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“Thanks,” Jordan mumbled. His hand was shaking as he set down the coffee mug.
A daughter.
One who resembled Molly, with bright blue eyes and pretty blond hair… He felt a powerful surge of emotion at the thought.
“Have you decided on names yet?” Mary asked, joining them.
Jordan looked at his friend’s wife. “No,” he whispered.
He stood and set the coffee aside.
“A daughter,” he repeated. He kissed Mary on the cheek, shook hands with Doug and let himself out the front door.
Jordan walked out to his truck, still in a daze. He’d just made one of the most profound discoveries of his life.
He wanted this child.
He felt like the biggest fool who’d ever walked the face of the earth. He’d behaved like a jerk for months. It was a miracle Molly had put up with his stupidity this long. He didn’t deserve her, but he vowed he’d find a way to make it up to her.
Jordan resisted the urge to drive directly over to Molly’s apartment. He’d give her time to recover from the flu, and then they could sit down and talk about this.
When he walked into the house, he saw that he had a voice mail message. Praying that Molly had finally returned his calls, he listened to it immediately.
“Jordan, this is Michael Rife. Your office gave me your home number. I hope you don’t mind me calling you there, but this is important.
“It’s after six now, and I’ll be leaving soon. I got a call from Molly. She asked me to petition the court for a date so the final divorce papers could be filed.
“I thought you’d decided to wait until after the babywas born. I’m confused, but Molly was adamant that she wanted to go through with the divorce. Give me a call first thing in the morning. Thanks.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Molly had endured a full week of the worst flu she’d ever had. The only time she’d been out of the house in five days was to see Dr. Anderson, who’d offered her sympathy and advice.
The flu wasn’t the only thing affecting Molly’s spirits. She’d cried frequently since her last confrontation with Jordan. Her frustration with him was stronger and more debilitating than any virus. Every time she thought about him, she suffered an emotional relapse.
Their marriage was over.
The time had come for Molly to stop kidding herself. For days she’d lain on the sofa and stared into space, reliving the past six months with its tumultuous ups and downs.
She’d almost believed it was possible for them. She now recognized that it wasn’t, and the bitter disappointment was difficult to swallow. She knew they’d both wanted to salvage their relationship.
She’d forced herself to call Michael Rife, although she’d barely been able to speak. Her voice trembledwhen she told him the reason for her call. Several times she’d had to stop and compose herself before continuing.
Michael had tried to persuade her to wait, but she’d insisted. She wanted the divorce over with before she had the baby. That was important to her. Jordan had repeatedly told her he intended to distance himself emotionally from their baby. It would be better, she decided, to completely isolate their child from Jordan. She’d seen no evidence that his attitude would change. The baby deserved better. For that matter, so did she.
Having made the phone call, she was left to face the doubts and regrets. She refused to cry, though; she’d shed all the tears she cared to in the past few months.
Now was the time to heal. The time to rejoice in the birth of her son or daughter. The time to pick up the pieces of her life and move forward.
The phone rang and she tensed. Over the past week Jordan had called repeatedly, but she wasn’t emotionally or physically ready for another confrontation with him. Voice mail had collected his messages. As they accumulated, she heard his anger and frustration, followed by his insistence that she return his calls. Then he’d stopped phoning.
Molly got up to check call display and saw that it was Michael Rife, the attorney.
She listened to what he’d said. “Molly, I wasn’t able to get hold of Jordan, but I left him a message. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’ve talked to him. I don’t expect that to take long. If you have any questions, give me a call here at the office. And, Molly—” he paused “—ifyou want to change your mind, all you need to do is say so. I’ll wait for your instructions.”
So, according to Michael, Jordan knew that she intended to go through with the divorce. Or he would shortly. She wondered how he’d react.…
Molly spent the night on her sofa. The effort of making her way down the hall to her bedroom was more than she could muster.
