it should be because she’d made the choice, not because too much time passed and she no longer had a choice. I can do that much for her. Really, was this any different than insisting your kid get unwanted vaccines, confess to the neighbor that she’d thrown the ball that broke his front picture window, finish that assignment tonight even if every single one of her friends was going to Wild Waves water park instead because their parents weren’t mean and said it was okay?
No. It wasn’t. Helping her daughter make a truly informed decision was her duty as a parent. So there.
* * *
RICHARD TOOK A CHANCE and went over to Molly’s the next evening. Trevor was out, God knows where, and he’d found himself unbearably restless. He didn’t like how last night’s conversation had ended. He’d blown it, saying that. I don’t totally see why you’re confused. She’d given him a chance to listen, and he’d shut it down. Scared, he supposed, for Trevor’s sake.
She might be less than thrilled to find him on her doorstep, but he had to try to talk to her. To make up for his insensitivity, to give her a chance to talk in case she didn’t have anyone else she dared confide in.
Yeah, he admitted honestly, and because I want to see her, too. Last night, listening for nuances in her voice, he’d wished he could see her face.
He was relieved when she came to the door, not Cait. “Richard?” she said, obviously startled.
“Hi.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his parka. “I was hoping you’d give me a few minutes.”
“Well, of course.” She backed inside. “Wow, it’s cold.”
A puff of icy breath accompanied Richard into the entryway. “Yeah, they’re talking about a scattering of snow Monday.”
“Oh, ugh,” she muttered, as she took his parka and hung it in the closet.
Richard raised his eyebrows. “Where’s that youthful wonder? The first snowfall of the year…”
“The disaster transporting students becomes.”
“Tell me you’re not one of the people who decides whether school is going to be canceled.”
Over her shoulder, Molly wrinkled her nose at him. “You mean, one of those people who is on a conference call at 5:00 a.m.? Why, yes, I am.”
His gaze traveled over that luscious body. He wondered if she had any idea how lovingly that pair of faded jeans fit her ass. He even appreciated the big, sacky T-shirt she wore, because it made her more approachable. Her hair was bundled loosely in an elastic, but curly tendrils escaped to lie against her cheek and the nape of her neck. And—oh, damn—she was barefoot. Richard was taken aback to discover how erotic feet could be. As he took a seat and watched her settle into what was obviously a favorite spot at one end of the sofa, he remained fixated on those feet.
They weren’t dainty. She must wear a size nine or ten, but then she was a tall woman. She had particularly narrow feet with high arches and exceptionally long toes. He switched his gaze briefly to her hands and realized her fingers were long, too. As were her legs. He wondered how deft she was with those toes....
He was already aroused. Richard moved in an effort to make himself comfortable and hide his reaction from her.
“I should have offered you coffee before I sat down,” she said suddenly.
He shook his head. “I’m fine. I drink too much of the stuff as it is.”
“Me, too. And waste entirely too much money on lovely, frothy, calorie-laden drinks that may or may not actually be coffee.”
He laughed. “I love that espresso stand on the corner of Wall and Fifth.”
“Oh, yeah. Me, too.” For a moment they smiled at each other, no complications, but finally her expression faltered. “What did you need to talk to me about, Richard?”
He leaned forward, elbows braced on his knees. “I do understand why you’re confused,” he said abruptly. “Or, at least, that you are. Maybe not entirely why, because I’m not a woman and it’s not my daughter who is pregnant.”
She stared at him for a long time, her eyes astonishingly vulnerable, the gray so much softer than it seemed to him at first meeting.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That’s what I came to say. And to tell you I really will listen if you need to talk any of this out.” Or anything else, but he didn’t say that. “I, uh, didn’t know if you’ve told any friends. If you have anyone else you