Bachelor Father (8 page)

“I know.” Molly shook her head in defeat.
“That was before I saw how good Brett is with Jake. Jake might not
be of his own blood, but he’s the only family Brett has
left.”

Charles started to say something, but was
interrupted by the phone. “Yes. Okay. I’ll tell her.”

Hanging up, he turned to Molly. “The director
wants to meet with us in her office right now. Hopefully, we’ll
find out what’s going on with your Mr. Cahill.

That evening Molly sat curled on the couch in
her soft flannel robe, sipping herbal tea and ostensibly reading
the newspaper classifieds. A cheery fire crackled in the fireplace.
Folding the paper and putting it aside, she thought about the
reminder she’d received from the condominium management board
today. The board wanted her answer on the sale offer within thirty
days.

When she’d taken the caseworker position at
Thayer House, Molly had carefully combed the available rental
listings to find the right place, somewhere she could call home.
Fortunately, Charles and Linda had let her stay with them until she
did.

The condo, with its fireplace, cathedral
ceiling, and large loft bedroom was perfect—even though the
mortgage payments would stretch her paycheck to the limit. And
owning the condo would give her roots, make her feel like she
belonged somewhere. But she needed a 20% down payment.

Restless, she walked across the chocolate
brown carpet to the window, the thick pile soft beneath her bare
feet. Funny, the power little pieces of paper had to wreak havoc in
peoples’ lives. Her mother’s trust agreement, the management
corporation’s reminder, the letter the director of adoptions had
sent to Brett.

Taking another sip of tea, she looked out the
window. Stars twinkled brightly in the cold night sky while
moonlight played on the greens and browns of the pinebush that
stretched for acres behind the complex. What a welcome change from
the noisy traffic and the harsh glow of streetlights she’d viewed
from her previous apartments. Living on the western edge of Albany
was quiet and peaceful, like living in the city without being in
the city.

Tonight, though, the condo seemed
too quiet and empty. Molly studied the room. The furnishings were
sparse, but quality. Her mother’s influence.
If you can’t buy the best, don’t buy
. Personal accents—the print Charles and Linda had given her
as a housewarming gift, a pillow her family’s housekeeper, Helen
Potter, had made her years ago, the plant stand a college boyfriend
had helped her build—made the condo home. But it lacked the warm,
lived in atmosphere that had surrounded her the minute she’d walked
into Brett’s cluttered old farmhouse.

Molly paced back to the couch, watching the
flames dance in the fireplace for a minute before settling in again
to the classifieds. Flipping through the pages, a personal ad
caught her interest, and an idea took root. Should she? Could she?
She thoughtfully swirled the wine remaining in her
glass.

“Yes,” she said, jumping to her feet and
polishing off her tea. She would. It was a solution to her
problem—and to Brett’s.

Chapter Five

“What?”

“Let’s get married,” Molly
repeated.

“Are you out of your mind?” Brett said,
searching his brain for some logical connection between Molly’s
proposal and, well, anything.

When she’d shown up unannounced on his
doorstep this morning, he’d thought maybe Korean Child Welfare had
reconsidered, or Molly had figured out some sort of solution or
loophole that would let him keep Jake. But marriage. Never in a
million years would he have dreamed that one up.

“Yes,” Molly said, moving to the edge of the
couch and gesturing enthusiastically. “Don’t you see? It’s the
perfect solution.”

If this was the perfect solution, his other
options must be worse than he figured. Tina had thought he had a
pretty good chance of winning his custody challenge. Could Molly
know something she hadn’t told him yesterday?

“We don’t even know each other,” Brett said.
“Further, we don’t like each other.”

Molly flinched at his last
statement. Terrific. All he’d done is point out the bare facts.
Well, maybe he’d been a little harsh. It wasn’t that he
didn’t
like
Molly
or that he wasn’t attracted to her. There was no denying the
attraction. But he didn’t trust her. She had to be up to
something.

Sitting at the other end of the couch, he
apologized. “I didn’t mean that the way it came out. You took me by
surprise. Marriage isn’t something I’d considered.” At least not
seriously. He thought of his joking proposal to Tina.

At this encouragement, Molly’s eyes took on
bright, expectant look that changed them to almost a Kelly green.
“But you will consider it?”

Brett laughed. It was obvious Molly didn’t
know him very well. He had too much living to do before he tied
himself down to anything as permanent as marriage. And he did
consider marriage a permanent situation. Before he took that big of
a step, he wanted what his grandparents must have had—a love so
strong, it lasted 50 years. A ‘til-death-do-we-part love. He’d yet
to experience anything close to that.

Brett stopped chuckling. Molly
wasn’t smiling along with him. In fact, she looked . . . the only
word for it was
stricken
. He’d somehow hurt her
again. What did she expect? That he’d leap at the chance to marry a
total stranger?

Brett moved to touch her shoulder and
apologize again.

“Don’t,” she said too sharply, giving Brett
the distinct feeling she didn’t like to be touched. Or maybe she
didn’t want him touching her. What a great start for a
marriage.

“Why am I even bothering?” Molly asked
rhetorically. “You think it’s all a big joke, but I thought it
might be the one way you could keep Jake.”

Brett backed off. “I don’t see how our getting
married will make any difference, unless KCW is changing all of
their requirements.”

Molly looked confused.

“Kate and David had to be married for three
years before they could apply. I know because Kate practically had
the days counted to their third anniversary. She couldn’t have
children of her own, and they wanted to start a family right
away.”

“Couples still have to be married at least
three years to apply for adoption. But we won’t be adopting
Jake.”

“Wait a minute,” Brett interrupted. I thought
the whole purpose of this screwy marriage plan of yours was to help
me keep Jake. Now you say I’m not going to adopt him?”

She was out to drive him crazy—and succeeding
in more ways than one. Agitated, he ran his hand back through his
hair. How could he be thinking about how beautiful she was when she
was saying he wouldn’t be adopting Jake?

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t be
adopting Jake. I said
we
wouldn’t be.”

She was making less and less sense to Brett.
“If we’re not going to be adopting Jake, how is our being married
going to help me?”

“I’m a certified foster parent,” Molly
answered, as if that should explain everything. She leaned back on
the couch, crossed her arms, and gave him a dazzling, if somewhat
self-satisfied, smile.

“And?” Brett asked.

Her smile slipped a bit and her brow wrinkled.
“I’m not doing too well, here, am I?” She uncrossed her arms and
fiddled nervously with the hem of her skirt, drawing Brett’s gaze
back to her legs.

Molly cleared her throat. When he looked back
at her face, he thought he detected a glint of amusement in her
eyes.

“No,” he conceded. “I’m still about as lost as
when you started.”

“I’m sorry. It seemed like such a good idea to
me last night.”

“What does your being a certified foster
parent have to do with anything?” Brett wished she’d start making
some sense and quit making him feel like some sort of simpleton. It
was like playing a game and not knowing any of the
rules.

“I can have Jake placed with me,” Molly
explained.

“That much I caught. Then, what?”

Then, we marry and Jake can live with
you—us—until your adoption is approved. Once you have your
approval, we’ll get an annulment.”

Brett rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You have
this all figured out, don’t you?”

Molly nodded, looking slightly smug
again.

“And our marriage has no effect on the
adoption?” he asked.

“Not really. The director of adoptions talked
with the U.S. coordinator for Korean Child Welfare when she was in
New York last week. Because of your unusual circumstances, KCW is
willing to let you begin the adoption process now, but they won’t
give you final approval until after the new regulations allowing
single-parent adoptions go into effect. You’ll be applying to adopt
Jake. I won’t.”

It sounded great for him and Jake. But Brett
couldn’t figure out why Molly would go to such extremes for someone
she barely knew. He paused a minute silently studying the sprinkle
of freckles that bridged her nose. She looked so innocent and
guileless. He knew better. She was a woman. She had to have an
agenda of her own.

“What’s in this deal for you?”

She shifted on the couch as if she was trying
to get more comfortable, crossing and uncrossing her legs. “My job
is to place the kids with the best parents for them. I think the
best place for Jake is with you.” She broke eye contact, looking
down to her hands absently fingering the hem of her skirt
again.

“Nice try, Ms. Hennessey.” He
reached over and lifted her chin more gently than he felt. “But
what do
you
get
out of this deal?”

“Personal satisfaction?” she answered
lamely.

Brett burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it.
This whole conversation was so inane. He watched as Molly tried to
keep a straight face. She finally gave up.

Catching a small hint of hysteria in her
laugh, Brett reined in his amusement and said, “You know, Molly, if
you’re straight with me, maybe I could consider this crazy scheme
of yours.”

Molly took a deep breath and sat up straight
and tall, taking on the aloof professional look she’d exhibited
both times he’d met with her in her office.

“Okay, here’s what’s in it for me. I get to
buy my condominium.”

The conversation lost its humor. “You think
I’m going to buy you a condominium in exchange for Jack? Look
around. Does it seem like I have that kind of money?

She raised her hand in a stop sign. “Let me
finish. The owner of the complex where I live is selling the rental
units. We tenants have first offer. I could get a mortgage, but I
don’t have enough of a down payment. I do have a trust fund my
mother set up for me that’s enough to buy the condo outright. The
problem is that I don’t have any access to the fund until either I
marry or reach age thirty-five. Since I only have a month to accept
the offer, that rules out my turning thirty-five.”

Brett slapped his knee. He knew it. He knew
she couldn’t be sacrificing several months of her life for nothing.
But, hey, he wouldn’t want someone doing that anyway.

“I get Jake,” he mused out loud, “and you get
your condo. Sounds fair enough.”

Before he could say more, they heard the side
door slam. Humphrey came bounding in the room first, his tail
wagging furiously, followed by Jake, a little girl who looked to
Molly to be about the same age, and a tall willowy blond holding
each of their hands.

“Boo,” Jake shouted before pulling away from
the woman and hurling himself onto Molly’s lap.

She couldn’t help but reward such an
enthusiastic greeting with a big hug. “Hi, Jake.” She looked from
Jake’s grinning face to Brett’s, and then to the
woman’s.

The woman seemed to be taking her measure.
Molly looked back at Brett. He stood to make
introductions.

“Molly, this is my friend and neighbor, Tina
Cannon, and her daughter Amy. Jake’s been over at Tina’s this
morning playing with Amy.”

At the mention of his friend’s name, Jake
scrambled off Molly’s lap and pulled the little girl over to the
couch. “‘Amee,” he said, copying Brett, “my Boo.” He patted Molly’s
knee.

Everyone laughed.

“Hi, Amy,” Molly said before turning her
attention back to Tina. “I’m Molly Hennessey.” She stood and
offered her hand. Tina made no move to accept it. “Brett’s
caseworker,” Molly added.

“I know,” Tina replied coolly, belatedly
giving Molly the briefest of handshakes. “I’m Brett’s
attorney.”

Molly sized up the situation. Friend,
neighbor, and attorney, on top of being absolutely stunning even in
faded jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. Tina reminded Molly of the
popular girls at college, the ones Molly’s guy friends would ask
her advice on pursuing. Maybe Brett already had the solution to his
custody problem. Tina certainly seemed ready to draw battle
lines.

“Nice to meet you,” Molly said with stiff
politeness. About as nice as running smack up against an iceberg.
She glanced at Brett, who was looking from her to Tina with an
amused expression on his face. If he was expecting a catfight, she
wasn’t going to be the one to begin it.