Page 21 of Sweet Surprises

“Creamery it is,” Tag said. “See you, Ma.”

“You’ll both come to the house for lunch, won’t you?” Maggie asked. “I’ve got a nice stew in the crock.”

“Yes, Ma,” Tag teased. “You can feed Charlotte, too.”

But Maggie only laughed.

“Is it so bad to want to feed the ones you care about?” she asked.

“Definitely not,” Charlotte told her, liking the sound of that stew, especially on a cold day.

“I told you she’s a keeper,” Maggie said, laughing again as Tag led Charlotte back through the barn.

He was shaking his head, but he wore an uncharacteristic smile.

So, it’s possible to get a real smile out of him, Charlotte thought to herself.

“You’re taking her to the creamery, aren’t you?” Tripp yelled to them as they passed him for the second time. “Tell Zane to get in here and help me when he’s done.”

“Sure,” Tag said, sounding anything but sure.

She followed him back outside, appreciating that the barn had actually been a little warmer than outside once she was back out in the open air.

“The sun will heat things up pretty quick,” Tag said, as if he had read her mind. “Creamery’s this way.”

She followed him up the hillside, toward a plain brick building with a little wooden sign hanging from the door.

“Zane made that in elementary school wood shop,” Tag said, nodding to the sign, which saidCreameryin uneven letters.

“That’s so cool,” Charlotte said. “He must have been so proud when your parents put it up.”

“He was,” Tag agreed. “Listen, Zane’s the quiet type, I just want to warn you.”

Charlotte was at a bit of a loss. Tag had barely said more than a sentence at a time since she’d met him. Ifhewas saying Zane was quiet, the poor man must be as silent as the tomb.

Tag pushed open the door before she could ask any follow-up questions. The inside was taken up mostly by huge, shining metal vats. A man who had to be Zane looked up at them, clearly surprised to have visitors.

“Hey, Zane,” Tag said. “This is Allie’s friend, Charlotte. She works at the ice cream shop now, and she wanted to see how it’s made.”

Zane had the typical Lawrence big frame and dark hair. But where Tag seemed to carry a bit of darkness with him, and Tripp’s personality was full of mischief, Zane’s quiet was deeper, with an edge of sorrow.

He smiled at Charlotte and moved to greet her, making an obvious effort to shake off whatever haunted his blue eyes.

“Hi, Charlotte,” he said. “What would you like to know?”

“Well, customers have had a lot of questions about the cows,” she said. “And Tag has been very kindly answering those for me.”

Tag made a sound beside her that was something between a laugh and a cough.

He should splutter, she thought to herself, glad she had thrown him for a loop for once, instead of the other way around.He wasn’t exactly kind about answering those questions.

But he was being pretty nice today, she had to admit.

“I would love to know how the milk gets from the cows to the shop,” she finished.

“Has she been here for a milking?” Zane asked Tag.

“Nope,” Tag said. “I brought her over here at seven.”

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