Page 34 of Call it Fate

I snatched an extra one up from my desk and marched it out to him, giving him a raised eyebrow until he pulled his subtraction sheet back to him.

Five minutes later, “Mom, I need to go to the bathroom.”

“You just went fifteen minutes ago.”

“But I need to go again.Bad.”

I bowed my head over my desk and sighed. “Fine. But this time, I’m going with you so you don’t get lost again on your way back.”

Ten minutes later, we were both back at our workstations. I ruled out two gazebos that were too fancy or too big and began to look into the details of another.

“Mom—”

“Iain,please. Just fifteen more minutes, okay?”

“But it’s snowin’ again!”

I looked outside, and sure enough, the flakes were coming down again, giving the previous snow a fresh coat of white.

“Can we have a snowball fight?”

“Iain, I promise that if you can finish your work and let me finish minewithoutinterrupting me again, we can build a couple of snowmen out front to welcome our guests. How’s that?”

The sound of a chair sliding on the floor followed by fast footsteps resulted. Iain’s entire face was lit up as he came around my desk and flung himself into my arms. Bright green eyes and a small dimple looked up at me. “Thanks, Mama. You’re thebestest.”

I kissed the top of his head, then lightly smacked his butt. “Now, get out there and finish the work, okay?”

“Okay.”

Thirty blessedly silent minutes later, I’d picked the design I wanted, sent Cam and Chase an email with a few questions about the kinds of plants I want, and turned off my tablet. I made sure my desk was cleared and straightened the stack of “Things to Do” brochures on the counter and headed into the dining room, happy to see Iain hunched over the table, focused on whatever he was doing…until he sat up, a small, triangularly-folded paper between his finger and the table.

He flicked it with his other hand. He grinned as the “football” sailed through the air to another table, passing between two juice glasses before landing on one of my blue cloth napkins. He raised his hands in victory.

“Iain!”

He jumped and turned as his shoulders drooped, and he bowed his head. I pinched the bridge of my nose, hoping there was some kind of pressure point there that would relieve my tension.

“Is your schoolwork done?”

If possible, his shoulders slumped even more. “No,” he answered in a tiny voice.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Iain, you know you can’t go outside until the work is done.”

“I know, but—”

“No ‘buts,’ mister. You know the rules.”

“But, Mom, if you just let me play first—”

“Iain Zachary! Don’t start with me, or I’ll—”

“Do I need to set a timer?”

We both looked up to see Zach standing in the doorway, a mixture of amusement and concern crinkling his brow.

---