One Night with her Bachelor(17)

With what money?

She lowered Josh carefully into the chair, just like she’d practiced over and over at his rehab clinic. Resisting the urge to push the chair for him, she let him power himself to the driveway.

“Could you help me get him up the stairs?” she asked Blake.

“Sure. What stairs?”

Molly tried to hide her exasperated look. Really, how unobservant could the man be? “The stairs to the porch.”

She followed Josh around Blake’s truck and nearly fell over him when he brought his chair to a dead stop.

“Holy shit!”

Molly’s jaw dropped. “Joshua Gregory Dekker, language!”

Then she followed his gaze and her heart thudded hard. “Holy shit.”

A ramp. Someone had built a ramp over her stairs.

Not one of those small, portable ramps either. This thing had to be twelve feet long—maybe longer, since it was crooked—and stretched from the porch to the driveway. It had posts going into the ground. One of her rose bushes had been removed to make room, and half the walkway had disappeared beneath it. It was huge. It was an eyesore.

It was a sight for sore eyes.

“Like I said, what stairs?”

“Did you…? Who…?” She shook her head, hoping to shake loose some of the words that weren’t coming out. “What…?”

Nope. No words.

“Is this a surprise?” Blake asked.

She nodded slowly.

“Mom! It’s so cool!” Josh raced toward it, his hands working just as fast as his legs used to. He powered himself up it, having to pause halfway to catch his breath before sprinting the rest. Molly followed on unsteady legs. She ran her palm over the stained wood. It was the same kind of wood, the same color of stain that Gabriel had been using on his porch the day she’d tried to seduce him.

“Yes, it’s a surprise,” she whispered.

And yet, it seemed so natural a thing for him to do. He must’ve worked on this for hours and hours. She would have to ask her neighbors if they heard anything. Surely he couldn’t have done this all by himself.

Then again, some of the joins were uneven and the ramp tilted to one side—not enough to be dangerous to Josh, but enough to make her feel off balance. It was the wonkiest ramp in the history of ramps.

It was absolutely the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

“What else do you need me to do?” Blake asked.

She shrugged and lifted her hands in apology. “Nothing. I think I have it from here.”

He looked a little disappointed and a lot confused. “Okay. Great. Well, if you need anything else, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see you Monday. Oh, and I look forward to the auction. Sorry I had to turn Lily down. I just don’t think, y’know, with this bad knee of mine… Anyway, it’ll be a good night, and I hope you raise a lot. See you.”

He waved and walked to his truck, leaving Molly blinking at his back.

Auction?

“Hey, Mom, I’m freezing my nuts off here!”

She shifted her focus to Josh, waiting by the front door. “You seem to have picked up some new language in Boulder, and I’m not happy about it.”

“Freezing’s not a bad word. It’s a bad feeling, though. Can you chop-chop?”

Chop-chop, Molly! One of Greg’s less pleasant habits, talking to her like she was his lackey instead of his wife. She crouched by Josh’s chair. “You spent a long time with your dad, so let’s get one thing straight. My rules still apply to my house. You and I don’t tell each other to chop-chop. And I don’t want to hear about your genitals unless something’s wrong with them and I need to take you to the doctor. We use respectful, loving language in our house. That hasn’t changed. Right?”

“Right.”

She straightened and unlocked the door, and he rolled into the hall. She could hear the smile in his voice as he murmured, “You said holy shit.”

She pressed her lips together. She’d hoped he hadn’t heard that.

He loved the moose head, just as Lily had said he would. She and Lily must have shared part of their brain, because just when she thought of her friend, she got a text from her. Are you back?

She texted back. Yes! Want to see him?

Lily replied immediately. Yes! I thought I’d take him out for a bit so you can rest after the long drive.

Molly’s brows drew together. Take him out? She’d just gotten him home. She didn’t want to ever let him out of her sight again. But the rehab coordinator had drilled into her the importance of helping Josh feel as independent as possible. Lily was his godmother; she would never do anything risky. Of everyone Molly knew, she trusted Lily with Josh the most.

Except Gabriel.

She rubbed at her aching forehead. “Hey, buddy, do you want to go out for a bit with Aunt Lily?”

Josh’s face lit up. “Will she take me to McDonald’s?”

Molly grimaced. She’d tried to keep him away from fast food, but he begged every grownup and babysitter to break that rule. She gave in and texted Lily. Her phone buzzed. “She says yes.”

Josh was waiting by the door when Lily arrived. She rushed in and smothered him in a hug that would’ve left grown men catatonic with desire. Josh just squeezed her back until Lily pulled away and they gave each other their special handshake that seemed to last five minutes and confused Molly every time.