He had been a bit worried that he was boring her when she was so quiet at the bench and the rabbit thing had been so out of the blue that he thought he hadn't heard her properly. She must have been close to her Dad for him to have taken the trouble to share something like that with a kid, and he must be a special sort of man. When he finally ran out of excuses to keep her out, and took her home, he had debated all the way back whether or not to kiss her goodnight. He was well aware that most girls would expect it, but he was fast coming to the realization that Molly wasn't most girls and he hadn't wanted to push things or spoil a wonderful time. Kissing her hand had been a spur of the moment thing but she didn't seem to mind, just as she hadn't minded when he tucked her hand into his elbow when they were walking around the lake. He wondered if she had been expecting him to kiss her. She hadn't made any move towrads that, but you never knew what was going on in a woman's mind. He wondered if she had been disappointed that he didn't.

For the next few days, his mind was a jumble of thoughts and he was finding it difficult to concentrate on the sketches he was working on. He found himself staring off into the blue and having to give himself a shake to get going again. This was foolish. He was a grown man, for goodness sake, and not some sort of teenager with a crush. It wasn't as though she was drop dead gorgeous . She wasn't exactly plain, but he had dated girls much prettier. She did, however, have those little dimples and he had caught himself a few times staring at them as she talked , not really hearing what she was saying, and had had to scramble to catch up on the conversation. She hadn't seemed to notice, thank goodness. It would have been terribly embarrassing.

By Tuesday, he had had enough of trying to concentrate on the sketches. One was done and ready to take with them to the cabin on the weekend. He wished he had had the nerve to ask Molly to spend the whole weekend there, but for some reason he was afraid of moving too fast. It just didn't seem right with her. Molly was the first girl he had asked to the cabin since Margret and that was a bit of a surprise in itself. It was his private retreat and normally he didn't want anyone else there to spoil the peace and quiet that he needed. It was a place that he could go to get away from people and even Joey didn't come up without an invitation. Women these days all seemed to want everything so fast and, while he didn't think of himself as old-fashioned, he didn't like it that they were so forward. He preferred to take things slowly and anicipation was sometimes much better than the reality. He decided to go and let Joey know that there would be another painting for the gallery shortly and to find out why he had been so insistant that he should see Mrs. Gibson last week. It had been a nuisance and unpleasant, and he had been thankful and surprised that Molly had not been angry that he had been so late. He'd go in tomorrow and perhaps wander by the place Molly worked and see if she would go out for a quick lunch with him. Saturday seemed, suddenly,to be an awfully long way off.

woke the morning after the dinner with Dave to the sound of the phone ringing. She was so glad she had thought to turn down the volume before going to bed , and at least wasn't jarred from sleep by the thing blasting in her ear. She knew, before she even picked it up, that it would be Angela checking up on the evening.

"Soooo..... how was the big date? Did I get you up? What time did you get in?"

"It was just lovely, Ange. I'm just getting up now, and we got in late."

"So where did you go to eat? What's he like on a date?"

" He's nice." For some reason she felt annoyed with her friend. She didn't want to discuss the evening before she had had time to think about it for a bit and savor it for herself, but she had known that Ange would be calling. "We went to that little Mexican place on Mercador and then went for a walk in the park."

There was a silence on the other end. "A walk in the park. Well........ that's exciting, isn't it!. How come he didn't take you dancing or out to a bar or something? Doesn't he like to spend his money? I'd have made him take me some place a little more interesting than the park."

"Well he wasn't out with you, Ange. I enjoyed the park." Molly felt defensive but knew better than to let Ange know she was getting to her. She knew very well that her tastes in entertainment and Angela's were vastly different and wondered sometimes why Angela bothered with her at all. Their relationship went back years and even though there were times that Ange could be almost mean, Molly knew she wouldn't do anything that would hurt on purpose.

"So did he kiss you at the door and all that?"

"Nope." There was no way she was going to tell about the kiss on the hand. It had been rather a nice touch and she could just hear the reaction to that and wasn't about to spoil the little frisson of pleasure that ran through her at the thought of it.

"Humph........ not much of a date if you ask me. I'd have made it a whole lot more interesting than a Mexican dinner and the park thing. Gees Molly ...... you gotta get out more often if that's all you want from a date.I thought you said you got in late......what the heck did you do for the whole evening?" Molly could hear the puzzlement in Angela's voice, and found she really didn't want to discuss the date at all. Ange would try her best to understand, but the two were worlds apart when it came to what they found entertaining.

"Mostly we just talked about stuff. I thought he was interesting and the time went by fast. Gee Ange.......look at the time. I've got to hustle if I want to get to the Hort club before lunch. I'll talk to you later........maybe we can get together for lunch one day. How about Wednesday?" She heard spluttering coming from the other end of the line and smiled. Angela hated to be put off if she thought there was some gossip going, but Molly heard her say that Wednesday would be fine and she'd meet her at the craft shop about noon and then the line went dead.

Molly spent the next few days trying to keep herself from constantly thinking of the evening with Dave and failing miserably. She tried to figure out what to tell Angela on Wednesday and decided to not say anything about going to the cabin. She had the impression that it was highly unusual for Dave to have visitors there and felt honored that she had been asked. She managed to pay attention to the calls and requests for help from the people calling and dropping into the Horticultural Center and to her hours at the craft shop, but the best times were the ones spent in the garden with Toby, where she could think about the evening with no interruptions. Saturday seemed to be taking forever to get there.

spent most of Wednesday morning with Joey and found out that if he had a few pictures for Mrs. Gibson's charity show, she had promised that she would direct some of her friends to the Gallery whenever she discovered that they were looking for art. She hadn't believed Joey when he had tried to explain about the way Dave did the paintings and in desparation he had sent her over to talk to Dave himself. He appologized for making him late for the dinner with Molly and wanted to know the details, but for some reason Dave didn't want to talk about it. He seldom talked about his dates afterwards anyway, and Joey knew him well enough to let it go with no further comment, other that he hoped he would get to meet her sometime. Dave told Joey that he would do up several small pictures that he already had the rough bits done on, and he and Mrs. Gibson would have to be content with that.

A little while later, he found himself wandering past the shop in the mall where Molly worked and wasn't it a coincidence that it was almost noon. He wondered if he should go in or just happen to meet her as she came out for lunch. What if she didn't come out, but brought her lunch to work?. What if she wasn't even there? He went past the door and looked in, but didn't see her . Well, he could find some excuse to wait about for a few minutes, he supposed. He felt as awkward as a school kid again. What was it about her anyway? He walked over to the railing that overlooked the lower regions of the mall and watched the people below.

"Well.......look who's here!" The voice behind him startled him a bit and he turned to find Molly's friend Angela smiling at him. "Did you come by to see Molly? We're going out for a bite in a couple of minutes. Why don't you join us? I'm sure she won't mind if you tag along."

"Oh no....... really..... if she's got plans I can come by again some time." He wondered what Molly had said about their date. Angela was someone he felt a little irritated by. She was too much like Margret and he had had enough of that sort for a lifetime. He smiled and made to turn away, but Angela reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Oh....... Molly won't mind." She laughed too loudly, and several people turned to look at them. He could tell that she was enjoying the attention and that made him uncomfortable. He pulled his arm away from her grasp, trying to make it a natural turn rather than an actual pulling away. He looked up and saw Molly coming toward them. He couldn't tell by the look on her face whether she was glad to see him or not.

"Hey Molly........ look who's here. You don't mind if Dave joins us for lunch do you." It wasn't a question and Dave was sure that she would make every effort to have him go with them. He wondered what was going through Molly's mind.

He looked a little appologetic and said " I just happened to be on my way by and wondered if you would like to go for a quick bite. I should have called, but it was sort of spur of the moment. I don't want to interfere with your plans with Angela though." He was relieved to see her smile back at him, and say that she didn't mind at all. At any rate, even with Angela there it would be nice to be in Molly's company again.

wasn't quite sure how she felt about Angela's insistence that Dave join them for lunch. On one hand she was thrilled to see him again and on the other, she didn't want to share him ..... even with Angela. She noticed that he looked a little embarrassed, and wondered why he was there in the first place. Had he been going to ask her for lunch? How unfortunate that she had made plans to go with Angela. Oh well...... enjoy the moment.

They found a table at the salad bar not far from the shop and after filling their plates, settled in to eat. Angela asked Dave all sorts of questions about his painting and the gallery and the people he met there, and Molly wondered if she was trying to make some impression on Dave. He was was answering all her questions, and Molly caught him glancing at her a couple of times, but couldn't make out by the expression on his face if he was enjoying the conversation or not.

She soon discovered that every time Dave asked her something or made a comment to her, Anglea barely waited for her reply before going off again. She was definitely trying to monopolize his time and Molly was embarrassed for her for being so transparent and annoyed that she would do such a thing in the first place. She was glad when the meal was over and as she stood up she managed to drop her purse and had to juggle about with her tray to keep the plate and coffee mug from following to the floor. Oh Lord.......how clumsy could she be anyway. She could feel her face go scarlet and tried to turn to set the tray back on the table so she could hunt for her purse when Dave reached over and took it from her.

"Oh Molly !!! You can be such a clutz sometimes." Angela laughed. "Here.......let me find your purse." and she watched helplessly as Angela stooped gracefully and retrieved the small purse from the floor under the table.

She knew that if she had bent down for it she would have been awkward and with her luck would probably have hit her head on the table on the way up. Why oh why couldn't she do things with grace not be so clumsy!! Well if there was any way at all that Angela could have got Dave's attention at this meal then she had certainly tried them all. She couldn't blame her, though. He was wonderful to look at and anybody would want his attention. She collected her purse from Angela and turned to take the tray from Dave, but he had stacked her's with his.It left him a hand free, and he took her arm and guided her gently out of the eatery, pausing on the way to deposite their trays on the cart near the door. The three of them walked back with her to the shop and at the door she managed to say how glad she was that he had been able to join them.

"Thanks for the invite. " he said. "I'll be seeing you, Molly."

She watched as he turned and walked away and Anglea gave her a look that Molly couldn't understand, and then calling out to him ran to catch up. He hadn't said that he enjoyed the meal. Was that a good thing or not? He hadn't said anything about Saturday, either. Did that mean that he had had second thoughts or did he just not want to say anything in front of Angela? She had hardly been able to get two words in during lunch and she wondered if he had enjoyed Angela's chatter. Why couldn't she be as outgoing as Ange?

The next couple of hours were a blur and finally Molly said that she had a bad headache and was going to go home. Well......it wasn't a lie. All the questions and uncertainty had given her a headache. She absolutely hated the thought of Angela spending any more time with Dave, but she had no hold on him. They were, afterall, just friends, and Angela knew that he hadn't kissed her after their dinner date, and would, therefore, assume that Dave had no feelings towards Molly and was fair game. That was the trouble. It would be a game for Angela, and she'd play it to the hilt. Still, for all that, Molly couldn't stay angry with her.

She thought back to all the times Ange had been there when she needed someone and having seen her friend in action over the years had come to understand that mostly Ange just needed the excitment of the chase and to be in the spotlight. It probably never occurred to her that Molly might be seriously interested in Dave and then there was the protective "big sister" thing. Molly tried her best not to think about what they might be doing together and it had come as a surprise to realize that she did care.

was horrified to hear Angela calling him after leaving Molly at the shop. He wasn't sure what sort of game she was playing but she seemed to have no consideration for someone who was supposed to be a friend. That didn't set well with Dave. There was no point in being callous towards someone and especially someone like Molly. He walked on pretending that he had not heard Angela call out, but a few steps farther, she caught up to him and kept pace as he walked a little faster. He had had enough of her chatter at lunch and was very sorry that he had accepted the invitation to join the girls. If he hadn't wanted to spend a little time with Molly, he would have declined and in retrospect should have declined. He had tried his best to include Molly in the conversation, but every time she had replied to him, Angela had practically cut her off. He didn't think that Angela was quite the friend that Molly took her to be. Now here she was being very forward at his side.

"Are you going back to the gallery, Dave? I was planning to drop in there after lunch. You could join me and then maybe we could grab a cup of coffee someplace. I'd love to get to know you a bit better. Any friend of Molly's is a friend of mine." She laughed and Dave cringed.

"How long have you known Molly?" he asked. Perhaps if he showed that he was interested in Molly, Angela would get the message and leave him alone.

"Oh ages and ages.......... we practically grew up together. She's a nice little thing and wasn't it a stroke of luck that her Grandpa left her that house. I know she could get a good price for it and move into a much nicer place, but she won't hear of selling. I've told her and told her that the place is going to cost her a bundle in upkeep. She's be much better off in one of those new condos down by the town center. It isn't like she has anyone around who can do the fixing up for her either so she'll have to pay someone to do the work."

"Perhaps it suits her to be there. It seems cozy enough to me."

"Oh yes..... I guess it's fine for her but she hardly has enough room there to even hold a party or anything. And I know she dotes on that garden, but the space could be so much better used if she'd put in a decent deck and hot tub. She says that's too upscale for her tastes. Well Molly always was a little mouse and we all try to make sure she gets out once in awhile or she'd just stay in that little house and never come out." Angela gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I understand that she's involved with the Horticultural Club, and she does work in the shop. She would meet people there surely."

"That silly Hort club is full of old people and who do you possibly meet in a craft shop? Only people who are buying supplies for their own interests. Anyway.......Molly is a sweet little thing, but she can't seem to keep any sort of relationship going. You have to admit......she isn't the most exciting person around. If she'd do something with her hair instead of wearing it in that pony tail all the time and do something with makeup she'd be quite pretty, but she'd rather spend time on that needle work and her garden so the likelyhood of her meeting anyone is pretty slim. You must have noticed that she hasn't got a lot to say. You've probably met so many important people at the gallery and you said you travel a lot so you'll understand that Molly would never feel comfortable in that sort of surroundings."

By this time Dave was thoroughly tired of hearing Angela talk. He wondered just how well Angela knew Molly anyway. He had no trouble at all talking to her and as far a looks went; there certainly was nothing wrong in that department. He thought she looked just lovely, whether she was in gardening clothes or dressed to go out. Angela didn't seem to have a good word to say about the person she called a friend and he cast around for some reason to get away. He had no intentions of taking Angela anywhere near the gallery or going with her for coffee. The jeep was parked in the next block and he was going to get in and escape from this woman.

"Well listen Angela......it's been a pleasure and thankyou for including me in your lunch with Molly, but I really must be getting on. I do have some work to do and deadlines to meet. I expect I'll be seeing you around. " He had stopped beside the jeep, and already had his keys in the lock.

"Is this yours?" asked Angela "I pictured you driving something a lot fancier than a jeep."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, then. This is what I drive." He wouldn't explain that he needed it to get into his cabin and realized that Molly had not, thankfully, told Angela about the trip on Saturday. Leaving Angela standing by the curb, he opened the door and hopped in, giving her a casual wave as closed the door.

He glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled into traffic and saw that she was still standing there looking after him with a rather disappointed look on her face. Well that was too bad. She must be used to having men fall all over her for her to be so assured. He wasn't going to be one of them.She was a very pretty woman, and if a person was only interested in looks, then they would probably be happy to be with her, but Dave wanted someone he could feel comfortable sharing his thoughts with. A pretty girl had been important when he was younger, and Margret was a beauty. He had been flattered when she took notice of him, but how that had changed!!! He thought how peaceful his chats with Molly had been compared to Angela. He wondered if he should give Molly a call later and reassure her that Saturday was still on or if he should leave it alone. He couldn't imagine what she had been thinking when Angela went chasing after him. He hoped that she had gone back into the shop and hadn't seen it.

was just getting into bed when the phone rang. She had given up trying to feel better and decided to call it an early night. There was not a single thing she could do about Angela and Dave, so rather than stew about it, best try to get some sleep and maybe things would look differently in the morning. She tried not to think badly of her friend. Angela was a little overbearing at times but she had been a friend to Molly all through that terrible time with Jeff. She thought about not answering the call, but you never knew if something had happened to Mom or Dad. They were getting on and didn't live close to town anymore.

She picked up the phone....."Molly? It's Dave." Oh Lord.......he was calling to cancel Saturday already. She swallowed and managed to answer lightly.

"Hi Dave........this is a nice surprise." she closed her eyes and waited for what she knew was coming next. Nothing happened for a moment.......so he can't find the right words......she thought. .......I'm not going to help him out........

"Molly?? Are you alright? You don't sound the same."

"No.......I mean....... yes....... I mean.....I'm alright.......it was just a long day."

"Look Molly.......about this afternoon.......I apologize for taking Angela up on the invitation to join you. I should have called ahead or waited til another time....... but it's just.........well I wanted to see you and I didn't know that she would follow me afterwards. That was awkward. I want to talk to you about it but the phone isn't the right place."

So.... then...... it was over afterall. Well.....if something was too good to be true then it usually was. She swallowed and sniffled and brushed away a tear. Damn...... and just when she thought.......well nothing had happened and she wasn't that far into the thing that she wouldn't recover. Was she??

"Molly? Molly??? Gees......Molly.... are you crying??? Please don't........she's a horrid person. I mean......I know she's your friend and all.......but she talks non stop.....mostly about herself. I felt like a social ladder that she was climbing to the top of. I got away as fast as I could and didn't know if I should call you or not. I was hoping that you hadn't seen her come after me."

"It's Ok Dave. I know what Angela's like. She talks about you all the time since she met you in the garden. It's OK.......she's very pretty and men are quite taken with her. I just sort of fade off into the shadows somewhere when we're out together." She wanted to ask about Saturday, but what if it was off. Better to let him say something. Maybe he was just working up to it.

"Molly......about Saturday....." ........she closed her eyes and clutched the receiver. " Do you have a pair of hiking boots?"

"Pardon?" had she heard him correctly?

"Hiking boots. Do you have any? Or something that will do for climbing? We'll be doing a bit of walking and you may need something sturdy. That is..........if you don't mind walking?"

"No.....walking is fine." It was on still.......she smiled and a few more tears fell.......happy ones this time.

"It's just..........there's so much I want to show you there. Look.......I'm sorry.......it's just that it's a special place for me and ......well.......I just think ........hope..... you'll like it."

"I'm sure I will, Dave........I'm looking forward to it."

"OK........I just wanted to touch base.......by the way........I could tell you hadn't said anything to your friend about it. Thanks........ I'll see you Saturday. Would between eight and nine be too early? It's about an hour's drive."

"No that's fine........I'm up early anyway with Toby. He doesn't believe in sleeping late. He gets me up for his food and when he's sure I'm up, he goes back to bed." She laughed. "It's a cat thing, I guess. Dave........I'm glad you called. I was afraid you would want to call Saturday off."

"No way, Molly. I'm looking forward to it too much for that. Look.......I'll not keep you.......I just felt awful about this afternoon and wanted you to know that everything is fine. Don't worry about Angela.....she is definitely NOT my type."

Molly said goodnight and thanks and hung up the phone. Toby was winding about her feet and she scooped him up and danced around the room. She couldn't believe she felt so happy. She was so glad she had said nothing to Angela about the weekend. It didn't hurt to keep a few things secret She climbed into bed and found that she was wide awake after all. She got up again and made a cup of tea and settled in with a book until she felt tired again.

hung up the phone and found he had a big smile on his face. He was so glad that he had called Molly and had been horrified to hear her crying. She hadn't owned up to it but her voice sounded all gruffly and hoarse and he knew. He wanted to strangle that Angela. The next time they met he would not be as polite and maybe she would get the message. He couldn't wait til Saturday. He had originally planned to pick Molly up after lunch, but now felt the earlier the better. They would have the whole day and he wanted to show her all his special places.

He went into the small room he kept the sketching things and looked at a few of the pictures he had started. There were four or five small ones that would be fine for the charity thing that Mrs. Gibson was organizing. They would not take long to paint up and he really should get started on them. Perhaps he could leave one or two as sketches. Some folks liked that effect as well. He hadn't done that before, but it looked as though his life was about to change and it looked exciting. It was an awfully long time since he had felt like a school kid again. Was this thing with Molly merely a crush or was it the real thing at last? He didn't want to look too closely at it just yet. The anticipation of seeing her again on Saturday made him happy and he absently picked up a piece of charcoal and a clean piece of paper and made a few lines.

Angela had been quite cruel in her assessment of Molly. It really didn't matter if she was dressed for the garden or going out on the town. Dave thought she looked just fine either way. She chose the things that suited her and was comfortable in them and didn't seem to pay much attention to what the latest fashion craze was. They had certainly not had any trouble talking and Dave couldn't understand why Angela had said she was boring. It just went to show that she didn't know Molly as well as she thought she did. Molly had a fine mind and was far from boring.Some of her ideas really made a person think about things in a different light. And she didn't mind disagreeing either. She made a good case for her point of view, but didn't expect the other person to necessarily agree and didn't try to persuade that her ideas were correct for everyone.

Dave realized that he had been drawing away for some time without really paying much attention. When he took a good look at the sheet, he found he had made a line sketch of Molly in her garden with the greenhouse just behind and Toby crouched on the grass nearby. He couldn't help but smile. He wondered if she would like it for her wall and if he should do it in oils or just leave the line drawing. On second thought......it would go very nicely on the wall right here. It would give him something pleasant to look at while he finished up the things for the charity show; not that he needed reminding of Molly. She wasn't far from his mind these days. There was a small frame leaning against the wall and he popped the little picture in and hung it beside the window where he would see it whenever he looked out.