“How come he hasn’t eaten with us before?” Parker asked.
Erin struggled to think of a way to explain it. “He just moved back to Frostford. He needed time to get settled in first.”
“He didn’t eat this whole time?” His eyes went wide. “I bet he’s awfully hungry.”
Erin shook her head, a small smile touching her lips. “No, he’s had his own food that he ate in the guesthouse.”
Parker’s head tilted to the side. “He didn’t want to eat with us?”
“Well ... ” Erin brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not really sure. We didn’t really talk about it.”
“Then how did you know that he didn’t want to eat here?”
“I . . .”
Samantha let out an impatient huff. “Mama didn’t want him to eat with us.”
Erin’s head snapped toward her daughter. “Why do you say that?”
She shrugged. “You don’t like him very much.”
A wave of guilt washed over Erin. While she had been avoiding Logan, she thought she’d been sneaky enough about it. She’d been careful not to speak a single negative word about him in front of the kids. Turns out, that hadn’t been enough to hide her true feelings from her daughter.
“Why don’t you like him?” Parker’s face scrunched up in confusion. Then he whispered, “Is he a bad guy?”
Erin’s eyes widened. “No, of course not. Mr. West is ... well, he’s ... ” She pressed her lips together. “He’s a guest of Aunt Betty’s, a very special friend. We want to be welcoming to him, and I expect you to be kind to him at dinner tonight.”
“Yes, Mama,” Parker said.
As she followed them inside, Erin reminded herself that she would also need to be kind to Logan if she was to set a good example for her children. She would force herself to smile and nod and pretend like everything was okay.
She sat down at the small dining room table between Parker and Samantha. That put her directly across from Logan. She kept her attention on the plate in front of her.
“Oh, sweetie, you’ve done it once again.” Aunt Bettylooked down at the meal and rubbed her hands together. “Logan, why don’t you say grace and then we can eat?”
Usually, Aunt Betty would say a blessing over their food. Occasionally, Parker would say a little poem about thanking God for their food. This was unexpected, like the new addition to their meal. Everyone at the table turned toward Logan.
He stiffened. “Me?”
“Why not?” Aunt Betty asked.
He shifted in his seat as everyone scrutinized him. Erin almost felt bad for him. Almost.
“Maybe he doesn’t know how to say grace,” Parker whispered loudly to Erin.
“Of course he knows how to say grace,” Aunt Betty said.
“Maybe he just doesn’t want to.” Samantha crossed her arms.
Parker looked at his sister. “Why wouldn’t he want to?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Aunt Betty said. “Of course he wants to say grace.”
“I’ll do it,” Erin said, just wanting this exchange to be over.
Logan cleared his throat. “No, I can do it.” Everyone quieted, their eyes on Logan. He swallowed. “Let’s pray.”
Everyone folded their hands and bowed their heads.
