NYC Angels: Unmasking Dr. Serious Page 15

  He let out a heavy sigh. “I have to go, but I hope maybe after Josh’s party you and I can talk. There are...some things I’d like to share with you.”

  Now he’d intrigued her. “All right.”

  He flashed a lopsided grin and then nodded. “See you tomorrow, Molly.”

  “Until then, Dan.” She couldn’t understand the sudden sadness that nearly overwhelmed her when he walked away.

  She had trouble falling asleep that night, thinking too much about Dan and Josh, and then overslept. When she realized it was almost ten in the morning, she shot out of bed like a rocket.

  Thankfully, she’d already wrapped her present for Josh, hoping he’d like the Yankees sweatshirt she’d bought him, a miniature replica of his father’s. She’d been tempted to get the full uniform, but since she knew he wouldn’t be playing much this year, she’d chosen the sweatshirt instead.

  But she still had dozens of gifts to hide near where they were going to play wheelchair football. She quickly showered and changed her clothes. Once she was ready, she tossed the items in a large reusable grocery bag and then headed down to the subway.

  The ride to Central Park didn’t take long, and she relaxed when she realized she had almost two full hours to get the gifts hidden and the banner ready. Hiding the gifts didn’t take long, and she spent some of her extra time lining up the wheelchairs into two teams.

  As she’d suspected, several kids came early. “Where’s Josh and his dad?” the first mom asked, craning her neck as if to search him out.

  “They’re not here yet. He’s bringing Josh at one-fifteen. The party is a surprise.”

  “Oh.” Her face fell in disappointment.

  Molly tried not to scowl at how the woman was clearly interested in Dan, considering she’d shown up at the birthday party dressed to kill in cream slacks and a red blouse that dipped low enough in the front to show off a fair amount of cleavage.

  “I guess I can wait, then.”

  Molly’s gaze narrowed but she simply shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “What did you say your name was again?” the woman asked as she turned to greet the next child.

  “Molly Shriver.” Maybe it was small of her, but she didn’t label herself as Josh’s physical therapist. She turned to the next new arrival. “Hi, welcome to Josh’s surprise party. Thanks so much for coming.”

  By ten after one a large crowd of kids had gathered in the park in front of the wheelchairs. Molly took charge, unrolling the banner and getting all the kids together to hold it up for Josh.

  When Dan and Josh arrived, Josh’s eyes widened in shock as everyone yelled, “Surprise!”

  “Happy birthday, Josh,” Dan said, as he got Josh’s wheelchair out of the trunk. “Guess what? We’re going to play wheelchair football.”

  “We are?” Josh looked as if he was shell-shocked as the kids crowded around and wished him happy birthday before picking out their own wheelchairs.

  “We are,” Molly said, crossing over to give him a hug. “And you’re going to have the advantage in this game,” she whispered, giving him a secret wink. “You know how to use your wheelchair, they don’t.”

  “Oh, yeah!” Josh’s eyes glittered with excitement.

  “Dan? Hi, Dan, remember me? Stephanie Albert?” The woman in the cream-colored slacks that were distinctly out of place here at the park came rushing over.

  “Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Dan said in a vague, distracted tone. “It was nice of you to bring your son to Josh’s party.”

  “Well, of course I brought him. He’s friends with Josh, isn’t he?” The way Stephanie beamed up at Dan made Molly curl her hands into fists. Not that she had any right to be upset.

  Or jealous.

  “Hey, Molly, what do you think? Should we act as referees?” Dan asked, as the kids started piling into their wheelchairs.

  She hid a grin as the nicely dressed woman wrinkled her nose in distaste. Clearly she wasn’t offering to referee, the way she’d dressed. “Sounds good. We can each coach one of the teams, too.”

  “Excellent plan,” Dan said, ignoring Stephanie as if she didn’t exist. “I brought us whistles,” he said, handing her one of the shiny metal whistles on a chain. “Let’s go.”

  “I’ll pick up Craig later,” Stephanie called out, as if desperate for one last fragment of attention.

  Dan lifted his hand, but didn’t turn around so he didn’t see the way Stephanie frowned and stomped away, like a spoiled little kid who hadn’t gotten her way.

  But Molly sensed that the woman had only retreated for the moment. It was clear she had every intention of trying to be the next Mrs. Doctor Dan Morris.

  A plot that Dan seemed completely oblivious to. Which made her feel ridiculously happy as she hurried after Dan onto the football field.

  * * *

  Dan couldn’t have asked for a better day for Josh’s birthday party, and he had nearly as much fun as his son. The look of excitement in Josh’s eyes was worth every minute of the seemingly endless preparations.

  “Go, Josh, go!” he shouted, when his son went racing out toward the end zone for a pass.

  “Get him!” Molly screamed to her team, but it was too late. Josh caught the ball and then rolled in for the winning touchdown.

  “Way to go, Josh,” Dan shouted again, all attempt at being impartial gone. “Way to go!”

  Molly threw up her hands in disgust, but she didn’t look too upset when she went over to give Josh a high five.

  “This was too hard,” Craig Albert said, letting go of his wheelchair wheels in a deep sulk. “We should have played regular football.”

  Dan had to bite his tongue to stop himself from pointing out it was Josh’s party, and Josh couldn’t play regular football. He did his best to ignore Craig’s whining. “Good game, everybody, good game,” he said, slapping his hands against each team member’s in a high five.

  “There are prizes hidden around the park,” Molly said, when the kids had gathered in the center of the football field. “You might want to stay in your wheelchairs to find them and there’s one for each of you, so once you find a prize, you need to come back here, okay?”

  “Yay, prizes!” Craig rolled across the grass, but then was the first to abandon his wheelchair, so that he could look for the best hiding places.

  “That kid grates on my nerves,” Dan muttered to Molly, keeping his tone low so that the other kids couldn’t hear him.

  “Really? I thought you were friends with his mother?”

  He stared at her in shock. “Are you crazy? That viper? Where do you think that poor kid gets his attitude from?”

  She laughed and he basked in the musical sound for a moment.

  “I’ve missed you, Molly,” he said softly. “You have no idea how much.”

  Her laughter died away and she looked down as if she felt guilty. “I know, because I missed you, too.”

  Her words gave him a flash of hope. Maybe he hadn’t totally ruined things between them after all? He tried to think of a way to help her understand. “Look, Molly, I know I’m not very good at being in a relationship, and I’m sure I’ve already made tons of mistakes, but I’d like you to give me another chance. I think, no, I’m sure I can do better.”

  She glanced up at him, surprise reflected on her features. “Dan, you haven’t made any big mistakes, not really. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have overreacted.”

  “You didn’t overreact, you had every right to be upset.”
When she’d mentioned how the jerk who’d left her had two sons and had used her as a surrogate mother, he’d been extremely angry. And desperate to prove he wasn’t doing the same thing. “I care about you, Molly. But I’m not sure how to show you. It’s been a long time...” He stopped, unwilling to admit how ignorant he really was.

  What did he know about love? He hadn’t ever experienced it before. Not until Molly.

  Stunned, he felt his heart squeeze in his chest. Was he really falling in love with Molly?

  “Oh, Dan,” she murmured, but then stopped whatever she’d been about to say when Josh came wheeling over.

  “Daddy! Craig has two prizes and Amy is crying because she doesn’t have one.”

  “Figures,” he muttered. When the sound of Amy crying grew louder, he broke into a jog. “Don’t leave yet, I’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder, resenting Craig for being a brat and for interrupting his conversation with Molly.

  A conversation he had every intention of finishing before he let her slip away.

  Thankfully, he needn’t have worried. Molly didn’t leave. In fact, she stayed, helping him serve twenty kids pizza, punch, cake and ice cream.

  When it came time for Josh to open his presents, Dan watched with pride as his son did so with glee, tearing into one package after another. And when Craig tried to grab the remote control to Josh’s new truck, he swiftly intervened, snatching it away and handing it back to Josh. “I think the birthday boy should be the first one to try it, don’t you?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  Craig went back to sulking, but Dan didn’t care. And when the parents of the kids started to arrive, he wanted to weep with relief. Even Stephanie Albert was a welcome sight if nothing more than to get Craig out of his hair.

  “Did you have fun, sweetie-pie?” Stephanie asked, ruffling her son’s hair.

  “Our team didn’t win and he wouldn’t let me play with the remote-control car,” Craig said, shooting Dan a dark look.

  If the kid thought he was going to apologize, he was wrong. “Thanks for coming,” he said cheerfully. “And don’t forget your prize.”

  Craig snatched the mini pinball machine he’d won and stalked off, with his mother trailing behind.

  “Good riddance,” Molly muttered.

  “You have that right,” he said with heartfelt relief.

  More parents streamed in and soon everyone was gone. As the wheelchairs had been picked up earlier, the cleanup job didn’t take long.

  Dan stared at the stack of presents Josh had accumulated. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to fit all this in the trunk of my car, along with Josh’s wheelchair,” he muttered. But he’d rather cut off his arm than ask Molly for help, even though he wanted to finish their conversation more than he wanted to breathe.

  “I’ll help you. Between the two of us we’ll get the car packed up, no problem,” Molly said.

  “Only if you’re sure,” he said, looking down into her bright green eyes. “There’s no scorecard, Molly. If you want to go home, we’ll handle it. You and I can always talk later.”

  Her tremulous smile tugged at his heart. “I know you can handle anything, but I’d like to help, if you’ll have me.”

  Have her? Little did she know he wasn’t about to let her go without a fight.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  MOLLY WAS IN AWE OF HOW well Dan had handled the wheelchair football game, along with the subsequent meal for Josh’s party, especially the not-so-nice kids like Craig Albert. Scary how much that kid was like his mother.

  Just thinking of the way Dan had stared at her in horror when she’d mentioned Stephanie Albert made her feel warm and gooey inside. Clearly, he wasn’t attracted to the woman, not even one little bit. And he wanted a second chance.

  With her.

  And, heaven help her, she wanted that, too.

  She let out a little sigh of relief when Dan pulled into the parking garage beneath his fancy high-rise apartment building. “You don’t have to carry those,” he protested, when she gathered a bunch of Josh’s presents into her arms. “I can make a few trips.”

  The way he was falling over himself trying not to take advantage of her made her smile. “Dan, it’s fine. No scorecard, remember?” she chided lightly.

  He grimaced and pulled Josh’s wheelchair out, before loading up on gifts and leading the way to the elevator. Josh wheeled himself alongside, with his remote-controlled truck sitting on his lap, as if he wasn’t about to be parted from the gift. She’d noticed that one was from Dan, and she silently approved of his choice. Perfect for now, with Josh being wheelchair bound, yet something he could still use once he was walking again.

  Once inside Dan’s home, they stacked the gifts in the corner of Josh’s room.

  “You realize you need to write thank-you notes for these,” she said to Josh.

  He wrinkled his nose, his face falling in dismay. “I do?”

  “Yes. You do.” She fought a grin as Dan sighed heavily at the news. “I’m sure your dad can get them to your teacher, who can hand them out to the kids at school.”

  “We’ll work on them tomorrow, Josh,” Dan assured him. “The sooner we get them done, the better.”

  “That’s probably best.” She glanced around, and noticed that Josh was bending over in his wheelchair, trying to massage his calf muscles. “What’s wrong?”

  “My legs are sore,” Josh admitted.

  “Really?” Dan scowled a bit and knelt beside his son’s wheelchair to feel his legs. “That’s strange because we didn’t play the ball game very long this morning. I would think your arms would be sore after the game of wheelchair football, not your legs.”

  “Actually, using a wheelchair does exercise the core muscles along with the upper arms,” she felt compelled to point out. “But even with that, it’s possible Josh was unconsciously tightening his leg muscles while he played, especially when he was making those sharp turns on the field.” She turned toward Josh. “You’d better let me massage them for you.”

  Dan looked relieved and nodded. “If you wouldn’t mind, that would be great.”

  “Of course I don’t mind.” She helped Josh get settled on his bed while Dan brought in the bottle of lotion she’d used last time. “Do you have a heating pad?” she asked. “Heat helps to relax tense muscles, too.”

  “I’m not sure, I’ll check.”

  As Dan went in search of the heating pad she instructed Josh to roll over on his stomach. She began to massage his lower legs, starting with the gastrocnemius and then moving onto the soleus, which was only slightly less tense.

  “Feels good,” Josh murmured groggily, as if he was half-asleep. She smiled, suspecting that the excitement of the day was catching up with him.

  “I’m glad,” she said, soothing the angry, tense muscles with her fingers. As before, his right leg was far worse than his left.

  “I found it,” Dan said in a low voice, bringing in the electric heating pad. He set it up while she finished the massage. She applied the heating pad to Josh’s right leg and within moments the boy was out for the count, sound asleep.

  She followed Dan from Josh’s room, partially closing the door behind her. When they reached the living room, he surprised her by drawing her toward the sofa. “Please sit down for a moment.”

  She sat, knowing he meant to continue the conversation they’d started during Josh’s party. She linked her fingers together to hide her nervousness.r />
  He sat in the chair to her right so that he could face her. “Molly, there’s so much I want to say to you, I don’t even know where to start. First of all, thanks for everything you did today. Your idea for Josh’s birthday party was brilliant. And I’ll never forget the look on Josh’s face when he saw all of you standing behind the banner, yelling, ‘Surprise!’”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “The look on his face was priceless, wasn’t it? And you did a lot of the work, too.” She paused, and then added, “I’m so happy when I see how you and Josh are together now, compared to the day we first met. You’ve accomplished a minor miracle, Dan.”

  “You’re the miracle, Molly,” he said in a low, husky tone. “I owe everything to you.”

  “No, Dan, I’m sure you would have found your way back together again, even without my help.” She lifted her gaze up to meet his. “You’re a good father. You love Josh and I’m convinced your love can get you through anything.”

  “Molly.” He reached over to rest the palm of his hand against her cheek. “You have to understand something. I don’t really know much about love. My mother—well, let’s just say I was a major inconvenience in her life. She never once let me forget how everything that was bad in our lives was my fault.”

  She felt herself pale, and brought up her hand to cover his. “That’s terrible, Dan. How terrible of her to say those things to you!”

  He rubbed his thumb across her cheek, but then pulled away, rising to his feet and turning his back as he began to pace. “Leaving home, going to college and then getting into medical school was the best thing I ever did. Everyone kept telling me what a great doctor I was, how much talent I had. I was at the top of my class, and then quickly rose to the top of my career. And when I met Suzy she claimed to adore me, so I married her.”

  He turned to face her, his gaze full of despair, and her heart ached for him. “But she didn’t love me, she only wanted my money. I basically went from one loveless existence to another. Until Josh was born.”