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As he headed back to the kitchen, he heard the murmur of voices. When he stepped into the kitchen, he found everyone, including Molly, was seated around the table with their plates full of food.

Leah glanced up. Her gaze met his, and a smile bloomed on her face. “Shaun, come join us. We found some waffles in the freezer and some sausages. Luckily, the freezer didn’t defrost.”

Martha moved over on the long bench. “Here. Sit down.”

He moved to the table. As soon as he sat down, Leah got up. She moved to the counter, where she placed a couple of waffles in a toaster oven. Then she turned. “Would anyone like some more waffles? I have a few more.”

Everyone shook their heads. He noticed that Molly was very quiet, but at least she was eating.

Buzz.

Well, it wasn’t his phone. It was going to take a while for it to regain a charge. As the sound continued, people reached for their phones.

“It’s mine,” Molly said. “It’s my mother.” She rushed to get up. In her haste, she tripped but she caught herself. She pressed the phone to her ear as she rushed out of the room. “Mom? Wait. I can’t hear you. Let me move.”

Her voice faded as she moved away from the kitchen.

“Oh, I hope it’s good news,” Martha said.

“Me too,” Brock said. “This was supposed to be the beginning of our honeymoon, but Molly is hardly speaking to me.”

“Maybe her mother called to smooth things over with her.” Martha tried to sound hopeful.

When Shaun gave him a closer look, he noticed shadows under Brock’s eyes. Something told him the guy’s exhaustion wasn’t caused by a fun honeymoon. Poor guy.

Shaun would like to say he didn’t know what the guy was going through, but it wouldn’t be true. His own marriage hadn’t gotten off to a smooth start. There had been a fight at their reception. The bride’s brother got into a fist fight with another guy over a girl. And then others had joined in. It had been a complete and utter disaster. That right there should have served as a warning of what he was getting himself into, but what do they say? Love is blind. In his case, it was spellbinding.

On their wedding night, Mandi blamed him for not stopping the fight. First, it was her brother who started the fight, not him. Second, he was outside catching a breath of fresh air when the fight broke out. By the time he’d gone back inside, it was mass chaos.

But Shaun stayed quiet. He didn’t think bringing up his past was going to do anything to make Brock feel better. There were just some things that people had to figure out on their own.

And so, silence fell over the room as they waited to see how things turned out with Molly and her mother.

Ding.

He glanced over to see the time had gone off on the toaster oven. In no time, Leah placed a large plate with two waffles and four sausage links in front of him.

“If you want more, just let me know.” And then she sat down to finish the last few bites of her breakfast. Before she took a bite, she jumped back up. “I forgot to ask. Would you like coffee or juice? Or both?”

“I think I’ll just have some coffee. Thanks. But I can get it.”

“Nonsense. I’m the hostess.” Leah moved to the other side of the large kitchen. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a mug.

Just then Molly rushed back into the room. There was a hint of a smile on her face. “Mom said they got the same storm, so they had to push the party off until tomorrow. If we get going, we can get there tonight.”

“Go pack. I’ll be right there.” Brock got to his feet. He gathered his dirty dishes to carry to the sink.

Leah turned at that moment and spotted him. “You don’t have to do that.”

She rushed over to take them, but Brock wouldn’t let them go. “You don’t have to wait on me. My mother taught me to clean up after myself.”

Leah smiled. “You have a good mother. And thank you. I appreciate it.”

After rinsing off the dishes, he placed them in the dishwasher. “I better go give Molly a hand. Looks like we’re headed out.”

“You don’t have to rush off,” Leah said.

“Thanks, but my wife really wants to see her family.” Brock turned and left the kitchen.