by Dana Corbit
He wished Caroline were still beside him as she’d been the first hour or so, but she’d joined her mother and Dylan and Jenna as they’d been trying to decide what to do about the wedding. The four of them had been crowded around that table in the corner for what seemed like forever.
“Want me to go get more of that?”
As Logan looked up, Matthew, who’d suddenly stepped in front of him, was pointing at the cup of dark liquid.
“Only if you’re trying to poison me.”
“A large cup, then?”
Logan didn’t have the energy to smile at his brother’s attempt at humor. Leaning forward in the chair, he covered his face with his hands and smoothed his fingers across the headache forming behind his eyebrows. “Don’t worry about me. I’d be more concerned about your wife. She looked pretty upset earlier.”
“She told me to stop hovering and to go find something to do,” Matthew said with a shrug.
“Got to give Haley credit. She keeps you in line.”
Logan almost smiled this time as he glanced over at Haley, who was sitting with her legs propped up on an office-furniture-style love seat and with a pillow tucked behind her back. On the seat opposite hers, Lizzie napped beneath a hospital blanket that one of the nurses had been kind enough to share.
“She was having some Braxton Hicks contractions, but they’ve stopped now. Those are the practice kind. She said it was probably from getting herself so worked up earlier.” Matthew glanced back at her, not appearing convinced that all was well.
“Don’t worry,” Logan said. “She’ll be fine. The baby, too.”
Logan could understand his brother’s need to be over-protective of his wife. He could only imagine what a mother hen he would be if Caroline were his wife and she were pregnant with his child. At the thought, he grinned. He was having a difficult enough time trying not to stare at her right now and she was only across the room.
“What are you grinning at?”
“Oh. Sorry.” He wiped the expression from his face. “I know there’s no reason to smile today.”
“It depends on whether or not you believe that God answers prayer.”
Because Logan had been watching their family and friends at the table again, it took a few seconds for his brother’s words to sink in. He looked back to Matthew.
“Of course I believe—”
Before he could get the retort out, his brother reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “I know you do. I just thought we both could use a reminder. Anyway, Mom would never want us to stop smiling, no matter what. Particularly those of us who happen to be in love.”
Matthew glanced over at Caroline and grinned as he turned back to Logan. “Now that one is a surprise. I know Mom will be surprised.”
Glancing sidelong at him, Logan considered denying it, but finally he nodded. “It caught us off guard, too. We’re the only ones Mom and Mrs. Scott didn’t try to push together.”
“Has my mother-in-law said anything to you two yet?”
Logan shook his head. “She didn’t have time before church, and then she’s been—” he paused to glance at Mrs. Scott as she led the conversation in the corner “—preoccupied since we’ve been here.”
Either that or she disagreed so vehemently with the choices that Caroline and Logan had made that she couldn’t speak to either of them about it yet.
“So you and Caroline have both made—” Matthew paused as if searching for the right word “—declarations?”
Logan shook his head. “It’s too new. Brand-new.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I have lousy timing.”
“Don’t we all?” Matthew patted his shoulder again. “But isn’t it great that our Lord’s timing is perfect?”
With a grin, Matthew continued into the vending area in search of more of that lousy coffee.
After Logan leaned back in his chair again, Caroline came over and sat next to him. He was relieved that she’d come to him, especially since she’d been acting strangely ever since they’d heard the bad news at church. She hadn’t even touched him since they’d left the church though he really would have liked to hold her hand as they waited here. Everyone reacted to worry differently, but he was beginning to wonder if her odd distance might be something that should concern him more.
“Well, what did they decide?”
“Jenna and Dylan are going to postpone the wedding,” Caroline told him. “They know your mom wouldn’t be happy about that decision, but they want their wedding to be a joyous occasion, and they don’t think they can be in a festive mood until they know she’s on the mend.”
“Yeah, I get that. I wouldn’t have been in the mood to turn cartwheels next week as best man, either.”
“Well, obviously, since you were planning to do cartwheels at the ceremony—” she paused to indicate the crowded waiting room with a sweep of her arm “—before all of this.”
She was trying to make him laugh, and he loved her even more for that. “Well, I guess your family knows better than anybody how to dismantle a wedding.”
“It does give Mom something to do while she waits on word about Mrs. Warren’s condition,” she said.
Jenna had crossed the room to Logan and Caroline in time to hear the last few comments. “We’re not canceling it, Logan. Just postponing it.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Haley said with a tight chuckle.
“You kidding?” Matthew said as he returned, balancing a steaming cup of liquid. “That canceled wedding was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“You can say that again, buddy,” Dylan piped.
Trina came to sit next to Haley, who had shifted so her knees were just below her rounded belly. “I know someone else who’s happy that wedding never took place.” She reached over and brushed back Haley’s spiky hair before turning back to Dylan and Jenna. “But this particular wedding will happen when the time is right.”
“Yeah, you two, it’s going to be a great wedding whenever you reschedule it,” Logan added.
The nurse appeared in the doorway of the waiting room, signaling that two of his mother’s visitors could take their fifteen-minute visit for the hour. As they’d all planned, Dylan and Jenna took this shift, following the nurse back through the double doors.
The doors had barely closed behind them when Haley let out a strangled cry. In the short time it took Mrs. Scott to turn back to her youngest daughter, Caroline and Matthew were already kneeling next to her.
“Honey, you said you’re okay. You’re not okay.” Matthew’s voice rose in pitch with each word he spoke.
“I’m fine.” Haley’s voice sounded strained, and she grimaced as she spoke.
“Is it the baby?” Caroline asked, taking hold of her hand. “You’ve just had too much excitement. It can’t be good for you or for the baby.”
Caroline turned to Matthew. “Maybe you should take Haley and Lizzie home. There’s nothing you can do here, and we’ll call you as soon as we know—”
Trina put her hand on Caroline’s arm to interrupt her. “Caroline, she’s not going anywhere.”
“Really,” Haley insisted. “I’m okay.”
But her mother would have none of it. “Could someone get a nurse in here?” She indicated with her hand that she’d selected Logan as the someone. “Go tell her Haley might be in labor.”
Chapter Fourteen
Caroline was so exhausted that she didn’t even object when Logan walked her up the steps of her mother’s house, took the keys from her hands and unlocked the door. She wished he hadn’t followed her inside, but she was too tired to challenge that, either. Too many things had happened today for her to consider bringing up the subject that they needed to discuss. She would put it off until tomorrow if he would only let her.
“Why don’t you have a seat in the family room. I’ll make us some tea.” Logan didn’t wait for an answer before he started toward the kitchen.
Caroline followed him down the hall until he made a right
turn into the kitchen, leaving her to turn the opposite direction into the family room. The rooms were close enough that they still could hold a conversation without raising their voices, even as she collapsed on the sofa and he banged around in the cabinets, looking for a teakettle.
“Didn’t you get enough caffeine at the hospital?”
“Yeah. I’m wired now, so I could use some herbal tea to settle my mind.” He came to the doorway and looked out at her.
“Are you going to make some for Dylan and Jenna?”
He tilted his head and looked at her strangely. “Don’t you remember? Jenna volunteered to spend the night with Lizzie at Matthew and Haley’s, so Matthew could stay at the hospital. Dylan said he would bring home your mother, but he’s probably still trying to convince her to leave the hospital.”
“Oh. Right. I knew all that.”
The kettle whistled, so Logan turned back to the stove. After more cabinet banging, he emerged from the kitchen carrying two steaming mugs. He waited as she sat up to accept one, and then he handed it to her.
“Thanks.”
“You look like you could use this, too.” He watched her as he took a seat next to her. “You’ve been stressed out all day.”
Caroline bristled under his observation. “Well, it’s been a stressful day.”
“That it has,” he said with a chuckle that bore no real humor. “Who knew that so much could happen at once?”
“A chain reaction of events.” She blew on the steam at the rim of her cup and took a sip. As the warm liquid slid down her throat, she felt calm for the first time all day. “Haley’s OB said the stress brought on her premature labor.”
“At least the medication stopped it, for tonight anyway.” Logan’s jaw flexed as if he were thinking darker thoughts. “You heard what the doctor said. Just because they stopped it tonight doesn’t mean that the whole thing won’t start up again tomorrow.”
“It’s not that early, anyway. It’s less than four weeks until her due date,” Caroline reminded him. “Haley’s going to hate it if they put her on bed rest all the way until the delivery.”
Caroline could already picture her youngest sister going stir-crazy sitting in bed and waiting for others to care for her.
“But she’ll do what she has to do to protect her baby.” Logan balanced the cup on his knee but didn’t drink any. “My nephew needs as much time to develop as he can get.”
“Nephew?” Her senses might have been off today, but she didn’t miss that one.
“Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say that.” He pinched his nose and shook his head. “I guess I’m exhausted, too, if I just spilled the beans. Matthew wanted to know the baby’s gender, but Haley didn’t. He had to tell someone.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell.”
He nodded, appearing grateful. “You only got in to see Mom one time today, didn’t you?”
“I thought it was more important that you three guys kept getting in. She needs to know that her sons are there for her.” Caroline felt strangely relieved that they’d stayed on these “light” topics instead of delving into deeper things. She wasn’t ready to talk about those other things, anyway. Wasn’t sure yet what to say.
“Mom needs support from all of us.”
“I know that. It’s just that there was only limited visitation time tonight, and I thought the three of you should get more of it than the rest of us.”
Logan nodded and then he took a sip of his tea, set the cup on a coaster and turned back to her. “Caroline, would you please tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said to stall because she didn’t know how to answer his question. Setting her cup on the side table, she clasped her hands in her lap. It was all she could do not to wring them.
“You’ve been acting strangely ever since Matthew gave us the bad news at church.”
“As I said, it’s been a stressful day.”
He reached out and covered her clasped hands. Caroline stared down at her hands, needing the warmth and comfort that his provided, yet preparing herself for the loss of their touch. Misunderstanding her dilemma, he pulled his hand away, leaving her skin cold.
“So stressful that you haven’t been able to bring yourself to touch me all afternoon?”
Caroline stared at her lap again. She’d wanted to reach out to him all day, to feel the protection of having his strong arm to steady her, but then she’d thought about why they were at the hospital, and she’d felt frozen.
“Everything’s just too confusing,” she said finally. “It’s all happening at once. There’s too much.”
“Just tell me, Caroline, what’s going on?”
“Maybe we stepped forward too fast. Maybe we should have thought it through before we let things change between us. Before we let ourselves think—” She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the things she’d thought, the things that would never be.
His jaw was tight, but he only nodded. “Now don’t stop there. You’d better tell me all of it.”
“Markston is part of who you are. You thrive here. You have your family and history here and even a job that fits you and makes you happy.”
“That’s true.” He drew his eyebrows together, clearly not getting it.
“I was born here, but Markston is not who I am,” she said, explaining what should have been obvious to him. “We’re opposites in a lot of ways.”
“These are not new revelations, Caroline. We knew these things about each other yesterday at the park.” His look was so intense that he seemed to see right through her. “Don’t you remember it? When we were kissing.”
“I remember.” And she probably would be able to recall every detail of that afternoon for the rest of her life.
“Then what is this about?”
“Your mom,” she said in a burst of frustration. “Am I the only one who recognizes that Mrs. Warren might never come back to Amy’s Elite Treats?”
Logan’s head jerked back as if she’d slapped him instead of just injuring him with her words. “Don’t say that.” He shook his head as if to force away the possibility that she was right. “You know how stubborn she is. If she wants to come back, she’ll be coming back.”
“I know how stubborn you are.” She’d surprised herself by saying it, but because she couldn’t take it back, she pressed forward, determined to say the rest. “No matter how many times I’ve tried to bring it up the possibility that she won’t be able to work again, you’ve put me off. Did you think that by ignoring it, the problem would just go away?”
The look he gave her suggested that had been exactly what he’d thought, but he shook his head. “I haven’t ignored anything. I’ve been at the bakery every day except Sundays. I’ve clocked more hours than even you to make sure it keeps going.”
“But why did you do it?” She held her hands wide to emphasize the point that he wasn’t getting. “You’ve thrown yourself into this business so you could keep it afloat until your mother could return. But you wouldn’t allow yourself to think about what you would do if she couldn’t come back.”
Since Logan was staring at the floor instead of looking at her, she guessed he wouldn’t be answering. She hated causing him pain, but he needed to hear these things, and she had to be the one to tell him.
“I know this is difficult, but at some point, your brothers and you are going to have to consider your options for selling the business.” She waited for him to look up, but he didn’t. “It will be painful, but you’ll be able to use the money to help cover your mother’s medical bills and rehabilitation costs,” she added.
Logan glanced up then, and the fury in his eyes was enough to cause her to shift back in her seat.
“Are you listening to yourself? I can’t believe you even suggested it. You’re worrying about medical bills when Mom is still in the hospital, still not knowing if another major stroke is just around the corner. You’ve been with us all day. Can’t you try to believe she’
s going to be okay?”
His words stung, but she tried not to let it show. “Of course I want to believe it. I’m praying for your mother as often as any of you are, but I’m being realistic. It’s not personal,” she said, shrugging. “It’s just business.”
He made a scoffing sound. “You know a lot about running a business, Caroline. Probably more than I could learn in a decade. But there’s one thing you still don’t get, even after losing your last job and after spending all this time at the bakery.” He waited until she was looking back at him before he continued. “Business is always personal when it affects you.”
Caroline swallowed, his words having hit their mark. Her boss told her it wasn’t personal when he’d let her go, too, but it couldn’t have felt more personal to her. “You know what I mean,” she said.
“I guess I don’t. Just like you don’t get that for me to give up on the business would be like giving up on Mom ever recovering. I can’t give up on her.”
“So you see? You’re stuck,” Caroline said. “If you don’t figure out something soon, you’ll never go back to the job you love. You’ll be left here running the bakery indefinitely.”
“It isn’t getting stuck with anything when I’m choosing to care for Mom’s business for as long as she needs me. It’s a choice. What about you?” Suddenly, he stopped and stared at her. “That’s it. This isn’t about me losing my career at all. It’s about you. You’re afraid of getting stuck here in Markston with—”
He stopped himself before he said “me,” but she heard it as clearly as if he’d shouted it.
“You know that’s not it. We both have lives to get back to, and mine happens to be back in Chicago.”
“That’s where it used to be,” he said flatly.
“No, it’s still there. My apartment’s there. My things and my friends are there. And if everything works out with the interview next week, I’ll have what could possibly be another dream job there, too.”