Little Christmas Miracles. Barbara Hannay
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“I think I will, if you don’t mind.”
Molly stood as Elizabeth left the room. Then she gathered their dishes and took them to the kitchen so Delores wouldn’t have to come get them. She made several trips, before Delores returned to the kitchen.
“What are you doing, child?” the cook demanded.
“I’m helping out. I’m going to load the dishwasher so you have time to do other things.”
“Bless you, Molly. With Louisa not here, I’ll admit it’s a little difficult.”
“Well, Elizabeth sent the two men to get Toby a suit and she’s gone up to lie down, so I’m free. I’ll do anything I can to help you.”
“In exchange, I’ll give you my recipe for pancakes.”
“That’s a deal, Delores. I’ll be the belle of the ball in Florida if they taste your pancakes.”
The rest of the afternoon, Molly worked in the kitchen alongside Delores, helping her prepare dinner for that evening. When Richard and Toby came in, they discovered Molly sharing a cup of coffee with Delores, laughing together at some of the cook’s stories about Richard and Susan as children.
“What’s going on here?” Richard asked.
Molly smiled at him. “I’m getting some good blackmail material from Delores.”
“Delores, you wouldn’t betray me, would you?”
“This little girl worked with me all afternoon. I’m giving her my pancake recipe!”
“You wouldn’t give it to Mom, but you’re giving it to Molly? And what do you mean, she worked in here all afternoon?”
“You know it’s hard with Louisa gone. Molly helped me out.”
“I thought you were going to make lists with Mom. What happened to that plan?”
“I sent her up to have a nap, and she hasn’t come down. Maybe I should go check on her.”
As if on cue, Elizabeth asked from the doorway, “What’s everyone doing in the kitchen?”
“I was just coming to check on you,” Molly said.
“No need. I’m here. But I didn’t expect to find all of you in the kitchen.”
“You’re right, Elizabeth. I can’t work with a crowd in here,” Delores said.
“My fault. I was hoping I could learn some cooking tricks from Delores. Thanks for letting me visit with you, Delores,” Molly said and slipped from the room. “Toby,” she called over her shoulder, “come show me and your grandma what you bought.”
That quickly cleared the kitchen, except for Richard. He looked at Delores. “She was helping you?”
“Yes. She said she had the afternoon free and knew Louisa was gone. She did the lunch dishes and then helped with the preparation for dinner.”
“That was nice of her.”
“Nice? That was really sweet of her. You can’t find a sweeter person than Molly. Richard, you shouldn’t let her get away!”
“Now, Delores, you know I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Yes, but that’s not important. Molly is what’s important.”
Richard just smiled and shook his head. Then he excused himself to find the ladies and get their compliments on his job of shopping with Toby. He’d gotten the boy a couple of pairs of slacks, a belt and several dress shirts to go with his suit. And he’d bought him his first tie, and a sweater to wear until his cast was off. It looked better than a jacket that was too big for him.
“Molly, can you tie a man’s tie?” Richard asked.
“No, I can’t. You’ll have to teach Toby that particular skill,” she told him.
Richard nodded. “I can do that. When he gets dressed in the morning, I’ll tie his tie after breakfast.”
“All right. Is he wearing his suit in the morning?”
“We’re going to church in the morning. He’ll wear his sweater, dress shirt and tie, with one of his new pairs of slacks. Will you join us?”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
Richard smiled at her. “Good.”
“Would anyone like to go to the movies tonight?” Elizabeth asked. “They’re showing a film I’d like to see.”
“What is it, Elizabeth?” Molly asked.
She named a current movie. “It’s supposed to be quite funny and romantic.”
Toby made a face that made Richard laugh. “Sometimes, buddy, we have to go to movies we aren’t crazy about to keep the ladies happy. But we can always eat a lot of popcorn.”
“I like popcorn!”
“Okay, we’ll escort you ladies to the movies tonight. What time does it start?”
Elizabeth told him the time and he went back to the kitchen to make sure Delores could have dinner ready on time.
When he got back in the den, he heard Molly suggest that she and Toby stay home.
“No way. Toby shouldn’t have to give up his popcorn, and you need some reward for helping Delores this afternoon.”
“She helped Delores? You didn’t have to do that, Molly,” Elizabeth protested.
“It wasn’t much. I enjoyed it.”
“We’re all going to the movies, Molly,” Richard said firmly. “No arguments.”
“You’d best go along with him when he uses that tone, dear. It means he’s determined.” Elizabeth smiled at Molly.
Richard held his breath. He thought she was tempted to challenge him, but he wanted her to go. When she nodded, he silently let out the breath he’d been holding.
When they reached the theater, it was already crowded. To get four seats together, they would have to sit down front. Elizabeth turned to Richard. “Toby and I will take one of the popcorns, and you and Molly take the other one. We’re going to take these two seats.”
Richard didn’t know if his mother was trying to matchmake or didn’t really want to sit so close to the screen. Whichever the case, the result was the same. He was going to sit with Molly and share a bucket of popcorn. He couldn’t admit to himself the reason his pulse was racing.
They settled into their seats just as the movie started. Richard put the popcorn between them, encouraging Molly to have some. Just then, a big man, weighing at least three hundred pounds, pushed past them to sit in the seat next to Richard.
Richard, uncomfortable, leaned toward Molly.
He whispered, “Sorry but I’ve got to move closer.” Then he raised his arm and put it on the back of her chair.
When Molly saw the man on the other side of Richard, she scooted over as much as she could. Richard lifted the arm of the chair between them and moved even closer.
He told himself it was the only practical thing to do, but as the movie started, he found himself distracted by Molly’s warmth and scent. When something funny happened on screen Molly laughed, and her low, sexy chuckle riveted through him.
Damn! He should’ve taken more time off the past year so he wouldn’t leave himself vulnerable to the first woman who walked into his life in two years. This was ridiculous. He wanted to draw back, to remove his arm from around her, but there was no room.
A moment later, she leaned into him. “Don’t you want some of the popcorn?”
“Oh, uh, yeah,” he said and reached into