Page 1 of Sweet Surrender

1

BECCA

Becca Hawthorne stood in line at the little diner, feeling like she had stepped into a small-town Christmas movie set.

Twinkling lights and old-fashioned paper reindeer adorned the walls, and each table boasted a little red or green glass vase with a sprig of holly in it.

An elderly couple left, and the sleigh bells over the door jingled merrily as a blast of cold, sweet Vermont air swirled inside the diner, mixing with the delicious scent of pancakes and bacon on the grill from the kitchen.

Becca’s mouth watered, but she did her best to ignore it. She had already eaten oatmeal in the kitchenette of her apartment, so there was no need to order breakfast today, which was probably healthier for her waistline and her wallet. The sights and smells were hard to resist, but once she got her hands on a cheap coffee maker, she wouldn’t even need to come back here for her caffeine fix.

Teaching definitely didn’t pay well. She’d known that before she had even chosen her major in college. But it was worth it to know she could make a real difference in the world.

The man in front of her took a white paper bag from the pretty lady at the counter and put his change in the tip jar.

“Thanks, Kris,” chimed the woman, whose name tag saidTara.

“You betcha,” Kris replied, turning to go and winking at Becca.

The man had a big white beard and twinkly blue eyes and he looked so much like Santa Claus that Becca almost did a double-take as he passed her.

“How can I help you?” Tara asked.

“I’d love a coffee please,” Becca told her, holding out her reusable mug. “With milk and sugar.”

“Sure thing,” Tara said, taking it. “Are you the new second-grade teacher?”

“Yes,” Becca said, impressed. “How did you guess?”

“This is a small town,” Tara said with a smile. “I’m Tara.”

“Nice to meet you, Tara,” Becca said. “I’m Becca. It must be averysmall town.”

“Also… this was a good clue,” Tara said, indicating Becca’s travel mug. “It’s really pretty.”

“Right,” Becca said, feeling a little embarrassed that she hadn’t even thought about her mug. “Thank you. It was a gift.”

The message on the side said,The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book, in a pretty, swirly font.

“I’m going to start you a fresh pot,” Tara said, winking at her. “We need you at your best in the classroom.”

“Thanks,” Becca said.

Tara probably thought she was doing Becca a favor, but Becca would honestly rather have made do with the coffee from the bottom of the pot and had an extra few minutes in her new classroom.

My own classroom...

The thought of it sent a shiver of happiness down her spine.

“Is it your first day?” Tara asked when she had the coffeemaker going.

“Yes,” Becca replied happily. “It’s actually my first day with my own class, too.”

“You’ve never taught before?” Tara asked.

“I was a building substitute in the city,” Becca explained. “I would cover for any teacher at that elementary school who was out. So I bounced around a lot.”

“Well, you must have been a good one,” Tara said, holding up Becca’s mug.

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