Little Christmas Miracles: Her Christmas Wedding Wish / Christmas Gift: A Family / Christmas on the Children's Ward

“You look lovely, Elizabeth. You have nothing to worry about,” Molly assured her.

“Yes, but I pass up the desserts most of the time.”

“It’s probably better for you,” Molly said, smiling in sympathy.

“So you’re both going to pass up dessert?” Richard asked incredulously.

Molly looked at Elizabeth and at the same time they said, “No way!”

Richard grinned. “Looks like we’re all having pie, right, Toby?”

“Can I have ice cream instead?”

“Sure, buddy, if that’s what you want.”

Toby nodded enthusiastically.

Molly again realized how close Richard and Toby were becoming. By the time she left, she thought Richard would be regarding Toby as his own son.

Toby would scarcely miss her.

She chastised herself for that thought. That was what she should hope for. And she should hope that she wouldn’t miss Toby…or anyone else when she went back to Florida.

Maybe she should look for a job here in Dallas? No, no, that wouldn’t be a good idea. She needed to cut her emotional ties to Toby at once. It would be easier that way.

“Hey, they have a Christmas tree here!” Toby called out.

“Yeah, they do, but it’s not as pretty as ours, is it, Toby?” Richard asked.

“Ours is the best! Do they have one at the mall?”

“They always have at least one,” Richard said, looking at Molly.

She knew he was thinking she should’ve answered the question since she’d been to the mall. “Didn’t you go to the mall to get Toby’s new clothes?”

“No, we went to a men’s store at Highland Park Village, where we went to the movies last night.”

“We’re fortunate that we have a lot of specialty shops around here,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “Whatever we’re looking for, we can find nearby.”

“How nice,” Molly said. In her mind, she was thinking, “If you can afford it!”

Then, at Elizabeth’s horrified glance and Richard’s grin, she realized she’d spoken her thoughts aloud.

Chapter Eight

“OH,I’M so sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud!” Molly said, her voice filled with anguish. “You’ve both been so good to me, treating me like family, and I have no reason—”

Richard reached over and touched her hand. “It’s okay, Molly. Mom didn’t think about the fact that you might not be able to afford the shops around here.”

“I don’t have to be able to afford them. I’m not shopping for anything. I shouldn’t have been so rude.”

Elizabeth smiled at her. “Don’t worry about that, Molly. I’m very fortunate and sometimes I forget that others don’t live like I do. It’s a good reminder to me.”

“But I shouldn’t have reminded you of that, Elizabeth.”

“Let’s call it quits on that subject, dear. Toby is ready for his ice cream and I’m going to choose my pie. What kind do you want?”

“I love apple, especially if it has a scoop of ice cream on it,” Molly said, smiling.

“Hey, I didn’t volunteer to pay for ice cream for you, young lady,” Richard said, laughing at her.

“Richard!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“Just teasing, Mom. I’ll even pay for you to have ice cream. It’s all Toby’s fault, of course. He’s the one who mentioned ice cream first.”

“But I didn’t want pie!” Toby protested.

They all burst into laughter, which confused both Toby and their waiter.

“Come along, everyone. We don’t want to be late for lunch at Antares,” Elizabeth called.

Molly looked at Toby, dressed in some of his new clothes. “You look very nice, honey, but I think I’m going to stay home today.”

“No, Molly, I don’t want to go without you.”

“You’ll be fine. Richard will be there.”

“No. I won’t go if you don’t.”

Molly swallowed. She’d gotten ready for the lunch trip to downtown Dallas, but at the last minute, she didn’t think she could go. “Toby—”

“Molly, Toby, come on. Richard is waiting.”

“Come on, Molly,” Toby said, pulling her hand as he headed toward the door of his bedroom. “We’ve got to hurry.”

Molly gave up and followed him into the hallway. They reached the head of the stairs when Elizabeth came into view.

“Oh, there you are! Richard is waiting in the car. It’s much warmer today than it was, but still, we don’t want him to get impatient.”

“No, of course not,” Molly said, trying to forget their destination.

They hurried outside and got into Richard’s SUV.

“I was beginning to think I was going by myself,” Richard said as he backed out of the driveway.

Molly, sitting in the front seat, said nothing.

Elizabeth said, “Toby wasn’t quite ready.”