Page 79 of Sweet Surrender

Becca slid the next batch into the oven as the boys admired what they had made so far.

“Something smells good,” Mr. Lawrence declared, marching into the kitchen. “I’d better do a taste test.”

“Daniel, you save some of those cookies for the kids,” Maggie yelled after him cheerfully.

“I’m pretty sure these boys told me they don’t like cookies,” he replied with a wink.

The boys laughed their heads off, and Becca smiled, feeling like this warm kitchen full of wonderful people was exactly where she was supposed to be.

An hour later,they were all sitting in the family room. It was an ample space, but it still could barely contain the Lawrence family. Adults were all smushed into the sofa and loveseat, as well as the cozy chairs. And the kids practically covered the floor, which had quickly become a colorful sea of crumpled wrapping paper.

The children had gotten their gifts first, and they were merrily playing with them now, allowing the adults to hand out presents more slowly. But there was still one more small box for a certain child.

“Oh, Cal,” Becca said quietly. “I have one more for you.”

She had spent most of her gift budget on it, and now she was wondering if it was a little silly.

“Awesome,” Cal said. “Thank you.”

She watched him unwrap the little package and get out the familiar-looking case.

“Glasses,”he yelled excitedly, as he opened it. “And they’re exactly like Nick’s. But…”

He looked at her for a second, obviously confused.

“Doc Robertson made those just for you,” she told him. “The lenses are just plain glass, since you don’t need them to see. You probably shouldn’t wear them to school though, they’re just for?—”

“Playing which-twin,” the boys both yelled excitedly as Cal put on his glasses, instantly making himself look more like his brother.

There was a ripple of appreciative laughter among the adults as the boys immediately began scrambling around, trying their best to confuse everyone about which one was which.

Of course, it was obvious that the twin darting around delightedly with a glint of mischief in his eyes was Nick. And the one who came over to hug Becca was Cal. But the adults played along, pretending to be thoroughly confused.

“That’s a present for both of us,” Nick said suddenly, scampering over to hug her too.

Zane’s older brother was the next one to give out a gift.

“Mom, we’ve got something for you,” Tag said gruffly.

“Oh my,” Maggie said, when Charlotte brought her a small package. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Charlotte and Tag exchanged a knowing look, and Becca somehow knew what it meant, even before Maggie opened the little package.

“Well, isn’t that cute?” Maggie said, looking at the little board book about farm animals.

“Open it, Grandma,” Tag and Charlotte’s little boy, Chance, yelled. “Open it.”

“For Grandma,” Maggie read aloud.“From Olivia, Chance, and Baby Lawrence.”

Her face went soft with wonder, and she looked over at Charlotte, who put her hand to her belly and nodded.

The whole room erupted in congratulations, laughter, and more than a few joyful tears. Charlotte looked happy enough tofloat away, and Tag’s joyful pride shone through, in spite of what Becca was coming to understand was his characteristic silence.

Zane grabbed Becca’s hand and gave it a squeeze without looking at her and she knew what he was thinking.Will that be us one day?

As far as she was concerned, Cal and Nick were absolutely enough. She loved them fiercely. But the idea of giving them a little brother or sister was sort of nice too.

“I’m going to name her,” Tag and Charlotte’s teenaged daughter, Olivia, teased as everyone began sitting down again.

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