A Very Special Delivery

greetings. Each time she tensed, but no one mentioned Zack. No one stared at her as if she’d done something terrible. By the end of the meal, she had relaxed and was actually enjoying herself.
    And then her sister walked through the door.

Chapter Eight
    E than watched a radical change come over his luncheon partner. One minute she was giggling at something silly he’d said and the next she turned as white as one of Laney’s diapers.
    “Molly? What’s wrong?” He laid his fork aside and looked around the noisy diner. The only difference he noticed was a too-slim woman with short-cropped red hair standing in the entry. He recognized her from church, though theirs was only a passing acquaintance.
    Apparently Molly knew her far better than he did.
    He was no rocket scientist, but he wasn’t stupid either. Though different in style and stature, the familial likeness was striking. Two redheads with the same almond eyes and high cheekbones could only mean one thing.
    “Is that your sister?”
    Molly nodded, hand at her throat. “Chloe.”
    Her tone, broken and anxious, touched him. So this was the sister with whom she had “issues.”
    Curiosity tempered by concern, he asked, “Should we leave?”
    But it was too late. The woman spotted them, jerked as if she’d suffered an electric shock and began twisting the straps of a black shoulder bag round and round in her hands.
    She stared in disbelief for several long, tense moments before striding toward their table. If she noticed Ethan’s presence at all, she didn’t acknowledge it. Her wounded gaze bore into Molly.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” The words hissed out of her mouth like noxious gas escaping a canister.
    Molly seemed to shrivel. Hurt and longing hung over her like a darkness. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
    Ethan leaned back in his chair and gripped the table’s edge, hardly able to take in the bizarre conversation. Since when did Molly, or anyone else for that matter, have to apologize for eating in a public restaurant?
    Though he had no idea what was going on, he considered intervening. From the looks of Molly, she was about to collapse.
    Before he could, Chloe, her skin as pale as Molly’s, spoke again.
    “I don’t understand why you keep doing this.” She stuck out a trembling hand. “See this? Do you realize how upset I get? Even tranquilizers don’t help in situations like this.”
    “Tell me how to make things better, Chloe. What can I do?”
    Molly’s reply was gentle and so filled with sadness, Ethan could almost see her broken heart. Without another thought, he slid a hand across the table to touch her. Her fingers were as cold as the icicles they’d melted for water.
    “My counselor says I have to find a way to resolve things with you if I’m ever to be happy again,” Chloe said, her narrow chin tilting in a martyred pose. “But he doesn’t understand. Every time I see you, I remember—” Her voice broke. Tears welled in eyes so like Molly’s…and yet so different.
    “I’m sorry.” Molly’s voice was barely a whisper. Her knuckles had gone white against her throat. “Please forgive me. Please, Chloe. Forgive me.”
    “Forgive?” The redhead’s lower lip trembled with victimization. “How can I? All I ask is for you to leave me alone, and yet here you are.”
    Ethan was fast moving from bewildered to annoyed. If this woman didn’t back off pretty quick, she’d have someone else to blame for her problems—him.
    He caught Molly’s gaze, lifted an eyebrow to ask if he should intervene. She gave her head a tiny shake and pushed aside her plate.
    “We’ll leave now.”
    She started to rise but Ethan stopped her with a hand on her arm. “No. Sit down and finish your chicken.”
    “Ethan, please.” Huge golden eyes begged him. “Let’s go.”
    If she said please one more time he would come unwound. She had no reason to beg him or anyone else. But her anguish disturbed him enough to let her win.
    “All right. If you’re certain that’s what you want.”
    “It is. Please.”
    Ethan ground his teeth and barely refrained from cursing, a bad habit he’d thought was long gone.
    “Let me take care of the check.” Rising, he reached for his wallet and tossed a tip on the table. Reluctant to leave Molly alone, he locked eyes with the vindictive sister and stared hard, signaling as much of a warning as possible without upsetting Molly even more.
    Chloe emitted an