Page 86 of A Seed Of Peril

Grabbing the nearest oven mitt off the counter, Bianca warned Katrina away from the oven so she wouldn’t get hurt. She dragged one of the cake pans out just enough to see, using a pink toothpick Katrina fetched for her to check its center.

“It’s done,” she said, then placed both pans on the stove top, the oven mitt underneath it.

“Yay!” Katrina celebrated. “Do you wanna see, Lulu?”

I waved my hand in dismissal. “I trust your judgment. It smells good, though.”

In fact, it smelled so good that it took tremendous restraint to not grab a fork and dig right in.

“Can I have that water over there?” I asked Bianca, referring to the bottle further down the counter. After handing it to me, she took a butter knife and began working around the edge of one of the cake’s layers. I almost choked on my sip of water the moment Katrina cried out in panic.

“You ruined it!” Tears filled Katrina’s eyes, nearing ready to spill. Shoving away the pain, I stood up and dragged my feet over next to Bianca, who had already backed away from the stove, her own panicked look written on her face.

I quickly caught onto the problem; Bianca accidentally cracked the edge of the cake. Nothing major to anyone else. The end of the world for my niece.

I put my hand on Bianca’s back as a sort of comfort as I looked at Katrina. “This can be our bottom layer. Or we can just cover it with frosting,” I told her calmly.

Tears ran down her cheeks. “It’s ruined,” she repeated. She wiped her face with her fists.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” Bianca apologized, sounding like she just might cry herself.

“I wanted it to be perfect.” Katrina dropped her head, fresh tears falling. “Like Papa.” She sniffed.

Bianca apologized softly to me, heartbroken in her own way. I wasn’t mad at her, but I couldn’t help but feel somewhat frustrated. I wanted—no,needed—Dominic’s advice at this moment, so I found a way to separate Bianca and Katrina.

“Do me a favor. Please go get Dominic and tell him it’s urgent.”

Nodding, Bianca silently slipped out of the kitchen. Tears lined her eyes, and it weighed my heart more.

I sighed as quietly as I could to myself, wracking my brain of any words to help diffuse the situation. Turning around, Katrina stood in place, staring up at me, sniveling. Thiswas nothow I planned Hector’s birthday. Fuck.

I snatched the towel hanging on the oven door and had a seat in my chair, calling for Katrina to come closer. I wiped her face.

“Sweetheart, nobody’s perfect. Not me, Bianca… Or your grandfather. But that doesn’t make us any less special, just like that cake up there.”

“But it’s broken, Mommy.”

My heart split further at her tone. Her pain.

I drew her into a tight hug. “I promise we can fix it. And I know your grandpa would appreciate it no matter what because you helped make it with your own two hands.” I pulled her away, wiping stray tears off her cheeks and the linings of her eyes. “It was made with love by those of us who love him. And to be honest… He probably would’ve already eaten that cake before we could finish frosting it. Helovedchocolate.”

A shaky smile ghosted her lips before she broke down again.

“Come here,” I murmured, hugging her. I kissed her head, rubbing my hand up and down her back. “He loves you. He wouldn’t care about that minor imperfection.”

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” she said, her words muffled against my shoulder.

“Don’t be. It’s a rough day for all of us. It’s okay to let a few tears out. I’ll show you a trick when we frost it so no one will notice, okay?”

She nodded against me. “We don’t have to bake another cake?”

“No.”

She pulled away, her nose red like Rudolph. She sniffed. “Can we make a cake for Uncle Thomas, too?”

I hid the pang of heartbreak that struck me in that moment, nodding. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up while we let the cake cool? Then, we can get started on your papa’s dinner.”

She nodded, smiling wider, and then, she hurried past me out of the kitchen. I sagged back against the chair, blowing out a tired breath.

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