Page 16 of The Bachelor's Dilemma

Anna softly closed the door to Zack’s room. He was already asleep. Amazing how he could go from full speed to instant sleep. She felt tired enough to fall into bed herself, but still had some cleaning to do and another load of laundry.

She’d dust and vacuum the living room first to give Zack a chance to wake up if he were going to. Then she’d dash with the last basket of clothes to the laundry area. Zack usually stayed asleep all night, and she’d only be gone a few moments. She normally took him with her, but this weekend was going to be different. If they were going to spend the day at the zoo tomorrow, she needed to get a load done tonight.

When he’d been younger, she’d never left Zack alone, even to dash down to the laundry room. Now she felt better about leaving him for a few minutes. She carried a baby monitor that would alert her if he awoke before she returned. It wasn’t ideal, but working single parents made do.

As she tidied the living room, she thought about Myles Riker. How involved did she want to get with the man? He was only in New York to recover from injuries. Once he was fit again, he’d return to the Middle East, and she’d likely never see him again.

It wasn’t as if she were planning a long-term friendship. But he was at loose ends and she hadn’t been so intrigued with a man since her husband. What harm could it do to go to the zoo? Zack would love it.

And she’d love to spend the day with Myles.

Guess that meant she’d accepted the invitation to the zoo. Zack would be thrilled when she told him. And it would be more fun for her to see it with another adult. Not that she didn’t delight in her child. But sometimes she wanted adult conversation.

When she returned from the laundry room, she’d call Myles and let him know they’d be happy to join him.

Glancing at Tom’s picture, she almost apologized.

“It’s not a date,” she explained. “Just an outing with Zack. He seems nice.”

She wasn’t telling her husband how she’d felt a surprising attraction to Myles. She wasn’t interested in remarrying. How could she when Tom had been the love of her life? They’d made such grand plans—all dust now that he was gone. She couldn’t risk that kind of heartache again. Love made a person hostage to all the bad things that could happen.

“He’s a new acquaintance.”

Was she trying to convince herself or Tom?

“Maybe he’ll become a friend. But he’s only here for a short time. Once his convalescence is up, he’ll move on, and I’ll probably never see him again.”

The thought disappointed her.

As Anna was inserting her key into the lock upon her return from the laundry room, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed to answer it, hoping it hadn’t wakened Zack.

“Anna? This is Myles.”

“Hi.” She suddenly felt as shy as a schoolgirl when a boy called. “I was going to call you later.” She took a breath. “Zack and I would love to go to the zoo with you. We can be ready whenever you say for that early start.”

“Sounds good. I’ll swing by your apartment about nine, if that suits. Thought we’d take an Uber rather than public transit. I could have rented a car for my stay, but the traffic is too much to deal with. And I’m not sure I could find parking anywhere.”

She laughed. “That’s one reason I don’t have one. Nine o’clock is perfect.”

Anna felt oddly nervous about the outing. It wasn’t a date. She was merely going to the zoo with a new friend. And Zack would love it.

“Is Zack asleep?” Myles asked.

“Yes. We have a schedule. He does better with routines for things. So we’re up every morning before seven. He eats lunch at noon and we usually eat dinner at the same time every evening. Then it’s bath and bed by eight. Kids do well with routine.”

She’d admit to a rampant curiosity about the man. If she was planning to spend the day with him tomorrow, she could devote a bit of time tonight to get to know him better.

“So, tell me about working in the Middle East. What happened with the land mine?” Anna said, settling in on the sofa.

Myles began telling her about the land mine accident that had killed one construction worker and injured him. The heavy earth mover shielded the other workers from harm.

Glossing over his time in the hospital, he soon turned the topic to heavy construction projects outside of the U.S. He told her about the heat and dryness of the desert. How mostly the people were grateful for the improvements made—especially when dams afforded water to heretofore barren land.

A buzzer sounded. Anna jumped.

“My clothes are ready for the dryer,” she explained. “I’ll need to put them in.”

She hated to end the conversation. But if she waited too much longer, she’d have to stay up later than normal waiting for the clothes to dry. With a full day planned for Sunday, she wanted to get a good night’s rest.

---