"I'm not what?" Cora asked, then, with a thump and a grunt, set down the can of carnations that she was carrying.

"Never mind," Harry said, unwilling to let his wife into the discussion. If he really did get a ticket, he'd never hear the end of it. "I'm already gone. When I get back, I'll treat you both to dinner."

"Out to dinner? That sounds like bribery. Whatever it is you're apologizing for ahead of time, it won't work," Cora said, ignoring the twinkle in her husband's eyes.

Harry grumbled as Molly handed him the arrangement of roses. "Now see what you've gone and done. A man can't even be generous without having his motives questioned."

Molly ignored his acerbic remark as he grabbed the flowers and made a middle-aged dash toward the delivery van. She watched until he drove away before returning to her work. This couple were almost as dear to her as her own parents, and she privately thought they were enough like Fred and Ethel Mertz of the old I Love Lucy show to be their twins.

It was still painful to think of her mother's death and her father's remarriage, and even stranger to know that she had a nine-year-old half sister in the state of Washington whom she hardly knew.

The doorbell jingled, signaling the entrance of another customer. Wiping her hands, she turned to see Joseph entering her shop.

"Joseph!" The joy in her voice was just as vivid as the expression on her face, but the absence of his usual smile set her pulse to racing. "What's wrong? Has something happened to Joey?"

Joseph's heart skipped a beat. After what he'd just been through, the poignancy of her question caught him off guard. A woman he'd known less than six months was already more concerned with his son than Joey's own mother had ever been. He wondered what was wrong with him to have made such a mistake in judgment about a woman he thought he'd loved. But dwelling on past sins would do him no good, at least not today.

"No, he's fine. Although I need to talk to you and it indirectly involves him. Do you have a minute?" he asked.

Molly and Cora exchanged a look. Cora quickly stepped into the awkward silence with an offer.

"I'm on the job, Molly. Besides, you need to take a break. Go get yourself something cold to drink at the deli across the street. You skipped lunch, remember?"

"Okay," Molly said, and let Joseph lead her out of the store and across the street, mimicking his silence until they'd seated themselves inside the corner booth of the deli. When the waitress disappeared with their orders, she leaned across the table.

"Now, what's all the mystery?"

Joseph frowned. It was difficult to find where to start.

"I just came from Joey's day-care center. It seems that the paperwork I filled out when I enrolled him doesn't jibe with what he's been saying."

Then he rolled his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from cursing, and leaned back against the booth, staring at a point over her shoulder.

"And that was...?" Getting Joseph to the beginning of a discussion was a lot more difficult than one would have imagined.

He leaned forward, suddenly ready to talk, then hesitated as the waitress slid their cold drinks in front of them along with a basket of tortilla chips and a big bowl of pico de gallo.

Molly lifted a warm chip from the basket, slid it into the thick, spicy sauce, and crunched. If it was going to take him this long to tell a story, she had no intentions of starving to death in the meantime.

Joseph stared at the way her tongue curled around the dripping sauce, then shifted uncomfortably in his seat as his body responded to her actions.

"Look," he said, shoving the chips to one side before he forgot why he'd come. "The bottom line is...when I filled out his papers, I told them Joey's mother was out of the picture, and that I had full and total custody-which, by the way, is true. The problem now is that it seems his only topic of conversation for the last few weeks has been his momma.' They've come to the conclusion that I've either kidnapped my own child or that I'm depriving him in some manner."

"Oh, Joseph! I'm sorry," Molly said. "What can I do?"

He looked away, almost afraid to ask. Joey had started this mess, but it was going to be up to Molly to get them out.

"I wondered if I could talk you into visiting the school with me...you know...sort of explain the situation and Joey's recent fixation? I know it's a lot to ask, but..."

"I'd be honored," Molly said.

"You would?"

"It would be my pleasure. There's only one catch."

A frown slid across his forehead.

"Can I please have my chips back first? I promise I'll eat fast."

He shoved the bowl of chips within her reach and then leaned against the booth and started to grin. The sick feeling that he'd been carrying all afternoon just disappeared along with the chip Molly stuffed in her mouth.

Within the hour, they were back on the road.

Joseph took the curve with one eye on the traffic entering the freeway on their right, and the other on the eighteen-wheeler trying to pa.s.s them on the left.

"d.a.m.n, I hate city traffic," he muttered.

Molly nodded in agreement, yet rode relaxed and confident that this man would get them where they needed to be as safely as possible.

"Joseph?"

"Hmm?" he answered absently.

"Exactly where is Joey's mother? I wouldn't have ever asked, except I've kind of gotten myself involved without meaning to. I feel like I need...no, I deserve an explanation. Do you understand?"

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, and his chin jutted stubbornly as he dared one swift glance toward her face before resuming his keen eye on the traffic before them.

"For G.o.d's sake, don't apologize," he said. "After what I've just asked of you, I should have volunteered the information. It's just been so long since she was a part of my life that I often forget she exists. If it weren't for Joey, I probably already would have."

"Didn't you love her?"

The question startled him until he thought about it. It made sense considering the facts as Molly knew them.

"Once...I thought I'd never love anyone else. We were college sweethearts. We met in an English Lit cla.s.s our freshman year. By the second year we'd moved in together. We made big plans and frequent love, and thought we were being very grown-up and careful." He sighed. "We were none of the above. She got pregnant."

"Were you mad at her? Is that what caused the breakup?"

Molly was relating to her own experiences, and Joseph knew it.

"No, honey," he said softly, unaware that he'd called her anything but Molly. But Molly heard it and wished for more. "I was shocked, but not mad. After all, I'd definitely partic.i.p.ated in the procedure that had produced him."

Molly nodded, suddenly uncomfortable with the thought of Joseph and making love all in one sentence.

"So what happened?"

Joseph frowned, his anger suddenly renewed. "What happened was...while I was making plans to take a second job to pay for the bills, and trying to rearrange my schedule, Carly was making plans...without my knowledge...to have an abortion."

Molly gasped, but Joseph continued as if nothing had happened. He was too lost in old anger to relate to her or her feelings.

"I was in shock. I couldn't believe she wanted to kill something...," he paused, considering his words, "...no, not a something, a someone, that we'd made from our love."

Molly nodded.

"I wanted our child." His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he remembered. "Dear G.o.d, how I wanted it. I begged, I pleaded, I ordered. And then finally...we came to an understanding. If she carried the baby full-term and then gave him to me...I promised not to break her d.a.m.ned neck."

"Oh G.o.d," Molly whispered, unable to imagine a woman actually giving birth and then tossing away a child as easily as yesterday's news.

"So she agreed and Joey was born. To my knowledge, she didn't even care to hold him. She just signed the papers the lawyers had drawn up and walked out of our lives."

He slammed on the brakes and turned into the parking lot of Joey's day-care center, parked, then turned to face her, needing her to understand.

"Look, I'm not a fanatic. I do not judge other people, one way or the other, about their choices of having children. But this involved me, d.a.m.n it, me! I lived in foster homes my entire life." His voice rose an octave as he tried to make Molly understand. "I could never live with the knowledge that I'd let my child die because his birth was going to be an inconvenience."

Then he shrugged. "It was a good thing she disappeared so soon. I didn't have time to hate her and raise my son, too. Getting her out of my life was the best thing that happened to both of us. I just never realized that Joey missed the idea of having a mother. He's definitely not missed the real one. He never knew her."

Satisfied with the facts as she now knew them, Molly nodded. "So, come on," she said. "Let's go fix what ails Joey, okay?"

She started to slide out of the car when Joseph grasped her arm and stopped her progress.

"Molly...thanks," he said.

"Don't mention it," she answered, unable to face the full force of his stare.

Joseph c.o.c.ked an eyebrow as he watched her get out from the seat without waiting for him to come around. She was still running from something. Could it be him? The idea was interesting, even intriguing, but it quickly disappeared in the wake of the seriousness of the issue at hand. He cupped her elbow, guiding her over the cracked pavement in the lot as they headed for the front door of the establishment.

Molly's stomach gave a half-hitch and then righted itself as she caught Joseph's smile. Nervous tension kept her from laughing this episode off completely. The sight of so many small children playing freely in the fenced yard beside the building reminded her that if her own baby had lived, she would have been seven, and possibly running and laughing in that very yard today.

"So, Mr. Rossi, I see you're back. Is this...? Why, Molly Eden! I haven't seen you since the B and PW banquet last year. How are you doing?"

The Business and Professional Women's organization that Molly belonged to was about to be the best reference she could have had to back up her part in this misunderstanding.

"Lila! I wondered where you were working." Molly accepted, then returned, Lila Forshee's hug of welcome.

Lila nodded, looking a bit puzzled as she saw Molly's escort. "I'm the new site manager," she said. "I've been here a little over a year now. Do you and Mr. Rossi know each other?"

Molly grinned. "He's my new next-door neighbor. He bought the old Tussault house. You know...the one with that enormous yew hedge around it."

Lila looked at Joseph Rossi with renewed respect. She took her job seriously, and even the hint of a stolen or kidnapped child made her physically sick. Weeks ago, when Joey Rossi had started talking about his mother, she'd been suspicious, especially when the father had been so adamant that one didn't exist in their world. And then when the stories persisted, down to trips to Braums for ice cream cones, she began to worry. None of Joey's stories fit the facts. It had been her duty to investigate. But seeing Molly Eden, a woman she'd known most of her life, walk in with the man in question definitely added another shade of confusion.

"I've asked one of the girls to bring Joey in," Lila said. "I'm sorry, Mr. Rossi, but in this day and time, you surely understand my position."

It was difficult to face the full force of Joseph's angry glare, and Lila thankfully turned toward the doorway as she heard them coming down the hall beyond the door, yet when Joey arrived, his reaction was definitely unexpected.

"Momma!" Joey shrieked, and yanked away from the woman who was holding his hand as he made an excited dash toward Molly.

Molly grinned and knelt, scooping him into her arms before he knocked her off her feet. His hands were sticky and his face was streaked, but it was one of Molly's more memorable kisses as he wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged. The shock on Lila's face was impossible to miss as she invited them into her office.

Joseph scooped Joey up, then sat him on his knee, handing him his ring of keys to occupy his attention while he waited for Lila Forshee to start talking. But it was Molly who began to explain.

"I know I told you that Joseph was my new neighbor," Molly said, "but I didn't tell you that it was Joey I met first." She smiled at the child sitting in his father's lap, and then absently patted Joseph on the arm, unaware that the gentleness with which she'd included him in the moment touched him deeply. "Joey sort of...got himself lost and I found him. That was our introduction. And Joey has..." she paused, hoping Lila could read between the lines so she didn't have to go into detailed explanations in front of the child, "...well, Joey has sort of adopted me. He knows that my name is Molly. He knows that I don't live with them. But he refuses to call me anything but Momma. Frankly, Joseph and I have given up on correcting him. Joseph thinks that when Joey needs to let go of me, that he will. For now, if he needs to lay claim to something he doesn't have...I'm perfectly willing to be branded."

Joey giggled and crawled from his father to Molly, giving up the keys as he leaned against Molly's b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Inevitably, his thumb slipped into his mouth, and when no one seemed to object, he relaxed.

Molly looked at Lila, then smiled as she wrapped her arms around the child. "And I can't think of another thing I'd rather be called."

Joseph was too full of emotion to speak. He heard more than excuses and apologies for the innocent deception that they'd allowed his son. He would have sworn he heard Molly's heart breaking into very small, painful pieces. And he would have given anything to have her look at him with the same devotion that she gave his son without reservation. It was a joy and a misery all at the same time, knowing that the woman he was growing to depend on might love his son more than him. He didn't want to think about the fact that Molly might be using their relationship to get close to the child she could never have.

"Well!" Lila slapped her palms upon her desk. "As far as I'm concerned, this is explanation enough. I'm sorry I didn't understand the situation earlier, Mr. Rossi. Joey is at an impressionable age. Several of the children here have had birthdays during the last few months, and each time, one of their parents, usually the mother, has brought cookies or cake by to share with the children. I didn't realize that your son was feeling left out. I should have. I'm sorry."

Joseph stood, accepting the handshake Lila Forshee offered. "If his own father hadn't seen his need, why should you?" he said. "I'm through at the office for the day," he said. "I'll be taking Joey now. And the next time he comes up with new friends, we'll talk before we panic. Okay?"

"It's a deal," Lila said. "Molly-don't be such a stranger. Call me sometime, we'll do lunch."

Molly grinned. "Milk and cookies with all the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs?"

Lila laughed, then waved good-bye as the trio exited the center. And then she looked again, noticing the protective manner with which Molly was being escorted across the parking lot, and began to smile. It looked as if Joey wasn't the only Rossi interested in the next-door neighbor.

"I need to stop at the office and pick up some work," Joseph said. "Do you mind?"

She shook her head. "No, Cora's an old hand at emergencies. Besides, today was fairly slow. If I'm not back in time, they'll lock up."

Joseph handed her his car phone.

"Just to make sure, be my guest. It never hurts to check."

It didn't take long to issue the few orders necessary. By the time Molly was through talking to Cora, Joseph was pulling into the parking lot at his office building.

"I won't be long," he said. "Do you want to come up, or would you rather wait in the car? I can leave it running so that you two will be cool."

"Wanna go," Joey said, although his wishes had not been considered. "Wanna ride ina 'vator."

Joseph rolled his eyes.

"You know what?" Molly said. "I think I do, too. Let's go with Daddy. What do you say?"

"Yay!"

Joey's shriek was enough. Molly watched, her heart full of emotion, as Joseph laughed, scooped the child up onto his shoulders, and headed for the front door. It would have been obvious to a fool that they were crazy about each other. More than anything else in this world, Molly wanted a place in their lives, but after what she'd learned today, she wondered if Joseph Rossi would ever really trust another woman.

Marjorie Weeks's smile disappeared when she saw the woman who came in behind her boss and his son. It made her furious that this young chit was trying to insinuate herself into Mr. Rossi's life. It never occurred to Marjorie that she was imagining the relationship between Molly and Joseph. She saw him as a helpless victim and Molly as the conniving female. She would never have admitted that it was fabrication on her part and that she'd done nothing more than replay her own misfortune by subst.i.tuting Molly for the woman who'd taken her man. She wouldn't see Molly as a reputable businesswoman. All she saw was a pretty face, a youthful body, and another man falling under the spell of l.u.s.t.

"I'm through for the day," Joseph said, plunking Joey down onto the sofa in the waiting room. "You can lock up early, too, Mrs. Weeks. It's only an hour until quitting time. Put on the answering machine and we'll beat the rush-hour traffic. What do you say?"

She sniffed, glaring at the way the child kept wrapping himself around Molly's long, bare legs. In her opinion, wearing shorts to work just wasn't seemly, no matter what the job. That they were nearly knee-length and anything but s.e.xy didn't seem to matter to her.

"I don't mind staying," Marjorie said. "It's my duty."

Molly heard the censure in the secretary's voice, but refused to let it rankle. Today was too special to let some woman she barely knew bother her.