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“Usually, but Dr. Navarro, our Chief of Staff, has plans to enlarge our pediatric ward here, and your aunt wanted me on staff before that started, to serve as an ad visor for the expansion.” Pushing back from Molly, she straightened up. “Oh, and in case it wasn’t clear, Molly has been my assistant for the past three months. She’s very important to the child life program we’re setting up.” She smiled, not at Rafe but at Molly…“An advisor.”
“I have!” Molly agreed eagerly.
Rafe noted the animation in her, pleased to see it. Something about Edie Parker was causing that in Molly. Of course, as pretty as Edie was, something about her would probably cause that kind of animation in any man, including himself, fortunate enough to be around her for very long.
“When Aunt Grace comes here to work, I get to help Edie sometimes. And sometimes I get to help other people here, too, because I have lots of jobs. So, when Aunt Grace comes back, I’ll come back and help again. Won’t I, Edie? Just like I used to before she went away?”
Rafe and Edie exchanged troubled looks, Rafe’s twisting from troubled into downright panicked. He didn’t know what to say, didn’t know what to do, and that must have shown quite clearly on him, as Edie jumped in for the rescue.
“Look, Molly,” she said. “Right now, what I need you to do is go and help Betty. She’s in the middle of a very important project, and she has a job for you.” She held out her hand to Molly, and took her to the reception area, where Betty put the girl to work rearranging the boxes of toys Edie kept on hand for the kids she worked with. A very important job, in Molly’s estimation. “Also, make sure nothing is broken, and if you see any toys in there that aren’t clean, give them to Betty to sanitize.” Edie turned to Rafe, then winked. “Molly knows how important it is to keep our toys clean.”
The wink definitely caught him off guard, but so did the way Molly went right at her task, separating the toys into three boxes, one for boys, one for girls, and one for everybody, being careful to inspect each and every one. For the first time since he’d returned to Lilly Lake, he was actually seeing Molly smile. More than ever, that was a sure sign that he had no business taking care of a child. He didn’t know what it took to cause her to smile, even though he’d made awkward attempts. Didn’t know how to assess her needs. In fact, everything he did felt wrong. And that feeling of inadequacy was only emphasized by Molly’s absence of response to his feeble attempts. The fact that even after he’d told Molly that Grace had died, her lack of understanding merely underlined his ineptness, which told him that even though he felt miserable disrupting Molly’s life so much, what he had to do was the right thing.
“I figured she’d have some problems coping with my aunt’s death,” he said, once Edie shut her office door, “but I had no idea she didn’t understand it at all. I’m sure you’ve already seen how much I don’t know about kids.”
“Don’t worry about it, Doctor. Children adjust in their own way, in their own good time. Right now, Molly’s just processing what’s happening to her. For a child, it’s difficult. But give her a little while to work through it. I’m sure she will, but if, for some reason, she doesn’t, we’ll try approaching it a different way, something she’s better able to cope with. And that’s all it’s about at her age…finding that one special way that will help her cope. Because, honestly, I do think she understands. It’s more a matter of her trying to figure out how to handle what she knows. That’s most likely where Molly’s still confused, which is why it’s easier for her to ignore everything that’s happened and simply return to a time when it was easier for her.” She reached out, and laid a reassuring hand on his arm. “However it happens, Dr. Corbett, we’ll work through it.”
He glanced down at her hand, surprised by the sensation running up his arm. A tingle? “Please, call me Rafe,” he said, sounding just the slightest bit unsteady.
“Rafe,” she replied, gesturing him to the chair across from her desk.
He opted to stand next to the door, however. Ready to escape, maybe? Ready to throw in the towel and admit that he was totally out of his league here, and it bothered him because he was used to being the one in charge? “So, in your experience, how long does this processing take?”
Edie sat down behind her desk, folded her hands patiently and precisely in front of her, then stared up at him. “You really don’t know a thing about children, do you?”
“It shows that much?”
She laughed. “You might as well be carrying a sign broadcasting it. Meaning I think you’re going to need a lot of help. Probably more than you know.”
Suddenly, the tension in him melted away. He liked Molly’s friend, and he was certainly glad she wasn’t a little playmate. In fact, he was very glad about that. “Do you like horses, Edie?” he asked impulsively, as the urge to ride hit him. He hadn’t done it in years. Had put it away as part of a past he’d never wanted to revisit. Now he wanted to ride, probably the only thing that had ever made him truly happy when he’d been a kid and, more surprisingly, he didn’t want to ride solitary the way he’d done more often than not back then. In fact, he could almost picture the three of them on the trail together—him, Molly, Edie. Odd, the picture of it developing. But pleasant. And totally unexpected.
“Real horses, toy horses?”
He chuckled. “Real horses. Leather saddle. A ride in the country.” An idea with growing appeal.
“Horses are OK, I guess, from a distance. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve just decided to take Molly on a ride out to the lake later this afternoon for a picnic, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with us, maybe give me my first lesson in everything I need to know about children. Assuming that when you told me I needed help, you were also offering it.”
She thought about it for a moment. Frowned, then asked, “And the horse thing…is that negotiable? The only horse I’ve ever ridden was a mechanical one on a carousel, and once it started going up and down, I jumped off and sat on the bench seat, the one reserved for the cowards and elderly couples who wanted to ride and reminisce.”
Rafe laughed out loud, something he hadn’t done in a while. Being stuck in Lilly Lake for the next few days didn’t seem as bad now as it had only a few minutes ago. Actually, he was beginning to look forward to it.
Yes, he definitely liked Molly’s friend.
CHAPTER TWO
WHAT in the world had she done? Had she really accepted a date with a total stranger? Maybe even instigated it a little?
In a sense, Rafe was familiar to her. Grace had spoken about him so often she almost felt like she knew him. Well, some of him. And he was, after all, Molly’s…well, she wasn’t really sure what he would be called. Temporary guardian? Honorary uncle? Adopted cousin? Soon-to-be father? That was the one she hoped for. But however Rafe defined himself in that relationship, it was a difficult situation all the way round, and the day Grace Corbett had asked her to look out for Molly, she hadn’t anticipated just how difficult it was going to get, or how much looking out she might be called on to do.
“I have a medical condition,” Grace had said. “Don’t think I’m going to have much more time here, and I want you to promise me that you’ll help Molly through this. I want Rafe to be her guardian and I’m going to need someone special, like you, to make sure my nephew does all the right things for her. He’s got to be taught that he can take care of a child, Edie. And that he can love her. Rafe’s a good man who doesn’t know he has that potential in him, and I want you to guide him to that potential, to that place where he knows he can be what Molly needs, because he needs Molly as much as she’s going to need him. But he’s got to discover that for himself, with some gentle nudges from you.”
That was why Grace had hired her, as a matter of fact. For her abilities as a child life specialist primarily, but also for those gentle nudges. Sure, the hospital pediatric department was expanding in new directions, and having a child life specialist on staff was a smart move, especially in the initial stages of the new services. But hiring her months in advance, even before the changes were to start…At first, Edie had thought it was simply good fortune, or being in the right place at the right time. But when Grace had come to her, that was when Edie had known her being there was as much about taking care of Molly as it was taking care of the children who would come to the new pediatric ward.
Funny, but in a way Grace had reminded Edie of her mother. Strong, compassionate women, both of them, always putting the needs of their children first. Edie missed her mother terribly, missed Grace, too, and, in a way, felt that maybe the two of them had connected in some karmic fashion to guide her life to this place and time, even though her mother had died years before Edie had even met Grace.
Grace had taken a big chance hiring Edie straight out of school, with no real work experience in the field except what she’d done as a student. In fact, Grace hadn’t batted an eye when Edie had walked into her office that day and explained how she’d been delayed in her education, which was why she was graduating at the age of thirty-two rather than a full decade earlier, as most people in her position did. None of that had mattered to Grace. She’d hired Edie almost immediately. So now, for the unusual opportunity Edie had been given, she owed it to Grace to fulfill her most fervent wish. Yes, she’d teach, nudge, or otherwise encourage Dr. Rafe Corbett in the many ways he should care for Molly. Of course, loving that child was something Rafe was going to have to do on his own. Edie certainly couldn’t force that. But Molly was easy to love. So very easy…
A knock on her office door jarred Edie’s attention. “Are you busy?” Dr. Rick Navarro asked, opening the door several inches and poking his head in.
“Not really. Just trying to figure out why I got myself into a horseback ride later on, considering how horses scare me to death.”
Rick chuckled. “Riding a horse is like riding a bike…only bigger, and bumpier. Horses do have a little more personality than a bicycle, though. But, trust me, once you mount up, you’re going to see there’s nothing else like it in the world. It’s an amazing feeling, being on the back of a horse. Nothing you can duplicate with anything else. Think of it as a great big bike with legs instead of wheels, and you’ll do fine.”
“You have horse experience?” she asked.
“Not so much lately. But when I was a boy…my mother was housekeeper for a man who had a stable, so I got to ride just about whenever I wanted.”
She could picture Rick on a horse, actually, sitting tall and rugged in the saddle. Not anything like the way she could picture herself…hunched over, shaking, holding on for dear life. “Suppose I was to tell you I’ve never learned how to ride a bike? That they scared me, too.” As had so many things in her young life. Truth was, she’d never really had a young life. Most of the time it didn’t matter. Sometimes, it did.
“Then I’d say you should plan on calling in sick tomorrow, because you’re going to be too stiff and sore to get out of bed. And my prescription for that, by the way, will be a nice, long soak in a tub of hot water.”
She really liked Rick. He was not only a great hospital administrator, he was an amazing doctor. He cared. Took time with his patients. Treated his staff with respect. Unfortunately, there were rumors floating around that he might leave now that Grace was gone and her two nephews had inherited the hospital. She was keeping her fingers crossed, though, that the rumors weren’t based on fact. Lilly Hospital needed Ricardo Navarro. He brought the heart and soul to it that so many other hospitals lacked. “Well, I think maybe I’ll stop by Physical Therapy later on and see if they’ve got any other advice for me. Or put in my reservation for one of their traction machines, since that’s probably where I’ll be spending the next few days…in traction.”
“Cervical or back traction?” he asked, chuckling.
“Both.”
“You could stay off the horse. Admire it from afar, but stay away.”
Easier said than done, if she wanted to go on that picnic with Rafe and Molly, which she really wanted to do. Probably more than she was even going to admit. Her life had never really afforded her much in the way of picnics, playtime, holidays or simply relaxation, and she was looking forward to this outing. To most of it, anyway. “Or tie myself to the saddle once I’m there.”
“You could also ask for a horse with short legs. The trip to the ground isn’t as far and it’s less painful that way.” His expression sobered. “Look, Edie, getting back to work, we’re admitting a boy through Emergency right now. Keith Baldwin. He has a ruptured appendix, and he’ll be going to the operating room in about thirty minutes. I need you to go down to Emergency, explain the surgery to him, make sure he understands everything that will be happening while they prep him, as well as what happens during the surgery, and especially what to expect afterward. He’s awfully worried about playing baseball this summer, so talk to him about some timelines for his return, and what his recovery might entail.”
It often still amazed her, all the responsibility she’d been given in this hospital. It’s what Child Life Specialists did, though. They were advocates for the children, acted as the intermediaries between them and the medical staff, explained the procedures, did the reassuring, held the hands, got involved in a lot of the hugging…the best part of her job, as far as she was concerned. And she loved every second of her job. Couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life. “How old is he?”
“Eight.”
“Well, luckily, I know more about baseball than I do horseback riding, so I think we’ll be fine.” She grabbed up her clipboard and headed to the door. Then added, “I met Rafe Corbett, by the way. He stopped by with Molly. He seems very nice.”
“He’s your horseback date?” Rick’s words came with a scowl. A very deep scowl, in fact.
“Molly is. She’s having some trouble adjusting.” She noticed the frown, but it wasn’t her place to ask why. She barely knew Rick and didn’t know Rafe at all, and judging from Rick’s reaction to the mention of Rafe, she thought it best to simply ignore the obvious friction. Still, she wondered about it, especially as both men seemed so nice, so easygoing.
Rick drew in a stiff breath then let it out slowly, deliberately, as if trying to quell something inside him. “Well, you tell Molly for me that she’s welcome to come back to work any time she’s up to it. We all miss her, and would love having her back at the hospital again. And I’m worried about her, Edie. As close as she and Grace were…it makes me worry about my son, and what would happen to him if…” He shook his head. “Anyway, tell Molly we all miss her.”
Edie wondered about Molly’s future. Maybe even worried about it. What would happen to her if Rafe didn’t do well taking care of a child? Or, worse yet, if he turned out to be the one person in Lilly Lake who didn’t love Molly?
What would happen to Molly then?
It was something Edie didn’t want to think about…Molly going out to the foster-care system and being put up for adoption. She herself had endured a lifetime with that fear, living with a mother who’d had so many medical problems, a mother who often hadn’t been able to care for herself, a mother who had skirted death for such a long time. At times, it had seemed like the child protective services had perched just outside the door, waiting to take Edie away to some other circumstances, waiting to put her into what they viewed as a better home.
As a child, even as a teenager, it had always scared her. She’d had nightmares about being taken away from her mother, and had spent so many fearful years peeking out the front window, making sure nobody was coming up the steps. Sure, her life with her mother had been difficult, at times even back-breaking. But she’d loved her mother dearly and wouldn’t have done anything differently. Even now, though, when she remembered all those times someone had talked about taking her away…
What they hadn’t understood was that being with her mother, no matter how sick she’d been, no matter how poor they’d been, had been for the best. There’d been no neglect, no abuse. Only love. And Molly needed that now. What she didn’t need, or deserve, was the awful dread that came from the knowledge that she could be ripped out of the life she knew at any moment. No child needed that. So, one way or another, Edie was determined to make sure Molly’s future wasn’t filled with the things she’d lived through.
Of course, her own immediate future didn’t seem so bright, not when she thought about climbing up on that horse.
* * *
“She needs a good adoptive family. Actually, she deserves a good adoptive family. She’s a sweet child and I want her to be in a normal situation. My situation isn’t normal, there’s no room for a child in it.” Twenty minutes after he’d arrived home, Henry Danforth confronted Rafe, in person, with the one solution for Molly that Rafe was not going to accept. Keep her, adopt her.
“Well, then, if that’s your final decision, all I can say is that we’re working on it and we’ll do our best. In the meantime, the county child services agency doesn’t see any reason to remove her from the only home she’s ever known, and stick her in foster-care. Which is what will happen if you don’t look after her for now. And just so you’ll know, the closest foster-mother they have is half an hour outside Lilly Lake, and she already has six children, plus three of her own. Molly would literally have to be squeezed in. So, is that what you want for her, son? To be squeezed in? Or maybe I should ask if that’s what Grace would have wanted?”
He was the one being squeezed here, and Henry was so good at it. Almost as good as Aunt Grace had been. Of course Rafe wanted to take care of Molly in the best way possible. Of course he wanted her in a better situation where she wasn’t going to be one of the many foster-children. “So what are you telling me, Henry?” As if he didn’t already know.
“That if you want to do the right thing, you’re either taking Molly with you when you go home to Boston, or you’re staying here at Gracie House to take care of her for the time being. Which is probably what’s best…letting Molly stay in her own home.” He shrugged. “I mean, there aren’t a lot of other good options here. I’m sorry about that, but your aunt loved that little girl something fierce, and would have adopted her if the courts hadn’t said she was too old. And here’s the thing. She set up a sizeable trust for Molly. You already know about that, but what I haven’t told you yet is that Grace made you the permanent trustee…at least until Molly is twenty-one.”
“Without telling me? Could she do that?” He was surprised yet in a way he wasn’t. His aunt had always expected more of him than he expected of himself.
“Yes, she could, and that’s what she did, son. You were the only one she wanted.”
“So, let me guess. She thought I’d refuse if she’d simply asked me, so she locked me in this way instead?”
“She knew you’d refuse. But Grace always got what she wanted, one way or another. Didn’t mean to surprise you like I did, but that’s the way Grace wanted it, too. Didn’t want you having time to think about ways to back out of the arrangement.”
Rafe chuckled. “I guess I should have seen it coming.” He could almost see the smile on his aunt’s face while she plotted this whole affair. Damn, he missed her! “So, OK. For now, that’s fine. I’ll serve as Molly’s trustee. But I’m assuming that once she’s adopted, that will change.”
Henry shook his head, fighting back an obvious, devious smile. Henry was a burly man. Big, soft, with tons of gray hair on his head. And a pair of hazel, very astute eyes that missed nothing, including the fact that Grace Corbett, God rest her soul, had won this round. “The responsibility’s still yours, even after she’s adopted, son. Which in itself is going to be a problem, because finding placement for a child who comes with Molly’s substantial financial means isn’t going to be easy since there are going to be a whole lot of candidates lining up who’ll want her only because she’s a wealthy little girl. Of course, everything could be settled right now if you’d simply adopt her. Or at least let me write up the guardianship papers for you.”
“That sounds like Aunt Grace’s argument.” Rafe shook his head in frustration. “But I already told you, I’d make a terrible father. And guardian. I don’t have time, I don’t have experience. Maybe my aunt thought that tangling me up in all these arrangements would make me want to be an instant father, but it’s not happening, Henry. I care about Molly, but my focus is on my work. No serious relationships and especially no children. So it’s up to you to find Molly a family who wants her because they love her, not because she’s wealthy. And when you’re convinced that Molly is in the absolute best situation, you can see about changing the terms of Molly’s trust…phasing me out as trustee and giving the responsibility to her parents, because that’s the way it should be. Or I’ll have my attorney do it if you won’t. Bottom line, I’m going to make sure Molly gets the best. Personally oversee the interview process. But I’m not going to keep her.”
Henry listened, still smiling and nodding as if he was really listening, which Rafe knew he was not. He’d known Henry since he was a child. Nice man. Devoted to the Corbett family. As easy to read as a child’s picture book. In fact, Henry’s pictures were so obvious, it wouldn’t have surprised Rafe the least little bit if he’d already had Molly’s adoption papers stashed away, ready to sign, with the name Rafe Samuel Corbett at the bottom. “I mean it, Henry. I’m not going to step in as Molly’s father.”
“I know you mean it, son. And I’m sure everything will work itself out for the best in due course. But that could take a little while. So are you willing to take care of Molly until we get it figured out?”
“Of course I will. And I’ll do it right here, at Gracie House, so she won’t have to be disrupted.” He did have several weeks of vacation time saved up, and a host of medical partners who could take his place, so stepping out of his practice wasn’t going to be a problem for a while. “But she needs her new family sooner rather than later, because I don’t want her getting attached to me, then being pulled away. So work on it, Henry. Don’t put it on the back burner, thinking that the slower you do this, the more I’ll be inclined to keep her. That’s not going to happen. And in the end Molly’s going to be the one to get hurt if that’s what you do.” The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.
Henry nodded again, then continued like he hadn’t heard a word. “I’m not going to hurt that child, son. I’ll promise you that. I have only her best interests at heart.” He crossed his heart. “So, let me go get started, and in the meantime I’d suggest setting up more opportunities to let Molly and Edie Parker be together. Edie’s good with children. Especially good for Molly, and Grace respected that woman in a big way.”
“She’s not married, is she?” Rafe asked, surprised to hear the words coming from his mouth. Why did he care? Why did the image of an empty ring finger flash through his mind?
Henry wiggled his shaggy eyebrows. “Molly has good taste in friends, doesn’t she? Very pretty lady. And, no, she’s not married. As far as I know, not even involved. She’s only been here about three months and, from what I’ve seen, she keeps pretty much to herself. But like I said, Grace really respected her. Took to her right away. Admired the way she worked with the children in the hospital.” Henry’s smile broadened. “Did I mention she’s very pretty?”
“You mentioned it.” And Rafe didn’t disagree. Edie was pretty. Distractingly so…obviously, since that was all he had on his mind at the present.