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
