Marrying Molly

by Linda Hope Lee

  “You bet.” Steve patted his briefcase. “One for your ranching business and another for Sara’s bakery. Customized for each.”

  “My business has really grown,” Sara said to Molly with a wide smile. “And I’m so glad you’re here to take over the office work.”

  “I’m looking forward to working there.” Molly still struggled to accept the reappearance of the man she thought she’d never see again.

  “Let’s go collect your luggage.” Jackson led the way to the station house.

  Sara fell into step beside Steve, leaving Molly and Karli to trail behind.

  “Where are you staying, Steve?” Sara asked.

  “The Bingham Hotel.”

  “Are you sure you want to stay there? Oh, it’s a nice place, but we have plenty of room at the Rolling R.”

  “No, thanks, Sara.” Steve stood aside to allow Sara, Molly, and Karli to pass through the station’s automatic door. “I’ll be fine at the hotel. I’ll be in and out, driving to Denver and other places to see potential clients.”

  Hearing Steve’s refusal, Molly blew out a relieved breath. She and Karli would be living at the ranch, and, although it really wasn’t her business or her choice to make, she didn’t want Steve to stay there, even for a short time. Even though she barely knew him, his presence unsettled her in ways she didn’t want to think about.

  They collected their luggage and trooped out to the parking lot to Jackson’s SUV. Worried about who would sit where, Molly silently thanked Jackson when he said, “You ladies sit together. I know you have a lot to catch up on.”

  Molly and Sara secured the children in their third row car seats, and then climbed into the middle row, while Steve joined Jackson up front. Once they were underway, Molly managed to answer Sara’s questions about their train trip, but her gaze kept straying to Steve sitting just a foot or so away. When he turned to talk to Jackson, she caught a glimpse of his profile. She had to admit he was an intriguing man. In addition to those deep-set brown eyes, he had a high forehead that spoke of intelligence, and a firm jaw that indicated strength and determination.

  When Sara turned to retrieve a toy car Ryan had dropped, Molly forced herself to look out the window and focus on the scenery. She’d been eager to renew her acquaintance with the town. They were passing Jasper’s Drugstore on the corner of Fifth and Mountain View. Then came the Roundup Restaurant, with its neon sign in the shape of a lasso, and then Bolson’s Hardware, all places she had frequented when she and Buck had lived here before.

  As they passed Timber Ridge Road, Molly spotted the brick medical clinic belonging to Dr. Mike Mahoney.

  “How’re Mike and Rose?” Molly asked Sara. Rose was Jackson’s sister, who married Mike two years earlier, before Molly and Karli left Red Rock.

  “They’re doing fine.” Sara gave Ryan his toy and settled back in her seat. “They moved into their new home not too long ago. Rose is still working for TransAmerica, although now that she’s pregnant, she’s not traveling.”

  “She’s about seven months along, right?”

  “Yes, and they’re both so excited.” She looked across the seat with a laugh. “They’re coming to dinner tonight.”

  “I look forward to seeing them.” Like Sara and Jackson, Mike and Rose were as close as family.

  Sara leaned forward and tapped Steve on the shoulder. “You’re invited to dinner, too, Steve.”

  He turned to look over his shoulder, a frown on his face. “Sounds like you have a family reunion planned. I don’t want to intrude.”

  “You won’t be.” Sara shook her head.

  Jackson added, “Come on, you can’t turn down a home-cooked meal.”

  “Steve, please come,” Karli said.

  Steve twisted farther around to fix his brown-eyed gaze on Molly. “What about you? Are you in on this?”

  Was she? Something about this man surely spelled danger. Not in the physical sense, but danger to her emotions, fragile and vulnerable in the wake of Buck’s death. Sara and Jackson were the hosts, though, and if they wanted Steve to come, their word was final. Molly lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug and said, “Fine with me.”

  Steve’s frown faded into a grin. “Well, okay, then.”

  The vehicle pulled up in front of the Bingham Hotel. Molly had always liked the stately look of the three-story building and the way pyramid-shaped bushes in terra cotta pots stood like guardians on either side of the door.

  Jackson and Steve got out and walked to the back of the SUV where Jackson retrieved Steve’s suitcase. While he and Steve stood on the sidewalk talking, Sara turned to Molly. “He seems like a nice man, doesn’t he?”

  Molly brushed a bit of lint from her jacket. “I suppose.”

  “You two timed your arrivals perfectly.”

  Molly jerked up her head. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s installing the new accounting program you’ll be using at the bakery.”

  “Yes, I remember accounting was included in the job description.”

  “Right. And having Steve here to help you learn the program will be good, won’t it?”

  “I guess.” Molly lowered her eyelids.

  Sara touched Molly’s arm. “Is anything wrong?”

  Trust Sara to be perceptive. Molly forced a smile. “No, not really. I’m just tired from the long train ride.”

  “Of course, you are. Well, you’ll have time to rest when we get to the ranch.”

  Apparently satisfied with Molly’s reply, Sara sat back.

  Molly turned her gaze toward Steve Roper just as he leaned over to pick up his suitcase. His back was to her, emphasizing his broad shoulders. Her chest expanded with a soft sigh. Okay, he was attractive. So what? She wasn’t looking for a man. One of the reasons she’d fled Chicago was to get away from her sister Paige’s constant matchmaking. Molly hoped that on the ranch, she and Karli could live in peace and quiet with their memories.

  She hadn’t counted on Steve Roper.

  Good thing his presence was only temporary. She’d make sure any association they had would be strictly business, nothing more.

  Chapter Two

  After leaving Steve at the hotel, Sara joined Jackson in the front seat. Left more or less to herself, Molly put aside her worries about the troublesome newcomer and gazed out the window at the passing landscape. The dry, dusty land, broken up by occasional pastures and fields, and the ever-present blue bowl of sky, were so different from the narrow streets and high-rises she’d left behind in Chicago.

  Twenty minutes later, Jackson turned off the freeway onto an asphalt side road. When they passed under the wooden arch emblazoned with Rolling R Ranch, waves of emotion swept through Molly. Her first visit to the ranch had been as a newlywed. Buck had hired on as Jackson’s ranch foreman and she as cook for the ranch hands. They drove down this road deeply in love and full of dreams for the future.

  “Working for Jackson is a great opportunity for us,” Buck told her. “We’ll save our money and buy our own spread someday.”

  Then his buddies introduced him to rodeo, and that had been the beginning of the end…

  Don’t think about that. You can’t change the past. Concentrate on the future. Your and Karli’s future.

  She glanced over her shoulder at her daughter, absorbed in looking out the window. Yes, making a good life for Karli was Molly’s goal now.

  A herd of grazing cattle came into view, and then the grove of aspen trees by the main house. In the front yard stood the familiar weeping willow tree with the old, bleached white wagon wheel propped against the trunk. The tree’s long, thin branches waved lazily in the breeze.

  As waves of nostalgia rolled through her, Molly shifted her gaze to the house, built of wood and faced with fieldstone, with a porch across the front. She had fond memories of the dinners and parties she and Buck had attended there. Buck and Jackson grew to be best friends as well as employer and employee, and he and Molly were included in many gatherings.

  Sar
a turned to face Molly. “The house we have for you and Karli is down the road a ways. I hope you’ll like it.”

  “I’m sure I will.” Molly gave her friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

  They drove past the main house, the barn, and the stable and on down the road that wound through the property. When they came to the cutoff leading to the house she and Buck had occupied, Molly’s stomach jolted and she tore away her gaze. The new foreman and his wife lived there now, Sara had told her in one of their phone calls. Life went on.

  At last, they reached the house that was to be hers and Karli’s. The wood-framed, one-story home had a fresh coat of white paint and pots of red and orange geraniums sitting on the front porch.

  “I hope you didn’t go to too much trouble,” Molly said as Jackson swung the SUV onto the gravel driveway.

  “Not at all,” Sara said. “I’ve always wanted to fix up the place, and your coming gave us a good excuse.”

  Jackson braked to a stop and cut the engine. “I’m pleased to find a use for this house. It was on the ranch when I bought the place, but no one’s ever lived here.”

  They all climbed from the SUV and headed up the walk to the porch. Jackson unlocked the door and made a sweeping gesture for Molly to enter ahead of him. “You first, Molly.”

  Holding Karli’s hand and trembling a little inside, Molly stepped over the threshold. The small house had no formal entry, and they were immediately in the living room. The smell of fresh paint filled Molly’s nostrils.

  Entering behind her, Sara pointed to the beige walls. “We chose a neutral color, so that you can accent with whatever colors you like.”

  “What a good idea.” Molly’s gaze swept the room’s furnishings, which included a comfortable-looking sofa, a couple of easy chairs, and a stand with a TV.

  They continued on to the kitchen, where a round table and several chairs occupied a sunlit corner. Two bedrooms with a bath between them, plus a small alcove containing a washer and dryer, completed the floor plan.

  “This will do just fine,” Molly said, when they had seen all the rooms and were back in the living room. “More than fine—it’s wonderful.” In a sudden rush of emotion, her eyes filled with tears. She reached out and hugged Sara.

  “We’re so glad you’re here,” Sara said, returning Molly’s hug. As she stepped away, she swiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Okay, you two.” Jackson grinned. “This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”

  “It is.” Sara met her husband’s gaze and smiled. “Sometimes we women cry when we’re happy. You should know that.”

  Jackson tossed back his head and laughed. “I guess I should. Thanks for reminding me.”

  Suddenly remembering her daughter, whose hand she had dropped somewhere along the way, Molly looked around. Karli was nowhere in sight. Tension rippled along Molly’s shoulders. She turned to the others. “Where’s Karli?”

  “She was here a minute ago.” Jackson turned to Ryan standing beside him. “Did you see where Karli went?”

  “In there, Daddy.” Ryan pointed toward the kitchen.

  Molly hurried into the kitchen. Karli wasn’t there, but the door leading to the back porch stood open.

  Heart pounding, Molly ran out the door, calling, “Karli! Karli!”

  “She can’t have gone far,” Sara said, as she and the others followed close on Molly’s heels.

  “Oh, yes, she could. You don’t know her. Karli!” Molly ran down the porch steps, her gaze sweeping the back yard. The yard had a wooden fence, but with slats a child Karli’s age could easily crawl through. Bushes filled one corner, and a small storage shed stood in another. Had Karli escaped the yard, or was she hiding somewhere near? Molly bit her lip. Where should she look first?

  She was about to investigate the shed when her roving gaze spotted her missing daughter. She sat on the wooden seat of a rope swing hanging from the branch of a huge maple tree. She swayed back and forth, crooning to Mr. Muggins, tucked in her lap.

  Molly pressed her palm to her chest and whooshed out a breath. But her relief lasted only a moment. Then, setting her jaw, she ran to Karli.

  Her daughter looked up. Her blue eyes, so like her father’s, shone. “Look, Mommy, a swing.”

  “Yes, I see. But you must tell me when you want to go somewhere.”

  “I’m sorry.” Karli lowered her eyelids and turned down her mouth.

  Molly regretted spoiling her fun. But, given Karli’s habit of going off on her own, Molly considered her reaction justified. The ranch was huge, much of it untamed and wild. Here, above all places, Karli needed to stay close.

  Aware Sara and Jackson stood nearby, Molly turned and mustered a smile. “Sorry for the scare. Karli tends to wander.”

  Sara nodded, her brow furrowed. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

  “And is this swing safe?” Molly fingered the swing’s coarse rope. “It looks old.”

  “The swing was on the property when I bought the place,” Jackson said as he walked closer. “I replaced the rope and secured the seat. I thought Karli would enjoy it.”

  “That was thoughtful of you, Jackson.” Molly spoke more calmly, now that Karli’s safety had been assured. “I’m sure she will. Won’t you, honey?” She smoothed Karli’s hair from her forehead.

  “I like to swing. So does Mr. Muggins.” She held up the doll.

  “Swing, swing.” Ryan waved his arms. “Me, too.”

  Jackson leaned over and touched his son’s shoulder. “Sure, buddy, you can have a turn sometime. But right now, we’d better let these folks settle in.”

  With a smile, Sara hooked her arm through Jackson’s and said to Molly, “Yes, you and Karli can rest awhile before dinner.”

  “That would be nice,” Molly said, aware of the fatigue coursing through her body. “The trip has been a long couple of days.”

  ****

  In his third floor room at the Bingham Hotel, Steve unpacked his clothes into a walk-in closet and an antique oak dresser with an oval mirror. He carried the leather bag containing his shaving supplies into the bathroom and set it on the counter. That was about it, except for his briefcase, which held his laptop and software programs. Those he placed on the round table near the window, which would serve as his desk.

  He stepped to the window and let his gaze skim the buildings across the street, past the outskirts of town, and on to the mountains in the distance, where sunlight glinted on the jagged peaks. Was Angie out there somewhere? The detective he’d hired to find her had traced her to a small town not far from Red Rock. But then the trail had gone cold, and Steve eventually gave up the search.

  Now that he was here, though, he planned to investigate on his own. With any luck, he’d find her yet. His gut feeling told him she was still alive. Divorced or not, he wanted to know what had happened to her.

  He checked his wristwatch. Three-thirty already. Soon it would be time to head out to the Rolling R. He needed to rent a car and pick up a hostess gift for Sara. A bottle of wine? Flowers? As he locked the door to his room and caught the elevator, he considered his choices.

  After looking around the lobby’s gift shop, he settled on a bouquet of flowers. A display of boot-shaped plastic containers of candy reminded him of the kids, Ryan and Karli. The image of Karli’s mother, Molly, with her red hair, pert little nose, and soft mouth, sprang to mind. She was pretty and appealing, but he had the feeling that for some reason, she’d taken a dislike to him. Was it because they’d gotten off to a bad start over Karli’s lost doll? Or something else?

  She probably wouldn’t like him giving Karli a gift. Well, too bad. He wasn’t going to give something to one child and not the other. Fairness upheld, he added two of the candy-filled boots to his purchase. He left the store and headed down the street to the car rental agency.

  ****

  “They’re here,” Jackson said from his post in the armchair near the living room window.

  Molly ran to look over his shoulder at the si
lver SUV coming down the road.

  The car pulled into the driveway and stopped. Mike Mahoney stepped from the driver’s side. He rounded the car and helped his wife, Rose, from the passenger’s seat. One hand cradling her stomach, she slid from the seat to the ground.

  Molly smiled to herself. Yep, Rose was pregnant, all right. No doubt about that.

  The couple linked arms and headed up the path to the house. They looked so good together and Molly’s heart warmed. She’d missed them almost as much as she’d missed Sara and Jackson.

  They reached the top of the porch steps just as Jackson opened the front door. “Hey, you two.” He stood aside for them to enter the house.

  Once inside, Rose hugged her brother then stepped back and said, “Mike got a call from the hospital as we were leaving, but he didn’t have to go in.”

  “One of my patients is about to deliver.” Mike came in behind Rose, and he and Jackson clapped each other on the shoulder. “But we should be okay for the evening.”

  “Ah, the life of a doctor,” Jackson said. “But look who’s here.” With a swing of an arm, he stood aside and motioned to Molly.

  “Molly.” Rose rushed to Molly’s side and gave her a hug. “So good to see you.”

  “You, too.” Molly returned Rose’s hug. “You haven’t changed a bit,” she added as they drew apart, and then grinned. “Well, except for your pregnancy. Otherwise, you and Jackson still look enough alike to be twins.” Like her brother, Rose was a dark-eyed brunette with a warm and friendly smile.

  Mike put his arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Molly, you’re looking good.”

  “Thanks, Mike.” Molly’s gaze took in Mike’s hazel eyes framed with dark lashes, and his thick, reddish-brown hair. “And you’re still the handsomest doctor I know.”

  “Here’s Karli.” Rose bent to greet the child, who’d left her coloring book to come over and see the newcomers. “You’ve grown. What a big girl you are.”

  “Can you give Rose a hug?” Molly said to her daughter. “She’s Uncle Jackson’s sister.”