Page 27 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“Enough said. Could you round up a feeding bottle and an eyedropper?”
“You bet.”
Finn hung up the phone and closed his eyes as the baby snuggled into him, his little nose poking at Finn’s neck. “Hang tough, buddy. Mike’s on the way with the grub.”
When Mike got there, he agreed with that the kitten was probably an orphan. “Look how skinny he is.”
Finn handed the kitten over to Mike, who cupped him in one large palm, then read the directions on the milk replacer package.
“You’ll need a hot-water bottle or something to keep him warm.”
“I have a heating pad. I’ll put it under a towel.” Finn heated the water, whisked in the milk replacer. “Mom did this once,” he said. “Remember? Raised a whole litter.”
Mike smiled a little. “Yeah. I do.”
Between the two of them, they managed to get most of a feeding into the kitten, instead of onto him. Even though he sputtered and protested the strange delivery method, he soon got the hang of the bottle and pushed his little paws against Mike’s hand as he fed him.
“Going to name him?”
“I’m going to call around to the vets on Monday and see if they know of any mama cats who might take him.”
“You sure about that?” Finn frowned at Mike, who grinned a little. “Women love guys who raise orphan kittens.”
“I think I can get a woman without a kitten.”
“Kitten couldn’t hurt.”
“Are you really in a position to be giving love advice? What happened with the date Cal set up for you?”
Mike’s mouth tightened briefly. “I’m going. It’s only polite. It’s not her fault that Cal went too far.” Finn opened his mouth, but Mike held up a finger. “Don’t you dare give me any pointers on modern customs or safe sex.”
“Wouldn’t think of it.”
But he bet that Cal and Karl had.
“Have you talked to her?” he asked his uncle.
“Emailed. She wrote back and... I’m going on a coffee date next weekend.”
Finn gave him an innocent look. “If you want to take the kitten, just let me know.”
* * *
MOLLYWALKEDOVERto her printer and took out the stack of practice exercises. She had mixed feelings about talking Finn into staying in her class. On the one hand, she’d been the reason he was going to drop the course, and since she believed she could help him, it was a good thing to do. As far as maintaining peace of mind and enjoying teaching the class... Finn had a certain effect on her. Not the he’s-so-dreamy effect he’d had on her during high school—up until the fateful date, that is—but something deeper. Baser. More hormone-driven. He was a hot guy, and he unsettled her in a way that Blake never had. She couldn’t get a handle on how it was different, and that made her uneasy. She liked to understand these things. Understanding helped one avoid unexpected disaster, and Finn had disaster written all over him, but she persisted in keeping him in her classroom.
Molly set her papers aside, planted her elbows on her desk and pressed her fingertips against her forehead. This wasn’t a problem. She was in control of her life and well aware that a guy like Finn—unpredictable and untethered—didn’t fit into her master plan. It wasn’t as if he could shove his way into her life in the same way that he was shoving himself into her thoughts.
“Excuse me... Molly?”
She looked up to see Jonas—a high school senior who was taking college courses during his final year of high school—standing in the doorway. She hadn’t asked her students to call her Ms. Adamson, but most did. Especially the high school students. “Yes, Jonas?”
“I’d like to discuss this grade.” He set the second essay assignment, which she’d returned less than an hour ago, on her desk.
“What can I help you with?” Molly asked, looking at him over her glasses.
“This is only the third week of class, and frankly, I don’t believe you’ve taught us enough to grade so harshly.”
Molly almost laughed. She’d given him a B-minus, and if he thought the three or four comments she’d written on his paper were bad, he should have seen Finn’s paper. “I’m setting the bar high,” she said gently. She’d taught community college classes long enough to know that many students graduating from high school were not fully prepared for college-level courses, and some were stunned to find out what was expected of them.
