Page 42 of Sweet Surrender

She had walked to school, so she had to walk back to her apartment to get her car. And even in the cold, it was a beautiful walk through town. Every day there were more holiday decorations up. Today, workers were doing maintenance on the pop-up ice-skating rink. They smiled and laughed as they called out to each other, as if even they couldn’t resist the joyful spirit of the little town.

Becca could hardly blame them. Back in the city, she had always enjoyed the holiday lights and celebrations. But so much of the Christmas finery there felt like it was aimed at trying to sell something.

Here in Sugarville Grove, it was different. Even in the shop windows, there were posters for fun community activities and charity projects. And real greenery hung from the railings and window boxes, like something out of an old-fashioned children’s book. It made her want to hang decorations herself, though she lived in a third-floor apartment, so she wouldn’t be hanging outdoor lights anytime soon.

When she reached her car, she hopped right in instead of heading upstairs to change, figuring it was better to go in her school clothes than to waste any more time, or give herself an excuse not to go back out. She was wearing a long skirt and low heels today, nothing that felt overly formal.

The old car started up on the first try, and she shivered and blew out an impatient breath, trying to let it warm up a little before pulling out and heading out of the village and up Fox Hollow Road.

Should I be doing this?

As she traveled farther into the countryside and away from the town, she swore she could feel Zane’s quiet presence. Maybehe preferred to leave the village in the village for the weekend. Would he even want to see her?

Nick will, she told herself as she pictured the little boy’s face filled with pride as he handed her the quiz.He shouldn’t have to wait until Monday.

She slowed down as she approached the old, covered bridge. It was only one lane, and when she came out here for the first time earlier in the week she had been so scared to drive into it she’d almost turned around.

This time, she paused and waited long enough that she was pretty sure she would have heard another car’s engine.

The boards clattered under her tires as she pulled into the darkness. Fortunately, she could already see the light on the other side, and the journey across the bridge was done almost before it had begun.

Before long, she spotted the long, tree-lined drive leading to the Lawrence Farm. As she pulled in, she tried to imagine how lush it must be in the summertime under a canopy of leaves. Or how beautiful the trees would look in the fall. Even now, the silvery branches made her feel like she was entering some kind of fairyland.

Last time she visited, they had met her by her car, but this time she figured she would have to walk over to the big blue house the boys had said was theirs.

So she was surprised when she saw a group of people hanging colorful lights on the little trees and bushes in front of the boys’ grandparents’ house as the sun dipped toward the mountains behind them. A closer look told her it was Zane and the boys as well as his parents.

The adults simply turned and looked, but Nick and Cal immediately started jumping up and down and pointing. She felt a little jolt of self-consciousness as she carefully parked the car.But she couldn’t turn back now. When she opened her door to get out, the boys were already halfway to her.

“Miss Hawthorne,” they yelled together.

“What are youdoinghere?” Nick asked, chuckling with delight.

“Hey there,” Zane called to her as he followed after the boys. His deep voice was casual and curious, not the least bit suspicious, and she instantly felt a little better.

“I, um, I wanted to share something with you,” she told them. “Something good from class today.”

“Goodness, isn’t that lovely?” Maggie said, approaching with a smile. “How many teachers would come all the way up here to talk about class on a Friday afternoon.”

“Come on,” Zane told her. “Let’s go inside where it’s warm.”

She followed him, smiling when Nick wrapped a hand around her arm like he wanted to drag her faster.

“You brought your school things,” Cal said, eyeing her bag shyly.

“I wanted your family to see something good you guys did today,” she said.

“That’sevidence,”Nick pointed out, nodding sagely.

She nodded back, wondering where he had picked up that concept.

Daniel reached the front door first and opened it for everyone, letting out a lovely draft of warm air. As Becca followed everyone in, she couldn’t help admiring the Christmas tree twinkling in the living room. The family had clearly been busy over the last few days.

“Can I take your coat?” Maggie offered. “Would you like a nice cup of tea?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine,” Becca told her. “Really, I just wanted to show you all something.”

She slid her hand into her open bag and pulled out the boys’ quizzes right there in the hall. She had thought ahead of time about how to handle this, so she was prepared.

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