justifies her staying away?”
He hesitated, and she knew he was debating whether or not to trust her.
“Joe comes by in the morning to pick her up,” he said finally.
Molly groaned. “Dammit, Daniel, why did you have to go and tell me that?”
“Because I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. This is too important. I want you to know that I trust you not to do anything crazy, like running off with her.”
For one insane minute that was exactly what had popped into Molly’s head. She could pack up a few things and they could be gone in an hour. But she knew that Daniel would be on their trail in no time, as would Joe Sutton. They would be a whole lot better at tracking her down than she would be at evading them.
“Once you’ve heard her out, you have to tell Kendra the truth about what’s going to happen next,” she said finally. “She has to be prepared.”
“Only if you’ll promise to do everything in your power to assure that she’s there in the morning if we agree that Joe picking her up is the way to go,” he said. “The last thing any of us want is for Kendra to take off on her own again, right?”
“Right,” she said emphatically. Molly would go with the teen before she would let that happen.
“I’ll see you at six, then,” he said.
“Daniel, why does life have to be so darned complicated?” she asked, unable to keep a wistful note out of her voice.
“I wish I knew the answer to that. Maybe over dinner we can all come up with some way to keep it simple.”
“Sounds like a tall order.”
“But we’re smart people,” he said. “And fromwhat I hear, Kendra’s a genius. Maybe she’ll be the one to show us the way.”
“She already has. She ran away. Apparently we’re just not listening.”
“I will listen,” Daniel promised. “Trust me, Molly. When it comes to kids in trouble, I always listen.”
She knew that was true. Maybe that’s why it had been an even harder blow when he hadn’t listened to her pleas on behalf of one innocent baby who couldn’t speak for himself.
Knowing that Molly didn’t trust him made Daniel ache inside. He wanted to blame her for it, but he couldn’t. He had no one to blame but himself. He’d told her he loved her how many times? A thousand, maybe. But when she’d come to him on that fateful night, excitement and trepidation in her eyes as she’d told him about the baby, how had he demonstrated that love? By embracing her and the news? No. He’d rejected her and the baby, dismissing any possibility of becoming involved in parenting.
Oh, he’d had his reasons. Good ones, for that matter, but they weren’t good enough. Any real man would have stepped up to the plate and accepted more than financial responsibility for his own child. In turning his back, he’d proved himself to be Connor Devaney’s son. It was a regret he’d live with the rest of his life.
Sighing, he tried to get his attention back on his never-ending mountain of paperwork, but he couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t fight the image of Molly in his head, fighting tears, her spine and shoulders rigid with pride as she turned and walked away. He’d stared after her, helpless, knowing what he should do, whathe wanted to do, but lacking the courage to take the first step.
And then she’d been gone, not just out of sight but out of his life, a door slamming shut between them as securely as if it had been the impenetrable door of Fort Knox. Not until he’d heard the lock click into place had he realized how much he’d lost—the woman he loved, his child, his future.
The next day Patrick had told him about the miscarriage. It was one of the rare times since Patrick had left home when he’d initiated any conversation between them. He’d been all but trembling with outrage, his voice cold as he’d recited the bare facts about the trip to the hospital, then told Daniel in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from Molly.
“You’ve done enough,
He hesitated, and she knew he was debating whether or not to trust her.
“Joe comes by in the morning to pick her up,” he said finally.
Molly groaned. “Dammit, Daniel, why did you have to go and tell me that?”
“Because I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. This is too important. I want you to know that I trust you not to do anything crazy, like running off with her.”
For one insane minute that was exactly what had popped into Molly’s head. She could pack up a few things and they could be gone in an hour. But she knew that Daniel would be on their trail in no time, as would Joe Sutton. They would be a whole lot better at tracking her down than she would be at evading them.
“Once you’ve heard her out, you have to tell Kendra the truth about what’s going to happen next,” she said finally. “She has to be prepared.”
“Only if you’ll promise to do everything in your power to assure that she’s there in the morning if we agree that Joe picking her up is the way to go,” he said. “The last thing any of us want is for Kendra to take off on her own again, right?”
“Right,” she said emphatically. Molly would go with the teen before she would let that happen.
“I’ll see you at six, then,” he said.
“Daniel, why does life have to be so darned complicated?” she asked, unable to keep a wistful note out of her voice.
“I wish I knew the answer to that. Maybe over dinner we can all come up with some way to keep it simple.”
“Sounds like a tall order.”
“But we’re smart people,” he said. “And fromwhat I hear, Kendra’s a genius. Maybe she’ll be the one to show us the way.”
“She already has. She ran away. Apparently we’re just not listening.”
“I will listen,” Daniel promised. “Trust me, Molly. When it comes to kids in trouble, I always listen.”
She knew that was true. Maybe that’s why it had been an even harder blow when he hadn’t listened to her pleas on behalf of one innocent baby who couldn’t speak for himself.
Knowing that Molly didn’t trust him made Daniel ache inside. He wanted to blame her for it, but he couldn’t. He had no one to blame but himself. He’d told her he loved her how many times? A thousand, maybe. But when she’d come to him on that fateful night, excitement and trepidation in her eyes as she’d told him about the baby, how had he demonstrated that love? By embracing her and the news? No. He’d rejected her and the baby, dismissing any possibility of becoming involved in parenting.
Oh, he’d had his reasons. Good ones, for that matter, but they weren’t good enough. Any real man would have stepped up to the plate and accepted more than financial responsibility for his own child. In turning his back, he’d proved himself to be Connor Devaney’s son. It was a regret he’d live with the rest of his life.
Sighing, he tried to get his attention back on his never-ending mountain of paperwork, but he couldn’t concentrate. He couldn’t fight the image of Molly in his head, fighting tears, her spine and shoulders rigid with pride as she turned and walked away. He’d stared after her, helpless, knowing what he should do, whathe wanted to do, but lacking the courage to take the first step.
And then she’d been gone, not just out of sight but out of his life, a door slamming shut between them as securely as if it had been the impenetrable door of Fort Knox. Not until he’d heard the lock click into place had he realized how much he’d lost—the woman he loved, his child, his future.
The next day Patrick had told him about the miscarriage. It was one of the rare times since Patrick had left home when he’d initiated any conversation between them. He’d been all but trembling with outrage, his voice cold as he’d recited the bare facts about the trip to the hospital, then told Daniel in no uncertain terms to stay the hell away from Molly.
“You’ve done enough,
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