Wedding Cake Wishes

As she laughed, Caroline felt herself relax. It was always like this when their two families got together—a lot of silliness, plenty of jokes. One marriage, another engagement and even a serious health crisis hadn’t changed that. Maybe nothing had changed.

But as Logan came around the front of the pews and stepped into the circle next to her, his sleeve brushing her bare forearm, tingles raced to her shoulder. Something was different in the old family-friend circle, all right, whether she cared to admit it or not.

Dylan grinned at his brother. “So, Logan, did you have a job interview after this, or just a photo shoot with GQ?”

“Oh, this old thing?”

“I think he cleans up nice.” The words were out of Caroline’s mouth before she had the chance to censor them. To keep from fidgeting, she tucked her hair behind her ear. Why did she always fidget so much around him, anyway?

He lifted an eyebrow, but then he grinned. “Thanks. You, too.”

“Thanks.” She brushed her damp hands down the sides of her black pencil skirt, careful not to touch her silk blouse and leave embarrassing handprints. “Remember the time when we were kids and your mom had cleaned you up for church only to find you rolling down the hill in the backyard?”

As soon as she said it, she was sorry, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She’d always joked with Logan as much as the others.

“I’ll try to remember not to roll on the ground today,” he said, his voice sounding tight. “I wonder to whom Reverend Boggs was speaking with his message this morning.”

Caroline stilled her hands on her hips. She deserved that, she supposed. But when she looked up again, he wasn’t talking to her. He had sidled up to Dylan instead and was patting him on the back.

“Sorry, everyone.” Dylan held his hands wide. “Jenna and I didn’t mean for everyone to be included in our premarital-counseling class.”

Trina had been over talking to a few of the church ladies, but she approached in time to hear the last. “If you’re starting counseling, does that mean you two have finally set a wedding date?”

“Mother, please.” Jenna rolled her eyes.

“We’ll get around to it,” Dylan assured her.

“I’m not getting any younger, you know,” Trina said, her lips in a pout that earned her a laugh.

No one mentioned Amy, or that she was a few years older than Trina and that her health was precarious at best, but the awkward pause in the conversation showed that they were all thinking about her again.

“You know…if you were to set a date, it would give Amy something to look forward to.” Trina held her hands wide as if to show the simplicity of her idea. “It would give her another reason to work to get home sooner.”

“I don’t know, Mrs. Scott,” Dylan said, shaking his index finger at her. “Are you worried your most recent match won’t make it to the altar?”

“Of course not.” She waved away his suggestion. “I just know that Amy would want you all to live your lives instead of putting them on hold while she’s recovering.”

“That’s just what I’ve been trying to tell you, Mom,” Haley piped in. She moved between her sisters. “Did she tell you guys that Mr. Kellam invited her out for coffee, and she shot him down? The poor guy.”

“Why, Mom?” Jenna asked. “Frank Kellam is a cutie with all that silver hair and those blue, blue eyes.”

“Yeah. Why not?” Caroline wasn’t sure she was ready to see her mother begin dating, but she didn’t want her to be alone, either.

“Would you all hush?” Trina looked flustered as she shot a glance to the rear of the sanctuary. “He’s a member here, you know.”

“He’s really nice, too,” Jenna said.

Trina gave Jenna a warning look and turned back to Haley. “Now I told you…even before everything with Amy…that it wasn’t going to happen.”

“Why not?” Haley rested her crossed arms on her belly. “Dad died more than two years ago. You should—”

“Not long enough.” Trina shook her head. “It will never be long enough.”

A second uncomfortable silence settled in the sanctuary, until Logan started chuckling. Everyone turned back to see what was so funny.

“Well, well, well, Mrs. Scott,” he said finally. “It’s different when the tables are turned, isn’t it?”

Instead of answering, Trina stared at him waiting for him to explain himself.

Logan held his hands wide, as if the explanation was simple. “The matchmaker gets a dose of her own medicine, and it doesn’t taste too sweet.”

All the younger adults laughed, but Trina gave him one of those looks that used to hush her daughters in church.

“There will be no matchmaking, and that’s final.”

“Okay,” Logan said with a shrug. “But you might want to remember that Matthew said that same thing. And Haley. And Dylan. And Jenna.”

By the time that he’d made it through the list, Jenna and Haley were muffling giggles, and Logan’s brothers were looking away, trying and failing to cover their smirks.

“Logan Michael Warren,” Trina said in the same warning tone that they’d all heard Mrs. Warren use after one of Logan’s jokes.

When Logan stiffened at the sound, Caroline couldn’t help but do the same. Everything had to remind him of his mother lately.

But when Caroline turned back to her mother, Trina was smiling in a reminder that all thoughts of Mrs. Warren didn’t need to be sad ones.

“Since Amy couldn’t be here today, I knew she would want me to pick up the slack.”

Laughter filled the sanctuary again, with Lizzie laughing the loudest in that way children do when they don’t get the joke.

Just as Matthew returned to them from the receiving line in the vestibule, the overhead lights flickered off, leaving behind only the yellow cast of daylight filtering in through the stained-glass windows.

Matthew pointed to the lights. “There’s our signal to go home. Unless you all just want to stay until the evening service.”

“Back to my house, then?” Trina looked around at all their faces. “Chicken and noodles are in the Crock-Pot, and a pie is cooling on the counter. We’ll eat a nice lunch and then head over to visit Amy.”

After several affirmative murmurs, they all started up the aisle toward the exit.

Logan cleared his throat just as they stepped outside. “Ah, I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it.”

“But—” Trina’s smile fell.

“I’ll catch up with all of you at the hospital.”

Dylan elbowed his brother and waggled an eyebrow. “Got another date?”

“Something like that,” Logan answered.

“Who with this time?”