Page 9 of Icing on Top

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. Moments like today are inevitable. You can’t protect her from them all.” She patted my arm soothingly.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I can’t thank you enough for taking her today. I know she would’ve been content at the rink while I worked, but I wouldn’t have been able to watch her on the ice, so—”

“Thank you for letting me steal her for the day,” Terri interrupted. “You know I’ll watch her anytime.”

I tugged on the hem of my shirt while shifting my shoulders, the fabric feeling a little tight. Usually, I didn’t have to be at work very long on Saturdays, but with the hockey season starting up, there was a lot more to do than usual. When Charlie was little, it was easy enough to make her a pallet in my office and let her play with her toys while I worked. Now that she was bigger, it was impossible to keep her off the ice.

“Yeah, of course.” I reached for the door knob and held it open for her. “Drive safe, Terri.”

As always, I watched until she’d made it out of the driveway and sent one last wave. Then I headed to the kitchen and retrieved a glass for Charlie’s milk. One glass may not counter the effects of two and a half mini cupcakes, but the extra calcium wouldn’t hurt either.

Charlie returned and scrambled up onto the stool at the island.

“So, what flavors do we have?” I asked as I cracked open the container, sliding it over between the two of us along with her milk.

“This one is orange creamsicle and this one is lemon,” Charlie explained, pointing to each cupcake respectively.

My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Did you know lemon cake was your mom’s favorite?”

Sadie had wanted a lemon wedding cake so badly, but our mothers had convinced her to get a more generic flavor that everyone would enjoy. While she’d given in, I could tell she was disappointed, so I’d made sure that a personal-sized lemon cake was waiting for us in our hotel suite that night. We’d sat on the bed in our wedding outfits and ate every single crumb.

Charlie’s face lit up. “Coach Zo said it was her favorite, too.”

She grinned down at the cupcake as if it were the most magical thing she’d ever seen. And right then, it did feel pretty magical. Like Sadie was sending us some sort of sign that she was here, watching us.

“Then this is the perfect cupcake to split in Mom’s honor. What do you think?”

“Absolutely!”

I cut the cupcake in half and handed Charlie’s share to her. She took it carefully and then lifted it in the air.

“I hope you’re eating all the lemon cupcakes you want, Mommy. And with no tummy ache.”

Tears stung my eyes, but I held my half up and lightly tapped it against hers before taking a bite.

I could see why Zoe said this was her favorite flavor. The sweetness of the frosting balanced the tart lemon perfectly. It made me wish I’d had the whole thing instead of just half. Hell, I’d take a whole dozen of them.

“Wow! These are delicious.”

Charlie nodded her head adamantly. “We should get cupcakes more often.”

Her innocent smile didn’t fool me, but I just laughed. “We’ll see. Maybe we can come up with a deal where you get a cupcake if you save a certain number of goals.”

And I would be getting a cupcake for myself as well. Rooting for my daughter and stressing over a game—even a Mite League game—was exhausting. I deserved a treat, too.

Charlie held out her hand, her expression serious. I took her small, sticky hand in my own.

“Deal,” she said.

I finished off the creamsicle cupcake in one bite—not as good as the lemon, but still delicious—and then stole a quick sip of Charlie’s milk. That earned me a playful glare before she reclaimed the glass.

“Uncle Wes is going to be in town in a couple weeks,” I shared as I carried our empty plate over to the sink to rinse it off.

“For a game?”

“Yup. They’re playing Denver,” I confirmed. “And he said he has a ticket for his best girl ready to go.”