Page 4 of Sweet Surrender

“But I missed the bus,” Cal said sadly.

“I want muffins,” Nick said excitedly at the same time.

“Well, then it’s a good thing I broughttwobaskets,” their grandmother told them, pulling out a second basket from behind her back.

Nick jumped up and down joyfully, but didnotsnatch the fragrant basket from his grandmother, much to Zane’s relief.

“And I’m driving you to school today,” Zane told them. “I have to run an errand in town. So you don’t have to worry about the bus.”

“Okay,” Nick said, sounding just a little disappointed.

Cal leaned his head briefly against Zane’s arm in silent thanks, and Zane soaked in the contact. The boys were getting bigger now, and they weren’t as snuggly as when they were small, so he had to enjoy it when it happened.

Cal was a lot like Zane, quiet and ponderous. His brother Nick reminded Zane of his own brother, Tripp—always full of boisterous energy. There was something comfortingly familiar for Zane about the rhythm of their interactions, though to most people it would probably just be overwhelming.

“Do you have time to eat something before you head out?” his mom asked.

“Sure,” Zane told her.

He’d already had coffee and toast an hour ago. Though his family had picked up his early-morning slack on the farm when the boys were born, old habits died hard.

Sooner or later, he would be back to taking over the morning milking on the dairy farm. For now, he ran the creamery and helped out as needed everywhere else, but only during the hours when the boys were in school.

“Come on, kids,” his mother said cheerfully, heading off to the kitchen with the twins trailing after her like ducklings.

Zane smiled and followed along. His mom would be happy to see there was coffee in the pot. And he said a silent prayer of thanksgiving that he’d tidied up the kitchen this morning before waking Nick and Cal.

His mom would never nag him about something like that, but she would worry. And he figured he had already caused the family enough worry and inconvenience over the last seven years…

“Let’s make chocolate milk,” Nick yelled gleefully as he grabbed the carton of milk from the fridge.

“I don’t think you need chocolate if you’re having a muffin,” Zane told him. “One treat at a time.”

“Oh, fine,” Nick said, in pretend frustration, his eyes still dancing happily at the prospect of muffins for breakfast.

“Fine,” Cal echoed softly, grinning at his brother.

Mom fixed herself a cup of coffee while Nick poured milk for himself and Cal without spilling much.

“Do you want some, Dad?” he asked eagerly, sloshing a little milk out of the cup he was holding as he turned to Zane.

“I’d love some,” Zane told him. “Thank you.”

Calvin was already setting out plates and napkins for the muffins. His expression was serious, as if he were thinking about something.

“Are you excited to have a new teacher?” Zane asked him.

“Mrs. David’s mom is sick,” Cal said. “She might not get better.”

“That’s a sad idea, isn’t it?” Zane asked him.

Cal nodded.

“But it’s so nice that she can spend lots of time with her mom now,” Zane said. “Even though I know you’ll miss her.”

Cal nodded again, and Zane felt an ache in his chest.

The boys’ mother had cut and run pretty much as soon as she’d seen the two of them in the NICU, and as far as he could tell, she’d never looked back. It tugged at Zane’s heart every time they lost another woman who might have been a bit of a mother figure, even Mrs. David who was closer in age to their grandma.

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