6
As Erin gathered supplies to finish the wedding cake, she thanked the Lord that she was ahead of schedule. Timing was everything with a job this big, and she’d written out a schedule with tasks and times several days ago to make sure she didn’t fall behind.
She’d baked the cakes, done a crumb coat, and was finally ready to assemble and frost it. Now, all she needed to do was find all of her supplies. The dowels were on the counter next to her rotating cake stand, but she couldn’t find the frosting tips.
Erin was opening the drawers one-by-one, looking for them when Parker appeared in the kitchen. “Hey, sweetie. What’s up?” she asked as she continued her search.
“I’m bored.” His voice was whiney.
“Hmm.” Erin opened the pantry door. “What’s Samantha doing? Maybe you can play with her?”
“She’s reading a book, and I can’t read a book.”
Parker wasn’t entertained by picture books for very long. She closed the pantry door and faced him. “What about playing in the backyard for a while? Maybe Samantha will join you when she’s done reading.”
“I don’t want to play by myself.” His little hands fisted into balls at his sides.
Erin closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was about to say this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “What about Rock Man? He could keep you company until Samantha is done reading.”
“He’s busy fighting bad guys right now.” He stuck his bottom lip out. “Please will you come and throw the ball with me?”
Oh, how she would much rather throw a ball back and forth with him, but there was work to do. The wedding was a set date, and couldn’t be pushed back because Erin wanted to play with her son. She needed to find the balance between mom and baker—and right now baker won out.
She crouched down to face him. “Do you remember me talking about how important this cake is?”
Parker nodded.
“That means that’s where I have to put my energy right now.”
He gave her his puppy-dog eyes. “But don’t you want to spend time with me?”
That was enough for Erin’s resolve to waver, but when his bottom lip started quivering, the mommy guilt hit hard. The way he was looking up at her was gut-wrenching. Erin glanced at the clock on the wall. She was a little ahead of schedule thanks to jittery nerves that made it impossible to sleep in or sit still.
Maybe she could do both, if she was really careful to keep an eye on the time.
“Let’s make a deal.” She smiled at Parker. “If you help Mama find her frosting tips, I’ll come throw the ball with you for a bit. But then Ihaveto come back inside and work on the cake. Deal?” She stuck her hand out to her son.
He put his small hand into hers. Erin pumped their entwined hands up and down in a dramatic fashion that transformed Parker’s sad expression.
“Deal,” he said through giggles.
The two searched until they found the bag containing the metal tips and frosting bags hidden underneath a sheet pan. Erin looked through to make sure nothing was missing, and once she was sure it was all there, she followed Parker out to the backyard.
Erin couldn’t stop her gaze from going to the guesthouse as they worked their way to the shade of the oak trees. The windows were open and the curtains were pulled back, so that Erin could see into it from where she stood. Inside, Logan was washing dishes in thesmall kitchenette. She guessed even bachelors had chores to do.
She hadn’t seen Logan since the dinner with the Wilsons. He’d opted to miss the last few nights of family dinners with Aunt Betty, and Erin was thankful for it. It gave her the opportunity to clear her head. Too much time with Logan was doing strange things to her. The anger she’d been harboring against him all this time was slowly disappearing, replaced with feelings of fondness.
She shook her head to clear those thoughts. That wasn’t where she needed to put her focus, especially today. The best thing for Erin to do was to play with her son, give him her full attention, and then when they tossed the ball back and forth for long enough, she would go back inside and throw herself fully into the cake.
Parker and Erin threw a football back and forth. Neither one of them could throw it in the perfect spiral. Instead, it was more of a toss that sent the ball twisting in a chaotic movement. It didn’t matter though. Erin did her best to catch the ball every time Parker threw it, even though it landed short most of the time. And even though her aim was only slightly better, Parker caught it more often than not. Every time he was successful, Parker would do a victory dance that had Erin laughing. It was great to see him enjoying himself. For the first time in a long time, Erin didn’tfeel the weight of everything. It was nice—more than nice.
Thank you, Lord, for moments like these.
She held onto every last minute of playing catch, but no matter how tightly she gripped it, time moved quickly. Once she couldn’t put off her work any longer, she caught the ball and didn’t throw it back. Holding it, she walked over to Parker. “Okay, sweetie. My time is up, and I need to get back to work on the cake.”
“But I want to keep playing.”
“I know you do.” She brushed his hair back off his forehead. “I do too. But this job is really important.”
