The Only Child. Carolyn McSparren
even the handsome foxes. I love you too much to want to see you hurt again. Sometimes I worry that you don’t think things out too clearly.”
“Thank you, darling, for your vote of confidence,” Molly said. “But I’m tougher than you think and not nearly so naive. I can look after every part of my self, including my heart. Don’t worry. I’ll keep in touch while I’m gone and tell you everything when I get home. I’ll call Elizabeth this afternoon to apologize for finking out on her sleep-over.” She hesitated, then blurted out, “I love you all. I’m so glad I have you.”
“Mom? Are you all right? You never talk like that.”
“Maybe I should. ‘Bye, darling.”
She hung up to Anne’s drawn-out “Mooooother” on the line.
Next, she called Sherry to report her decision to go with Logan.
“My God, Molly,” Sherry said. “You’re not seriously flying off into the wilds of Kansas with Logan MacMilan.” Sherry’s laughter echoed down the wires. Then her voice turned deadly serious. “Do you truly think you can find that child?”
“We have to try. The difficulty is that we’re a pair of rank amateurs. Frankly, I don’t have the foggiest notion where to start.”
“I wouldn’t either. But I’ll say some prayers for you. Trust you to wind up going searching with an incredibly attractive man. Nothing like that ever happens to me.”
“When has it ever happened to me before? Besides, we’ll probably hate one another cordially by the end of the first day. Logan MacMillan isn’t my type,” Molly lied glibly, wishing it were true.
“Then you are deaf, dumb and blind.”
“What’s more to the point, I am definitely not his type.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
Molly stretched her bare feet in front of her and ran her hand through her hair again. “Okay, you said you’d known Sydney since college. Do I remind you of her?”
Sherry chuckled. “Not in the least. Sydney cared more for externals and appearances than any human being I have ever met. She knew darned well Tiffany was a hellraiser, but all she could see was her future daughter-inlaw’s social standing and a wedding with twelve bridesmaids. Boy, did she get a rude awakening. Besides, Sydney was what the movie magazines used to call ‘divinely thin’“
“That let’s me out. I have good reason to know that men Logan’s age go for women Anne’s age. He’ll probably treat me like a sister, or worse yet, an aunt. Frankly, I’m surprised some rich young widow hasn’t snapped him up before now.”
“Logan keeps them at arm’s length. He is courtly, charming, available for dinner parties when he’s in town, pleasant and detached. I think he doesn’t want to risk losing anyone else of value to him, so he simply refuses to care for anybody again. Of course, that old Byronic ‘secret pain that only you, fair love, can assuage’ is a downright killer with the ladies. I’ve considered seducing him myself.”
“Leo would kill you.”
“Only if he found out. Unfortunately, I haven’t the skill for double-dealing that most women have.”
“Meaning?”
“I’d louse up my stories and get caught…Easier to stay faithful. Of course, you don’t have a heavy husband waiting in the wings with a shotgun. You and he are both unattached. Enjoy.”
“Thanks for the insight, Sherry.”
“One more thing, Molly, don’t forget that Tiffany is a convicted felon who killed two people. She wants that child with her desperately. She’s dangerous.”
Molly hung up the phone thoughtfully. She still had half an hour before she expected Logan. Breakfast was well in hand. She pulled on a windbreaker over her black turtleneck and walked down to the workshop. Elvis padded along behind her.
Once inside, Molly pulled out Quentin’s head and began to add soft bisque to his chin. She worked silently for twenty minutes until she heard the gate alarm. She covered the head, put it back into the refrigerator, closed the shop and walked up the hill to meet Logan.
He was dressed for business. “Good morning,” he said formally.
Every time Molly left him a trifle loosened up, he reappeared as distant and formal as ever. He was like some kind of plastic that had a memory—melt it, bend it, curl it into a ball, it sprang right back to its original rigidity.
“Can you handle cholesterol?” she asked.
He smiled. “Upon occasion.”
“Good, because we’ve got country ham and hot biscuits for breakfast.”
LOGAN DRANK his coffee and watched Molly straighten the kitchen. He’d enjoyed breakfast. Molly had kept up a cheerful line of patter about her small farm and the animals. It all served, as he supposed it was meant to do, to keep his mind off the task at hand.
The food had been good, but eating with Molly gave it an even better flavor. She had served the meal on bright yellow Italian pottery. Watching her as she moved easily among the pots and pans, he thought her the most appealing woman he had ever met.
With a sudden startling jolt of insight, he realized he had an appetite for her, a simple physical hunger. He wanted to nibble her all over, taste her, feel the texture of her skin and curl her crisp hair around his fingers. He jerked himself from his reverie. “What?” he asked.
“I said, have you told Zoe we’re leaving tomorrow?”
“I told her I was leaving. I did not mention you.”
“Logan…”
“I’m not protecting your honor. I’m guarding my privacy. And I’m protecting Zoe against disappointment.”
“I don’t agree, but it’s your decision.”
“You see, Dulcy was much more to Zoe than simply her brother Jeremy’s child. She and Rick can’t seem to conceive—no reason that the doctors can find, but they’ve been trying for years without success. I think Zoe was jealous of the ease with which Tiffany got pregnant.”
“I can understand that. Sherry Carpenter loves me dearly, but she can’t help begrudging me Anne and Elizabeth.”
“It goes even deeper with Zoe. After Dulcy was born, Tiffany decided to go back to school to finish her degree. She didn’t want to be bothered with a baby. She dropped Dulcy off at the shop nearly every morning. Sydney was too ill to look after her, so we set up a kind of nursery in the workroom at the back, and Zoe took over Dulcy. She was everyone’s pet, but she was Zoe’s special love.”
“Then surely she’d be overjoyed to think that Dulcy might be alive.”
He shook his head. “I can’t raise her hopes. We may not find Dulcy. Perhaps she is dead.”
“I’m sorry, Logan, but we can’t put that toothpaste back into that particular tube.”
“I know that,” Logan said. “I’ll pick you up Thursday afternoon about two. We’ll get a rental car in Wichita, spend the night there and drive to Moundhill first thing Friday morning. Doctors often take long weekends. I don’t want to miss seeing the staff at that hospital.” He glanced over at Molly. “I’ve reserved two hotel rooms in Wichita for Thursday night.”
Molly let out her breath. Good. “Can’t we leave here early Friday morning?”
“No air connections. Molly, we haven’t discussed money.”
“Yes, we have. You said you’d pay all the expenses.”
“And I will. But you’ll be missing at least a weekend’s work, possibly more if we have to trace Tiffany beyond Moundhill.”