Emma had married at eighteen, then given birth to three children and buried her husband. She’d mourned, taken care of her girls without complaint, and had even recently stood up to her parents when the situation warranted it. She took care of her house, paid the bills, and now was raising three little girls on her own.
Because of all this, she secretly prided herself on the fact that she could handle almost any situation with calm and patience.
But none of those things had prepared her for the humiliation of having to detach her dog from the remains of what was once a stunning, five-layered wedding cake.
“Come, Frankie,” she hissed under her breath.
Frankie—whether it was because he was on the verge of a diabetic coma or he somehow knew that he’d finally crossed the line and was in danger of being given away to anyone who would take him—walked obediently by her side through the crowd.
Every single guest stepped aside as she passed, though Emma had no idea if that was because she was now a pariah or because Frankie was covered in sticky white frosting. All she did know was that she was never going to be able to look Beverly Overholt in the eye again.
“Girls!” she called out as she walked. “Girls, we need to go. Now.”
Ben walked toward her. “Hey, um, Emma—”
Though it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done in her life, Emma made herself stop and meet his gaze. “Please tell Tricia I’m sorry. I am so very sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s most definitely not okay.” Then Emma reached down, grabbed hold of Frankie’s collar, and guided him out of the tent before she burst into tears or Frankie decided to go in search of leftovers.
“Mamm!” Lena said. “I’ve got Mandy and Annie.”
Turning around to see that all three of her girls actually were there, she nodded. “Let’s go home.”
Mandy ran forward to open Beverly’s back gate. “And then we’ll come back to the party after we put Frankie up?”
“Nee. We will not be coming back.” As soon as Annie stepped through, she said, “Annie, don’t forget to shut the gate.”
“All right, Mommy,” she replied in a sad little voice.
“Mommy, we’re not really going to stay home, are we?” Mandy asked.
“We really are.”
Lena rushed to her other side. “But, Mamm . . .”
“Not right now, Lena.” Emma was fairly sure if she didn’t get home soon she was going to start bawling like a baby in the middle of the street.
“But Mamm, I wanna go back,” Lena whined. “Two girls I met at school are there. We were having fun.”
“I am glad, but we are staying home.”
Mandy pulled on her apron. “How come we have to stay home?” she asked, her tone turning belligerent. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Because I said so.”
“But—”
“Not another word, Mandy.”
Immediately, Mandy quieted. Looking for Annie, Mandy grabbed her hand and started leading the way down the street. After a pause, Lena followed her. Tired of bending over to hold Frankie’s collar, Emma hefted him in her arms. Frankie squirmed uncomfortably then snuggled close, as if he was grateful for the ride.
She was so ashamed. She should have given the dog away years ago. She should have been harsher to him, maybe. Meaner. Something to have made him mind better. And that was what she was going to have to do. Tomorrow, she was going to take Frankie to the pound.
After two seconds passed, she sighed. Oh, who was she kidding? She could never give her sweet, silly dog away. He curled up next to the girls when they were reading or sad. He slept next to each of them every night. And after their father had died, he’d let them cry all over him for hours without complaint. She loved this silly, ill-mannered dog. Loved him completely. And he loved them, too. It was simply a real shame that he managed to ruin lots and lots of meals.
“Mommy, how do you think Frankie got out this time?”
“I guess he dug himself another hole.”
“It’s good he found us, though. Ain’t so?” Annie added helpfully. “We don’t want him lost.”
She was wondering how to answer when she heard someone jogging toward them.
“Emma, girls, slow down, wouldja?” Jay asked.
Her heart in her throat, Emma turned and watched him approach, bracing herself for his anger. After all, she’d just single-handedly ruined his son’s wedding day. When he stayed silent as he closed the gap between them, she decided to get her apology over with.
“Jay, I’m so sorry. I really am so embarrassed. I don’t know how to apologize enough.”
His gaze softened. “There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Yes there is! I ruined Ben and Tricia’s wedding.”
“Nee, Frankie ruined the cake.” When Frankie yelped in her arms, he shook his head. “Put him down, Em. I’ll deal with him now.”
“But he might run off—”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t. Set him down, dear,” he murmured. “Girls, why don’t you go on ahead? We’ll be right there.”
Once the girls were on their way, Jay helped Emma set Frankie on the ground. Then, after giving the silly dog a pet, he snapped his fingers. “Come on, Frankie.”
To Emma’s amazement, Frankie lumbered forward. He was, no doubt, feeling awful.
She grimaced. “He’s going to be so sick tonight.”
“I’m afraid he will.” His lips twitched. “He ate a lot of cake.”
“He did. In mere seconds, too.”
“It was impressive. He practically inhaled it. People will no doubt be talking about his display for years to come.”
The tears that she’d been holding at bay pricked the corners of her eyes. “I feel so bad about this.”
“Don’t feel bad. It was only cake.”
As they approached her house, she saw all three of her girls sitting on the front steps, each one looking more dejected than the last.
“What’s wrong with them?”
“They are upset that we had to leave the wedding. They’ll be all right.”
“Sure they will.” Reaching for her hand, Jay said, “Please stop worrying. I heard Eric tell Beverly he was going to run over to Yoder’s and buy a bunch of pies. No one is going to go hungry.”
That made her feel slightly better. “At least no one will miss dessert.”
“I promise you, the only people we need to make happy are Tricia and Ben. And I promise, they are. I can almost pretty much assure you that the last thing they’re thinking about is dessert.”
Emma figured Jay had a point. She and Sanford had only been thinking about each other on their wedding day. After taking a deep breath, she looked at him curiously. “Why are you here? You better hurry back to the reception. Ben might need you.”
“I will. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I will be.” She summoned up a watery smile.
“Why don’t you come back, too?”
“Jay, I can’t. There’s no way I can face everyone right now.”
They were at the house now. After guiding Frankie inside, Jay turned back to Emma. “Of course you’ve got to go back. Everyone’s waiting for you. And I don’t want to go back without you, Em.”
“I’m so embarrassed. Frankie ruined everything.” And then, to her horror, those tears finally started to fall. And then she started crying. Really crying.
“Mommy?” Annie rushed forward. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”
Before Emma could reply, Jay took control. “Girls, go inside and get Frankie some water. I’ll take care of your mother.”
The moment they were in the house, Jay pulled Emma into his arms.
At first she was too surprised to do anything but freeze, but then her body gave in and she rested her head on his chest with a sigh. Jay felt solid and strong, warm and protective. And for a minute she imagined that she would be very happy standing in his embrace for the rest of her days. Little by little, she let her muscles relax. Giving a small sigh, she cuddled closer. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d leaned on another person for support.
All she knew was that it had been a very, very long time.
Though she heard the girls talking to each other in the kitchen and knew she should step away, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on. Just for a moment or two longer.
Still holding her close, Jay ran a path along her spine with his fingers. “I promise, everything is going to be okay. No one is mad at you.”
“Ben and Tricia—”
“Are perfectly fine. But they won’t be if you and the girls don’t come back.”
“That’s sweet, but—”
He leaned back so their eyes could meet. “Do you understand, Emma? We aren’t fine without you, Lena, Mandy, and Annie. We want you there. Frankie, on the other hand, can stay home.”
She swiped at her eyes. “I don’t know . . .”
“I think you actually do know,” he said gently. “Don’t you understand what I’m talking about? What this means?”
“Jay—”
“I’m trying to say that life is better with you in it.”
“Even if I ruin things?”
“Especially if you do. Or if I do. Or any of us does.” Smiling, he added, “Emma, between us we’ve got six kinner, eight grandparents, and two spouses in heaven. Things are going to get messy. Things are going to be noisy. Things are going to be imperfect and crazy and full of surprises. We’re going to be late, the house is sometimes going to be messy, and things are going to get ruined. But because of all that, it’s going to be wonderful.”
She looked at him in wonder. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. In one year’s time, I want to be back at this Orange Blossom Inn saying vows to you. My boys are going to be there, and your girls are going to be so happy, and Frankie is going to have his own bone and be leashed. And perhaps, if we say enough prayers, the good Lord will keep Frankie out of trouble for a solid six hours.”
“Six hours?”
“That’s all the time we would need, Emma. Just long enough to enjoy our day and get a chance to taste our wedding cake.”
She giggled. “And if Frankie still gets loose?”
His expression softened. “You know the answer, Emma. If we can’t have cake, we’ll simply have pie.”
When he smiled, she did, too. And she realized that he was exactly right. Life was unpredictable and things didn’t always happen how one hoped they would.
But that didn’t mean one had to roll into a ball and mourn forever.
“I can’t give up Frankie. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have you.”
Leaning forward, Jay kissed her lightly on the lips. “Put that way, he’s my favorite beagle in the whole world. Now, let’s go get those girls and return to the party. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a pretty big wedding going on over at the Orange Blossom Inn.”
“I did hear,” she replied as she clasped his hand with a smile. “I heard it’s the most exciting wedding in town.”