumbled with hunger so he decided to cook thick slabs of bacon, as well.

“Do your patients know you eat like that?”

He spun round to find Molly hovering in the doorway, dressed in the clothing she’d worn the day before, only this time she’d pulled her long red-gold hair back into its usual ponytail, a style that made her look incredibly young.

Or maybe he was just incredibly old.

“Ah, good morning, Molly.” What was it about her that made it difficult for him to think straight? He glanced down at the bacon with a guilty flush. “My patients are children, not adults. And, besides, having bacon once in a while isn’t too bad, right?”

She laughed softly and hitched her purse over her shoulder. “I guess not, although I must confess I would have imagined you making wholegrain pancakes or granola and yogurt for breakfast.”

He grimaced wryly. “Guess I’ve tarnished my image, huh? Come in, have a seat. Would you care for coffee?”

She gazed longingly toward the coffeepot, but slowly shook her head. “No, I should probably head home. I just wanted to thank you for your hospitality.”

“You can’t leave without eating breakfast,” he said in a rush of panic, ridiculously upset that she intended to leave so early. “Did you really think I was cooking all of this for me?” he asked, gesturing to the meal in progress incredulously.

“Well …” she said doubtfully. “I don’t want to impose on your family time.”

He didn’t have the heart to admit that he and Josh didn’t exactly have family time, at least not in the way she probably thought. They had more of a trying-to-rekindle-their-broken-relationship-time, which consisted of awkward silences more than anything else.

“If you leave now, you would be imposing on me and Josh to eat all this food by ourselves,” he teased, trying to keep his tone light. “Please sit down, and are you sure you wouldn’t like a cup of coffee?”

She chewed her lower lip nervously, but then ventured farther into the kitchen, taking a seat on the stool in front of the breakfast nook. “I’d love some coffee. The mere scent was enough to wake me up from a sound sleep.”

He busied himself with pouring her a mug of coffee, sliding it over to her before getting one for himself. “Cream, sugar?” he asked.

“Cream or milk, if you have some.” She cupped her hands around the mug as if needing the warmth.

He brought out the milk, and then frowned. “Are you cold? I’ll turn up the heat.”

“Maybe a little,” she admitted, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. “It’s been so nice the past few days, but now I can see frost outside.”

“Welcome to spring in New York,” he muttered. “Hang on a minute, I’ll get you a sweatshirt.”

He flipped the bacon strips before he retreated to his bedroom, looking for one of his sweatshirts. He brought it out for her, oddly pleased at how she looked wearing his clothing.

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do,” he responded. “I, uh, hope you like French toast,” he said, crossing back over to the stove. “It’s Josh’s favorite.”

“I love it,” she assured him. She took a sip of her coffee and he couldn’t help thinking how pretty she was. Suzy had worn enough makeup to paint a clown, but he preferred Molly’s fresh-scrubbed beauty any day of the week.

Forcing his gaze to the task at hand, he dunked the bread slices in the egg mixture and set them into the sizzling fry pan.

“Dan, I have a question for you and I hope you don’t think I’m intruding or anything.”

He glanced up from the French toast. “You can ask me anything, Molly,” he said truthfully. After baring his soul to her last night about Josh’s mother, he couldn’t imagine what could be too intrusive.

“It’s, uh, about Josh’s birthday.” She was staring down at her coffee as if afraid to look him in the eye. “I was wondering if you’d made any plans?”

He tightened his jaw, and spent a few minutes flipping the bread slices before answering. “No, I haven’t planned anything yet,” he said slowly. “But I’m guessing you think I should have some sort of party?”

“I don’t want to tell you what to do,” she said hesitantly. “But if you were going to have a party, I’d offer to help.”

“You would?” He glanced up and caught her gaze. She looked so hopeful he found he couldn’t deny her anything. “What sort of party are you imagining?” he asked with a mock frown.

“Here’s what I’ve been thinking,” she said, leaning forward eagerly. “We could get a whole bunch of wheelchairs from the clinic and invite Josh’s friends to a game of wheelchair football. That way he could play with them, and I think his friends would get a kick out of it, too. We could serve either hot dogs and hamburgers or pizza for dinner. What do you think?”

He had to admit she’d nailed the best idea he’d ever heard. “I think it’s a perfect idea. If the weather co-operates.”

“I know. March is dicey,” she murmured. “But as long as it’s not snowing, they can bundle up and we don’t have to play for hours. If it’s cold, we can start at the park and then come here afterward.” She glanced around at his immaculate apartment and frowned. “If you don’t mind the fact that the kids will likely make a mess,” she added doubtfully.

Normally, he wasn’t ashamed at the fact that he liked his life neat and orderly, but the way she looked at his things made him feel slightly embarrassed. Since when was having a clean home more important than his son’s happiness?

“I don’t mind at all,” he quickly interjected. “All that matters is that Josh and his friends have fun.”

She relaxed, a bright smile blooming on her face. His gut tightened with awareness. He’d never been more attracted to a woman than he was to Molly. She was a beacon of light in his otherwise drab existence. “Great. There’s no time to lose. We have to invite his friends as soon as possible.”

“I’ll call his teacher, I’m sure she’ll give me the names of the kids in his classroom.”

“You should invite all of them, girls, too,” Molly informed him.

“Girls?” He didn’t try to hide his surprise. “Really? Isn’t first grade a little young for having girls over?”

“It’s just the polite thing to do,” she said. “Besides, we’re planning this at the last minute, so I’m worried a lot of the kids might not be able to come.”

He scowled as he scooped the slices of French toast off the griddle and stacked them on a plate. He hoped the kids in Josh’s class would come, and hoped that giving them all wheelchairs to use would keep the teasing down to a minimum.

“Breakfast is ready,” he said, carrying the plate over to the breakfast nook. He pulled the bacon out of the pan, too, blotting the grease and then stacking them on another plate. Lastly he pulled out the maple syrup, before sliding into the seat beside her, so close their elbows bumped.

He watched with amusement as she doused her French toast with enough maple syrup to float a boat. She took a big bite and then closed her eyes, as if savoring the flavor. “Mmm, absolutely delicious,” she announced.

“Thanks.” He took a bite of his food, admitting that it was pretty darned good. But he knew the main reason he was enjoying his meal so much was because of Molly. Somehow she had the ability to brighten his day with nothing more than a smile.

Selfishly, because he didn’t have much to offer her in return, he found himself wishing that she would be around to share breakfast with him every morning.

Molly told herself at least ten times to leave Dan’s to return home, but somehow she ended up spending the entire morning with him. And Josh.

She was thrilled that he’d agreed to her idea for Josh’s birthday party. And if she was a little annoyed that he hadn’t come up with something for himself, she put those feelings aside.

She was beginning to realize that Dan needed help, not just in learning how to play games but in learning how to be a father. What his ex had done, leaving him alone with a small son to raise on his own, was appalling. And while she understood he had a very demanding career, operating on young infants and children, surely they weren’t more important to him than his son?

She couldn’t help wondering about him, especially his past, even as she insisted on helping to clean up the breakfast dishes. To her surprise, Dan refused to let her do the work alone. Working side by side with him in such a mundane task as washing dishes brought a strange sort of intimacy to their relationship.

“I’d like to massage Josh’s legs one more time before I go,” she said as she finished drying the last pan. “Too bad I don’t have the ultrasound machine here for him. He could really benefit from that therapy, too.”

Dan scowled as he took the damp dishtowel from her. “I could buy one, if you think that would help.”

“Buy one?” she echoed, aghast. “Do you have any idea how expensive they are?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll buy one today, if you think it would help.”

She could hardly believe he was really offering to purchase an expensive piece of equipment for Josh to use for such a short time.

But then again, wasn’t she surrounded by luxury? Dan Morris obviously could afford an ultrasound machine. Or anything else he or Josh desired.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. “We can stop by the clinic and use the ultrasound there just as easily.”

“Great. And then maybe we can take in a movie this afternoon, too.”

“Yeah!” Josh said with barely repressed enthusiasm. “Come on, Molly. Please? Please come see a movie with us?”

She wanted to say no. Needed desperately to put distance between them. Maybe Dan cooked breakfast like a normal person, but he was a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, for heaven’s sake. Wasn’t this fancy condo proof of how he moved in much higher circles than she could even fathom? She’d heard rumors that his salary was seven figures. Talk about a mind-boggling amount. She didn’t make a tenth of what he did.

This … friendship, or camaraderie or whatever they had couldn’t go anywhere. Why was she setting herself up for more heartache? She was destined to remain an outsider, and nothing was going to change that. Dan only thought he needed her now, but as soon as he’d repaired his relationship with his son, he’d move on.

“Please, Molly?” Josh said again. And looking down at Josh’s big brown eyes, mirror images of his father’s, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.

“Yes, Josh, I’d love to see a movie with you.”