When Calls the Dream

Sleepovers

I COMPARE THESE CUPCAKES to nuclear bombs. Frosting decorates the girls' fingers and the spoon handle more than the cupcake tops. Nathan watches the mess grow in dismay, and I can't help but smirk at his adorableness.

"It needs some more." Allie scoops a snowball-sized glob onto the cupcake, and the other girls gasp in surprise. "I can pile mine higher," Anna challenges.

"Just don't pile it too high though," Nathan intercedes, his eyes prying wider every second. "Oh, yeah, watch this."

"No, Allie, don't..that's a lot, " Nathan is having a fit as the girl scoops up even more frosting, "Allie, come on!"

"You have frosting on your face!" Opal smiles at her friend, and Allie wipes some of the mess onto the small girl's nose. "So do you." I take this moment to secretly dip my entire hand into the frosting bowl in my arms. "Allie, don't use your fingers on her-"

I interrupt Nathan from getting too upset, "Children! I have something very important to say." The laughter dies down, and Nate scoffs, brows twisted deep. "How did you do that?"

I snort, "It's not really something I can talk about." The glare he gives me after that makes laugh even more. "I know, typical of me right?" He throws and eyeroll, and the girls are still quiet as caterpillars. "Now, I think Nate here...doesn't have enough frosting on on his face." I raise my hand full of icing up to his cheek, and squish the sugary substance onto to his nose. Giggles erupt from the table, and Nate's pouty lip comes out. "Oh, I know...you need a beard. Let's arrange that for you." His hand grips my wrist, seriousness masking his amusement. We stay in this position for a moment, with me grinning like an idiot. The next thing I know, there is a wet sensation on my forehead. I gaze up cross-eyed, gasping in surprise at what he did. He took some from the bowl too.

"It's only fair." Nathan samples the flavor on his lips. "Tastes pretty nice."

We all enjoy the rest of the decorating, and when the event is finished, Nate sends them all up to Allie's room. "Lights out in twenty alright?" He shouts up the stairs, and all I hear is the beginnings of a pillow fight. Nate let me linger around when I brought the cupcakes over here, and I gladly jumped up to help the girls tonight, but I suspect it could have been because he needed more help than they did. "Are you going to be able to handle them?"

He glimpses at me, "I think so."

"Or you hope so."

"Maybe," he admits, "Look, I wanted to apologize for Archie this afternoon." I can tell he is worried about how I will respond. I did not expect he would want to mention the scene. The ordeal never bothered me in the slightest, but I recognize that it is a wound Nathan carries, and it bothers him a great deal. With a cloth, I wipe off left over icing from his chin, and he halts my effort with his own hand; the touch is tender and kind. "Sorry..." I fold the cloth and hand it to him. "Nate, what happened between you and your father is your business, but I'm here if you want to talk about it." I collect my things into the basket I brought over, and I leave the conversation there, not feeling the pull to break the silence.

"You know when I was Allie's age, I remember finding my mother in tears," The mounty's voice turns my attention back toward him. I see his heart opening up before my eyes. "It was because my father pawned a ruby brooch he got for her to pay a gambling debt. Instead of getting better, it just got worse and worse until he was found stealing from the bank he worked at."
I draw in a deep breath, "I take it that wasn't the only time he was sent to prison. The pain wouldn't be so strong if it had been." He shakes his head, confirming my statement. "You're right about that. After he got out, no bank would hire him. He resorted to petty theft just to put food on our table..."
"...You're trying to protect Allie from a broken heart." His shoulders shrink from the gravity of the situation, and I scramble for the honest words racing in my mind.
"Part of being a parent, Nate, is to prepare a child for the hard things in life. You may think telling her in the future is wise, and it is if time afforded it, but your father is here now." I hold myself together by crossing my arms in front of me. "If you don't be honest with her, she may be desperate enough to go searching for answers on her own.