“Show me a person without sin, and I’ll show you a catfish that barks like a dog.” Maggie recited the strange words as though they were a common expression.
“What?” Eliza frowned, uncertain she’d heard correctly.
A smile hid behind Maggie’s hazel eyes as she explained. “It’s something my father said when he caught my sister, Sandy, and I gossiping about a girl in our school.”
“A girl who was pregnant?” The cinnamon rolls forgotten, Eliza let the wooden spoon rest against the side of the mixing bowl.
“Yes.” Maggie gave a short, remorseful shake of her head. “And I’m sorry to say my sister and I weren’t very kind to her. After overhearing our hurtful gossip, our father sat us down and asked us an important question: ‘When we bring our sin to the Lord, does He remove it as far as the east is from the west?’ Of course, Sandy and I agreed that He did. ‘So,’ he asked us. ‘Why do you two insist on looking for it?’” Maggie’s eyes misted over at the memory.
Dropping her gaze, Eliza stared intently at the flour dusting her hands, a tightness in her throat.
Gently taking the bowl from her grasp, Maggie set it on the counter. “Do you want to know what I saw the day you showed up at the bakery and asked me for a job?”
Blinking back tears, Eliza nodded.
Maggie took Eliza’s hands in hers, her eyes glistening with motherly warmth and affection. “I saw a young girl who’d taken the wrong path. But rather than continue down that road, she made a difficult choice. She changed her entire life for a child she hadn’t even named yet. To me, that made you incredibly brave. And exactly the kind of woman I wanted to hire. Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded I made the right decision.”
Sliding off the counter, Eliza wrapped her arms around Maggie’s neck, her silent tears dampening the ruffled collar of her apron.
With a soothing hand, Maggie stroked Eliza’s hair, cooing softly. “Oh, sweet girl. Living with shame is a lot like baking with arsenic. The cupcake may look beautiful on the outside, but inside…”
Maggie’s unfinished thought touched Eliza’s heart where it had never been reached before. And Eliza gave herself permission to cry without reproach for the first time in years.
“There, there, sweetheart. It’ll be okay,” Maggie purred.
Sniffling, Eliza lifted her tearful gaze to meet Maggie’s. “Thank you,” she whispered, hoping those two simple words could carry the weight of her gratitude.
Wiping her damp cheeks with the hem of her apron, Eliza asked, “Do you mind if we come back to the cinnamon rolls later? There’s something important I need to do.”
“Of course, dear. I’m not going anywhere.”
A smile broke through Eliza’s tears as she realized Maggie was referring to far more than the cinnamon rolls.
Chapter 16
With a purposeful stride, Grant headed for his father’s office. After finding the rest of the house empty, he figured it was worth a shot, and crossed his fingers his dad hadn’t left for Mac’s already.
Grant had gone over his apology a thousand times on the drive home from Luke’s, even reciting a few phrases out loud. While he’d expected some resistance, or a bitter taste in his mouth, the words rolled off his tongue easily, as though they’d been waiting for Grant to summon the necessary courage. He only hoped the same would hold true when he looked his father in the eye.
The late afternoon sun filtered through heavy wooden blinds, casting strange shadows across the vacant room. Discouraged, Grant turned to go, when a flickering ray of light reflected off one of the marble chess pieces.
Grant hesitated only a moment before spanning the short distance.
While the idea seemed ludicrous, or foolish at best, Grant couldn’t keep his fingers from curling around the smooth marble pawn, moving it forward one space.
Then he scribbled a note on a Post-it and secured it to the chess board.
Grant’s lips spread into a slow smile as he read the two simple words that spoke volumes.
Your move.
* * *
Backing out of the driveway, Grant decided to head to Jack’s for dinner. After an emotionally exhausting day, he could use the light banter and good-natured ribbing.
Prepared to pull onto the main road, Grant slammed on the brakes when a Honda Accord cut him off, turning down his parents’ driveway.
Coming to an abrupt stop, Eliza leaned out of the window and shouted, “Get out!”
