A Very Special Delivery (13 page)

“Promise.” His heart thudded with hope as he watched her struggle against self doubt and move toward trusting herself—and him.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll try.”

And the burst of pleasure Ethan experienced was far out of proportion to the victory. She hadn’t agreed to meet with Chloe. She hadn’t even agreed to go to an actual church service. But Molly was going with him to a church function, and nothing had felt that right in a long time.

Chapter Eleven

M
olly’s heart pounded so loudly, she could feel the rush of blood through her temples. All afternoon at the center, she’d thought of little except this moment.

Crunching over the graveled parking lot with Ethan at her side, she had to force her legs to keep moving toward the long metal building that housed the Winding Stair Chapel’s Fellowship Hall.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Ethan said, one hand riding gently at the small of her back.

She sucked in a lungful of cool, clean mountain air and nodded, still amazed that he’d talked her into this. And even though she knew he was right, she was scared.

But Ethan knew about being scared. He’d been scared too. Scared during those long months when Twila wanted to abort his child. Scared of being a single father. Scared he wouldn’t measure up. But he’d turned it all over to the Lord and kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Sharing his story with her couldn’t have been easy either, but he’d done it to help her. And she could do this to please him.

Hand on the metal doorknob, he looked down at her and winked. “Piece of cake.”

“I’m okay.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s Tom Castor’s team. They beat the pants off us last time. I don’t want to be humiliated in front of my girl.”

His girl? Was she his girl?

The title settled on her like a crown on a princess. Ethan’s girl. Whether she was smart to develop a relationship with a single father or not, it was happening.

“Then you better play hard, mister. Tom has the killer instinct.”

While Ethan kept her attention with his silly talk of the upcoming game, they entered the rec hall and moved into a group of people. Molly hardly noticed.

A teenage girl she didn’t recognize pushed through the crowd. “Hi, Ethan.”

Ethan, looking a little uncomfortable, shifted Laney’s weight. “How ya doin’, Cass?”

“Good. Want me to watch Laney while you play?” The girl held her arms out. The baby strained forward and Ethan let her go.

“She’s a handful lately,” Ethan said as the transfer was made from his arms to the girl’s.

“That’s okay. You know I don’t mind.” Cass’s bright smile was more for Ethan than for Laney. “I’m always available to you.” She giggled and made calf eyes at Ethan. “As a sitter, I mean. I adore babies. Especially Laney.”

Molly fought the urge to grab Laney away from the girl. What was Ethan thinking, allowing a teenager to watch Laney? What if something happened? And why was she so flirty with Ethan? She was just a kid.

“When you get tired of playing with her,” Molly heard herself say. “I’ll be in the stands. Bring her to me.”

She couldn’t believe she’d said that. Having someone other than herself look after Laney made perfect sense. But Molly had the possessive desire to keep Laney with her.

Cass shot her a quick, dismissive glance before returning her attention to Ethan. “I’ll be cheering for you, Ethan. Have a great game.”

“Thanks.” Casually, Ethan looped an arm over Molly’s shoulders and drew her against his side. “And, like Molly said, bring Laney to her if she gets fussy.”

The teenager couldn’t miss the implication and Molly felt foolishly vindicated.

“Sure. Whatever.” The girl walked away, toting Laney on one hip.

“She has a crush on you.” Not that I blame her, though. I am ridiculously jealous.

Ethan blew out a sigh. “Tell me about it.”

“Is that why you let her take Laney?”

“She’s a good sitter. I hired her a few times before this crush thing started. I have enough of a reputation to live down without someone thinking I’d play around with a high-school kid.”

Before they could say more, a voice called out. “Molly! Is that really you?”

Lindsey Slater came toward them. Molly tensed, afraid that the sound of her name ringing through
the gym would cause a tidal wave of disapproving glances. Not everyone was as kind-hearted as the Christmas tree farmer.

“Lindsey, hi.” She glanced around nervously, expecting the worst. Ethan’s strong fingers massaged the back of her neck, a comforting reminder that he was there and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. All the more reason to hang tough and get through this if she could. Having her here mattered to Ethan.

To her relief, the only faces looking in her direction were either smiling or mildly curious. No one stared with condemning disapproval. Not yet anyway.

“Ethan said you might come,” Lindsey said. “I’m really glad. We could use another guard on our team.”

“I haven’t played ball in a long time, Lindsey. I’m here only as a spectator tonight.”

“Then I hope you’ll think about rejoining soon. We’re raising money to build a school in Mexico, and I can’t play anymore until after the baby comes.”

Molly’s gaze went immediately to Lindsey’s tummy. Happiness for the other woman, accompanied by a twinge of envy, slid through her. “I didn’t know you were having a baby.”

Lindsey laughed and touched the small mound protruding from beneath the oversized T-shirt. “You’d know these things if you’d come around more often.”

Molly fell silent, not knowing how to respond. Didn’t Lindsey and the others understand why she had stayed away?

Ethan, bless him, felt her discomfiture and filled the gap. “She’s here tonight to help us out in the stands. Tom’s team has all the noisy fans.”

Lindsey laughed, and the awkward moment passed. “Most of that racket comes from his kids.”

“Must be why Tom calls his team the Wild Bunch,” Ethan joked.

Tom Castor was a popular local fireman with a competitive nature and a houseful of kids. He and his wife, Debbie, who waited tables at the diner, were mainstays of the church and worked tirelessly for the community. Molly had helped them with a number of charitable undertakings.

By this time several other people, including Pastor Cliff and his wife, Karen, had joined the conversation. No longer the focus of attention, Molly relaxed as the talk took hold and ebbed and flowed around her. It felt good to listen to small talk and the teasing banter of people who knew and trusted one another. She had missed this kind of thing more than she had realized.

From all appearances, Ethan was well liked and accepted. Not that Molly had doubted, but seeing him laugh and tease with other members of the church reaffirmed the kind of man she knew him to be. And the fact that he was cautiously kind to the gushing teenage Cass was, if she’d needed it, further proof of his integrity.

After a bit, Pastor Cliff clapped his hands once and rubbed his palms together in a gesture of anticipation. “You folks ready to get this show on the road?”

“Ready for the blood bath,” Tom called, pumping one arm in the air to the groans and chuckles of those around him.

“In that case, tonight’s devotional is all the more important,” Cliff answered good-naturedly. “Gather round, everyone. I have a couple of verses from Romans and Second Corinthians. Then we’ll pray and get the game started.”

When the crowd of a hundred or more people, both church regulars and community members who had come to support the good cause, had settled, Pastor Cliff read from the Bible and gave a brief talk about the relevance of the scripture to today’s life.

Following prayer, he lifted a glowing face and a huge right arm and announced in oratorical style, “Let the games begin.”

“Are you okay with this?” Ethan asked, before taking to the floor with his team. He stood a step below her, one sneakered foot raised to the bleacher. He looked awesome in loose sweat pants and a red basketball jersey emblazoned with the word Crossfire.

Trepidatious, but less anxious than before, Molly managed a smile. “I’ll be fine.”

He tilted his head toward the teenage Cass who sat a couple of rows behind Molly. “Will you keep an eye on Laney for me?”

Molly’s confidence rose a couple of notches. She didn’t understand why, but Ethan trusted her with his most prized possession. And she’d do anything to keep that trust.

“Should I go up and get her?”

“Nah. I don’t want to hurt Cass’s feelings. She
or one of the other teenagers usually watch Laney while I play, but I feel better knowing you’re here. Laney loves you.” He squeezed her hand, and Molly thought he wanted to say more.

“I love her, too,” she answered. It was true. She had fallen in love with the baby girl whose brown hair and blue eyes were so like her daddy’s. She hadn’t wanted ever to love another child the way she’d loved Zack, but she did. Surprisingly, the admission brought joy instead of pain. The risk of loving was a good thing.

“Wish me luck.”

She lifted her hand for a high five. “You’ll need it against Tom’s team.”

Ethan groaned. “
Et tu, Brute?
”

They both grinned as he jogged onto the gym floor.

“Mind if we sit here with you?” Lindsey asked as she and her little girl, Jade, slid onto the wooden bench next to Molly.

She’d always liked Lindsey, though the Christmas tree farmer was a little older, more Chloe’s age than her own. They had been in the same singles’ class until Jesse Slater came to town.

“I’d be glad for the company,” Molly answered truthfully, relieved not to be left entirely alone.

“Ethan said you might.”

“He talked to you about me?”

Lindsey shrugged. “Just said you were a little uncomfortable, having been away for so long.”

Molly gazed out on the court at her delivery man, heart filling at his obvious thoughtfulness. So Ethan had paved the way to make this awkward evening easier for her.

“Ethan’s a nice guy,” she answered simply.

“I didn’t know until last Sunday that you two were dating.”

Molly sighed. She’d tried to convince herself that what she and Ethan were doing was not dating, but everyone else called it that. Might as well stop fooling herself.

“Oh, here they go.” Lindsey sat forward in rapt attention as two men took center court for the tip-off. “Look, Jade. There’s Daddy.”

The game commenced in a crazy mix of camaraderie and competition. The Wild Bunch’s fans did the wave and stomped the wooden bleachers hard enough to vibrate the entire gym. As Molly had expected, Ethan was a good athlete with a deadly three-point shot that kept Crossfire in the game.

At the half, with the Wild Bunch leading by five points, Ethan came up into the stands. Wiping his face with a towel, he plopped down beside Molly. Sweat plastered his shirt to his skin.

“You doin’ okay?” he asked.

“Fine.” And she was. Though several people had come by to talk, no one had mentioned Zack or Chloe. “Your team is hanging in there.”

“Closest we’ve ever played the Wild Bunch. You must be our lucky charm.” He tossed the towel over one shoulder. “Would you like a Coke or something?”

“You look like you could use one.”

“You got that right.” He hitched his chin toward the spot where Cass, flanked by two other girls, held Laney on her lap. “Let’s grab the baby and head to the concession stand.”

Molly followed him up the steps. Laney saw them coming and began to bounce and chatter, stretching tiny hands toward Molly. Her chest expanded with love for Ethan’s child.

“Hey, wait a minute. What’s with this? You don’t love Daddy anymore?” Ethan pretended hurt, but Molly could see he was pleased.

Snuggling the soft, warm body against her chest, Molly had to admit she was pleased, too. Carrying Laney, they headed to the lobby area.

Molly’s plan to remain quiet and inconspicuous went out the window as they stopped over and over again to chat and laugh and joke about the crazy, unorthodox game. Ethan and his child were people magnets, and the community drew her back into the fold as if she’d never left.

Slowly, the awful weight of worry lifted from her shoulders. She had assumed the church sided with Chloe and hated her, but no one here was judging or condemning her. Here, at least, she could experience the warmth and joy of being part of a family, even if it wasn’t the one she hungered for.

* * *

The spring evening was dark and cool by the time the game ended and they made their way to Molly’s place. Ethan’s heart was full. Tonight had done some good, he was sure of it. After the initial ice had been broken, Molly had seemed to enjoy herself, and he’d not only been glad, he’d been proud. In the good-natured atmosphere of a ball game, she’d gone from tense and anxious to heartrendingly grateful for the warm acceptance of the church members. It wasn’t the same as reconciliation with her sister, but the plan he’d formulated with James was off to a good start. One step at a time, he would gradually push Molly forward.

In the glow of the dash lights, he admired the side of her face as she leaned over the seat to appease a tired and cranky Laney. The curve of her swingy hair brushed her chin and danced around her pretty mouth.

He thought of the last time he’d kissed her, that day when he’d told her about Twila. He’d known then that Molly was important to him and to Laney.

He wasn’t much. Probably had no business getting involved with a decent girl like her, but his heart told him this was right.

He turned into the gravel drive and pulled to a stop in front of her house. The porch light glowed yellow as it had that first night months ago when he’d stumbled into her house out of the freezing cold.

He hadn’t realized then, but he did now. He’d been out in the cold emotionally at the time. He’d stopped trusting women, afraid they were all like Twila. But time with Molly, seeing her care for others, including him, had warmed his frozen, aching heart. Oh, she hadn’t said she cared, but he was certain she did. He could feel it in everything she did. Even tonight, moving outside her comfort zone because he’d asked had proved that she cared.

Killing the motor, he turned in the seat. “I had a great time.” He made a silly face. “Even if we did lose again.”

She smiled. “Want to come inside for a while? Some hot chocolate might soothe your wounded pride.”

“Better not.” He hitched his chin toward the back seat. “The boss needs to hit the sack.”

Molly laid a hand on his jacketed arm. Filled
with an emotion too wonderful for words, she said, “Thank you for this, Ethan. As scared as I was to go to that game, I’m glad you talked me into it. For the first time in two years, I don’t feel like people are saying bad things about me.”