Almost a Family

hen she’d realized that he was Kim’s next-of-kin number. Now it seemed nowhere was safe from him.

She approached him coolly. “Something I can do for you?”

He looked down at her, clearly confused. “Kim called me. Said you needed help with the fuse box or something.”

All Molly’s aloofness evaporated as a laugh snorted out of her nose and she shook her head. Kim wouldn’t let up, would she? “And you believed her?”

“It does sound kind of lame now, doesn’t it?”

His deep chuckle warmed her and she glanced up to find his face more relaxed. She resisted the urge to reach up and touch the rough jawline.

Sara ran on ahead and took off her boots and jacket, leaving them strewn on the floor. Molly bent to pick them up before taking off her own coat. “I wish Kim wouldn’t interfere.”

Jason stepped all the way inside and shut the door. It seemed so…proprietary. Briefly Molly felt as if she was the visitor, even though this was Kim’s house and she was the one staying here. Not to mention she now felt trapped in the tiny foyer with him.

“Interfere with what?” he asked, and she swallowed.

Her hands now empty of outerwear, she turned and let her gaze meet his. “She thinks we should talk.”

“She would,” Jason murmured with a tiny smile. “She’d expect us to sit down over a cup of tea and work it all out. That’s her way.”

From the sound of it, he heartily approved. Irritated, Molly couldn’t stop the thought that Jason and Kim actually deserved each other… Mr. and Mrs. Paragons of Virtue.

But that wasn’t fair—at least not to Kim.

“We tried that, remember? Only it was coffee and we ended up shouting at each other.” And had upset Sara as well. Now at least her niece was around to run interference. Molly led the way to the living room, where Sara had already turned on the television and was watching a kids’ program. The last thing she’d wanted after dredging up the past with Kim was rehashing it with Jason. She wished he’d just leave since he knew the emergency was bogus. She absently ruffled Sara’s hair before speaking again.

“You know, it amazes me. She’s nearly four, but she already knows every button on the remote control.” She smiled, but it faded as she continued. “Anyway, I didn’t tell Kim about the other night. I think it’s better if we forget about it.” As if they could.

He stood behind her, close enough that she could feel his warmth through her sweater; she felt, rather than saw, his shape and knew she would never really forget all the moments they’d shared since her return.

“Forget about the argument? I agree. It doesn’t change anything.”

“Perhaps we should forget everything that’s been said and done since you opened your door and found me there.” She focused on Sara as her heart paused, waiting for what he’d say next.

“Are you saying we should let the past go and start over?” His voice was soft in her ear and she shivered.

How many times had he murmured endearments in her ear over the years? For more than four years they’d been a couple; now she could hardly go anywhere without some sort of reminder of that time. Still, nothing affected her more than his voice, his touch. The thought of starting over was exhilarating and deathly frightening at the same time.

“Do you think that’s even possible?”

He stepped back and the air around her felt suddenly cold, deprived of his presence. “No, I don’t.”

She turned, her heart heavy. What had been good between them had been really good, but all the things that had gone wrong were still there.

He looked down at her, his jaw set and his eyes cold.

“People always talk about a clean slate,” he said, shoving his hands into his back pockets. “But you can erase marks on a slate. They haven’t found a way to erase memories yet. And we have too many of those.”

They stared at each other a long time as the past warred with the present.

“Do the memories still haunt you, Jason?”

He turned away, avoiding her probing eyes. Perhaps she’d gone too far. She had said all along that she didn’t want to get into this with him. But now, now they were together, she couldn’t help it. She felt the odd urge to know exactly how badly he’d been hurt. If he’d suffered as much pain as she had.

She laid a hand gently on his shoulder, which stiffened beneath her touch.

He stared at her fingers on his shirt. “What do you want me to say, Molly? You broke my heart when you left. For four years you had been my world and then you were gone. You never said goodbye. You never called or wrote. It was easy for you.”