A Very Special Delivery

unsavory past. A man whose illicit affair had produced a child.
    “I don’t date, Ethan. Not you. Not anybody. Not ever.”
    Nobody? A girl as pretty and sweet as Molly didn’t date? Ever?
    She whirled away and yanked at the door with both hands. Ethan resisted the urge to pull her back and make her explain. Something more than estrangement from her sister troubled Molly. Something that made her reluctant to be with people, and yet she cared deeply for others. Somehow he knew she wasn’t telling him everything.
    He reached across the seat and pushed the door open, holding it for her.
    Without turning to look at him, Molly hopped out and hurried up the water-darkened sidewalk.
    Ethan narrowed his eyes and studied the departing figure. The way her shoulders huddled into the neck of her coat. The way her fingers returned time and again to rub at her throat. Yes, something was very much still amiss. He was certain of that. He wasn’t sure why it mattered so much to him, but it did.
    And he was also certain that he would not back off until he knew what else troubled pretty Miss Molly McCreight.
    * * *
    Molly spent the weekend fretting over the calamitous lunch with Ethan. Come Monday, the incident still played in her head like a bad movie.
    She’d had a good time until Chloe arrived, and then she’d come apart right before Ethan’s eyes.
    What must he think of her?
    A better question might be: Why did she care? He knew the truth about her now. At least part of it. He wouldn’t be back and that was the way it had to be.
    She couldn’t be interested in him, a man with a baby. The risk was too great for all of them.
    With a weary sigh, she pulled a file from the metal cabinet. One of the center’s regulars who had slipped on the ice and broken an arm was due home from the hospital. Molly wanted to be certain the appropriate services were in place to take care of him during his recuperation.
    After a couple of phone calls, she replaced the file and sat staring at her computer screen. A goldfish swam across the blue screensaver and turned her thoughts right back to Ethan.
    He probably thought she was a neurotic ninny. Maybe she was. And that was just as well. She’d come close to suffering a panic attack in the diner and closer still when they had discussed baby Zack. She couldn’t bear the thought of giving in to the humiliating weakness in front of anyone, especially Ethan.
    The all-too-public scene with Chloe must have embarrassed him. So why had he invited her to dinner?
    She worried her lip. Probably out of pity.
    Not that it mattered. After her breakdown in his truck, she didn’t expect ever to hear from him again. And that was as it should be. As it had to be.
    At noon, the tantalizing scent of homemade chicken and dumplings drew Molly into the center’s dining room. With the ice finally gone, people had returned in droves, eager for the hearty meals and fellowship the center provided. Voices rose and fell around her as she took a tray and found a place in the buffet line.
    The long queue of familiar faces stretched almost to the doors, but Molly didn’t mind the wait. It was good to see everyone out and about again.
    “Hi,” a rumbling masculine voice said in her ear.
    Whipping around, she gasped. “Ethan, what are you doing here?”
    And how can you look so wonderful in an ordinary delivery uniform?
    “Came by to have lunch with you.”
    She hefted the red food tray in front of her like a shield. “I told you I don’t date.”
    He pretended shock, but mischief crinkled the corners of his blue eyes. “Did I say anything about a date? I don’t want a date. I want lunch.”
    Her pulse leaped and pounded like bongo drums gone mad. “Then go to the diner.”
    She didn’t want to be rude, but his presence did strange things to her resolve.
    “Can’t. I already paid my money.” He jerked a thumb toward the cashier. Seniors ate for free or for a nominal amount, but others paid full price.
    She gave in, unable to be unkind to someone she liked so much. She put her tray back on the stack. “I have some things to do in the office. I’ll eat later.”
    Ethan reclaimed the tray, handed it to her. He looked down at her, more serious now. “Come on, Molly, it’s only lunch.”
    The heat of a blush traveled up her neck. How idiotic to assume Ethan still wanted to date someone like her. She took the tray from his strong fingers. He was right. It was only lunch. Everybody had to eat.
    So they shared a