The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,63
cheeks, her face as sweet as an angel sleeping on a cloud. She hadn’t told Molly she was leaving and she couldn’t wake her up and tell her now. JC promised herself she would speak to Molly before she left town.
She closed the book, laid it on the nightstand and gave Molly a kiss on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”
She left Dixie curled up on the bed and walked toward the bedroom door.
“JC?” Molly said behind her. “Will you come back and see me tomorrow?”
JC turned. Molly snuggled under the covers with a ragged stuffed horse in the crook of her arm. Molly had no idea she was planning to leave tomorrow, but she had to be honest, she couldn’t lie. She had to tell Molly face to face. “Yes, I promise, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Molly closed her eyes with a sigh and a little smile played over her lips. “Goodnight, JC.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
When JC tried to walk past Rafe, he laid a hand on her shoulder. She stopped, but couldn’t look at him. What if she betrayed her feelings? A lump grew in her throat. He placed two fingers beneath her chin and brought her face around to his. “For the record I’m not a coward.”
Rafe’s face swam before her vision, her eyes awash with tears. A terrible longing squeezed her aching heart. “Then prove it.”
He dropped his hand. “Drive careful back to the resort.”
* * *
JC climbed in her car and cranked the engine. A sob pushed into her throat, her breath grew weak. She had to leave Salvation because seeing Rafe, being invited to the ranch by his brother and visiting Molly, a little girl she adored, and could never be her little girl, hurt like a needle piercing her heart. But tomorrow she would say goodbye to the man she loved and his daughter.
Chapter Sixteen
JC sat on the bench in Salvation Park and glanced around at the new landscaping. Flowers nodded their colorful heads in the hot breeze and sunlight sparkled on the branches of the trees and the water trickling in the fountain. She’d called Linc and asked him to bring Molly to the park to see her and tell her she was leaving.
“JC.”
She turned and watched Molly running toward her. She wore yellow shorts with a matching flowered top and white sandals on her feet. Her hair was in pig tails, a smile on her face and happiness in her eyes. And she was about to take her happiness away. But she had no choice. “Hi, sweetheart, how are you?”
Molly gave her a hug. JC squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the threatening tears. “I’m fine. Uncle Linc said you wanted to see me.” JC looked at Linc who sat on a bench on the other side of the park to give them some privacy then back at Molly. “Yes, I have something to tell you.”
Molly beamed. “You’re moving to the ranch.”
JC shook her head. “No, sweet pea, I’m not moving to the ranch. I am moving though.”
Molly’s face fell and she frowned. “Where are you moving?”
JC attempted to make her voice sound cheerful. “Well, it’s kind of exciting actually. I’ve been offered a job in Dallas and I’ve decided to take it.” Her boss was opening up another location of Affairs to Remember and had asked her to take the helm.
“But you have a job working at the resort.”
“I know, sweetheart, but it’s best for me to take this one.”
Molly’s eyes filled with tears and her chin trembled. “Why? You don’t like it here?”
JC placed a hand on Molly’s upper arms. “No, I love it here. And I love you.”
“Then why?” Molly pleaded.
“Sometimes things happen and no matter how much a person loves someone or the place they’re living, they have to leave.”
“What things?”
JC pulled Molly into her arms for a hug. “Love, Molly. Love happens.” She pulled Molly from her arms and sat her on the bench beside her before taking a tissue from her purse and wiping away Molly’s tears. “Now, when I get to Dallas I’m planning to get a two bedroom apartment. And you know what that means?”
Molly shook her head.
“It means you can come to Dallas to visit me.”
A smile curved Molly’s mouth and a spark of happiness reappeared in her eyes. Relief washed through JC. “I can?”
“You bet. I’m counting on you coming to visit me as often as you can. I’ll even decorate the guest room extra special for you.”
“I love you, JC.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
JC walked