A Very Special Delivery

record with women.
    Even though he’d made those mistakes before he’d turned his life over to Jesus, the consequences remained. And he’d promised to concentrate on raising Laney and to leave the ladies alone.
    He just hoped he could keep that promise. Spending time with Molly could become dangerously habit-forming. And until the roads cleared, he had little choice in the matter.
    “I’d better get busy,” he said more abruptly than he’d intended. “That tree won’t saw itself.”
    “Let me help.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and started to rise. Halfway up, her footing gave way on the frosted slope, and she slipped sideways.
    Everything happened so fast but to Ethan the whole world stopped. Adrenaline shot into his bloodstream. Without considering the risk to himself, he grabbed for her, caught her around the waist with one hand, and yanked her back, all the while grappling for something to hold on to with his other.
    Molly slammed into his chest, and his boots slid out from under him. Together they skidded over the frozen shingles unchecked for several feet.
    Fear lifted the hair on his neck as he faced
the inevitable. They were going to plummet to the ground below.
    * * *
    Molly wanted to scream but there was no time. She and Ethan picked up speed. Chilled wind pushed at her cheeks. Scenery blurred. Fear of the inevitable fall clogged her throat.
    Convinced they would tumble over the edge, she squeezed her eyes tight and gave an inward cry. “Help us.”
    They came to an abrupt, jarring stop. Other than the sound of their frightened panting, all was silent. Even the birds had hushed.
    Molly opened her eyes. They were inches from the edge, but Ethan gripped a vent pipe with one hand and held her with the other. Instead of amazement that she had narrowly escaped serious injury, Molly could only marvel at how strong Ethan
must be.
    For several frightened seconds they rested on the roof, cold seeping through their jeans, while their ragged breathing slowed to normal.
    “That was close,” Molly whispered. Her pulse thundered against her temples; she was as unsettled by Ethan’s nearness as by the near-accident.
    Still clinging to the pipe for support, Ethan sat upright and drew her up beside him. He steadied them both until their position was secure. Molly wondered why he didn’t release her.
    “I shouldn’t have let you come up here,” he said. “You could have been hurt.”
    His naturally tan face was intense and pale and dangerously close.
    “I came up under my own power, Ethan.”
    “But—” he started to argue. Molly placed a gloved hand on his cheek.
    “Ethan, it’s my roof. You were trying to help me. And thanks to you, neither of us is hurt.” She knew she should move away from him, but she didn’t want to. She hadn’t felt safe in a long time, and Ethan’s secure embrace was a haven of comfort and security.
    Her hood had come off in the slide and her hair fell across her mouth. As tenderly as he touched Laney, Ethan brushed the lock back from her face.
    Something more disturbing than a fall stirred inside Molly. Tenderness was such an alluring quality in a man. Hadn’t she admired that characteristic over and over again in his care of Laney? And now he was treating her with the same tenderness.
    “I’m glad you’re okay.” His troubled blue eyes studied her as if he wanted to memorize her face. His warm voice dropped to a murmur. “Very glad.”
    In that instant Molly thought he might kiss her. As scary as that was, and as long as it had been since she had entertained such a thought, she wanted him to.
    He swallowed and tilted his head. From the frozen north a slight wind pushed away the warmth of his breath, bringing with it a new sound. Not a cracking, groaning tree. Not a bird. But a baby’s cry.
    Molly jerked away and was in danger of going into another slide. Ethan clutched her shoulders. “Easy.”
    “Laney,” she said, almost desperately. Her pulse trembled in her throat. She pressed a hand there to stop the impending anxiety. “We shouldn’t have left her.”
    Ethan cocked his head to one side and listened. “She’s awake. Better go see.”
    As though he hadn’t just leaped over her carefully built wall, Ethan moved away to tend his baby.
    And as quickly as that, the sweet mood dissipated like the call of the chickadee on the north wind.
    During their moments of shared fright, Molly had all but forgotten the insurmountable barrier between them. Now