Wedding Cake Wishes by Dana Corbit

helmet on his motorcycle and threw his head back, closing his eyes and breathing in the earthy scent of southern Indiana. Though Boyton County State Park was more crowded than he preferred with holiday picnickers and the air was tinged with the scent of barbecue grills, serenity still flooded Logan’s veins.
    Even the twenty-minute ride out to the park on his Harley hadn’t made him feel so at peace. He didn’t needpeople in this place, could be alone without feeling lonely. He was at home.
    Sunlight warmed his face and filtered through his closed lids, transforming darkness to an orange glow. The heat made his leather jacket uncomfortably warm, though, so as he opened his eyes, he shrugged out of it. He hooked his thumb under the collar and tossed it over his shoulder.
    Just twenty paces from the gravel parking lot, he reached his favorite spot. From the lookout, he had the best seat in the house to see God’s creations in the verdant valley below and the rolling hills in the distance. A robin chirped on a nearby sycamore tree branch, and a hawk swooped below, hinting at even more wildlife hidden beneath the backdrop of green.
    Tossing his jacket on a grassy spot near the drop-off, he settled next to it. He stretched out his legs, crossing his booted ankles, and rested back on his elbows. Instead of bowing his head, he tilted his chin up and closed his eyes.
    â€œFather, I feel Your presence here,” he prayed aloud, without worrying he might be overheard. “Thank You for holding Mom in Your hand all week. Thank You for carrying all of us through this difficult time. I ask that You continue to hold Mom, to heal her if it is Your will.”
    Logan didn’t say “amen” because he and God still had a lot of talking to do today. Their chats here tended to take a while. A smile pulled at his lips as he wondered what his brothers would have thought if they knew this was his “date.” What about Caroline? Would she be surprised?
    He didn’t know about that, but she was sure shockedwhen she’d watched him roll into church in his best suit. Had she liked what she’d seen? He’d sure appreciated how lovely she’d looked in that narrow skirt and that ruffled turquoise blouse—more than he should have. She’d even worn her hair down again in a mass of waves, and it had been all he could do not to brush his hand through that silky chaos. Even now…
    Startled, Logan straightened. Where had that come from? He hadn’t dressed up to impress Caroline, anyway, had he? He shook his head hard. He’d made the effort for his mother, whether she was there to see him or not. Still, part of him couldn’t help being pleased that he’d gotten a reaction out of Caroline as well, even if it was shock.
    â€œLord, why can’t I get her out of my mind? Even here.”
    Was he thinking of her because of Reverend Boggs’s sermon today? She’d seemed so uncomfortable afterward that he’d felt this strange need to shield her from whatever was bothering her. It was absurd to imagine that Caroline Scott would ever need anything from anyone, him in particular, but he’d still felt it.
    With a huff of frustration, Logan lay back on the grass and stared up into the huge expanse of puffy cumulus clouds. Even turning down Mrs. Scott’s lunch invitation to put some distance between him and Caroline hadn’t been enough to remove her from his thoughts. Her image had just slipped inside his helmet and had come along for the ride.
    Well, he’d come out here to find some perspective, and that was what he intended to do. He might have allowed women to distract him so many times before, but this time would be different. He intended to keep hispromise to his mother, and that meant avoiding all distractions, even those with brains and beauty to match.
    He wasn’t really attracted to Caroline anyway, he told himself. She was too different from him,