Almost a Family

Her body shook, not from the surprise but because he was here, in the flesh, and she’d been thinking about him. His posture was relaxed, but everything about him made her pay attention. Right now it was the dimple crawling up his cheek that distracted her.

Molly turned back and shut off the tap. “I’m extremely tired,” she explained stiffly. “Sara only slept half an hour today and I didn’t sleep very well stranded at the airport last night.”

“You actually slept in the airport?”

“We were only delayed, not cancelled. Except the delay ended up being most of the night. I didn’t take the hotel voucher. I was afraid I’d miss the next flight and I wanted to get here as soon as I could.” She plugged in the kettle and searched for a mug and the tea bags, deliberately taking out only one. “Whatever you stayed to say, I’d rather get into it another time.”

She dropped the tea bag into a mug and faced him. He was staring at her steadily, his expression unreadable.

“What are you thinking?” The words came out slightly breathless, and she grimaced inwardly.

“I’m thinking about how beautiful you still are. I can’t believe I’d forgotten.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen.

Her heart beat erratically as a memory slid in, unwanted. Their first kiss, on prom night. They’d been slow dancing, and he’d curled a hand around her neck and whispered, “You are so beautiful.” Even then, at the innocent age of seventeen, the smoothness of his voice had been able to raise all the fine hairs on her body. When he’d leaned in to touch his lips to hers, meeting them had been the most natural thing in the world.

She stiffened, defending herself against memories. “It’s been six years, Jason. I’m here for exactly three weeks. That’s all.”

“So I hear. Why did you agree to come exactly, Molly?”

She unplugged the kettle as it began to scream. “Because Kim asked me. Because she’s my only siste

r and she needs me.”

“Molly to the rescue, is that it?”

Pouring the water and ignoring the bitterness in his voice, she replied, “Nothing of the kind. I had some holidays coming to me, and I brought work with me. There’s no reason I can’t do both.”

Jason laughed sharply, then boosted himself away from the door with a shoulder and took another mug out of the cupboard.

“What’s so funny?” Molly dipped out her tea bag, added milk and took a sip as she noticed he knew exactly where to find things in Kim’s kitchen.

“You thinking you can work and keep an eye on Sara. Believe me, it’s not as easy as you think.”

“You did it. Just this morning, in fact.”

He eyed her shrewdly. “Yes, I did. And it wasn’t easy, juggling animals and clients and kids for five hours. Thankfully, my staff likes Sara as much as I do. We’ve all been making do and helping out.”

He made it sound as if he were such a paragon of virtue. She’d never met anyone who could make her feel as small and incapable as Jason Elliot. She took her cup and walked away, heading for the living room before she said something snotty and rude. Why couldn’t he just leave so she could get some sleep? She was sure she wouldn’t be so crabby if she could get seven or eight hours of uninterrupted rest.

He followed her, to her supreme annoyance.

“Sara’s favorite breakfast foods are toast with peanut butter and apple juice or toaster waffles and syrup. But she doesn’t like any butter on them, just the syrup.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage just fine.”

“She’s potty trained, so you’ll be okay there.”

“Jason, stop it.” Molly put her cup on an end table and clenched her fists. “I can handle it. Sara can actually speak for herself, quite well for a girl her age, I think. I’m twenty-seven years old and have been looking after myself for some time now. I don’t need you to ride in on your white horse and save the day, got it? You’re free to get back to your practice. You’ve made sure we’re settled. Your duty to us is hereby discharged.”

She cringed at her shrewish tone. She didn’t want to pick a fight or stir up recriminations. What was it about him that got under her skin?

“You really haven’t changed, have you?” Jason put down his own cup and squared off against her. He was only inches away, close enough she could smell his cologne. He flexed his fingers, snapping the index ones with his thumbs. “You always had to do everything yourself. Had to prove yourself. Do everything your way, with no help from anyone.”

“You know why,” she answered in a low, threatening voice. Their gazes locked and hers warned him not to dig too deep into the past. He knew the secrets she held inside, the ones that brought out that need for independence and her eyes begged him not to use them against her now.

He snorted with derision but backed off just a little. “I thought that after all these years, you’d be over it. I should have known.”

“And I would have thought that you’d have learned you can’t control other people’s lives and have everything your way. But I guess you haven’t changed either,” she retorted without thinking. She pressed a hand to her forehead, annoyed that she’d been goaded into responding. Six hours. Less than six hours home and they were arguing already.