Page 74 of Sweet Surrender

Becca sat in the window seat of her small apartment on Christmas Eve, admiring the twinkling holiday lights out the window while she talked with her family on the phone.

She could hear her grandparents laughing at something her youngest brother said, and Christmas music playing in the background, like always.

At first, the phone had been passed from person to person, like it usually was when she called. But she had been telling her father about Zane Lawrence and his boys for ten minutes now, and he’d hardly said a word.

“Sorry,” she said. “I guess I’ve been talking your ear off.”

“It sounds like you really care about this man,” her father said quietly. “And his children.”

“I do,” she said with a smile.

“Well, you’ve been out with him every day for a week,” Dad teased, chuckling.

“I have,” she said, smiling at the memory of a week happily spent walking around town with all three Lawrence boys, dinners with Zane’s parents, meeting the siblings and little cousins, and even exploring more of the farm.

“That’s still not very much time,” her father said softly. “To know you love someone.”

“H-how did you know I love him?” she asked, stunned.

“A father has his ways,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Have you thought about what it would be like to be in a serious relationship with a man who has children?”

“It’s pretty much all I think about,” she admitted. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that a serious relationship is the only kind when children are involved. Those boys need stability.”

“And you’re going to give it to them, huh?” her father teased.

“You think I can’t?” she asked.

“Quite the opposite,” he said right away. “You’re the most serious, focused member of this family.”

There were shouts in the background of the call, followed by wild laughter.

“Maybe theonlyserious one,” he amended. “But I know how much you love helping people, so I have to ask, is this really what you want?”

“It is,” she said, feeling nothing but peace at the admission. “I’m not sure he feels the same, though. After what they’ve been through, I doubt he’ll be ready to take the next step for a long time. But I’ll be ready when he is.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, kiddo,” Dad said.

“I love you,” she told him impulsively.

“I love you too,” he replied, his deep voice very serious for once. “Well, I know you have to go.”

“Where am I going?” she laughed.

But the doorbell rang before he could answer.

“What in the world?” she murmured as she hopped up and headed for the door.

“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” her dad said. “Call us in the morning.”

She put the phone away, then pulled on her boots and headed downstairs, wondering who it could possibly be. Zane told her earlier in the week that he had something important to do tonight. She’d been a little disappointed at first to be alone on Christmas Eve, but she also had a lot of work to do before the break was over, so she’d been prepared for a quiet night in grading projects and revising her seating chart.

But when she opened the main door, it was Zane standing there, his breath pluming in the cold night air. Cal and Nick stood beside him, their eyes sparkling, both of themclearlytrying not to giggle.

“Hey,” Zane said, the tenderness in his rough voice sending a little thrill through her as it always did when he spoke to her these days.

“Hi,” she said, breathlessly. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“It’s a surprise,” Nick blurted out.

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