Dad in Training (3 page)

His tone had softened, and the new interest restored her hope. “Yes, and best of all, the students feel loved. Everyone needs to know they’re loved. Animals and people. Dogs feel loved with all the attention they receive, and the kids experience love by the dogs’ tail-wagging and eagerness to be with them. It’s a win-win situation.”

He became thoughtful. Molly noticed a dark look on his face. She let well enough alone, happy they’d actually had a real conversation.

“Teacher’s Pet means a lot to you.” He gave her a tender smile.

“Yes, it does. It not only helps troubled kids, but it benefits dogs. They are trained and can become family pets rather than be put to sleep.”

She’d made a connection. Molly closed her eyes, trying to be succinct. “Think about it. Dogs are loyal. If they love you, they love with their whole heart. They’d give their life for you. You can trust them. Their love is faithful.”

Brent shifted in his seat, as if he were trying to make the bench longer to distance himself from her. After a period of silence that seemed an eternity to Molly, he lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “You’re right.”

“I am?”

“Dogs have unconditional love.”

His comment jolted her. He’d agreed with her, and she hadn’t expected it at all.

Before any more could be said, Rob slipped onto the bench and eyed them. “Sorry. A couple guys from the team stopped me. One wanted to know who you are.” He gave Molly a wink. “I told him you’re a softball fan.” He grabbed his drink and took a lengthy swallow, then wagged his hand from Brent to her. “What’s up?”

Rob’s comment hadn’t sat well with Molly. Now she feared her principal wondered if she were looking for brownie points or flirting. “I was telling Brent about Teacher’s Pet.”

“It’s a great class.” Rob veered his gaze toward Brent with a prideful expression. “The county education department thinks so, too. They wouldn’t toss their money away for nothing.”

Brent gave an agreeing nod before the conversation shifted to softball. Molly let her mind wander, trying to make sense out of Brent’s hot-and-cold manner. She didn’t take it personally, but she knew she’d triggered a memory or a problem in his life that he couldn’t handle well. He’d fade out when she
talked about pets and then turned 180 degrees with his curiosity about her program.

Molly listened to the men as they relived the game plays, wishing Rob had stayed with his other friends.

Finally Rob seemed to notice Molly had been shut out of the conversation, and he turned his focus to her. “I told you Brent was a good outfielder, didn’t I?”

“You mentioned it.”

“Did you see him shoot the ball to home plate? Batter out. We win.” Rob reached over the table with a fist and gave Brent’s shoulder a playful poke.

“Very nice,” she said, feeling Brent’s arm brush against hers.

Brent fiddled with his napkin and took a sip of his soft drink.

Their silence ended when the waitress delivered their orders. After the woman walked away, everyone focused on their meals. Molly sent up a silent blessing for the food and for wisdom. Before she took a bite, she had an idea. Trying to talk to Brent about dogs or his property wouldn’t be fruitful today. She’d missed the chance with Rob’s reappearance. She swallowed a hunk of lettuce and listened to the silence as long as she could before her mind veered back to the building she’d been interested in for so long.

She had her foot in the door, and she didn’t plan on having it closed now. Though she needed to move slowly, Molly had no thought of giving up. She believed in providence, and she couldn’t believe that God would guide two people to meet, as she and Brent had done, without a purpose. Everything had a reason, and she would have to pray God’s purpose and hers were the same.

Brent leaned back in his office chair and pondered the prior evening when Molly had finagled her way into his life. Her face hung in his thoughts, and as close as he was to her
in the booth, he realized her beauty was real—definitely not artificial. He cupped his hands against the back of his neck and squeezed the taut muscles and then dropped his arms to his desk, happy he’d never see her again.

The thought startled him. As much as her digging into his life and his emotions bothered him, the idea of never seeing her again left him empty. Since they’d met, she’d added a little spark to his boring life. She made him feel different—more alive. She added new bumps to his rutted life—running the family business, playing softball and trying to entertain Randy on weekends. He didn’t need anyone adding new potholes.

Molly wanted her questions answered and she wasn’t a quitter. He saw it in her eyes, as if she looked right through his body into his heart. No man wanted anyone, let alone a woman with perfect skin and bright eyes, to strip him of his privacy. She couldn’t fool him. She wanted something.

But what?

He molded his palms around the base of his neck again and leaned back in his chair while he stared at the ceiling. His thoughts drifted to their earlier conversations. He plowed through what he could recall. She talked about dogs. Obviously they were the focus of her life, even more perhaps than her students. But what about a man in her life? A weight fell on Brent’s shoulders, then faded. She had to be single.

One thing he knew for sure. She had guts. She’d appeared at the ball game with her feeble story of supporting Rob, but that didn’t seem the real reason. She and Rob hadn’t talked much, like friends would. She had an ulterior motive, but he was smart. Molly couldn’t hide the truth from him for long.

The truth. What had he and Molly talked about beside dogs? He shuffled their past conversations through his mind. She’d asked about Randy, but the conversation had been interrupted, and he’d never answered.

Would anyone get through to the boy? At eleven he was
too withdrawn, too silent, too…too much heartache. Even therapy hadn’t made a difference in the boy’s life.

A light turned on in Brent’s mind. The empty building. “
I’ve noticed the building on Rochester Road. It’s empty, right?
” That’s what she’d said. Why would she care about an unoccupied building? He pondered the question a moment, feeling like Sherlock Holmes, trying to solve “The Case of the Empty Building.” And his nemesis was a pretty young woman with golden hair and flawless skin.

“Something interesting up there?”

Brent’s seat catapulted forward as he opened his eyes. “Frank.” He struggled to reformat his mind. He motioned to his business manager. “Come in. I wanted to talk with you anyway.” He leaned forward and rested his elbow on the desk. “Any bites on the Rochester Road property?”

Frank shook his head. “Not even a nibble.”

“Nothing?” Taxes and wasted resources became dollar signs. “What’s your thought?”

Frank slipped into a chair and shook his head. “Keep trying. With the economy, nothing’s selling. We’re stuck. Who knows how long?”

Brent pinched his lip. “I need to get over there and take a look. I mean look at it creatively. Entrepreneurs are buying properties and turning them into apartments and lofts. Are we reaching that market?”

“Are you serious?” He shrugged. “The location’s not in the thick of things like Royal Oak. Builders turn gas stations into boutiques and office buildings into condos in that area, but here, it’s not likely. In Royal Oak, they rent those things to students at Oakland Community College and the young businessmen and women who want to be near boutiques and cafés, and it’s close to the freeway. Our building isn’t near anything.”

“I’ll still take a look. We need to be creative. If we can’t see value in the building, no one else will, either.”

“You’re the boss.”

Brent nodded. “I know.” And he liked it that way. He liked being independent and making decisions without someone else’s pressure. Since his father had backed off and let Brent run the company—finally—Brent wanted to keep it that way.

“And since you are the boss—” Frank leaned forward in the chair and grinned “—here’s why I stopped in. We’re having an odd problem with one of the machines. Can we talk a minute?”

Since Molly had plopped into Brent’s mind and seemed to stay there, he welcomed business issues. Anything to distract him. “Sure, I can give you more than a minute. Take an hour.”

Frank’s eyebrows raised, then he smiled, assuming that he was teasing, Brent guessed.

But he wasn’t.

Molly locked her condo door, hurried out to Steph’s car, and slipped inside. Though Fred greeted her with a welcoming tail wag, Steph’s welcome wasn’t as warm.

“I don’t get this,” Steph said, backing from the driveway. “Why did you ask me to bring the dog, and what am I doing?”

“I explained it to you on the phone. Fred’s our cover.”

Steph’s forehead looked like a washboard. “Our what?”

“Cover. Two women walking a dog. It looks innocent.”

Steph’s eyes widened. “I hope so. I’m not planning to be guilty of anything.”

“We’re not guilty. Not at all, but if anyone spots us looking around, they won’t be as suspicious with Fred. You know how dogs like to sniff things.” Molly threw her back against the seat cushion. “I’ve wanted to snoop around that empty building for so long, and I wasn’t motivated because it all seemed so out of reach. But Steph, I’m telling you, meeting Brent Runyan means something.”

“What?”

“I don’t know, but it does.” She smacked her chest with her palm. “I feel it in here.”

“Well, I’m feeling this plan in the pit of my stomach, and I don’t like it.”

Molly reached over and patted Steph’s hand that gripped the steering wheel. “I’m not trying to drag you into this, but I need an opinion and some creative ideas. This could benefit you as much as me.”

“You mean we’ll keep each other company in jail?”

“Come on, it’s not that bad.” Was it? She’d begun acting like a stalker—not stalking a person but a building.

“Tell me again why you think you can use this building without paying rent or buying it.” Steph’s voice picked up an edge of sarcasm.

“It’ll be like a donation. A tax write-off for the company.”

“And you think this will happen because you read a newspaper article about a couple of women who had a building donated to them?”

“Yes. I told you about it. If it happens once, it can happen again. It’s a great idea and not that off-the-wall.” Molly clasped her fingers in her lap, feeling Fred’s hot breath near her hair. She wished she could help Steph train her dog, but sometimes Steph was as stubborn as the Alaskan husky Molly had tried to train. The dog acted deaf and blind to her commands and her hand signals, but when she’d been ready to give up, the dog finally followed her direction. Persistence and patience. That’s what she needed with Steph. “You really can teach an old dog new tricks.”

Steph’s nose wrinkled. “What?”

“You know what I mean,” she said, aware she’d spoken her thoughts aloud. Along with the thought, Molly’s mind shot to Brent. He could change, too, if he really understood what she needed and how worthwhile the program was for kids. “Brent says he doesn’t like animals, but he could change.”

“I don’t know, Molly. I think you’re getting in too deep, and you’re way too optimistic.”

Getting in too deep, huh? She wanted what she wanted,
and she didn’t think that was too much to ask. But Brent didn’t get it. Only two days ago they were strangers. Today he’d become the center of her purpose. And he intrigued her. Amid his wavering responses, a tenderness peeked through his eyes. He’d apologized to her in his own way, more than once. Something kept him from opening up to people. She even noticed his restraint with Rob. If he could step beyond his self-imposed barricade, she might have a chance with her idea.

Molly faced the unexpected truth. She liked Brent, and though she guessed he wasn’t much older than she, he seemed a man too weighted down for his years. At thirty, she felt young at heart. Despite their differences, her unwanted thoughts about him didn’t seem to budge.

“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.”

Steph’s voice broke her contemplation. “You didn’t. I’m just thinking. You might be right, but I’m looking for a miracle, and I know the Lord can provide one, if it’s His will.”

“Maybe it’s not all optimism. I know you believe, and how do we ever know if it’s the Lord talking to us if we don’t take a chance?”

Molly’s tension eased. “Thanks. I’m glad you understand.”

“I’m trying to.” Steph grinned at her. “Should I park in front of the building?” She cocked her head toward the industrial building ahead of them.

“No. Go up a couple of blocks and around the corner. Then we’re really walking Fred.”

As Steph passed the Runyan building, something new captured Molly’s interest: a large sign in the front window. So that was it. Her heart pressed against her lungs. “It’s for sale, Steph. That’s what Brent meant about it being empty only temporarily.”

“But it’s not sold.”

A sigh burst from her chest. “There’s no sign that says sold,
but who knows.” Her spirit sank even deeper. “I don’t know what I’m doing here now.”

Steph turned down a side street and stopped. “We’re here. We might as well take a look.”