Page 94 of Sweet Somethings

"I'll go with you," Roman told Travis, leaving Cameron with Juliette.

Cameron slipped his hand into Juliette's and gave her a shy smile. "I got my wish," he said. "The one I made on the cookies."

"You did? That's wonderful." She saw his gaze drift to his father. Travis and Roman were laughing about something as they stood at the back of the line for refreshments. "Was it for your father to come home? Wait, you don't have to tell me. It's your wish."

"It wasn't just for him to come home. It was for his face to look like that," he said, pointing to his father.

"You wanted him to be happy again," she murmured, thinking how sweet a wish that was.

"He used to look like that all the time, until my mom left. Then he was always sad. But now he's back."

"I'm so glad."

"I'm sorry I took your cookies without paying," Cameron added, giving her another guilty look. "I can pay you back from my allowance. Daddy says I can start making five dollars a week if I help Grandma more."

"You keep your money, Cameron. Save it for something really special."

"I want to buy my dad a new fishing rod when I have enough. My mom broke his when she left."

She frowned at that piece of information, not feeling too much regard for Travis's missing mother. But she certainly wasn't going to say anything to Cameron about it.

"Hot apple cider," Roman told her, as he came back with a steaming paper cup.

"Hmm, smells delicious," she said, inhaling the scent as she blew on the hot liquid.

"We need to let it cool down, buddy," Travis told his son. "I'll hang on to it until then. You'll burn your mouth."

"There's Sam," Cameron said, letting go of Juliette to point to a friend of his. "Can we go over there? Sam is my best friend."

"Sure," Travis said. "I'd like to meet your best friend." He gave Roman and Juliette a nod as they walked away.

"Travis looks a million times better," she said, as she carefully sipped her cider. "This is good. You didn't get any for yourself?"

"Not really a cider fan. I guess having a job has eased some of Travis's worries," Roman said.

"Cameron told me that he wished on the cookies for his dad to be happy again. Looks like his wish came true."

"It's another Valentine's Day miracle due to your special cookies," he teased.

She laughed. "It is. Speaking of cookies…" She ended that thought with a sigh. "I don't want to leave, but I have to go back to the bakery. There's just too much to do. I can't wait until morning."

"I know. I'll walk you to your car," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders as the band started to play.

"You should stay and have fun," she said, sipping her cider as they slowly made their way to the parking lot.

"I might go back for a while."

"Good, because you've been working hard, too. And as much as you don't want to talk about it or admit it, I'm pretty sure that you're worrying just a bit about your physical on Monday."

"I'm trying not to."

"How is that working out?"

"Not that well. There's nothing I can do about it. I've done my part on the rehab. I just have to see what happens."

Roman definitely had a fatalistic attitude about some things. She couldn't blame him. Not wanting things too much was a protective instinct he'd learned as a child.

"Well, I'm keeping good thoughts," she said. Although, secretly she had to admit she had mixed feelings about his upcoming physical. She wanted him to be completely well, but being back at one hundred percent would take him away from her. Still, it was what he wanted, what he deserved, and she couldn't go against that.

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