Page 37 of All I've Waited For

Heather wiggled her doughy hands. “Nothing special. Just cookies. But you’re welcome to them once they’re ready.” Turning, she washed her hands in the sink, then flicked them dry before snagging a towel. “What are you guys working on tonight?”

“Now that we’re holding the wedding at the inn, we’ve got to figure out decorations. A lot of what we were planning to use was supposed to be provided by the lodge, so I wanted to show Derek some pictures of what was possible and get his final okay to order or rent it.” Sliding into one of the six chairs at the rectangle oak table, Ashley opened the binder. “I should be out of your hair in an hour, tops.”

“Feel free to stay longer, if you’d like.” Heather looked at Derek with a challenge in his eyes.

“Y-yeah.” He glared at his sister before turning his attention back to Ashley and joining her at the table. “Stay as long as you’d like.”

Ashley studied him. “I have a lot of work to do.”

“Oh, but Mia and I were going to go play outside on the deck once I’m done making cookies,” Heather said, a little too much saccharine in her tone. “You’re welcome to join us. It’s supposed to be a lovely night.”

He was going to kill his sister.

Mia turned on her stool and bounced where she sat. “Oh yes, Miss Ashley. You have to stay and play. Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?”

“How could I refuse such an offer?”

They settled in at the table and worked through the details, Heather piping up with ideas between cookie batches. The chocolate served to loosen them up, and by the end of the night, they were all laughing over memories from their youth.

“My brother was such an idiot sometimes.” A wry grin hooked Ashley’s lips. “Who in their right mind would try to jump from the roof of a two-story house into the pool?”

“To be fair, probably most teenage boys I knew.” Heather wiped away the evidence of four cookies on Mia’s face with a wet cloth. Mia yawned.

“Not me.” Derek leaned his chair onto its hind legs, his hands looped together around the back of his head. “I told him it wouldn’t work.”

“Ever the logical one. If only he’d listened to you, he wouldn’t have broken his leg.” Ashley peeked at the clock. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to take so long. We just have one more thing to discuss and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Do you have time to take a break now?” Heather kissed Mia on the head. “It’s almost this one’s bedtime.”

Click, click, click. Ashley’s thumb was getting a workout with her pen. “Um, sure.”

Mia jumped down from her stool and held out her hand to Ashley. “Come on. I’ll let you pick any of the Barbies. Except for the wedding Barbie. She’s my favorite.”

“Oh, she’s mine too. But I’m sure I can find a great second favorite.” Laughing, Ashley took his niece’s hand.

Mia held out her other. “Uncle Elephant. You too. We need a Ken. And you’re the best Ken around.”

“He really is, isn’t he?” Heather squeezed Derek’s shoulders. “You’ve been summoned, big brother.”

“All right, all right.” Standing, he made his way toward Mia and Ashley, whose eyes laughed at him. He bowed. “Ken, at your service.”

Mia’s and Ashley’s giggles pealed through the lofty kitchen. His niece stole his hand, tugging him and Ashley toward the living room.

He turned to eye Heather. “Aren’t you going to join us?”

“After I clean the dishes.”

“I can do that later. Come on.”

“I’ll be right out.” Her eyes held a twinkle.

The traitor.

After the three of them had picked out dolls—or, rather, Mia assigned them—they headed to the back door. Stepping out, Mia went straight for the brown swing attached to the underside of the porch roof by two metal chains and plopped down. “Okay, Uncle Elephant, you sit on one side and Miss Ashley on the other.”

Both of the adults obeyed the little dictator, and the wood groaned with the effort. Mia proceeded to tell each of them what to say and where to move.

After fifteen minutes of playing with the bride Barbie, she inclined her head toward Ashley. “We can switch dolls now if you want.”

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