Chapter 20 A Step Towards New Beginnings
“That is simply beautiful,” Gran said as she came over to admire the wedding cake Emma was assembling – or wedding cakes as it was in this case.
Many, many gingersnap-flavoured cupcakes were lined up on a tiered glass cake stand and dressed in cream-coloured frosting and small edible flowers.
At the top was one small, two-layer round cake with a “Mr. & Mrs.” cake topper – and of course, more flowers.
“You do such good work,” her grandmother continued. She had been adding baskets of prettily wrapped cookies to each of the guest tables. She had also helped bake them and wrap them along with Emma, Cari, Trish, and Henry.
Cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and the like were her one area of expertise.
Here, surrounded by baked goods, was where she found her serenity.
New techniques and designs, these things came easily – at least when compared with other things like business classes.
If only everything were as simple as baking.
“That pastry class I took last year has really come in handy with all the weddings we’ve had or will have.
” Today was Henry’s wedding to Trish. He was her second brother to get married.
Last year, in December, her oldest brother Will got married to Lacey.
Two of her other brothers – the twins, Fred and Eddie – both had serious girlfriends.
It was only a matter of time before they both got married. One day, maybe, it’d be her turn.
Of course, first, she’d need to find a guy to ask her out – one who wasn’t afraid to date a pastor’s daughter. Or wasn’t intimidated by the fact that she had five brothers who were protective of her to varying degrees. And then, there were her own issues that got in the way.
“Hey, Emma.” Tyler, Henry’s best man popped his head into the fellowship hall. “Trish says you have five minutes to present yourself to her or she’s leaving the nursery and coming to get you, and she doesn’t care if Henry sees her on the way.”
Emma laughed. “She sent you instead of her maid of honour?”
“Well, actually, Lacey is the reason she didn’t come to get you now.” He stepped further into the fellowship hall. “She said she needs to see that you’re ready.” He gave her a sweeping look. “You look good to me, but then, I’m just a guy, so what do I know about how a bridesmaid should look?”
“I’d say plenty,” Gran said and then chuckled.
Tyler grinned at Gran’s comment and crossed the short distance to where Emma was.
“This bridesmaid looks like perfection in my book,” he said to Gran.
“But again, I’m not the stressed-out bride who saw her parents arrive through the window.
” He leaned closer to Emma and Gran and whispered.
“Henry got a text and sent me to check on her.”
“They came?” Gran asked in surprise.
Trish didn’t have a good relationship with her parents, and Emma and Gran both knew it. She had disappointed them, and they seemed to struggle with the ideas of grace and forgiveness. Emma didn’t understand it. How could parents be so unloving? Although…
She sighed inwardly. She could understand having your every action scrutinized and often criticized. She had grown up in the fishbowl that was a pastor’s family, after all.
“It appears they did.”
“Did Henry go to welcome them?” Emma asked.
Tyler shook his head. “Nope, and he wouldn’t let either of Trish’s brothers do it either. He left that for your dad to do.”
Henry had gone to visit Trish’s parents once, and only once.
It hadn’t gone well. He was not the sort of guy they thought their daughter should marry.
It didn’t matter that he was a pastor’s kid to them, because Hatfield Falls Christian church didn’t use hymnals, had a worship band, didn’t require a specific dress code, and worst of all, read from the wrong version of the Bible.
“That was probably wise,” Emma said.
“You know it.” He looked at the cake display. “Are you done here?”
“I just have two cupcakes left to add.”
“I’ll wait.”
“And I should go make sure Nate and Will are doing a proper job of ushering and find my proper seat in the sanctuary,” Gran said with a wink for Emma and a small tip of her head towards Tyler.
Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Tyler was not the sort of guy who would ever be interested in her.
He was brilliant. She was not. She was creative, but not smart.
At least, not the sort of smart that made school easy.
Not to mention, she was Henry’s sister, and she doubted Tyler saw her as anything other than that.
It wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, she supposed.
How many times over the years had she hoped one or another of her brothers’ friends would think of her as more than her brother’s little sister?
She should probably have a talk with Gran about that so that the poor woman wouldn’t get her hopes up.
“There. All done.” The final cupcake was in place. She tucked the last cupcake container under the cake table with the others and made sure the tablecloth was hanging properly.
Tyler looked at his phone. “And with three minutes to spare.” He extended his arm to her, and she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. “Can you run in those shoes if needed?” he teased.
“As a matter of fact, yes, but not far and not fast. They’re pretty, but not practical.”
They both laughed as they made their way down the hall towards the nursery that had been designated as the bridal party prep room.
“Well, practical or not, they look good,” Tyler said.
He was sweet. Kind. Friendly. Just what a girl could want in a boyfriend.
And he was loyal and could put up with a great deal of foolishness.
He had to be able to. Blake was his brother, and Henry was his best friend.
Both Blake and Henry could try a person’s patience in short order – at least, they could when they were younger.
Blake was still a trial, but Henry had seemed to mellow in the last couple of years. Especially once he met Trish.
She bit the corner of her lip. She certainly hoped Trish’s parents weren’t here to cause trouble.
She had endured enough. And if they did try to start something, Henry was not above creating a scene of his own – and Blake would jump in without a second thought.
Tyler would be the quiet third, the one who would think things through a bit more than the others and try to head off any truly disastrous results.
“Is Henry doing okay since he knows Trish’s parents are here?”
Tyler nodded. “He seems to be. My brother, on the other hand, has already proposed ways to remove them from the ceremony or reception.” He chuckled. “But it won’t come to that. I’ve already prayed over the situation, and we’ll add it to the prayer before we go take our places.”
No one would know that Tyler hadn’t been a Christian for very long.
His faith seemed so solid. He had been a rock to both her and Cari during the start-up phase of their business.
He always had some wise financial counsel to give them or was able to show them a trend that was heading in the right direction as encouragement that their business would succeed.
“Thank you.” The words just popped out of her mouth.
“For what?”
Her cheeks grew warm. How was she supposed to answer that? It wasn’t as if she could tell him what she was actually thinking, so instead, she said, “Just for being such a good friend to my brother, I guess.” It wasn’t a lie. She was thankful for that.
“You’re welcome.” He lifted his hand to rap on the nursery door. “Ready for inspection?”
“I am.”
He tapped three times on the door, and then, opened it just enough for her to enter.
“Is the reception all set up?” Lacey asked. She wasn’t holding a checklist, but Emma could see her checking things off in her mind. She was a good fit for Will, who was, himself, a lists and schedules to a fault kind of person.
“It is. Gran has the tables looking spectacular, and the cupcakes all survived the trip and the arranging.” She waved a hand down her Bordeaux-coloured midi dress. “And as you can see, so did my dress.”
Trish motioned for her to spin for inspection. So, she did.
“If the fellowship hall looks as good as you, we’re in great shape,” Trish said with a smile. That smile, however, seemed a little tense.
“It’s going to be fine,” Emma assured her. “When we left the fellowship hall, I saw Dad talking to people I didn’t know, so I suspect those were your parents. And Tyler said Blake has plans to deal with any trouble that should arise.”
This caused Trish to laugh lightly. “Thank you, Emma. You always know what to say to bring a bit of sunshine to the room.” She gave her a hug.
It certainly felt good to be able to lift another’s spirits and calm an anxious heart.
There was another knock at the door. “Are you ready?” It was Trevor, Trish’s older brother who would walk her down the aisle.
Lacey opened the door. “We’re all set. Come on in.”
Trevor entered with Brandon and his camera close behind.
“Oh, Trish, you make a beautiful bride.” Trevor crushed her in a bear hug, and Brandon’s camera clicked, capturing the moment.
Then, with a reminder that the guys were on their way to the front of the church, they all joined hands and prayed for Trish and Henry and all who were in attendance, before making their way to the doors to the auditorium.
Nate and Will stood ready to open the doors, as soon as Fred started playing “The Goodness of God.” As Henry had said last night at the rehearsal dinner, this wedding was not just a celebration of him getting to marry the lady he loved.
He and Trish wanted it to be a full-on, all-out celebration of the goodness of God.
Emma blew out a breath and drew in another slowly as she went over how the processional was supposed to go.
Trish’s sister, Kayleigh, would enter first. Then, Emma, followed by Lacey.
They would make their way slowly to the front, take their places and turn.
The audience would rise, and Fred would pause playing for a moment and then play the song a second time while Trish and Trevor made their way to the front.
One foot in front of the other. That was all she had to do. Walk. Stop. Turn. She had managed to do it just fine at Lacey’s wedding, but then, at that wedding, Tyler hadn’t been watching her. Today, he would be, since he was standing next to Henry.
Her crush on Tyler was the worst crush on a brother’s best friend she had ever had.
Nate had been her first. She had been sixteen, and he was way too old for her.
She had known it. However, that hadn’t stopped her from admiring him from afar.
But eventually, her fickle teenage heart had shifted to another cute boy closer in age, and then, another.
The doors in front of her opened.
It was show time.
She tugged her lips into a perfect smile and willed herself to portray a calm she didn’t feel. It was a well-practised role, so it wasn’t too hard to assume. However, playing this part of the perfect pastor’s daughter was beginning to wear on her.
Things had been simpler when in high school.
Crushes faded and were replaced. Less than stellar test scores were agonized over, but the agony was soon forgotten in the fun of some creative project or social activity.
What had seemed to be a huge deal when she was seventeen seemed insignificant now.
Mistakes could be blamed on hormones and immaturity then.
But out here? In the real world? Dreams came with heavy responsibilities, and failed tests and falling for the wrong guy could derail a whole lot more than a grade card or the success of a school activity.
And those excuses that had made mistakes understandable back then? Well, they just didn’t hold up any longer.
And all that was making her secretly messy insides tiringly hard to hide.
Read Emma and Tyler’s story in Hatfield Falls (Don’t Tell) Book 5, Don’t Tell Anyone I’m Not Perfect.