Page 21 of Cabin Fever With My First Flame

I pick up the boys and toss them on the bed, eliciting giggles and smiles. I tickle them for good measure. When we’re done horsing around, I sit on the edge and lean back. “I want to talk to the two of you for a second. Why do you want to see Bailey and me together? Is it because you miss your mom?”

Both boys are quiet for a few seconds, then Jonah answers. “We miss Mom a whole lot, but what does that have to do with you and Bailey getting married?”

Married? “We aren’t at that point, Jonah. Right now, Bailey and I are trying to be friends. I hurt her feelings a long time ago, and it’s going to take time to prove to her that I’m sorry. But let’s say Bailey and I do decide to pursue a relationship and get married down the road. She would become a mother figure to you. Is that why you want us together?”

Isaac grabs one of my pillows and tucks it under his head as he looks at me. “Bailey is super nice, and she reminds me a lot of Mom. She bakes cookies and loves to cook. She gives good hugs, too, but I don’t think she would try to replace Mom.”

Jonah bobs his head. “It’s just like you, Finn. You aren’t our dad, but it doesn’t mean you love us any less.”

Chapter thirteen

Bailey

Micah and Ella helpme clean up the mess from the decorating, and yet we still have four dozen cookies left to finish. It will have to be a project for tomorrow because I’m exhausted and just want to get the scuzz off my body.

“Thanks for the pizza, Bailey,” Micah says. “It’s the best I’ve ever had—no lie. Would you be willing to teach me how to makeit? I could come to your place for lessons, or better yet, you could come here.”

I roll up the wax paper that I used to help protect the counter from dried icing dribbles. “I’d love to. Are you going to have time to learn between school, sports, and your junior firefighting?”

Micah rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Sundays after church would work. All of you could join us for the service, and then we could make the pizzas for lunch afterward. How does that sound?”

Ella balls up the trash bag aprons and tosses them in the garbage. “Please, Mom. It would be fun, and we could make it a standing lunch date.”

“I’ll think about it. I need to discuss it with Finn first,” I tell them both. I look down at my attire and see that my pajama bottoms need a good washing. Most of our clothes are packed up in boxes inside a shipping container being delivered to my parents’ house or in our luggage that’s still in the food truck. “Ella, can you collect the dirty clothes so I can get a load going in the washer tonight? Set them on the bed, and I’ll take care of it.”

“I can do the laundry for you, Mom,” Ella volunteers. “Mia and Ava are almost ready for bed, and Micah and I were going to stay up and play some video games. It wouldn’t be a hardship, and you need your beauty sleep.”

I walk around the counter and pull my daughter into an embrace. “A hot shower and sleep sounds good.”

“How does a hot bath sound instead?” Finn asks, coming around the corner and holding the plate of cookies I’d left him. “It’s the least I could do since you made me chocolate chip cookies. You know they’re my favorite.”

The kids all wanted gingerbread or shortbread cookies to decorate, but I snuck in a small batch of chocolate chip for Finn, even though he never spoke up. “I didn’t make them for you wanting something in return, Finn.”

“I know, and that’s why they’re special,” he retorts. “You’re special, Bailey, and you deserve a moment to yourself. The tub is already full, and I set out a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt on the bed for you. Take all the time you need.”

Ella and Micah grin. Ella practically pushes me down the hall toward Finn’s room and the master bath. “Mom, Finn is trying to do something nice for you. You deserve to be pampered. Enjoy the moment, and when you’re done, say ‘Thank you’ and give Finn a big kiss.”

I walk into Finn’s room, and just before I shut and lock the door, what she said registers in my brain. “Ella, what’s going on?”

Ella shrugs. “Mom, Mia, Ava, and I just want you to be happy. Finn made you happy once. Maybe if you give him a chance, he can do it again.”

“You’ve known him less than two days, Ella.”

“True,” she says. “But if Dad hadn’t lied to Finn and manipulated you, then you and Finn would be together. You are meant to be together. I can tell.”

I open my mouth to argue and give her my little spiel, but she raises a hand to stop me. “I know what you’re going to say, Mom. You’re going to tell me that you wouldn’t want to change the past because then you wouldn’t have us. And that’s the thing; you don’t have to. You can still have a future with Finn, and us girls will be the gift that keeps on giving,” she winks.

“What about Mia and Ava? Aren’t they going to think I’m trying to replace their father if I start dating Finn? That’s assuming that Finn wants to date me.”

Ella grabs my hands and uses the ‘mom’ tone against me, her face serious and stern. “Dad can be as much of a participant in our lives as he wants to be; which for the past few years hasn’t been much. I pray every day that changes, but it’s up to him to get things figured out. I don’t think, for even two seconds, thatFinn would stand in the way of whatever relationship Dad has with us. But Mia and Ava need a positive male role model in their lives, and as much as I don’t want to say it, Dad isn’t it—not as things currently stand.”

“So, if your dad were to show up tomorrow and beg for a second chance, you don’t think Mia and Ava would want me to take it?” I ask, testing the water.

Ella shakes her head vehemently. “Not if it means that you’re unhappy, Mom. Dad made his choice, and it wasn’t us. Even at six years old, Ava recognizes this. Finn made a mistake years ago that cost you both dearly, but everything happens for a reason. You taught us that. Maybe the reason our gas gauge got stuck and we were rescued by Finn is God’s handiwork at play.”

“You’re going to make a wonderful mother someday, Ella. You’re wise beyond your years.”

Ella laughs. “I hope so, but not for a long time yet. Go and enjoy the bath before the water gets cold, and think about what I said, okay?”

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