Free Bachelor Father by Jean C. Gordon Page B

he enjoyed
her company when they weren’t arguing about KCW
regulations.
    “That’s exactly what I mean, Brett,” Tina
said, looking his straight in the eye as if she could read his
every thought. “As your attorney, but more as your friend, you’re
treading some dangerous water here.”
    “Don’t worry. I can handle it. I don’t intend
to let Molly rope me into anything permanent. Give me credit for
some self control.”
    Tina snorted. “Right. Would you like a little
refresher of what I know about your self control?”
    Brett colored, remembering one particular
evening soon after Tina’s divorce when he’d tried to push their
relationship beyond the bounds of friendship. Hiding his discomfort
with a grin, he quipped, “Hey, I did make you the offer
first.”
    “And, again, thanks, but no thanks.” Tina
stood and crossed over to where the kids were playing. Scooping up
Amy, she said more seriously, “Brett, think about this long and
hard.”
    “I will.”
    “And let me know what you decide. Even though
I think this is a pretty hare-brained idea, I want to make sure
you’re well-protected legally before you agree to
anything.”
    Brett waved her off. “I promise I’ll
call.”
    Tina still looked skeptical. “Amy sweetie, say
bye to Jake. We have to get home.”
    “Bye Jake.”
    “Bye ‘me.” Jake waved a block at
Amy.
    Tina and Amy headed toward the door. Pausing
in the foyer, Tina turned, “You will be careful?”
    “I’ll be careful.”
    Brett walked over to Jake squatted next to the
block pile. “Well, Bud, what do you think? Should we marry
Molly?”
    Jake looked confused.
    “Boo,” Brett said. Should Boo come and live
with us?”
    “My Boo.” Jake nodded
enthusiastically.
    “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”

Chapter Six
    Molly wiggled her fingers to get a
better grip on the oversized box. What a time for the elevator to
be out of order. She should have taken the computer monitor out of
the box. Most of the bulk was the packing materials. Or she could
have waited for someone from maintenance to bring it up to her
office. But she'd been without her computer since yesterday
afternoon when the monitor suddenly popped and went blank. She had
paperwork piled up from last week when she'd been out sick and a slew of new
reports she should have been working on this morning.
    Inching backwards across the empty reception
area to the glass door, she pushed it open wide and turned quickly
to slip through before the door swung closed again.
    “Oomph!”
    Oh, no. She'd run into someone. The impact
made her step back and start to lose her tenuous grip on the
monitor.
    “I'm so sorry,” Molly said, too busy trying to
hold onto the equipment to see who she was talking to. Then, she
felt it slip. Her heart dropped along with the monitor. She closed
her eyes and waited for the crash.
    When the crash didn't come, she
mouthed a silent thanks for packing materials and opened her eyes.
Instead of the dented box she expected and broken monitor she
feared, she saw a pair of brushed chukka boots topped by sharply
creased khaki Dockers.
    “Looking for this?” Brett lifted the monitor
as if displaying it for her approval.
    Showoff ,
Molly thought as she watched how easily he moved the cumbersome
equipment. It was because he was bigger. If she had longer arms,
she could have gotten a better grip on the bulky box and wouldn't
have dropped it.
    Brett cleared his throat. “Would you like me
to carry this somewhere?”
    “Yes.” Molly absently fingered her cross she,
wondering why her heart still seemed to be racing even though her
panic over dropping the monitor had subsided.
    “Where?”
    Molly dropped the cross and pointed to the
stairs. “My office.”
    “Yes, Ma'am,” Brett said, hoisting the monitor
to his shoulder.
    Molly winced at his tone. Where were those
Southern manners her mother had drilled into her? She hadn't even
thanked Brett for his help.
    “Wait.”
    Brett stopped at the foot of