He nodded, but something about his behavior seemed off to her.
“Goodbye, Derrick.” Molly disconnected the call, blanked her phone screen and pushed Derrick out of her thoughts. Molly’s driver pulled the car to the curb outside her daughter’s day care, and she thanked him and got out.
A rainbow and fluffy white clouds had been painted on the windows of the Tiny Sweet Giggles Day Care. A cheerful heart-shaped welcome sign hung on the door. Inside the entrance, more bright colors covered the walls and the kind staff chatted and laughed. Molly held on to her hope that this pickup would be different than those of the past week.
One of the aides carried Hazel from Lullaby Lane, the under-one room. Tears soaked her daughter’s cheeks and dampened her hair.
Molly’s stomach sank.
Every prior pickup, Hazel had come home in tears. Molly wanted the giggles promised in the day care’s name. She wanted to believe the director’s assurances that Hazel needed more time to adjust.
She wanted to believe she was doing the right thing, leaving Hazel in someone else’s care while she went to work and tried to reestablish her career.
The aide handed Molly the baby carrier that Molly had left at drop-off. Molly attached the baby carrier around her shoulders and waist, then slipped Hazel into the front. With the tears wiped from Hazel’s cheeks and her daughter secure, she thanked the aide and exited.
A series of cable car bells clanged loudly only a block away at the intersection. Molly smiled and kissed the top of Hazel’s head. “I know exactly how to improve our moods.”
Molly headed straight for the cable car. The bells clanged again. Hazel kicked her legs and babbled happily at the world in her front-facing carrier. The cable car had fascinated Hazel from their first day in the city. And now served as a perfect pick-me-up for the pair.
Molly climbed aboard, greeted the conductor and eased onto a bench in the enclosed middle section. Tourists crowded on the benches facing the street and seasoned locals gripped the poles and stood on the running board at the front.
The conductor offered Hazel a spirited greeting and checked Molly’s monthly unlimited ride pass—the one she’d purchased upon arrival in the city. “Where are you two ladies heading this evening?”
Molly tucked her pass into her purse and grinned at the conductor, his wide smile infectious. “Back to our hotel.” And their temporary living quarters.
“You couldn’t have chosen a better way to get there.” The conductor tipped his hat. “Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.”
Relax. Molly shifted on the smooth wooden bench. She hadn’t had much spare time for that. Her relocation to-do list remained quite full. Even moving into their rental apartment had been delayed due to unforeseen plumbing repairs. Once they were settled though, Molly would relax.
The bells clanged announcing the next stop. Hazel clapped her hand against Molly’s open palm. Joy filled her daughter and her squeal of laughter exploded inside the cable car. The other passengers smiled.
Molly hugged Hazel, wanting to absorb her daughter’s delight. Wanting to enjoy the ride too.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Molly thought. Molly, a single parent, alone in a new city. She’d mapped out her life. Created vision boards for every stage of her plan. Implemented it step-by-step like a road map to success. She hadn’t ever pictured birth control failure and a positive pregnancy test.
Or Derrick not loving her like she’d loved him.
Molly should have anticipated something like this happening. Molly should have had a contingency in place. In a courtroom, she strategized every possible outcome and always had contingencies at the ready, just in case.
She had to apply the same tactics to her private life. Hazel was depending on her. Only a viable legal business of her own would give Molly and Hazel the much-needed stability Molly wanted. And finally their very own home like she always imagined for her family.
The cable car crested a steep hill. The bells clanged. Hazel laughed.
Molly’s stomach tilted as the cable car descended the other side of the hill and changed her perspective.
She had to build her practice quickly. Drew Harrington, as her client, would assist her in doing that.
She may have acquired Drew as a client in a roundabout way. But now that Drew was her client, she intended to keep him.
The cable car picked up speed. The rush filled Molly.
And when she won Drew’s case...both Drew and Molly would find their joy again.
CHAPTER THREE
“DREW, WOULD YOU answer the door?” his mother called down from the upstairs master suite. “I’m almost ready.”
Drew opened the door of his parents’ house and gaped. Molly stood under the awning, an open umbrella in one hand. A blond curly haired baby girl in the other.
“Drew.” Molly thrust the baby girl into Drew’s arms.
Drew adjusted the baby, propping her up against his chest. Her eyes widened, revealing her bold blue gaze. Her grin widened, revealing her lack of teeth. She reached forward and smashed the tie of his tuxedo in her tiny fist, tugging it away from his neck. Even that couldn’t quite open his airways or dislodge the surprise stuck in his throat.
Molly McKinney had a child. An adorable baby girl.
“I can’t believe it started raining right when we got here.” Molly closed the umbrella, shook the excess water onto the front porch and faced Drew. “But then it’s been that kind of day.”
Drew cleared his throat and stepped back to allow Molly inside. “What kind of day is that?”
“The kind where the babysitter cancels last minute. The kind where the landlord calls to cancel our lease, citing unrepairable plumbing issues.” Molly unzipped her jacket and slipped it off, revealing a stunning black-and-white evening gown. She added, “You know. The kind of day where nothing goes as expected.”
Drew knew that exact kind of day. He was having it right now. Molly McKinney was a mom, standing in his parents’ foyer, looking ready for her red-carpet debut. He had known
