before she could stop him, coming over to open her door for her.
“Bye, Josh, see you tomorrow,” she said as she climbed out of the car. When Dan drew her toward him so he could close the door, she had the insane thought he was going to haul her into his arms and kiss her, but then he whispered in her ear, “I’ll call you later to finalize the details about Josh’s party.”
She flushed and ducked her head, hoping he wouldn’t notice her embarrassment. “Okay, sounds good.” With a final wave to Josh she turned and hurried inside.
Feeling Dan’s gaze boring into her back with every step.
Dan forced himself to get back into the car with Josh, when every cell in his body wanted to follow Molly. He was getting tied up in knots over the woman, and he knew it. Yet knowing it and stopping himself from thinking about her were two entirely different things.
Molly had helped him mend his relationship with Josh, but what he was feeling for her went beyond gratitude. He knew he needed to rein in his feelings, and fast.
But despite his firm pep talk, when he and Josh returned home he couldn’t help noticing that the spacious three-bedroom apartment seemed empty now that Molly was gone. Which was ridiculous. How was it possible that his home seemed complete only when Molly was here? Nothing made any sense anymore.
He turned on some music, hoping to fill the emptiness. He busied himself making arrangements for Josh’s birthday party and the wheelchair football game. There wasn’t much he could do on a Sunday night, but he vowed to contact Josh’s teacher first thing in the morning. The party would take place in two weeks on Saturday afternoon.
So in the interim he made plans and lists, realizing that planning a party was a lot of work. And tried not to count the hours until Josh’s therapy session at nine o’clock next morning.
The following morning, Dan called Josh’s teacher first thing, and she was more than happy to help him give him a list of the student’s names. She also offered to pass out the invitations in class, which meant he needed to get them completed as soon as possible.
He and Josh arrived for therapy in their respective wheelchairs with scarcely a minute to spare. As usual, Molly came out to greet them. She smiled warmly at Josh, but he sensed she was avoiding eye contact with him. He scowled as he wheeled into the gym behind them, wondering if she was uncomfortable around him now, after they’d spent the weekend together. If so, he couldn’t understand why. He hadn’t acted inappropriately at any time, although he couldn’t say the same for his thoughts.
In his thoughts, he’d been extremely inappropriate. Down and dirty inappropriate.
“We’re going to play a new game today. Are you ready?” Molly asked.
“Yeah!” Josh agreed enthusiastically.
“Absolutely,” Dan responded, hating to admit that he was growing used to her games.
The game consisted of hitting the ball with their feet, which of course was much easier for him than it was for Josh. But he had to give his son credit, as he seemed determined to kick the ball up in the air with his toes.
He was shocked and stunned when Molly deemed it time for the massage followed by the ultrasound treatments. How had the hour gone by that fast?
When she’d finished with Josh’s ultrasound, Dan quickly followed her out of the room, leaving Josh to enjoy his lime-flavored lollipop. “Josh’s teacher has emailed me the names of the kids in his class, so I’m going to work on the invitations tonight.”
“That’s great!” For what seemed to be the first time that morning, she looked him directly in the eye and smiled. “Josh is going to be so surprised.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. “Here’s what I have planned so far,” he said. “We’ll meet at the park first for the wheelchair football game, and then afterward we’ll eat pizza, punch, cake and ice cream either at the park if it’s nice or at my place if it’s not.”
“That sounds perfect,” she agreed. “Don’t forget prizes.”
“Prizes?” He stared, perplexed. “I wasn’t thinking of playing any other games.”
“You need to reconsider that plan. What about a scavenger hunt?”
“A scavenger hunt?” Hell, hosting a party was more complicated than he’d realized. “I don’t think I want the kids going around to the other apartments, asking for things.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d participated in a scavenger hunt.
“We could have a scavenger hunt at the park, after the football game.” Her green eyes brightened with excitement. “I’ll hide a bunch of stuff at wheelchair height or lower, and they can try to find the items I’ve hidden. Whatever they find are their prizes. Although you’ll need to make sure there’s a prize for everyone.”
He suppressed a sigh. More rules. More things to buy. He needed another list. “Okay, that’ll work.”
“We won’t know what the weather will be like, so we might need a back-up plan. Maybe check again with Josh’s teacher to see if the school would let us use the gym,” she suggested. But then she glanced at her watch. “Sorry, but I have to go. My next patient is here.”
“Okay, no problem.” He took a step back, trying to hide a flash of disappointment. Not that he could blame her for needing to do her job. “See you tomorrow.”
“Absolutely. Goodbye.” Was it his imagination or was she in a hurry to get away from him?
As he went back to where Josh was waiting, he couldn’t deny he felt a little lost without the connection he’d thought he had with Molly. Had he become too dependent on her?
The realization brought him up short. He couldn’t afford to be too dependent on anyone. Josh’s happiness was the most important thing in his life, and he needed to remember that.
Granted, he appreciated Molly’s help, but he was making strides in mending his relationship with Josh. He might be new at this hosting-a-birthday-party thing, but he was determined to be a good father. He wanted—needed—to make sure his son knew just how much he loved him.
Molly did her best to keep her distance from Dan, but it wasn’t easy. On Tuesday night she called her friend Kara.
“Molly, it’s so good to hear from you!” Kara gushed.
“I know, it’s been too long, hasn’t it? How are you holding up?”
“I’m doing okay.” Kara’s crush on Tyler Donaldson hadn’t been much of a secret. However, now that the handsome Texas-born neonatologist had gotten involved with Eleanor Aston, Kara had been trying to mend her bruised heart. Especially now the two were head over heels in love and rumored to be expecting a baby. “I can’t be mad at the guy, not when he’s obviously so happy.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll find someone just as perfect someday,” Molly said stoutly.
“Actually, I have met someone,” Kara said. “But we’re just friends.”
“Really?” She injected warmth into her tone, refusing to be envious of her best friend. “Anyone I know?”
