A Very Special Delivery

baby Zack.
    A log burned in two, snapped and fell, sending a shower of sparks upward like a Roman candle.
    “Molly.” Ethan’s voice was quiet. “Would you like Laney and me to head out to the camper so you can have some peace and quiet?”
    No more questions. No prying. Just consideration. How could she be inhospitable to such a man?
    This whole situation must be as miserable for Ethan as for her. Stuck here in a stranger’s home with an infant to care for, low on formula, no power, and completely out of his comfort zone. And yet, he was cheerful about the entire mess.
    Shame spread through her. Neither Ethan nor Laney were to blame for her personal agony. If she were the Christian she claimed to be, she would be thinking of them instead of herself.
    “I don’t want you to go.” Then she blushed at how that sounded. “I mean, I’d enjoy your company if you’d like to stay longer.”
    He spread his hands wide, lips tilting as he looked around the room. “No TV. No stereo. No computer. We might have to carry on a conversation.”
    Molly caught the twinkle in his eye and played along. “Could be scary.”
    “You could tell me about yourself.”
    She tensed, then realized she could talk without revealing too much. “I’m not very fascinating.”
    “Let me be the judge of that. Tell me about your job, what you like to do, that sort of thing.”
    She curled her legs under her again and sat down. “It’s a rare man that enjoys conversation.”
    He laughed. “As I said. No TV.”
    “You go first.”
    “Cheater.” But he did, telling her about his mother and dad in Tulsa, a married brother in the service in North Carolina, his job and his love of flying. She noticed one glaring omission. He did not mention Laney’s mother.
    And in turn, she told him of her short-lived college days, about her crafting hobbies and her job at the senior citizens’ center.
    “What about your family?” he asked when she’d told him all she was willing to share.
    Molly tensed. “I don’t see them much.”
    The answer was abrupt, bringing a tension into the cozy room that hovered for several beats like a winged creature. Then, as if he knew he’d touched a nerve, Ethan shifted gears. “Tell me about your other hobby. Or is that also a taboo topic?”
    “My other hobby? I don’t know what you mean.”
    “I saw the boxes in the back room.”
    Molly’s hand stilled on the rough upholstery. So he’d discovered her penance. She swallowed hard before answering in an intentionally light voice.
“Oh, that. I have a soft spot for kids who don’t have much.”
    “That says a lot about you.”
    Molly didn’t want him thinking she was some unselfish saint. She wasn’t. Giving to needy kids eased the awful ache inside her.
    “No big deal. A little money out of each paycheck. I hardly miss it.” She popped up from the chair, eager to change the subject. He was indeed, treading on dangerous ground. “Would you like some popcorn?”
    Ethan’s blue eyes turned violet in the lamplight. He studied her for a fraction of a second as if he was not fooled by her ploy. Finally, when Molly had grown uncomfortable from the silence, he said, “Is it humanly possible to make popcorn without a microwave?”
    Relieved, she grinned. “That remains to be seen.”
    Ethan laid the wiggling baby on a quilt and stood. “You make popcorn. I’ll set out those dominoes you found this afternoon.”
    “Deal.”
    By the time the popcorn’s buttery scent filled the house, Ethan had rearranged the living room so that two chairs bracketed the coffee table in front of the fireplace. The yellow light from a kerosene lamp tossed shadows onto the walls and ceiling.
    Outside the wind howled and the occasional crusted tree limb scraped the windows and siding, but the old farmhouse remained cozy and warm. Molly placed the heaping bowl of popcorn at one end of the rectangular table, and curled into her chair. Samson jumped onto her lap.
    “Dumb cat,” she said affectionately, resting one hand on his head. “How am I supposed to play dominoes with you in the way?”
    “The same way I’ll play and hold Laney.” Ethan leaned around the baby as he reached for the popcorn. “Very carefully.”
    The child was propped in his lap, her back resting against his chest. One of his muscular arms wrapped around her middle. Her beautiful dark blue eyes were wide open, staring at Samson in fascination.
    “Her radar’s trained on my cat.”
    “I don’t