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Word Prompt: Lamb

Dialogue Flex: "You would do that for me?"

My brother's backyard is twice the size of mine.

For one thing, he and Rose have a corner lot. Their front lawn's bigger because of this, too. But also, they're near the outskirts of town, where things tend to be more spread out. During the summer, that backyard is a lush, green sanctuary, dappled by a canopy of evergreens and oaks.

Right now, though, it's like everyone else's: sparse and white.

Charlie's making snow angels when I come to pick her up; Rose is taking pictures of her. I watch from the window for a moment, smiling when one of those photos hits my phone a minute later.

"I'm in the kitchen," I text back.

Rose squints down at her phone and then over at the house, grinning as she pulls Charlie up out of the snow.

I run most of my errands in the morning, both personal ones as well as for the business, so Auntie Rose babysits. Charlie loves it here, even when her older cousins are at school. Rose spoils her.

"Hi, Mommy," Charlie says breathlessly, flushed from play and cold.

"Hi, baby." I wrestle a kiss onto her cheek before she scuttles away, peeling her gloves and jacket off as she goes. "Put those in their special place, please."

"'Kay."

"Charlie."

She comes back, scrunching her nose, and picks up her stuff.

"How was she?" I ask Rose, giving her a quick hug.

"Great, as always."

"Yeah? She was a little cranky this morning."

"She's always good for me." Rose shrugs, filling the kettle with water and setting it on the stove.

"Yeah, because you spoil her," I laugh, sliding into a stool at the counter.

Rose smiles. "She's the baby."

On the way home, after a pretzel and several rounds of Mary Had a Little Lamb, Charlie falls asleep in her carseat. Her already messy ponytail loosens more, crowding her little face with long, brown curls. I can't bring myself to cut it. My dad says she looks a lot like I did at that age.

Yeah, my girl might look like me, but she's got her father's eyes. They are beautiful, probably his one redeeming feature. Sometimes it's almost hard to remember his face, but not his eyes.

At home, I carry Charlie to bed, prying her boots from her feet and letting them fall to the ground. I take her outerwear off and replace it with blankets, figuring she'll probably nap for a good hour at least.

"Mom," she breathes, still asleep. I tuck a teddy bear underneath her arm and back quietly out of the room.

Making several trips, I haul a week's worth of groceries from my car to the kitchen. It's a good day for white chicken chili, I think, so that's what I make, tossing ingredients into my slow cooker as I sip a glass of wine.

I'm washing my hands when Emmett calls.

"Hey, Em."

"Bella. Listen. Alice called..."

"Don't tell me," I say, shouldering the phone as I mince a head of garlic. Alice Whitlock is a wedding planner, and the woman coordinating this weekend's wedding. She's also a close family friend, which means she's always calling in favors.

"Yeah." He sighs heavily, the sound crackling over the phone. "Apparently there's been a change of venue -"

"One week before the wedding?" I put down my knife and stare at the wall. "Are they crazy?"

"The bride's always imagined the mountains. She's speaking up now."

"Whatever," I say, rolling my eyes. "So what do you need me to do?"

"We're moving everything up a day."

"Wonderful."

"I can probably call Maggie..."

"No. I've got this."

"Yeah? You would do that for me?"

"Emmett." I pour myself a little more wine.

"Excellent." His relief is palpable. "Nothing else changes. Sweets table is exactly the same."

"Thank God for small favors."

"Yeah, no kidding. All right. You rock, Bella. Let me know if you need anything."

"Will do."

There's a pause, and I can hear noise in the background, like traffic. "Heard Chuck had fun today. Rose sent me a couple of pictures."

I snort at the nickname. "Yeah. She's passed out now."

"Good. All right, talk to you later."

"'Kay. Bye."

We hang up. I give the chili a stir before covering it, and then grab my notebook and wine and sit down. Making notes as I go, I skim the list of items the bride wants for her sweets table. Besides the cake, there are custom cookies, salted caramel blondies, and several other sugary treats. I have a lot of baking ahead of me, and the next few days are going to be frantic, but it's okay.

I work well under pressure; we all do, which is why Em's business continues to make a great name for itself in the community. I'm glad I get to be a part of it.

Em and two of his frat buddies started their catering company right out of college. One of them had a trust fund, conveniently, but still, they started small and have worked extremely hard to get to where they are now. Mike's still around. He's one of my favorite people, despite his tendency to flirt with me every chance he gets.

Edward, the other guy, left soon after they got their business off the ground. Apparently he's an athlete - soccer, I think - and when he got the chance to play overseas, he took it. I don't know; I've never met him. He sounds like a good guy, though, and I get the impression Emmett wishes he were still around, even after all this time.

"Mommy?" Charlie's sleep-husky voice drifts down the hall. I glance up at the clock, surprised to see it's been nearly two hours since we got home. Placing my glass in the sink, I make my way to her room.

sorry so late. long day. tomorrow's will be on time.

thx for reading!

xo