Chapter 4 #2
“In the jungle. Lots of families in the villages. And a lot of babies.” Malcolm snuggled Alex in the crook of his arm as if he'd been hauling babies around all the time.
Eyes closed with contentment, Alexander sucked on that bottle with greedy gulps.
What a picture. It was hard to tear her eyes away.
“What have you been doing this holiday season?” Emily asked Victoria, as if she wanted to distract people’s attention from the baby.
“A little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Victoria's manicured nails fluttered in the air. “You know, helping out at Derek's clinic. Open Hearth.”
“A clinic? That sounds interesting.” Malcolm lifted his eyes from Alex. Was he swaying with Emily's baby as he stood there? Josie gave her head a shake to dislodge the picture. Nope, still there. This whole scene felt surreal. “What does your husband do at Open Hearth?” Malcolm asked.
“Basically it's a food bank. The local businesses support it.” Victoria waved a hand toward the tempting display of bread and pastries in her shop. “And at the end of the day, I take any leftovers over there.”
“That sounds great. I’ll bet people love it.”
“Yes, they do.” Victoria’s surprised tone made Josie smile.
In the past Josie had always found Victoria frivolous––the kind of woman who cared way more about her clothes than about feeding the hungry. But in recent months the owner of Victoria's Pantry had come up considerably in Josie’s eyes. Maybe she had seriously underestimated the girl.
“And then of course, Derek spends a lot of his days there.”
“But doesn't he also work at the urgent care center?”
“Sure does. He usually works that schedule around the clinic.” Her blue eyes wide, Victoria nodded as if she thoroughly approved of her husband’s efforts.
Yes, she sure had changed. Josie never would have believed that the self-absorbed girl they’d known had become the generous woman she was today.
Derek probably was a factor in Victoria's amazing transformation.
“He doesn't always have a lot of patients to see at the clinic,” Victoria continued.
“But he enjoys spending time there. Those folks really need him.”
“Is the clinic open seven days a week?” Malcolm asked. Setting Alex’s bottle on the table, he lifted the baby onto his shoulder and began to burp him. Josie was glad she was sitting down. What a picture.
“You bet. Derek gets crazy if they can't staff it and have to close the doors. I spend a lot of my time there too.”
“If you ever need any help, I’d love to come over.
” That was so like Malcolm. Josie’s heart warmed hearing his words.
Maybe that was the benefit of having him as an employee.
He was a man who really cared and the people who came into the library knew that too.
Swaying from side to side as he burped baby Alex, Malcolm looked so comfortable.
So adorable. Josie pulled her eyes away.
Finished with her croissant, Bryn was rocking Sheldon’s stroller.
Her baby had awakened, and his big brown eyes were studying the lights hanging from the ceiling.
What would it be like to bring a new life into the world and share that baby’s wonder?
A simple light in the ceiling could fill a child with delight.
Josie’s eyes dampened. She blinked furiously, keeping her eyes on the light so no one would notice.
Was she getting sentimental about babies?
Could this be possible? She’d never thought much about a family.
Of course for years she’d just assumed that in time she'd have one.
But when she passed thirty, Josie began to wonder.
Her friends had moved on, and their baby strollers were proof.
Maybe Josie was stuck. And maybe she'd been stuck on Malcolm.
“We could use some help this weekend,” she heard Victoria tell Malcolm. “One of the staff came down with the flu.” A sympathetic murmur went around the table.
Alex was reaching for his mother, and Malcolm shifted the baby into Emily's arms. “I’d be happy to spend some time there,” he said. “I don't think I'm on the library schedule for Saturday.” Here he looked over to Josie for agreement.
You could be working on our website. Or do you intend to spend all your time on the phone with Darcy? Josie was glad that her lips were pressed firmly together. Somehow she cranked them into a smile. “Nope. Nope, you're free.”
“Really, Malcolm? That would be wonderful.” Victoria's expression was that of a woman who thought Malcolm Sutter had hung the moon. Josie knew that feeling.
“I have some free time that day too.” The words were out before Josie could think.
How pathetic. Was she going to just follow Malcolm around town?
The idea was strangely appealing. After all, she’d spent at least thirty minutes on her makeup that morning.
And Malcolm hadn't even seemed to notice. Emily threw her an impish smile.
“That would be great, Josie.” Malcolm’s eyes had lit up, and she basked in their warmth. “We could head over there after we take a morning run.”
“Sure. Right.” She knew that Emily and Bryn were both grinning. “We’re taking a run on S-Saturday. You know, just j-jogging.” Face burning, she ended up stuttering. Great.
Emily regarded her with a pleased smile. “Just like you used to do, right?”
“Best way to start the day,” Malcolm said with satisfaction, totally unaware of what was going on around him. Josie wondered if that was how he started his days when he was in New York? Did he run through the streets with Darcy? Manhattan Darcy?
“The clinic is over in Amblebury,” Victoria told him, pushing her chair back and snagging her empty coffee mug. “About a twenty-minute ride. Not too bad. Guess I should be heading over there now.”
“I should get into work too.” Malcolm sprang up as if he hadn’t been awake since six o'clock, wondering about his makeup. No doubt he slept soundly. Josie remembered when her nights had been like that. But that was before Malcolm Sutter had come back to town. Now Josie had to fit in trips to Coralee’s or search the Internet for makeup tips.
The more she learned, the more she understood how far behind she was.
And why was she doing this? Emily's encouragement stayed with her.
Her one little chocolate cookie was rumbling around in her empty stomach. It was lonely. The darn thing was crying out for more. More cookies, more chocolate. More of something.
Wow. Time to get to work and she quickly said goodbye, leaving all the Christmas calories behind.
That day at the library she worked with Malcolm to bring him up to speed.
But she quickly realized that being alone with him in his office probably wasn't the best idea.
Granted, he didn't smell of those heavy, supposedly seductive men's colognes.
In fact, the only scent she was picking up on was Irish Spring.
Taking a deep breath made her dizzy. Josie was looking over his shoulder at the one of the monitors when her head began to spin.
She was afraid she was going to do a face plant on his desk and quickly grabbed an edge of the desk.
Malcolm gave her a quick side glance. “Everything okay?”
“Perfect. I mean, fine.” She kept gripping the desk. They moved on.
But his smiling eyes when he cracked the occasional joke?
The way his well manicured hands danced over the keyboard.
She liked everything about him and maybe she should have had Eileen do this update.
Luckily, the session didn't last long. There hadn’t been that many changes over the last couple of years.
Malcom had some great ideas for the website and was very current on social media.
Josie was relieved to have him take over the library’s IT responsibilities.
When she couldn't stand it one more minute, she began backing toward the door. “Think I'll go have some lunch.”
“Want me to come with you?” He shot up, all six foot two of Manly Malcolm, who could cuddle babies. She still couldn't get over that. “I could go for a tuna sandwich or something.”
Not going to happen. She pointed toward the door. “I think I might eat at my desk today. Lots of work to do.”
Malcolm actually looked a little disappointed. “Oh, okay. Well guess I'll get some exercise and take off for the square. Maybe pick up a sandwich at Victoria’s Pantry.”
“That sounds… good.” Wonderful. Great. So jealous.
At the door he turned. “Hey, we’re still going to run on Saturday morning, right?”
The breath whooshed out of her. “Right.”
What did she have to wear? She might have to make a quick stop at Coralee’s.
As she sat at her desk alone ten minutes later, Josie’s mind wandered back to Darcy, Malcolm's fiancé.
Would she be coming to Sweetwater Creek over the holidays to check it out?
She couldn't stand the thought. While Malcolm was on his way to the square, she hit the break room vending machine and loaded up on potato chips and cheese curls. That would just have to do.
On the way home that night, she circled back to Victoria's Pantry. Thank goodness there were still two chocolate croissants left on the tray. She bought them both.