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dog’s dish from the bag in the cupboard and got her fresh water. It was nice having her here. The cats… They didn’t seem to care much one way or the other when he got home. They only came running when he opened their food. But Bubbles greeted him every night. It was a poor substitute for a family, but he’d take whatever he could.
    Heading to the fridge, he noticed the light flashing on his phone and stopped to push the button for his messages.
    “Hi, Uncle Jason. It’s Sara. Can I come see Bubbles tonight? Okay. Bye.”
    He smiled at the brief, uncomplicated message. Lonely didn’t begin to describe how he’d felt recently. Sara was like a little ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.
    But Molly would have to bring her over.
    He took his hand off the phone. He had to get over Molly once and for all. Seeing her was torture, but he wasn’t going to let that keep him from seeing his favorite girl.
    Setting his lips, he picked up the phone and dialed.
     
    *
     
    He’d just finished eating a piece of sloppy, microwaved lasagna when the doorbell rang. Pushing his plate to the side, he rose to answer it, and his heart skipped a beat as he opened the door to see Molly with Sara in her arms. Molly’s hair was pulled back in a simple, girlish ponytail, the ends trailing on the collar of her coat. Her cheeks were pink from the cold above the striped scarf wrapped around her neck. Sara’s face was close to hers, close enough for Jason to see the resemblance—the blonde hair, same shaped eyes and the bow of their lips. By appearances, Sara could have been theirs, his and Molly’s. Jason pasted a smile on his face to hide the quick stab of regret. “Hey, sweet thing. Let’s go see if Bubbles is in the backyard.”
    He took Sara from Molly’s arms and said quietly, “Come on in, make yourself at home.”
    He left her there, taking off her coat, while he carried Sara to the back door. Sara waited while he opened it and whistled, and a white, cold, snowy ball of fluff barreled into the house.
    “Bubbles!” Sara sat happily on the floor while her puppy joyously licked her face.
    “Why don’t you take her out on the porch and play with her toys?” Jason suggested as Molly entered the kitchen.
    “Can I, Aunt Molly?”
    He looked at Molly, surprised that Sara had thought to ask permission. By the startled expression on her face, he could tell Molly was as taken aback as he was.
    “Sure.”
    The two disappeared and within seconds giggles and squeaks from plastic toys erupted from the sun porch. Jason went to the table, removed his plate and took it to the sink. “So.”
    Molly laughed a little, tightly. “So. How was your day?”
    Jason’s eyes slammed shut as he kept his back to her and leaned against the sink. Such a normal question. But a question he’d once expected to hear every day of his life from this woman. The more she was around, the more he was reminded that she’d walked away from a life together. A life he’d wanted but she hadn’t. Their life.
    “It was fine.”
    Molly walked over to the door to the porch as uncomfortable silence fell between them, heavy and anxious. He stared at her stiff back.
    Jason sighed. “Actually it was terrible. I’m sorry, Molly, I never should have kissed you last night.”
    Molly sighed, and the sound was filled with relief as she turned back to him. “I think I kissed you, but I agree it was a mistake.”
    They were in agreement. The words shouldn’t have hurt, but they did. He met her gaze evenly. “It won’t happen again.”
    “That’s good. I came home to look after Sara and to help my sister. I don’t need complications.”
    “I’m a complication now? How flattering.”  He didn’t try to hide the bitterness in his tone.
    Molly shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. Even in casual clothes, her manner of speaking, her posture, exuded control and purpose. She wasn’t the carefree teenager he’d fallen in love with. She was every inch a corporate lawyer. He