Bachelor Father (19 page)

He read the shipping label. From Donahue &
Donahue; To Mr. and Mrs. Brett Cahill. He tore open the envelope.
The check from Molly’s trust fund. How fitting. It was made out to
both of them. She’d denied him Jake; he could stop her purchase of
the condo.

“Keep an eye on Jake for a couple of more
minutes, would you?” Brett walked to the door, deep in thought.
“I’ve got to take care of something.” He left Tina’s house with her
and the kids staring after him.

* * *

Molly pulled into the driveway surprised at
the dark house. Brett usually left the porch light on. He must have
forgotten. She carried her bags to the house and tried the door.
Locked. Funny, Brett generally left the door open when Tina watched
Jake in case Tina needed something of Jake’s. And where was
Humphrey? He should have made an appearance by now if he were
outdoors or be barking up a storm inside. She fumbled in her
satchel for the house key. The lack of light made fitting the key
in the old door difficult.

Once inside she switched on the
light and brought her bags from the porch. The stillness of the
house spooked her a bit. She’d never been here alone at night
before. Well, she wouldn’t be alone for long. She turned to walk
back out and over to Tina’s to get Jake. The envelope on the table
by the door caught her eye.
Mr. and Mrs.
Brett Cahill
. Seeing their names written
out as one gave her a tingle. If only . . .

She stopped her train of thought. No. No sense
getting into if onlys.

Molly picked up the envelope and found it
opened. She checked the label again. Tina had signed for the
delivery. The woman had a lot of nerve. Molly intended to give her
a good piece of her mind. But, first, she pulled the contents from
the envelope.

Brett’s handwriting, bold and black jumped out
at her.

Here’s the check for your
condominium. Don’t worry, I’ve endorsed it. I expect you to be gone
when I get back.

Molly dropped the paper as if burned. Brett
wanted her out. They’d been distant the past week but she hadn’t
imagined him so anxious to have her gone. And what about Jake?
Excitement replaced the emptiness inside her. The adoption must
have been approved while she was in New York. That was it. Jake
could stay with Brett. But she couldn’t. Like a popped balloon, her
excitement was gone in a boom. She closed her eyes against the
pain.

Now that Brett could adopt Jake, he didn’t
need her around anymore. And the other day she’d been worried about
using him. They’d kept to their marriage agreement and used each
other. Well, almost kept to the agreement. Tears seeped from under
her closed eyelids as she remembered how she’d felt in Brett’s
arms, like she belonged, like she’d come home. She blanked the
picture from her mind, if not from her heart. She had the condo
now. She didn’t need Brett’s home or his family. A loud sob
escaped. Liar. Molly wrapped her arms around herself and let the
tears stream.

Outside, the wind moaned with her, rattling
the shutter on Jake’s bedroom window. Jake. A light glimmered in
the gloom. At least she had the weekend with Jake. She could say
her good-byes to him, if not to Brett. Molly wiped her palms across
her wet cheeks and went to the bathroom to repair the damages
before facing Tina. Tina would know all, she thought with
irritation.

The lights shone brightly at the house next
door, lighting the way across the yards. Molly lifted the
doorknocker and let it drop. She could hear little Amy calling to
her mother and the sound of footsteps moving toward the door, then
a slight pause while Tina glanced out the window before opening the
door.

“Molly.” Tina didn’t invite her in.

“I’m here to pick up Jake,” Molly tried to
keep her voice steady.

Tina stared at her. “Jake’s not here. Brett
picked him up this afternoon.”

“They’re not at the house,” Molly said. Did
that sound as inane to Tina as it did to her? Obviously, they
weren’t at the house or she wouldn’t be here to pick up Jake.
“Where did they go?” Brett wouldn’t have taken Jake on the job with
him.

“He didn’t say.”

The wind whipped the porch chimes causing a
jangle of sound. “Did he say when he’d be back?”

“Not really. In a few days he
said.”

Brett had a casual attitude, but not toward
Jake. He knew he wasn’t supposed to take Jake out of the area
without notifying Thayer House. It didn’t make sense that Brett
would receive his adoption approval and take off with
Jake.

Molly’s mind raced for an answer.
Oh, no, maybe Brett’s application had been denied. The possibility
hit her with such force she gasped out loud.
Please, anything but that,
she
prayed.

“Tina, please, do you have any idea where he
went? I have to get a hold of him.”

“No, and if I did, I don’t think he’d want me
to tell you. Whatever you did, you’re about the last person he
wants to see right now.”

Did to him? Molly had thought he’d
wanted her to leave because their deal was concluded. Tina thought
she’d done something that made him take off with Jake.
Oh, no!
The computer
files. The pieces were starting to fall into place.

She made a noise somewhere between a groan and
a sob that caused Tina’s expression to soften. “Tina,” Molly
pleaded. “As Brett’s friend, you have to help me. I didn’t mean to,
but I may have hurt him big time.”

“All right, come in.”

The slam of the door behind her told Molly
that Tina was still on the defensive. She sank into couch and
reached for her cross. Tina faced her in an armchair.

“We had to list Jake in the Waiting Children
Book. I had no choice. Korean Child Welfare explicitly told us to.”
Molly could tell from Tina’s blank expression that Tina wasn’t
following her. She took a deep breath. “Early this week, I had a
couple who saw Jake’s photo in the book and asked for
him.”

“No,” Tina whispered. She looked as stricken
as Molly felt. “What did you do?”

Molly rubbed her cross. “Fortunately, the
computer network was down, so I couldn’t call up Jake’s records for
them. When the network came back up, I marked Jake’s file REFERRED.
I shouldn’t have. It could mean my job. But after the Shermans
asked about him, I was afraid other people might ask about him.
That one of the other caseworkers would refer him to a family
before Brett’s application could be approved. I figured Charles
would let me know when Brett’s application was approved and I
planned to go back into the file and delete the REFERRED
entry.”

Tina whistled. “You think Brett’s application
was approved while you were in New York and Charles told him Jake
had already been referred to another family.”

“Yes,” Molly said quietly.

“That would explain his cold fury when he
burst in here this afternoon. Having Jake means the world to
him.”

“I know,” Molly said, unable to keep a quiver
from her voice. “Instead of helping Brett, I might have truly
ruined his chances of adopting Jake.”

Tina gave her a questioning look.

“Since Brett doesn’t have legal custody, he’s
not supposed to take Jake out of the tri-county area without
notifying me or Thayer House. If he has, Brett could be charged
with kidnapping Jake. And it’s all my fault.” Molly buried her face
in her hands. “Brett has to have Jake back before Monday. He has
to.”

“Couldn’t you talk with Charles and work
something out to cover until Brett gets back?” Tina asked
hopefully.

Molly lifted her head and shook it slowly.
“Charles has pulled me out of a lot of scrapes over the years, but
I doubt he can this time. The director of adoptions and Korean
Child Welfare has been following this case closely. I’d be asking
Charles to put his job, his professional standing, on the line for
me. I couldn’t do that.”

“But you could risk yours for Brett,” Tina
said, clearly surprised. “And here, all along, I thought you were
using him. I advised him against your marriage arrangement, you
know, as both his attorney and his friend.”

“Don’t feel bad. At first, I was
dead set against Brett adopting Jake. I couldn’t imagine how a
footloose single guy could be good parent. Then, I realized how
right they are together.” Molly’s voice broke. “How much love Brett
has to give to Jake.” But not to me, she added silently,
especially not now
.

Tina moved over to the couch and put her arm
around Molly’s shoulder. “You love him.”

Molly managed a fleeting smile. “Jake is quite
the little charmer.”

“No, you idiot,” Tina said, squeezing Molly’s
shoulder. “You’re in love with Brett.”

“Yes,” Molly almost shouted, crumbling under
Tina’s sympathy. “I love him, and look what I’ve done to him, to
Jake. Are you sure you don’t have any idea where he’s gone?” she
asked desperately.”

“No. Wait. He might have gone to his
grandparents’ cabin in the Adirondacks. We used to go there summers
when we were kids with Brett’s grandmother and grandfather and
mother—me, and Kate, and Brett. He often goes up there when he
wants to get away or needs to think.”

“Do you have the phone number?” Molly asked
eagerly.

Tina shook her head. “It won’t help. Brett has
the phone service turned off when he closes the camp for the
winter.”

“How about directions?”

“I can get you to the lake,” Tina said. “I’m
not so sure about the cabin. But Raquette Lake is a small place
like New Chatham. Ask at the Post Office or the little store for
directions to the Riley’s camp. Riley was Brett’s grandfather’s
last name.”

Molly clutched the directions Tina gave her
and stood to leave.

Tina followed her to the door. “Before you
drive up, let me call around and see if I can find
Brett.”

“Thanks. I should have thought of that, but my
thinking hasn’t been too straight lately.” Not since Brett and Jake
careened into my life. She reached for the door.

“Molly, good luck, with everything.” Tina
said. “I mean it.”

Impulsively, Molly turned and hugged Tina. The
human contact felt good. “I’m afraid I’m going to need it. Call if
you find out anything, no matter how late.”

“I will.”

The drive to Raquette Lake had been long and
futile. She’d asked directions at the store and had had no trouble
finding the camp. Finding Brett was another story. The cabin was
locked tightly with no signs of anyone having been there in a
while. Maybe Tina had been more successful, but Molly doubted it.
When she spoke with her this morning before leaving, no one had
seen or heard from Brett. Would he truly have run off with Jake?
The boy did mean the world to him.

As she approached the farmhouse, she looked
expectantly for Brett’s Wrangler in the driveway, but it was empty,
the garage door shut tightly. Wearily, she stepped from the car and
headed for the house. She needed to think, to come up with some way
of locating Brett, but her mind was numb. A sharp bark cleared her
head for the moment. Humphrey bounded toward her. “Hey, fella.” She
petted his furry head with both hands and accepted his sloppy
kisses. “Where were you all night?”

“With me.”

Molly’s heart stopped at the sound of Brett’s
voice. “You’re home.”

“Yeah.”

The corner of his mouth quirked in a slight
grin that made her want to throw her arms around him and show him
how glad she was to see him.

“It was pretty dumb of me to run off like
that.” He draped him arm around her shoulder, sending shivers
through her.

He squeezed her to him. “You’re cold. Let’s go
in. You can have a cup of that awful herbal tea you’re always
drinking, and we can talk.”

What a switch from yesterday’s note telling
her to leave. “You saw Tina?” Molly asked as they walked to the
house.

“Yep, she explained everything. She’s keeping
Jake with Amy, so we can be alone.”

Had his voice dropped on the word ‘alone,’ or
was it her imagination? It had to be her imagination.

Brett opened the door for her and she went
into the kitchen to make her tea. “You stay there,” she said when
he started to follow her from the front room. “I’ll be back in a
minute.” She needed a moment to herself to still her pounding heart
and prepare to say good-bye to the first real home and family she’d
ever had.

While the microwave hummed, heating her mug of
water, Molly looked around the kitchen, memorizing each homey
detail: the ruffled window curtains, so un-Brett-like, but so
right, the discoloration in the flooring next to Humphrey’s water
dish, Jake’s artwork on the refrigerator. The buzz of the microwave
stopped her inventory. She removed the mug, dropped in a tea bag,
and dipped it up and down. Her other hand rested on Brett’s flannel
shirt draped over the back of the chair. She rubbed the well-worn
softness with her thumb.

Molly wanted to bury her face in the shirt and
hide in its warmth, to capture the soft side of Brett that he kept
hidden behind his hard, manly exterior. Instead, she picked up her
mug and walked slowly to the other room to face him, still not
prepared for the inevitable good-bye.