Page 87 of Clean Sweep
I pointed my spatula at Max.
“You and Blake are on look-out duty. Okay? Make sure no one is looking left out or stuck in a weird conversation and in need of help.”
Both of them nodded. I gestured to Nicholas next.
“You’re on Landon and Starla duty. If they need something, you get it. Keep them hydrated.”
He chugged a glass of milk. “Got it.”
“The three of you will clean up the breakfast dishes, please, then head up stairs and get ready to go. I will be leaving in an hour for the Frolicking Moose.”
“An hour?” Blake cried. “But the ceremony isn’t until 3:00. Why are we going at 10:00? That’s five hours early! I’m going to miss a game with Missy.”
“Because we have things we need to set up and errands that I need to run.” I popped him gently on the arm with the spatula. “That’s where I need your help, all right? You can separate yourself from your girlfriend for at least that long.”
With a muttered groan, he turned to go back upstairs. Max finished stuffing the last of his tenth pancake into his mouth, then gave me a thumbs up.
“Perfect, Ma!”
Seconds later, the two of them disappeared. Nicholas stood, gathered the plates, and walked over to the sink. Of course, his two brothers had already forgotten my dictate to clean up, then change. While Nicholas plugged the sink and ran the hot water, I gathered all the dirty plates.
“I like coach, Mom.”
I paused, my hand halfway to the sink. Nicholas kept his back to me, but I could sense the power in his words. A dozen questions streamed through my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask any of them.
An endorsement from Nicholas was a powerful thing to have. He didn’t give friendship or approval lightly.
“I know,” I finally said.
“So what happened?”
“We . . . didn’t really react to Landon’s situation in the best way.”
“Oh.”
The silence that followed felt heavy and weighted. I wasn’t sure what else to say because I hadn’t worked through all of it myself yet. Landon and Starla must have told them after my visit.
“Were you going to ask him to come to the wedding with you?” Nicholas asked, breaking apart my thoughts.
“Ah . . . I don’t know.” I frowned. “I hadn’t thought about it yet.”
“You didn’t?”
“No.”
Nicholas turned around and wrapped me in a hug. “You’ll never be alone, Mom. We’ve always got your back.”
Tears brimmed in my eyes as I returned the embrace, then he let go and turned back to the dishes.
I let my heart drop to my feet and flop around. No matter what happened with me and Tanner, I still had the best kids on the planet.
AFLURRYof activity met us at the Frolicking Moose.
Thanks to the busy skiing tourist season, Maverick agreed that we could close the dining area to prepare for the wedding, but keep the drive-through open. Wedding â la coffee shop was never something I had imagined for my boys, but they always surprised me.
Dahlia buzzed behind the counter at the drive-through, bundled up with what looked like four long shirts, a pair of yoga pants under sweats, and fingerless gloves that weren’t up to dress code. She did, however, have a frosty white hat on top of her head, which gave a wintry feel to her aesthetic. Outside, whirls of snow spun around in spirals.
“Aloha boss lady and wedding party!” Dahlia called to us, but turned back to a customer at the window.
