Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

You always want to know too much about other people's lives and emotions, Molly inwardly rebuked herself as she stared across the desk in dismay at the now stony-faced Rufus Wynter.

Even if she knew the reason she did was because those families and their emotions for each other fascinated her. Because she'd never experienced those things for herself.

She'd never known her father or any grandparents. Instead she'd grown up in an apartment with only her less than attentive mother until she was ten years old. Which was when her mother had sent her off to school one day and then just disappeared.

It wasn't the first time her mother had left her alone overnight, or even for several nights, so at first, Molly hadn't been too concerned. But when that disappearance stretched into five days and nights with no word from her mother or any sign of her coming back, she'd known this wasn't one of those times.

Molly had tried to give the outward impression that all was normal in her world, mostly by taking herself to school as usual. But on the fifth day, her teacher had asked about her mother and why Molly's appearance was becoming more and more unkempt.

At that point, Molly had no choice but to admit her mother had disappeared almost a week earlier. Her teacher had immediately called in the police.

They had assessed the situation before speaking to the neighbors in their apartment building. None of them were particularly friendly with Sarah Harper, or her daughter, nor did they have any idea where Sarah might have gone. That information had been enough for Molly to be taken into care.

She'd missed her mother, but at least the orphanage gave her three meals a day and ensured she was never left to fend for herself. Something that hadn't always been true before then, even though her mother hadn't gone out to work.

But even though Molly was being fed and cared for, she had still inwardly hoped that her mother would come back one day and claim her.

In the seventeen years that had passed since that time, she hadn't seen or heard from her mother again.

The police had continued looking for her for several weeks, of course. But it was as if this time, Sarah had simply disappeared off the face of the earth.

Molly believed it had been the similarity of their backgrounds that had encouraged Mia to employ her after Molly had seen the position of live-in minder at the animal shelter and boarding kennels in the window of a job agency near where she was renting a single room.

Her curiosity to see Mia Kingston, the young woman who had been reunited with her father two years ago, after so many years apart, had been immense. Molly had immediately applied for the job at the animal shelter.

The fact the job came with the apartment had been a big plus in Molly's eyes. Rented accommodation in the city was unbelievably high, and the one-bedroomed apartment above the reception area of the animal shelter was a definite step up.

It could get a little creepy being alone in the shelter at night, and she occasionally saw men walking about at the back of the building. She'd decided not to tell Mia about those men because they never came close to the building, merely walked up and down outside the perimeter.

Besides, there were several apartment buildings nearby and a few coffee shops and convenience stores, meaning the pluses of living and working at the animal shelter far outweighed the minuses.

Whatever Mia's reason for having hired her, Molly had ensured the other woman never had reason to regret it.

Living on-site meant Molly was never late for work. She never missed a shift either. And she always offered to fill in if one of the other two permanent employees or any of the three part-time students were off sick or couldn't come in for any reason.

After just a few weeks, Mia had told her she was the perfect employee.

But she doubted Mia would still feel that way if she knew the real reason Molly had applied for the job. Or that Molly had been lusting after her dad since the moment she'd first looked at Rufus Wynter!

An attraction Rufus's remark just now, regarding how his feelings for his deceased wife were none of her business, showed he obviously didn't reciprocate.

"Mia asked me to collect and bring Honey here and care for her when she went into hospital." She changed the conversation to what she hoped was the safer subject of Mia and Darius's golden Labrador.

Rufus nodded. "Which is why I picked Honey up on my way over here." The lightness of his tone implied he was just as relieved at the change of subject as she was. "She's in the SUV outside. I'll go and get her. I leave some old clothes in a locker here now, in case Mia asks me to help out at any time, so I'll change and then get stuck in to help when I get back."

"That would be great, thank you." Molly beamed before sobering. "But we can manage here if you would prefer to go to your office…? I'm sure you must have a lot to do."

* * *

Rufus grimaced at the uncertainty he could hear in Molly's husky voice. He also knew that he and his bad temper were the reason for it.

"I employ enough staff and have three partners, all of whom can manage without me for one day," he dismissed.

Owning and running a high-profile international security company in partnership with three of his cousins did occupy a lot of his time. Which had been his intention following the deaths of Beth and Emily. Two of his cousins, Magnus and Fergus were twins, not identical, and were two years younger than his own age of forty-four.

The company had gone from strength to strength in the past twenty years, and they now had offices in New York and several in Europe too, with hundreds of assets around the world, as they tended to call the men and women who worked for them.

Magnus ran the New York office and Fergus was currently in Paris, but Rufus usually visited the other offices regularly and spent time with the two men who had helped him to hold on to his sanity after the death of his wife and daughter.

Magnus and Fergus's brother Linus was several years younger than the three of them. He had become another partner in the company fifteen years ago, after graduating from university with mad computer skills. He preferred to work wherever the hell he felt like it, being able to utilize his hacker skills from anywhere in the world. At the moment, he was living in London, but that could change at any moment.

So yes, Wynter Security kept Rufus very busy, sometimes too much so. Which was why, when Mia came back into his life two years ago, he had made a promise to himself. It was that Mia and whatever she needed would always come first with him in the future. By that time he had already missed twenty years of her life. He had no intention of missing any more of them. And he hadn't. He'd been very much included in Mia's life with Darius the past two years.

"Nothing is more important to me than Mia and the baby, which includes her not needing to worry about the care of the animals here while she's in labor. Just ignore my moodiness." He'd softened his voice after seeing Molly wince at the harshness of his tone. "I'm always a grouch in the mornings until after I've had my second cup of coffee."

"In that case, I'll go to the kitchen and ensure that second cup of coffee of the morning comes right up," she announced cheerfully as she stood and turned to go through to the staff room behind the reception.

Rufus knew he should get Honey from the back of his SUV and not stand and watch Molly's hips as she walked through to the other room. Or notice how the denim material fit perfectly over the globes of her perfectly delicious bottom.

He should have gone to get Honey.

Instead, Rufus's feet remained firmly fixed on the tiled floor as he watched the swaying of Molly's hips and arse until she'd disappeared out of sight into the kitchen next to the staff room.

This was going to be a fucking long day, and not just because they were all waiting on news of Mia and the baby.

Rufus was proved wrong about that, because the morning, at least, flew by.

There were over forty dogs currently in the shelter, twenty boarding while their owners were away on holiday, another ten or so who were left here on a daily basis while their owners were at work, the other ten all having been found abandoned for one reason or another and brought to the shelter by either the police or a vet.

Mia took them all in, along with a dozen cats and kittens, four hamsters, one hedgehog, and several tanks of fish.

Any of them, including the mistreated dogs, could be adopted by a new owner. But not before being first vetted by Mia and then thoroughly investigated by Rufus. Mia refused to allow any of the animals to go to a less than suitable home.

Rufus had a feeling that was because Mia had grown up thinking she had been abandoned, and she had no intention of any of her beloved dogs or the other animals in her care being cast out twice.

The shelter was pretty much financially self-sufficient thanks to the income received from the owners of the dogs who were weekly and daily boarders. If there was a need for any other monetary input, it came from Mia's wealthy husband, her father, or both. As far as both Rufus and Darius were concerned, Mia's happiness was of prime importance to both of them, and this shelter made her happy.

Once a month, Mia also hosted an open weekend to encourage people to come and take a look around the shelter and meet the animals. Always with the hope that some of them would adopt one or more of the menagerie living here full-time.

This following weekend was one of those occasions, and the rush and bustle in the animal shelter in preparation for the event, along with the day-to-day care of so many animals, meant everyone was rushed off their feet ensuring the pens and runs were clean and all the animals fed.

Even so, Rufus couldn't help taking anxious glances at his wristwatch as he worked and waited for news of Mia and the baby. It had been hours now. But, as he recalled, Beth had been in labor for almost twenty-four hours with Emily/Mia.

"I'm going to the coffee shop over the road to pick up a sandwich for lunch, Mr. W. Can I get you anything?"

"Fuck!" Rufus cursed, having raised his head so quickly at the sound of Molly's voice that he'd banged the side of his head on the open cupboard door overhead.

"Oops, I'm sorry." She grimaced her concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." He was the one responsible for leaving the cupboard door open as he unloaded the dishwasher of the now-clean bowls that had been used to feed the dogs earlier. "Why do you call me Mr. W?" It made him feel a hundred years old, especially coming from the vivacious and beautiful Molly.

A blush brightened her cheeks. "Well, you haven't said I can call you Rufus, and Mr. Wynter really is too formal."

"You can definitely call me Rufus," he invited ruefully. "And a chicken and mayo sandwich for lunch sounds good."

He looked out the window to see the two other members of staff on duty today supervising the large area out the back where several of the dogs were running about having fun together.

Including the white West Highland terrier he had taken a shine to this morning when he cleaned out the dog's run. The Westie was cute and very friendly. The temporary nameplate outside his kennel said his name was Angus, which Rufus found very amusing, considering his own name and those of his cousins.

"What's his story?" He nodded toward the Westie when Molly came to stand beside him to also look out the window.

Her jaw tightened. "His owners went away on holiday to Tenerife for two weeks and left him tied up outside in the backyard with no kennel to shelter from the sun or rain, and with only a bucket of water and a bag of dry food." Molly wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Both of which ran out within the first few days, apparently," she added disapprovingly. "He was in a terrible state when the police were called in by a neighbor. They took him to the local vet, who checked him out, then kept him for a few extra days to clean and rehydrate and feed him, until he was back to his full bouncy self."

"Selfish bastards." Rufus scowled his disapproval of such cruelty shown toward a dog whom he personally knew was very loving and trusting of humans.

Molly gave a grim nod. "Mia has an arrangement with the local police and vet so that any animals, dogs in particular, that have been ill-treated but later released should be brought here while they're waiting to bring charges against the owners." Rufus's use of "bastards" could be heard substituted for "owners" in the vehemence of Molly's tone.

Rufus knew about Mia's arrangement with the local police and vet, and he couldn't say he was particularly happy about it. Not when it could put his daughter in danger from repercussions from the owners of the abused pets.

Or possibly Molly, now that she was living over the kennels.

He'd done all he could to ensure everyone here was safe. Firstly, by insisting, when Mia opened the shelter, that he be allowed to put in every piece of hardcore security and tech possible. Mia wasn't aware of it, but some of the men employed by Wynter Security were also assigned to physically check the premises, both day and night.

Something Rufus had been doubly grateful for once Molly began living in the apartment above.

"What's going to happen to him now?" he asked.

"Mia will find a home for him," Molly said confidently. "Maybe even on this open weekend."

Rufus had recently moved from his penthouse apartment into a five-bedroom house not too far from where Mia and Darius now lived. He had high walls all around the property, as well as the best security installed outside and in.

He had made the move to a house in the hope that his grandchildren would have a garden to play in when they came to visit.

Despite having a housekeeper and cook and the several other members of staff he employed who helped to keep the house and garden tidy, he'd rattled around in that huge space these past few months.

"Maybe I'll take him," he murmured as he watched the little guy bouncing happily around the exercise area.

"Oh, but?—"

"What?" Rufus encouraged when Molly didn't finish the sentence.

She gave him a beaming smile. "Nothing. I'm sure you and Angus will be a great fit."

There was something in her tone and that overbright smile that made him question?—

Rufus froze as his cell phone vibrated in the front pocket of his jeans.

Hopefully with news of Mia and the baby!