‘Wow,’ Molly murmured as she took a bite. ‘Just wow!’ The loaf was a work of art, plaited in a round shape and risen perfectly and inside the bread was baked with chocolate but actually had another layer of chocolate running through the middle that was gooey and still warm. Taking another bite, Molly oohed and ahhed; it tasted like heaven. She savoured every mouthful and actually thought about taking another slice before realising that this was chocolate bread and Cam must have been practising for the baker’s competition.
‘Oh my gosh!’ Molly brought her hand up to her mouth, mortified at her mistake. She was still staring at the half-eaten bread but inside she was secretly chuffed. This meant Cam was actually thinking about taking part in the competition, because otherwise he wouldn’t have put in the effort.
‘Don’t panic,’ she told herself. She would just explain it was the baby’s fault and they’d agree it was the best loaf he’d ever baked.
As soon as she stepped outside The Old Bakehouse, George shouted to her and proudly pointed to the three snowmen stood in a line. ‘Look, this is you, Mummy.’ George indicated a snowman that had the biggest tummy Molly had ever seen. ‘You have a baby in your tummy.’
Molly burst out laughing. ‘She looks … very much like me. Even though I’m not sure why my head is bigger than my body.’ Molly blew out her cheeks, making George burst into a fit of giggles.
Cam was looking more relaxed, the chilling temperature causing his cheeks to redden. He was still patting away at the snowman.
He looked up. ‘You okay?’ he asked.
‘I’m just going to check up on Dixie, see if she’s well enough for tonight’s psychic antics up at the farm. These are looking good! But I want to know … who is this cheeky one on the end?’
George began jumping up and down, pointing both hands to his chest.
‘I think we’ve done a good job.’ Cam high-fived George, who then ran off towards the trees, stomping in the untouched snow blanket.
‘I gave Sam a call,’ shared Molly once George was out of earshot.
Cam carried on patting the snowman.
‘In her opinion, Bree is trustworthy for babysitting and she doesn’t think she would have stolen the phone.’
Cam stopped what he was doing. ‘Molly, I don’t want to go over this again.’
‘She did say Bree has her number, so she won’t be left out in the cold, which has made me feel a little better.’
‘That’s good to hear, on both accounts,’ replied Cam.
Molly turned to walk off.
‘Mol, I don’t feel good about anyone not having anywhere to live and I do my best by baking extra bread that comes out of our own pocket for the shelter.’
Molly stopped and turned back around, ‘I just feel…’ She cradled her stomach. ‘If any of our children were ever in that position, with no parents, I just would hope someone would look out for them.’
For a second, Cam remained silent as Molly’s words turned over in his head. This was exactly one of the fears that he’d thought about – his children possibly living a life without him in it. He briefly closed his eyes. It was a thought he prayed wouldn’t become reality.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Molly.
He swallowed and glanced back towards her. ‘Any child losing a parent is devastating and vice versa. I’m sure nothing can ever prepare you for it.’
‘Oh, Cam, I didn’t mean to dredge up painful memories.’ Now it was Molly’s turn to feel awful. Cam and his previous wife had suffered so many miscarriages and he’d been through so much before he’d met her.
‘I am so happy. We have our family, and another baby on the way … and it’s a terrible situation for Bree to be left with no one at such an early age, we can agree on that,’ replied Cam.
She nodded. ‘Bringing a new life into the world makes you think about a lot of things. How will this place manage to stay afloat if the weather is bad? How will we get the wheat from the mill?’
‘By thinking positive … just think positive. We have got through the past few winters; this one is no different.’
Thud!
Cam spun round. ‘Hey, you little monkey!’ he called to a grinning George, who looked chuffed at having hit his dad with the snowball. Turning back to Molly, he continued, ‘And with the good reputation of this place, it’ll be going for years, long enough for this one to fit into Great-Uncle Ted’s baking hat.’ Cam swept George up and pulled his bobble hat off his head, twizzling it around in the air.
‘Daddy! Give it back.’ George was jumping up and down with his arm stretched high, trying to grab the hat.
Placing it back on his head, Cam grinned at him. ‘I think it’s time for a warm drink.’
