Maybe she should grab for whatever happiness she could find and let the future take care of itself.
Only, now, she didn't have a clue how to bring it up. He hadn’t mentioned it again. Had he changed his mind?
“You two don’t have to leave on my account.”
He shrugged. “It’s no hardship. Penny likes to swim. Want us to get dinner out?”
“No, I’ve already planned dinner.”
She wished he’d invite her to go swimming with them. But apparently the conversation was over. He rose, replaced the chair and left.
Feeling inadequate and dejected, Michelle went to dress for the day. Maybe between now and the time they left, Josh would invite her to join them.
He didn’t.
Brandon brought Penny home, explaining that Caroline was feeling tired and he’d insisted she stay in bed.
“I thought watching Penny would be too much,” Michelle said, worried for her sister.
“No, it wasn’t. We had a great time. But Caroline and I were up late last night and I just thought she should rest today. We’d like to have Penny come stay with us again sometime soon.”
“Maybe after your own baby is born,” Josh said.
They all were at the front door, Brandon having declined to enter.
“We’ll want to have her visit again long before that,” Brandon said, before turning to head for his car.
“Have fun, kid?” Josh asked.
Penny exuberantly explained her visit. Before Michelle could hear all she had to say, Josh suggested swimming, which immediately changed the direction of Penny’s thoughts. She ran upstairs to find her bathing suit and in only moments, she and her father left.
Michelle watched them drive away.
He hadn’t asked her.
And she hadn’t invited herself along.
Now what was she going to do for the rest of the day? Dinner wouldn’t take long to prepare. She could do laundry and vacuum the house, but the feeling of belonging she’d experienced last week was missing.
She wanted to be with Josh, pure and simple.
By the following Wednesday Michelle was about at the end of her rope. Any thought of keeping her distance from Josh had long since faded. And yet she was unable to draw closer. It was as if he’d erected an invisible wall between them. Nothing she said seemed to breach it.
Maybe plain speaking was called for. Tonight she’d wait until Penny was in bed, and then tell Josh she’d changed her mind. She didn’t want to continue as they had over the last two days. If he still wanted her, then—
When her desk phone rang, Michelle almost snatched it up. She kept hoping the next call would be Josh.
It wasn’t. It was Mrs. Robinson at the day care.
“Mrs. O’Malley, we need you down here. There’s been an accident.”
Chapter Nine
“An accident? What happened?” Fear clutched her.
“I’m afraid Penny fell and cut herself quite badly. We've called for an ambulance but she’s crying for her father. Can you notify him and then come down?”
“I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Quickly, Michelle hung up, then picked up her phone and dialed Josh’s work number from memory as she grabbed her purse and headed down to the day care.
The temp answered. What was her name? Michelle couldn’t remember.
“I need to speak with Josh, please. It’s an emergency,” she said, as she dashed for the elevator.
“He’s not available right now. What happened? Can I take a message? I’ll try to locate him.”
“Tell him his wife called. There’s been an accident and Penny’s been hurt. I’m going with her to the hospital. I’ll call him from there.”
When she entered the day care facility a couple of minutes later she spotted Penny immediately. One of the teachers held her, pressing a white cloth to her head. The little girl was crying, calling for her daddy. Blood had splattered over her play suit and along the side of her head.
Michelle almost burst into tears at the sight.
“Oh, Penny, honey, what happened?” She reached for her and Penny lunged into her arms.
“Michelle, I gots hurt.”
“I can see that, honey. What happened?” She raised her gaze to the teacher.
“She was playing on the slide and took a tumble over the side. We found some rocks on the playground that shouldn’t have been there. I think one of them caused the gash. She’ll be fine, but we called an ambulance. She needs to be checked out by a doctor to make sure.”
“Shh, honey, I know it hurts, but you’re going to be all right,” Michelle crooned as she hugged Penny tightly and rocked her back and forth. The little girl continued to cry, but she stopped calling for her father and snuggled against Michelle.
“I’m glad you comed, Michelle. I was a-scared.”
“Of course I came, darling. As soon as they called me. I’m so sorry you’re hurt. Your daddy will be here as soon as he can make it.”
In a whirlwind of activity they were transported to Liberty Hospital. The young doctor in the emergency room soon had Penny cleaned up and placed two small stitches in the gash near her hairline.
Giving her a tetanus shot, he pronounced her fit as a fiddle.
“Or she will be in a couple of days. I expect she’ll be achy and show some bruises. But this kind of thing happens all the time with kids. Don’t worry, Mrs. O’Malley, she’ll be fine. How are you doing?”
Michelle tried to respond intelligently, but she felt shaky.
“Michelle?” a familiar voice roared.
“In here, Josh,” she called, moving to peer through the opening in the curtain. “We’re in here.”
She was so glad to see him when he walked in.
“Daddy!” Penny called, struggling to sit up on the high examination table.
“Easy, kiddo.” The doctor assisted her to sit and Josh swept her into his arms.
“Is she okay?” he asked the doctor.
“She’ll be fine. I was telling your wife, she’ll be achy for a few days and probably sport some colorful bruises, but there is no concussion, no broken bones.”
Josh turned and saw Michelle. Without a word, he crossed to her and put his free arm around her shoulders,
