Page 26 of Sweet Surprises

“Hi,” Charlotte said softly. “I’m your Aunt Allie’s friend, Charlotte. Your family is letting me see the farm today.”

“Hi,” Olivia replied, looking up at her. “I thought you were one of Uncle Tripp’s girlfriends.”

“Oh,” Charlotte said, surprised. “Nope, I’m just here to learn about cows. I work in your ice cream shop.”

“It’s not mine,” Olivia said.

“Well, it belongs to your family,” Charlotte said, wondering how to get the conversation back on track. “What are you reading?”

“Twilight,” Olivia whispered, her gaze softening as her eyes went to the book in her hand.

“Oh, wow,” Charlotte said. “I read that one too.”

“You did?” Olivia asked suspiciously, as if maybe she doubted that Charlotte had ever been a teenager or read books.

“Yeah,” Charlotte told her. “It was so good. I didn’t want to stop reading until I finished it, and then I just wanted to read it again.”

“Grandma didn’t want me reading it,” Olivia confided suddenly.

“Well, I guess it has some young adult themes,” Charlotte allowed. “But your dad thought you were ready?”

“My dad worries about me,” Olivia said, kicking at the snow a little with a black Converse sneaker. “He told Grandma I wasengagingwith it, so he didn’t want to take it away.”

“Oh,” Charlotte said, uncertain how to respond.

“But then he read it himself before he gave it back,” Olivia told her, rolling her eyes. “He said he had to make sure it was okay. And that he might want totalk to meabout it.”

“Yikes,” Charlotte said without thinking. When she glanced up, Olivia was grinning at her.

“I guess your dad didn’t read all your books when you were my age?” Olivia asked. “Please tell my dad it’s not normal.”

“Mine was too busy telling me toapply myself,” Charlotte quipped, not wanting to share with Olivia that she would give anything right now for her dad to read with her or tell her to buckle down one more time.

“I can see why Aunt Allie likes you,” Olivia decided. “We should go in now. Grandpa always makes a really good after school snack and you won’t learn anything else about cows until the second milking anyway.”

“Okay,” Charlotte said.

They headed off together, and Charlotte wondered how it was possible to feel so instantly comfortable with another person when you seemed to have so little in common.

We have something big in common,she reminded herself, stealing another glance at the interesting young woman besideher and wondering if Tag talked to her as much about her mother as he did about her reading choices.

8

TAG

Tag drove his truck down the gravel drive with Charlotte beside him, heading back to the village to drop her off.

The sun was going down early, as it did in winter, and he felt good—physically exhausted from a day of labor, and oddly content knowing that Charlotte had enjoyed her day on the farm.

He had been pretty sure that a city girl would be grossed out by the sights and smells of the animals. He hadn’t been prepared for her to ask a million questions and then get her hands dirty helping.

And the last thing he’d expected was for her to hit it off with Olivia.

Olivia had always been naturally a little reserved, but she seemed to be retreating into herself these last few years, as if she wanted to disappear into her own memories, where her mom was still alive and well.

He had taken her to a child psychologist out in Burlington a couple of times. The lady ultimately told him that Olivia was coping in her own way, and that he ought to get her a library card of her own, and make sure he was ready to talk when she was.

But it seemed that no matter what he did, Olivia just got quieter and quieter.

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