Page 27 of Sweet Surrender

“Okay, let’s go in calmly,” Zane told the boys. “We don’t want to disturb the calves.”

The barn was dim and hardly warmer than outside, but Zane loved the cozy feeling and the sweet smell.

“It smells good in here,” Miss Hawthorne said, as if echoing his own thought.

“That’s the hay,” he told her.

She nodded and followed the boys farther into the barn, past the larger open area and then into the stalls.

As he got closer, he could hear his mother talking softly to the animals. Their timing was perfect.

“Hello, boys,” his mom called out. “And is that your teacher? Hello, Miss Hawthorne.”

“Oh, it’s just Becca,” she called back with a smile. “That goes for you too, Mr. Lawrence.”

“It’s Zane,” he told her.

That earned him a smile that warmed him up like a bowl of soup on a snowy day and he trailed after her, wondering what was getting into him.

“So, he’s really taking a bottle?” Becca asked, sounding awed as she leaned over the half door of the stall along with the boys.

“This is a little girl,” Mom said. “And yes, she’s taking a bottle. Sometimes the mamas just aren’t interested in nursing. That’s where we come in, right boys?”

“Can Miss Hawthorne do it?” Nick asked.

“Oh, that’s okay,” Becca said right away. “We wouldn’t want to stop her in the middle of her meal.”

“Not to pressure you,” Mom said. “But if you wanted to try, we have another calf who needs her bottle now.”

“Really?” Becca asked, her face lighting up like she’d won a prize.

“We sure do,” Mom said. “Once Rita is finished, we’ll head over to see Sally.”

“They have such nice names,” Becca said, sounding a little surprised.

“We name our milking cows after important ladies,” Nick said.

“We sure do,” Mom agreed. “This little one is Rita Moreno, and you’ll be feeding Sally Ride.”

Becca laughed in delight, and the sound was so cheery that the boys joined her, and even Zane felt his mouth turning up at the corners.

“All done, Rita,” Mom said, patting the pretty little calf’s cheek as she pulled the empty bottle away. “You did a wonderful job.”

The calf nudged at Mom’s hip, like maybe she had another bottle in her apron, but Mom just laughed and gave her a nice patting before slipping out of the stall to go see the other calf.

Zane heard boots crunching outside and headed back toward the front of the barn. As he expected, Tripp came jogging in a moment later.

“Hey, brother,” Tripp said, stopping short, with mischief in his eyes. “Is she here?”

“You’re as bad as the boys,” Zane told him, shaking his head.

“Is there something wrong with taking an honest interest in my nephew’s new teacher?” Tripp asked.

“Let her be,” Zane heard himself growl.

Tripp stepped back and nodded, his eyes still dancing with merriment.

“If that’s how you feel, you should be extra nice to her,” Tripp said after a moment.

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