Читать книгу Nyc Angels & Gold Coast Angels Collection - Lynne Marshall - Страница 55

MOLLY TRIED TO ERASE the stricken expression on Dan’s face from her mind, but it stuck with her as she worked with her patients throughout the day.

Logically, she knew she’d made the right decision. Getting involved with Dan hadn’t been very smart in the first place. She should have known better than to make the same mistakes she’d made with James.

Wasn’t he already using her as a replacement nanny? Soon he’d leave her at home with Josh while he went out on dates. She had no doubt he’d find someone else to fall in love with, breaking her heart in the process. Just like James had done.

The organ in question ached in her chest as she rode the subway home. The newspaper she’d brought along to read didn’t even come close to holding her attention.

Two more days of therapy and then Josh’s birthday party on Saturday. After that, she probably wouldn’t see Dan anymore. He’d go back to work full time, as Josh had gotten through the worst of his crisis. She’d continue to see Josh as a patient, but wouldn’t see Dan. Wouldn’t be forced to make small talk with him, as if she wasn’t slowly bleeding to death inside.

She loved him.

The realization made her blink in surprise, although now that she’d admitted it she was surprised she’d fooled herself for this long.

She loved him. She loved the way he’d turned his relationship with his son around. She loved the way he cared about his tiny patients. She loved the way she could make him smile and laugh.

And most of all she loved the way he centered his intenseness on her when they were alone, as if she was the only person on the planet who mattered.

But they hadn’t been alone together much. The night of Jack’s going-away party and the night he’d taken her to dinner. Two nights out of two weeks.

Ridiculous to think she could fall in love in such a short time. She cared about Dan, but love? How could that be?

She didn’t know how it had happened, but it had. She loved him or she wouldn’t be so upset about leaving him.

She got off the subway at her stop, holding the newspaper she hadn’t read over her head when it started raining. She shivered and practically ran the rest of the way to her apartment.

Inside, she quickly changed out of her damp clothes into a pair of warm sweats. When her phone rang, she leaped to answer it, trying not to be too disappointed when she recognized the caller as her sister. “Hi, Sally, how are you?”

“Great, I’m great. Hey, listen, I know I should have asked you about this earlier, but will you be one of my bridesmaids at my wedding?”

Molly hesitated, wanting nothing more than to be included, but she knew her sister really would rather have one of her friends.

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you sooner,” Sally said in a rush, filling the awkward silence. “And I don’t blame you for being upset. I ran into your boyfriend in the cafeteria yesterday and he told me I should be ashamed at how I’m always taking you for granted. That I should be grateful for having a sister. And he’s right. I am grateful, Molly. So will you please consider standing up with me at my wedding?”

Tears burned her eyelids as her heart swelled with joy. “Yes, Sally, of course I will. I’d love to be a bridesmaid at your wedding.”

“Oh, I’m so glad, Molly. Thank you.” She thought it must be her imagination because she thought she heard Sally sniffling on the other end of the line. “We’re going shopping for dresses a week from Saturday. Do you want to come along? That is, if you don’t have other plans.”

“I’d love to come along, and of course I don’t have other plans.” She was still reeling from the knowledge that Dan had approached Sally at work, just to stick up for her. And she was glad they weren’t shopping this weekend, as this Saturday was Josh’s birthday. “Let me know what time and what store you’re planning to meet at.”

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Sally admitted. “But I will soon. Thanks again, Molly. I love you.”

Her heart almost folded in half at the second shocker of the day. “I love you, too,” she managed to choke out.

“Bye, Molly.” After her sister had hung up, she stared at the phone for several moments before she set it down, grinning like a fool. She’d mentally prepared herself to be left out of the wedding party, had even wondered if she’d make the invite list. But thanks to Dan, Sally had realized that being sisters was important.

Maybe their relationship wouldn’t be completely fixed overnight, but this was a good start. A really, really good start.

Her smile faded. She wondered who in Dan’s life had made him aware of how important he was? Certainly not his ex-wife. And he didn’t have any brothers or sisters, because he’d mentioned being an only child.

The ache in her heart returned, and she wondered if she’d been too hasty in her refusal to see Dan again.

Molly looked for opportunities to have a personal conversation with Dan, but as the week went on she hardly saw him at all. According to Josh, his dad had been on call again, leaving Mitch to spend the night and subsequently accompany Josh to therapy.

She should have been glad to hear Dan hadn’t used her as one of his nannies but instead she couldn’t help feeling guilty at how she’d left things between them.

Telling herself that putting distance between them was for the better was one thing. But the lingering doubts wouldn’t go away.

After rain during the week, the sun came out by Friday and according to the weather reports, temperatures were supposed to get up as high as sixty degrees by Saturday. Perfect weather for Josh’s surprise birthday party and the wheelchair football game.

She’d been thrilled to see Dan on Friday afternoon, but he was all business as they stored the wheelchairs in the truck he’d rented.

“That’s the last of them,” he said, stepping down from the truck. “Thanks for your help, Molly.”

She tried to smile, even though she missed the easy camaraderie that they’d once shared. “No problem. I’m going to head out to the park early to hide the prizes. What time are you going to have Josh there?”

“The party starts at one, so I thought we’d get there about one-fifteen.” They’d already agreed that the other kids should all be there, holding a big birthday banner, before Josh arrived. “Unless you think we need to wait a little longer?” he asked uncertainly.

She pursed her lips, considering the timeframe. “No, I think one-fifteen should be fine. I suspect some of the kids will get there early, anyway.”

Dan reached out to take her hand in his. “Molly, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier this week. If you don’t want to help me with this party, I can handle it on my own,” he said, his eyes dark and serious. “I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you.”

“You’re not taking advantage. I want to help. I want to be there for Josh.” Seeing him now, after missing him for several days, she wondered if she’d been wrong to compare him to James. “Besides, I owe you for the way you stood up for me with my sister. She told me what you said to her in the cafeteria.”

Dan scowled. “She needed to hear the truth. But that doesn’t matter, because there isn’t a score card, Molly. Friends help friends without expecting anything in return.”

“I know.” She kept the smile on her face, even though she feared her cheeks might crack from the pressure. Her instincts were screaming at her that she’d been wrong, but this wasn’t the time or the place to discuss their personal issues.

He let out a heavy sigh. “I have to go, but I hope maybe after Josh’s party you and I can talk. There are … some things I’d like to share with you.”

Now he’d intrigued her. “All right.”

He flashed a lopsided grin and then nodded. “See you tomorrow, Molly.”

“Until then, Dan.” She couldn’t understand the sudden sadness that nearly overwhelmed her when he walked away.

She had trouble falling asleep that night, thinking too much about Dan and Josh, and then overslept. When she realized it was almost ten in the morning, she shot out of bed like a rocket.

Thankfully, she’d already wrapped her present for Josh, hoping he’d like the Yankees sweatshirt she’d bought him, a miniature replica of his father’s. She’d been tempted to get the full uniform, but since she knew he wouldn’t be playing much this year, she’d chosen the sweatshirt instead.

But she still had dozens of gifts to hide near where they were going to play wheelchair football. She quickly showered and changed her clothes. Once she was ready, she tossed the items in a large reusable grocery bag and then headed down to the subway.

The ride to Central Park didn’t take long, and she relaxed when she realized she had almost two full hours to get the gifts hidden and the banner ready. Hiding the gifts didn’t take long, and she spent some of her extra time lining up the wheelchairs into two teams.

As she’d suspected, several kids came early. “Where’s Josh and his dad?” the first mom asked, craning her neck as if to search him out.

“They’re not here yet. He’s bringing Josh at one-fifteen. The party is a surprise.”

“Oh.” Her face fell in disappointment.

Molly tried not to scowl at how the woman was clearly interested in Dan, considering she’d shown up at the birthday party dressed to kill in cream slacks and a red blouse that dipped low enough in the front to show off a fair amount of cleavage.

“I guess I can wait, then.”

Molly’s gaze narrowed but she simply shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“What did you say your name was again?” the woman asked as she turned to greet the next child.

“Molly Shriver.” Maybe it was small of her, but she didn’t label herself as Josh’s physical therapist. She turned to the next new arrival. “Hi, welcome to Josh’s surprise party. Thanks so much for coming.”

By ten after one a large crowd of kids had gathered in the park in front of the wheelchairs. Molly took charge, unrolling the banner and getting all the kids together to hold it up for Josh.

When Dan and Josh arrived, Josh’s eyes widened in shock as everyone yelled, “Surprise!”

“Happy birthday, Josh,” Dan said, as he got Josh’s wheelchair out of the trunk. “Guess what? We’re going to play wheelchair football.”

“We are?” Josh looked as if he was shell-shocked as the kids crowded around and wished him happy birthday before picking out their own wheelchairs.

“We are,” Molly said, crossing over to give him a hug. “And you’re going to have the advantage in this game,” she whispered, giving him a secret wink. “You know how to use your wheelchair, they don’t.”

“Oh, yeah!” Josh’s eyes glittered with excitement.

“Dan? Hi, Dan, remember me? Stephanie Albert?” The woman in the cream-colored slacks that were distinctly out of place here at the park came rushing over.

“Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Dan said in a vague, distracted tone. “It was nice of you to bring your son to Josh’s party.”

“Well, of course I brought him. He’s friends with Josh, isn’t he?” The way Stephanie beamed up at Dan made Molly curl her hands into fists. Not that she had any right to be upset.

Or jealous.

“Hey, Molly, what do you think? Should we act as referees?” Dan asked, as the kids started piling into their wheelchairs.

She hid a grin as the nicely dressed woman wrinkled her nose in distaste. Clearly she wasn’t offering to referee, the way she’d dressed. “Sounds good. We can each coach one of the teams, too.”

“Excellent plan,” Dan said, ignoring Stephanie as if she didn’t exist. “I brought us whistles,” he said, handing her one of the shiny metal whistles on a chain. “Let’s go.”

“I’ll pick up Craig later,” Stephanie called out, as if desperate for one last fragment of attention.

Dan lifted his hand, but didn’t turn around so he didn’t see the way Stephanie frowned and stomped away, like a spoiled little kid who hadn’t gotten her way.

But Molly sensed that the woman had only retreated for the moment. It was clear she had every intention of trying to be the next Mrs. Doctor Dan Morris.

A plot that Dan seemed completely oblivious to. Which made her feel ridiculously happy as she hurried after Dan onto the football field.

Dan couldn’t have asked for a better day for Josh’s birthday party, and he had nearly as much fun as his son. The look of excitement in Josh’s eyes was worth every minute of the seemingly endless preparations.

“Go, Josh, go!” he shouted, when his son went racing out toward the end zone for a pass.

“Get him!” Molly screamed to her team, but it was too late. Josh caught the ball and then rolled in for the winning touchdown.

“Way to go, Josh,” Dan shouted again, all attempt at being impartial gone. “Way to go!”

Molly threw up her hands in disgust, but she didn’t look too upset when she went over to give Josh a high five.

“This was too hard,” Craig Albert said, letting go of his wheelchair wheels in a deep sulk. “We should have played regular football.”

Dan had to bite his tongue to stop himself from pointing out it was Josh’s party, and Josh couldn’t play regular football. He did his best to ignore Craig’s whining. “Good game, everybody, good game,” he said, slapping his hands against each team member’s in a high five.

“There are prizes hidden around the park,” Molly said, when the kids had gathered in the center of the football field. “You might want to stay in your wheelchairs to find them and there’s one for each of you, so once you find a prize, you need to come back here, okay?”

“Yay, prizes!” Craig rolled across the grass, but then was the first to abandon his wheelchair, so that he could look for the best hiding places.

“That kid grates on my nerves,” Dan muttered to Molly, keeping his tone low so that the other kids couldn’t hear him.

“Really? I thought you were friends with his mother?”

He stared at her in shock. “Are you crazy? That viper? Where do you think that poor kid gets his attitude from?”

She laughed and he basked in the musical sound for a moment.

“I’ve missed you, Molly,” he said softly. “You have no idea how much.”

Her laughter died away and she looked down as if she felt guilty. “I know, because I missed you, too.”

Her words gave him a flash of hope. Maybe he hadn’t totally ruined things between them after all? He tried to think of a way to help her understand. “Look, Molly, I know I’m not very good at being in a relationship, and I’m sure I’ve already made tons of mistakes, but I’d like you to give me another chance. I think, no, I’m sure I can do better.”

She glanced up at him, surprise reflected on her features. “Dan, you haven’t made any big mistakes, not really. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have overreacted.”

“You didn’t overreact, you had every right to be upset.” When she’d mentioned how the jerk who’d left her had two sons and had used her as a surrogate mother, he’d been extremely angry. And desperate to prove he wasn’t doing the same thing. “I care about you, Molly. But I’m not sure how to show you. It’s been a long time …” He stopped, unwilling to admit how ignorant he really was.

What did he know about love? He hadn’t ever experienced it before. Not until Molly.

Stunned, he felt his heart squeeze in his chest. Was he really falling in love with Molly?

“Oh, Dan,” she murmured, but then stopped whatever she’d been about to say when Josh came wheeling over.

“Daddy! Craig has two prizes and Amy is crying because she doesn’t have one.”

“Figures,” he muttered. When the sound of Amy crying grew louder, he broke into a jog. “Don’t leave yet, I’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder, resenting Craig for being a brat and for interrupting his conversation with Molly.

A conversation he had every intention of finishing before he let her slip away.

Thankfully, he needn’t have worried. Molly didn’t leave. In fact, she stayed, helping him serve twenty kids pizza, punch, cake and ice cream.

When it came time for Josh to open his presents, Dan watched with pride as his son did so with glee, tearing into one package after another. And when Craig tried to grab the remote control to Josh’s new truck, he swiftly intervened, snatching it away and handing it back to Josh. “I think the birthday boy should be the first one to try it, don’t you?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Craig went back to sulking, but Dan didn’t care. And when the parents of the kids started to arrive, he wanted to weep with relief. Even Stephanie Albert was a welcome sight if nothing more than to get Craig out of his hair.

“Did you have fun, sweetie-pie?” Stephanie asked, ruffling her son’s hair.

“Our team didn’t win and he wouldn’t let me play with the remote-control car,” Craig said, shooting Dan a dark look.

If the kid thought he was going to apologize, he was wrong. “Thanks for coming,” he said cheerfully. “And don’t forget your prize.”

Craig snatched the mini pinball machine he’d won and stalked off, with his mother trailing behind.

“Good riddance,” Molly muttered.

“You have that right,” he said with heartfelt relief.

More parents streamed in and soon everyone was gone. As the wheelchairs had been picked up earlier, the cleanup job didn’t take long.

Dan stared at the stack of presents Josh had accumulated. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to fit all this in the trunk of my car, along with Josh’s wheelchair,” he muttered. But he’d rather cut off his arm than ask Molly for help, even though he wanted to finish their conversation more than he wanted to breathe.

“I’ll help you. Between the two of us we’ll get the car packed up, no problem,” Molly said.

“Only if you’re sure,” he said, looking down into her bright green eyes. “There’s no scorecard, Molly. If you want to go home, we’ll handle it. You and I can always talk later.”

Her tremulous smile tugged at his heart. “I know you can handle anything, but I’d like to help, if you’ll have me.”

Have her? Little did she know he wasn’t about to let her go without a fight.