Bidding Wars (Love Strikes)

chapter Twenty-One





Luke sat in traffic, his jaw clenched. A part of him wanted to rip the steering wheel off just to see if it would make him feel slightly better. But he knew that wasn’t the answer—Molly was.

Each day as he drove by her home, it had been quiet. No movement at all. In fact, it was almost as though it was still a vacant house for sale—but he knew differently. He couldn’t quite understand why she hadn’t called and at least thanked him for the flowers.

Each time he noticed a new box on the front porch, his blood boiled.

That morning, he’d spotted a green trashcan sitting on the curb for pickup. He’d almost stopped and gotten out to check if the flowers he’d sent were in there. It seemed like Molly’s life was moving forward and, for some reason, he wasn’t a part of it. Why was she doing this?

“Can we visit Nurse Molly? You said she moved in.” Sammy leaned toward his dad from the back of the truck.

“We can’t just stop by without an invitation.”

“I bet she wouldn’t care.”

He wasn’t sure at this point if she would care or not, but he had to stick to his guns—even if he cheated with flowers. He’d left it up to Molly to make the next move, and she seemed to be taking her sweet time.

“I could fake being sick and we could visit her at work.”

Luke grinned. It wasn’t a bad idea, but he couldn’t let his five-year-old think lying was OK. “It’s never a good idea to tell a story. You’re asking to get sick if you do that.”

“Aw, Dad, I want to see Molly. I like her, and she smells really good.”

Luke laughed. “What does she smell like?”

“Kinda like a flower. Isn’t that how girls are supposed to smell?”

Luke supposed. Some smelled fruity, others spicy. It all depended on the woman, he supposed. But he did agree; Molly often smelled like a flower.

“If I can’t fake being sick, let’s at least stop by. Please, Dad.”

Luke sighed. Between his heart and his son, it looked as though they were about to take a pit stop by Molly’s work to see if she was there. After they pulled into the parking lot, he turned to his son. “There is no guarantee she’s here.”

“Then we’ll stop by her house.”

Luke smiled. His son was determined—more determined than he was.

Luke took Sammy’s hand, and they walked across the parking lot and inside. He was nervous. What if Molly didn’t want to see him? Or she got mad because she felt as though he were getting pushy. This had been a mistake. Why had he let his five-year-old talk him into this?

“Luke, what are you doing here?” Kim glanced at Sammy from behind her desk. “Don’t tell me Sammy is sick again.”

“No, he isn’t. Though he thought about faking it just to get in here.”

She laughed. “Honey, you can visit when you’re well. In fact, it’s nice to see healthy kids. We don’t see them too often here.”

“I imagine not.”

She handed Sammy a lollipop and then turned her attention to Luke. “Want one?”

He smiled. “I’m good.”

She handed him one anyway. “You’re never too big for a sucker. Let me guess, you’ve come by to see Molly.”

“Yes, we have,” Sammy said.

“Well, I hate to tell you both, but she’s not here. We don’t expect her back for a few days. Bless her heart, on top of moving, she seems to have caught a nasty bug.”

“She’s sick?” Luke furrowed his brow.

“Yup. She said it started a week ago and she assumed it was nerves, but now she isn’t keeping anything down. She thought it would get better after everything settled down, but it seems to have gotten worse. The poor girl.”

Luke gulped. That didn’t sound good at all. “I’m sorry to hear this.”

“I think Sandy’s going by tonight to check on her. Call tomorrow if you want and we’ll give you an update.”

“Thanks, I will. Bye, Kim.” He took his son’s hand.

“Bye, handsome little guy.” Kim waved at Sammy.

Once Sammy was buckled and Luke was in the driver’s seat, he let out a loud sigh. It pained him to know Molly was sick. What in the world could she have caught that would make her sick for so many days? Did she need to go to the doctors? Something didn’t sound right at all.

“Are we going to stop by her house now, Dad? Remember, I said if she wasn’t here we could go by her house.”

“I remember, but she isn’t feeling well. It’s best if you stay away. I’ll check on her tomorrow when you’re at school.”

That seemed to satisfy his son. Taking a deep breath, he started the drive home.



* * *





This was not how her new life was supposed to start. Molly grabbed a cold washcloth and laid it over her forehead. She’d once again attempted to eat breakfast, and not even thirty minutes later it came back up. Several kids had been in the clinic last week with this horrible stomach bug. Most of the staff had been wearing face masks, but those didn’t always stop the germs. Whatever this bug was, it was brutal. She was to the point that all she could keep down was unsalted crackers and warm tea. She was beginning to feel weak, and knew she needed to get one of the doctors at the clinic to check her out and make sure she wasn’t getting dehydrated. More liquids were going out than coming in. She had promised Sandy last night that if she woke up feeling like death again, she would call her to take her in.

It looked like she was going to be making that call. She just didn’t get it. Before she moved in, she’d been feeling queasy and assumed it had to do with everything going on. But now, it was as though she had a fully-fledged stomach bug. Typically in the afternoons she began to feel normal again and then, wham, it hit again. She’d never experienced anything like this before.

She flipped through the channels on her TV. Right now she had an antenna hooked up until she had the time to call the cable company. The choices were limited, so she settled for one of the morning news shows.

Her eyelids began to feel heavy and, much like the past few mornings, she drifted back off to sleep.

“Molly, are you in there?”

Rolling onto her back, she rubbed her eyes.

“Molly!”

Pulling herself into a sitting position, she realized someone was pounding on her door. She got up, pulled her robe tightly closed around her, and went to see who was here. Just as she opened the door, a wave of nausea swept through her. Placing her hand over her mouth, she took off for the half bath downstairs.

“Oh God.” She leaned her head on the cool toilet.

“Molly.” Luke stood behind her. “Sweetheart, are you OK?”

She didn’t have the strength to answer him.

“Have you been to the doctors?”

She shook her head.

“Can I take you?”

She nodded, though getting off this floor and away from the toilet was the last thing she wanted to do. She needed a few moments to get some strength back. “Give me a minute.”

“OK, I’m going upstairs to your room to get you some clothes to put on. I’ve opened a Gatorade for you, and I’m leaving it right here on the floor within your reach.” Luke set a bottle down near her.

Once he left and she could hear the squeak of the stairs, she grabbed the drink he’d brought. Taking long sips, she hoped this would give her strength to make it up the stairs to get dressed. She really needed a shower, but she was feeling way too weak at the moment.

Luke returned quickly and helped her to the living room.

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were sick, and I came to check on you.”

“Sick is an understatement. I think I’m dying.”

He grinned that sexy adorable smile with his dimples. “You’re going to survive.”

He helped her change out of her pajamas and into a pair of leggings and a T-shirt. Normally she would have objected to him seeing her in her bra and panties, but she didn’t have the strength. He picked her up and carried her out to his truck.

“I can walk, you know.”

“Yes, but it’s been so long since I’ve touched you. I’m taking advantage of your situation.”

She giggled slightly. “Oh, it hurts to laugh. Please stop.”

“Anything you need, I’m here for you.” He started his truck.

She had no doubt he was there for her for anything. She’d much rather be seeing him again on better terms, but this would do for now. Looking over at him, she was glad he came when he had. Otherwise, she knew she would have passed out by the toilet for God knows how long.





An hour later, Molly was in a room at the hospital with an IV hooked up to her. The doctors had drawn blood and were now running some tests. Luke was sitting in a chair near her in the room, watching TV. He hadn’t said much since they’d gotten here, but just knowing he was there was enough for her. She was thankful he’d shown up this morning and hadn’t stayed away from her any longer.

“Luke.”

“Yes, are you OK? Do you need something?” He jumped from his seat to her side.

She smiled. “I missed you.”

“That’s music to my ears. I’ve missed you too. And so has Sammy. He’s been dying to come by and see you.”

“Thank God you two didn’t. I’d hate to get him sick. Whatever this bug is, it’s really knocked me out.”

“With everything going on, you probably wore yourself out.”

She nodded and then reached for his hand. “I wanted to call you so many times. But I had to get my feelings sorted out first. Do you understand?”

Luke squeezed her hand. “Not fully, but we have time to work this all out. I just hope like hell you’ve got your feelings sorted out now. I don’t think I can be away from you any longer.”

“I have. I want you in my life.”

“That’s a huge relief. For a while now, I thought things were over.” He leaned closer to her. “I’d kiss you right now, but seeing as though you’re in the hospital for some mystery stomach bug, I think it’s best I wait until you’re better.” He kissed her palm.

“Probably best.”

“Do you mind if I step out for a moment? I had a call from work and I need to check in with them.”

“Oh, yeah, go. I’m fine here.” She released his hand, and he went through the door.

She let out a long, overdue sigh. This morning she was the weakest she had been yet. And the doctors said it was good he’d gotten her here. She was very dehydrated, as she had suspected. They were running a few tests to check some things, but felt confident that she could go home this afternoon. If it was only a stomach bug, they suspected it was sticking around a little longer from all the stress she’d been under. A few more days of rest and she’d be good as new—she hoped.

The door opened and the nurse who had been helping her came in, followed by a doctor.

“How are you feeling, Molly?” The doctor was looking at her file and then closed the folder.

“Better actually. Can I take this IV home with me?” She laughed lightly.

“Well, your test results came back in.” The doctor set the folder on the table at the end of the bed.

“OK, what are they?” She was nervous from the way the doctor and nurse were looking at her. Were they about to tell her she had some strange disease they’d never seen before? But that wouldn’t explain the nurse’s wide grin.

“There is no other way to tell you this.” He cleared his throat. “You’re pregnant.”

“What?” Had she heard him right? “I think you have someone else’s chart. I told you guys when I came in that I couldn’t be pregnant. I can’t have kids.”

The doctor picked up the chart again and looked it over a moment. He shrugged. “When was your last menstrual cycle?”

She stared at him. She never really kept up with it, but she usually circled the date in her calendar each month so she knew when to carry extra pads. “Can you hand me my purse?”

The nurse grabbed it from the chair and handed it to her. Molly scrolled through the calendar and saw she was late. “I’m two weeks late. But I don’t understand. I’ve been to fertility doctors and everything. My ex-husband and I tried for over a year. He’s having a baby with someone else now, so it had to be me. The doctors said I’m infertile. You’ve made a mistake.”

“Ms. Harper, I don’t know what to tell you other than when we ran your blood, it came back that you were pregnant. And seeing that you’re two weeks late, this makes sense. Have you been sexually active?”

“One time.”

“That’s all it takes.” The doctor said something to the nurse and then turned back to Molly. “Congratulations, Ms. Harper.”

After he left, the nurse checked her temperature again and told her she’d get the discharge papers going. She also said she’d get an appointment set up for in the morning at the OB/GYN so they could confirm the pregnancy. Molly was such a state of shock that she didn’t even notice Luke coming into the room again. When he came over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek, she knew he didn’t know yet—but she wasn’t ready to tell him. She was certain the doctor had made a big mistake and tomorrow she would receive the news, once again, that she was infertile.