“We appreciate this.” Molly reached out and grasped Reuben’s hand.
“I’m the grateful one.” Reuben patted the top of her hand. “You’re relieving an old man’s weary, guilty soul. I haven’t had a good night’s rest in entirely too long. And my aching bones aren’t to blame.”
“Maybe tonight that will change,” Molly said.
“That’s the hope. Now my Trina isn’t here, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten her ways.” Reuben lifted his gaze to Drew and waved him closer. “Listen well, son. You’d best not let this lovely lady get away.”
Molly jumped from the ottoman, her cheeks tinged an appealing shade of pink. Her words tumbled out. “Oh, we’re just friends. Coworkers of sorts. Peers only.”
Reuben chuckled and shifted his gaze back and forth between Molly and Drew. “Are you certain that’s all there is between you two?”
Drew avoided looking at Molly and avoided answering Reuben’s question. “We’ll leave our contact information with your daughter. Call us if you need anything.”
Molly retreated from the bedroom and offered a rushed parting statement. “I’ll be in touch about the hearing date and arrangements for a notarized statement.”
“And now you know my mailing address, don’t forget to send me an invitation to the wedding when it’s time.” Reuben’s laughter followed them down the hallway.
Business cards were handed out and goodbye hugs shared with Lorrie. Drew climbed into his truck and waited for Molly to buckle her seat belt. Hazel was fast asleep in her car seat—the same as she’d been in Lorrie’s arms when they’d left Reuben’s bedroom.
“That went well.” Molly kept her voice on the low side to not disturb Hazel.
That was her habit. Once he started the truck and the engine became Hazel’s white-noise machine, Molly’s voice returned to normal.
Drew steered away from the curb of the Cote house. “This time I really want to celebrate.”
Even more, he wanted to kiss Molly. And then celebrate. That was not the withdrawal he’d decided on. He wanted to blame Reuben for insinuating there was more between Molly and himself, but Reuben had only seen what Drew wanted to deny. What Drew would continue to deny. It was for everyone’s own good. He spoke again, before Molly could respond and cancel his plans for celebration. “I know, I know. I can’t get ahead of myself.”
“But it’s all coming together.” Excitement came through in her voice.
“It is.” He grinned and told himself he was still in his lane. He wanted to kiss Molly, but he hadn’t acted on it. “We might need a small celebration. To take the edge off.”
Molly reached into the diaper bag and pulled out her phone. “What did you have in mind?”
A much longer kiss.
The silence vibrated around him. Drew gripped the steering wheel. Had he spoken that outrageous suggestion out loud? Slowly he asked, “Something wrong?”
More silence.
Worry was all he felt now. He stopped at a red light and touched Molly’s arm. “Molly?”
She clutched her phone and stared at the screen. Her mouth open, her face ashen. Finally she pressed a button and slowly turned toward him. She slipped her earbuds from her ears. “A social worker is coming to the apartment for a site visit to make sure I’m providing a stable and safe environment for Hazel.”
“Why?” Drew asked. She’d never mentioned a social worker visit at the park yesterday as part of the normal custody procedure.
“It seems my ex has sudden qualms about agreeing to give me full custody. Why would he do this?” Molly dropped her phone on her lap and scrubbed her palms over her face.
“When is this site visit?”
“Tomorrow.” Molly spoke through her fingers. “Judge Reilly ordered an in-person hearing. She never mentioned a site visit. Derrick obviously pulled strings to make it happen.”
And clearly her ex wanted to pull more than the rug out from under Molly. Drew frowned. “What happens now?” And how could Drew make it better for her?
“Well, the apartment isn’t ready for a site visit.” Molly rubbed her forehead. “I haven’t done the laundry. Vacuumed. Gone to the grocery store.”
“Grocery store?” Drew pulled onto the freeway on-ramp that would take them back to the city.
“I should have food in the cabinets and refrigerator, right?” Molly drummed her fingers on her leg. “To show I’m providing adequate room and board for Hazel. What are the parameters of adequate anyway?”
“I’m not sure, but you have help.” Drew pressed the call button on the screen in his console and scrolled through his contact list.
Her ex, Derrick Donovan, might have a strong network of connections. But then so did Drew.
“Unbelievable.” Molly dropped her head back on the seat. “The one time the courts decide to move at warp speed and it’s for my custody hearing that wasn’t supposed to be complicated at all.”
Three calls later, his emergency crew was activated. Evie had promised to drop off cookie dough for Molly to put in the oven thirty minutes before the social worker arrived. Evie was convinced the decadent scent would put the person in a cooperative mood.
Brooke had volunteered to start the laundry and vacuum the rooms.
Nichole had offered to fill the refrigerator and pantry with wholesome foods, adding that she’d keep the wine at her house for after the site visit. Nichole had ended the phone call with a reminder for Molly to make her bed. Bed-making was the first positive task of the morning and that would start a string of positivity throughout the day. And if that failed, at least a prettily made bed gave the illusion that Molly had it all together.
Drew vowed to make his bed too and disconnected the phone call with Nichole.
“How did you do that?” Molly asked.
“What?”
“Rally your friends to help me get my place ready for the social worker.” Molly checked on Hazel, who was sleeping peacefully in her car seat.
“They aren’t rallying for me.” Drew glanced at her and noted the confusion on her face. “They’re doing it for you.”
“Why?”
“Because they really like you and Hazel.” He’d assumed she’d already known that. She had confessed he’d been her only friend several nights ago. He hadn’t really believed her until now.
“Hazel is quite easy to like.” Molly chewed on her lower lip. “It’s very hard not to like a baby.”
“Especially Hazel.” Drew reached over and gripped Molly’s hand. He’d get back in his own lane tomorrow. Tonight, he chose honesty. “It’s also really, really hard not to like Hazel’s mother.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MOLLY RUSHED OUTSIDE and set Hazel on a blanket in the grass. Then she hurried over to Brooke and the two dogs, one a boxer and one a German shepherd that Brooke held in sitting positions.
The dogs had accepted Molly the first night she’d moved into the apartment and adored cleaning Hazel’s face. Molly had quickly learned “gentle giants” was a real term and applied to the pair who’d been determined to assist her in getting over her childhood fear of dogs.
She tucked her phone with the SOS text from Brooke on it into the slim pocket on her yoga pants and looked at Brooke. “What exactly do you need me to do?”
“I need to get a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide down their throats.” Brooke scowled and pointed at a large brown bottle. “They ate both trays of brownies Evie had made for tomorrow’s school bake sale.”
“Chocolate is bad for dogs,” Molly guessed.
“Especially, Evie’s brownies. She uses the special baker’s chocolate.” Brooke handed the leashes to Molly. “You’re going to have to tighten your grip.”
“What are you doing?” Molly wrapped the leashes around her wrists and adjusted her hold. She peeked at Hazel, saw her daughter laughing and pick
ing at the grass.
“I’m opening their mouths, pouring this in and waiting until they swallow.” Brooke filled a syringe with the necessary amount of hydrogen peroxide.
“And then?” Molly patted the dogs’ backs.
“You release them when I tell you to,” Brooke ordered. “The hydrogen peroxide is meant to upset their stomachs and will remove the brownies rather quickly.”
Rex, the boxer with a white muzzle and black fur framing his expressive eyes, accepted the syringe on the first try. Within moments, the dog was sprinting across the yard to heave his brownies onto the grass. Luna revealed her German shepherd intelligence and provided more of a challenge. It took three tries with the syringe before Brooke was successful, although she and Molly were splattered with peroxide in the process.
Brooke set her hands on her hips. “Luna, this is what happens when you are a bad girl. Remember this next time.”
The dog’s tongue lolled out and licked Brooke’s arm. Molly wasn’t certain but the dog appeared fine after getting rid of her forbidden brownies. Molly released Luna and the dogs seemed to console each other.
Brooke cleaned up her supplies and Molly turned around to see Cupid, Brooke’s three-legged cat, circling around Hazel and covering her in gray fur. Hazel held a dandelion in her fist and giggled. Molly laughed.
A movement at the side gate ruined her humor. A stern-looking woman from her fixed bun on the back of her head to her staid suit jacket and skirt arched an eyebrow at Molly. “Are you Ms. Molly McKinney?”
Molly wiped her hands on her yoga pants and swept Hazel into her arms. “I am.”
“I’m Gloria Serrano, from social services.” The woman eyed Molly, flicked her gaze over Hazel, then shifted slightly to scowl at the recovering dogs lazing nearby. Her voice was deep, gravelly and intimidating. “I believe you were expecting me.”
Not for another hour. Molly forced herself to smile and swallow the sudden worry coursing through her. “Yes. Let me give Hazel to my friend and I’ll be right with you.”
It was then Molly noticed Hazel chomping on the dandelion. Molly groaned and swiped the gnawed flower out of Hazel’s mouth. She hurried over to Brooke, handed her Hazel and whispered, “She’s here. Already.”
Brooke smoothed her hand over Molly’s hair. “It’s going to be fine. Go. Go. We got this.”
Molly wiped the grass off her yoga pants and twisted her hair into a loose bun. She’d planned to run the vacuum again and shower before Gloria Serrano’s arrival. At least she’d remembered the cookies. Molly opened the door to her apartment and invited the social worker inside. She motioned to the counter. “Would you like a double-chunk chocolate chip cookie?”
Gloria shook her head. Her severe bun never wobbled, and her stern face only became more grim. “I’m afraid those won’t be kind to my blood sugar levels.”
Molly nudged the plate across the counter, away from the woman. Nothing dislodged the panic gripping Molly.
Gloria’s glasses slipped down her nose, the attached silver chain catching the morning light and glinting. The woman counted the lightbulbs in the ceiling, then twisted away from Molly. “Do you always bring your work home with you?”
Molly squeezed her throat to stop her sudden gasp. She’d forgotten about the dry-erase board. The very one detailing the Van Solis murder trial. Molly forced her words around the knot in her throat. “I’m a criminal defense attorney.”
Gloria offered her a one-sided flat smile, more grimace than grin.
Molly rushed on, “I will be moving into a suitable office space soon.”
Gloria scrawled another note across her clipboard, then lifted her gaze over the rim of her glasses. “Do you have a date you’ll be moving into your office space?”
Molly bit into a chocolate-chunk cookie to keep from lying to the woman.
Gloria pursed her lips, scratched her pen across her clipboard and headed toward Hazel’s nook. She stopped once to press the toe of her serviceable black flats into a spot on the carpet. Then she studied Hazel’s space and scratched more notes. Lifted her head, scrawled more notes. As if she were a renowned artist making a sketch for a commissioned piece.
Molly finished her cookie and reached for another one. Surely, the double-fudge goodness would calm the temporary distress she had.
“It’s quite a quaint space for your daughter, isn’t it?” Gloria wondered out loud.
Molly wasn’t certain she meant quaint as in cozy and cute. More like peculiar and bizarre.
Molly finished two more cookies while Gloria surveyed her bedroom and bathroom. She wished she’d taken Dan’s EMT lessons about how to properly make a bed with hospital corners. Gloria would’ve most likely appreciated the orderliness.
Gloria reappeared and fiddled with the lock on the bedroom door. She eyed Molly. “What are your childcare plans?”
Molly took a deep drink of her coffee. The coffee only clashed with the chocolate and swirled unpleasantly in her already upset stomach. “We had a not-so-positive experience at a local day care. I’m in the process of interviewing nannies.”
Again, Gloria flipped to a new page on her clipboard and wrote a few lines.
“Ideally, I’d like to hire a live-in nanny,” Molly added. Then pressed her lips together.
Was that good or bad? Was the woman writing that Molly intended to hire out her mother duties? That wasn’t her plan. A live-in nanny simply offered more flexibility for those late nights when Molly was prepping for a trial. Or for unexpected client calls. “But I intend to be fully involved in my daughter’s life.”
Gloria offered only a drawn-out, “Hmm.”
Molly wiped her damp palms on a kitchen towel and waited for Gloria to finish her seemingly endless notes. She’d seen court reporters with less paperwork from a yearlong trial.
Finally Gloria lowered her clipboard to the counter. She took a napkin from the holder, placed three cookies in the center and neatly wrapped the stack. One wink at Molly and she said, “I believe I have everything I need.”
“Are you sure I can’t answer any other questions?” Molly reached for her smile, knew it was strained.
“I’ll be in touch if I have any. Thank you for your time.” Gloria stuck her cookie stash in her purse, picked up her clipboard and walked to the door. She looked back at Molly. “This might be out of line, but I have a step-niece on my husband’s side. Lovely child despite her no good parents.”
Molly braced her hand on the counter and waited, unsure what to say or how to respond.
“She’s putting herself through community college right now for her associate degree. She wants to eventually become a lawyer.” Gloria paused and eyed Molly, a glint in her eye.
Molly nodded. “I would be happy to sit down with her and talk about law school and her career options.”
Gloria’s mouth shifted into the smallest of grins. Just a bare twitch. “My step-niece, Rebekah, that is, is also one of the best babysitters I’ve come across. She’s good with children of all ages.”
Molly discovered her first smile of the morning. “Do you think she might consider becoming a nanny?”
“If she could get out of her parents’ house and keep going to college, she’d be wise to accept a position like that.” Gloria stepped onto the porch. “And she’s always been the smartest one in the family. Have a nice day, Ms. McKinney.”
“You too, Mrs. Serrano.” Molly walked to the front door.
Gloria stepped off the porch and glanced back. “And Ms. McKinney, that worry inside your chest about whether or not you’re a good mom. Well, it means you already are one.”
With that last sage comment, Gloria Serrano exited through the backyard, pausing to admire the puppies Brooke had corralled on the grass. Gloria lifted one from the blanket, accepted several puppy kisses on her nose before returning the dog to her siblings. Then she depa
rted, a smile on her face.
Molly joined Brooke and Hazel in the backyard. The puppies played around Hazel on the large blanket. Nala watched Hazel and the puppies as if they were all hers to mother.
Molly sank onto the blanket and stretched out on her back.
Brooke picked up a bottle of bubbles. “How did it go?”
“You should’ve brought her a puppy sooner.” Molly set her arm over her forehead, shielding her eyes from the sun.
“Was it that bad, really?” Brooke rose to sit up straighter.
“She never stopped taking notes.” Molly picked up Wish and set the little puppy on her stomach. “Then she offered up her step-niece as a nanny.”
“That’s good, right?” Brooke blew bubbles with the wand for Hazel to catch.
Molly smoothed her fingers over Wish’s head. The tiny puppy closed her eyes and sighed. “I have no idea. Was it a test? A bribe? Do I fail or pass if I hire her step-niece as my nanny?”
“What if her niece is qualified?” Brooke dipped the bubble wand in the solution. “What if it was a sincere suggestion?”
Molly glanced at her friend. “It doesn’t really matter. I don’t have the niece’s contact information.”
“You didn’t ask for it?”
“Do you think that was a mistake?” Molly countered. Nala scooted over and stretched out against Molly’s side.
Brooke launched another round of bubbles into the air. Hazel’s laughter burst free and Brooke chuckled along with her. “I think we need a debrief.”
“Isn’t that what this is?” Molly captured a bubble on her fingertip.
“I mean a full debrief.” Brooke laughed. “With everyone.”
The bubble popped, leaving a residue on her fingers. “Who’s everyone?”
“The usual people.” Brooke set the wand into the bottle and sealed the lid. She picked up her phone and started typing. “Leave everything to me. We’ll have it here in the backyard. Firepit turned on and the grill heated up.”
Molly raised herself up onto her elbows. “This sounds more like a dinner gathering than a debriefing.”
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