A Very Special Delivery

scared too. Scared during those long months when Twila wanted to abort his child. Scared of being a single father. Scared he wouldn’t measure up. But he’d turned it all over to the Lord and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
    Sharing his story with her couldn’t have been easy either, but he’d done it to help her. And she could do this to please him.
    Hand on the metal doorknob, he looked down at her and winked. “Piece of cake.”
    “I’m okay.”
    “It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s Tom Castor’s team. They beat the pants off us last time. I don’t want to be humiliated in front of my girl.”
    His girl? Was she his girl?
    The title settled on her like a crown on a princess. Ethan’s girl. Whether she was smart to develop a relationship with a single father or not, it was happening.
    “Then you better play hard, mister. Tom has the killer instinct.”
    While Ethan kept her attention with his silly talk of the upcoming game, they entered the rec hall and moved into a group of people. Molly hardly noticed.
    A teenage girl she didn’t recognize pushed through the crowd. “Hi, Ethan.”
    Ethan, looking a little uncomfortable, shifted Laney’s weight. “How ya doin’, Cass?”
    “Good. Want me to watch Laney while you play?” The girl held her arms out. The baby strained forward and Ethan let her go.
    “She’s a handful lately,” Ethan said as the transfer was made from his arms to the girl’s.
    “That’s okay. You know I don’t mind.” Cass’s bright smile was more for Ethan than for Laney. “I’m always available to you.” She giggled and made calf eyes at Ethan. “As a sitter, I mean. I adore babies. Especially Laney.”
    Molly fought the urge to grab Laney away from the girl. What was Ethan thinking, allowing a teenager to watch Laney? What if something happened? And why was she so flirty with Ethan? She was just a kid.
    “When you get tired of playing with her,” Molly heard herself say. “I’ll be in the stands. Bring her to me.”
    She couldn’t believe she’d said that. Having someone other than herself look after Laney made perfect sense. But Molly had the possessive desire to keep Laney with her.
    Cass shot her a quick, dismissive glance before returning her attention to Ethan. “I’ll be cheering for you, Ethan. Have a great game.”
    “Thanks.” Casually, Ethan looped an arm over Molly’s shoulders and drew her against his side. “And, like Molly said, bring Laney to her if she gets fussy.”
    The teenager couldn’t miss the implication and Molly felt foolishly vindicated.
    “Sure. Whatever.” The girl walked away, toting Laney on one hip.
    “She has a crush on you.” Not that I blame her, though. I am ridiculously jealous.
    Ethan blew out a sigh. “Tell me about it.”
    “Is that why you let her take Laney?”
    “She’s a good sitter. I hired her a few times before this crush thing started. I have enough of a reputation to live down without someone thinking I’d play around with a high-school kid.”
    Before they could say more, a voice called out. “Molly! Is that really you?”
    Lindsey Slater came toward them. Molly tensed, afraid that the sound of her name ringing through
the gym would cause a tidal wave of disapproving glances. Not everyone was as kind-hearted as the Christmas tree farmer.
    “Lindsey, hi.” She glanced around nervously, expecting the worst. Ethan’s strong fingers massaged the back of her neck, a comforting reminder that he was there and ready to leave at a moment’s notice. All the more reason to hang tough and get through this if she could. Having her here mattered to Ethan.
    To her relief, the only faces looking in her direction were either smiling or mildly curious. No one stared with condemning disapproval. Not yet anyway.
    “Ethan said you might come,” Lindsey said. “I’m really glad. We could use another guard on our team.”
    “I haven’t played ball in a long time, Lindsey. I’m here only as a spectator tonight.”
    “Then I hope you’ll think about rejoining soon. We’re raising money to build a school in Mexico, and I can’t play anymore until after the baby comes.”
    Molly’s gaze went immediately to Lindsey’s tummy. Happiness for the other woman, accompanied by a twinge of envy, slid through her. “I didn’t know you were having a baby.”
    Lindsey laughed and touched the small mound protruding from beneath the oversized T-shirt. “You’d know these things if you’d come