Page 75 of Sweet Surrender

Cal elbowed him and they both started giggling.

“Hi, boys,” she said, unable to help smiling along with them. Nothing made her happier than when they were happy.

“I wondered if you might want to go for a ride,” Zane said, gesturing behind them.

It was only then that she noticed what was parked in the street.

“A horse-drawn carriage,” she sighed happily.

“Well, that’s the old milk cart,” Zane said. “From the days when we did a daily delivery in the village. But we piled it with blankets, so it should be cozy enough. Want to try it out?”

“Yes,” she said right away. “I should grab my coat.”

“No need,” he told her, peeling his off and hanging it around her shoulders.

“Won’t you be cold?” she asked him.

“I won’t be cold,” he told her, one side of his mouth tugging up slightly as if it was a silly idea.

“Can we play in the park, Dad?” Nick asked.

“Sure,” Zane told them.

“But we’ll come over after you—” Cal started.

Nick elbowed him before he could finish, and the two of them took off into the snowy park at top speed.

Becca watched after them, her heart light at how happy they both were. They had been happy at school lately, too—both of them more confident now. Everything seemed to be coming together for her at once, personally and professionally.

In spite of Allie’s assurances that there were no rules against dating parents, Becca had gone to Principal Chittenden the morning after her first date with Zane, and admitted to her that she was involved with Nick and Cal’s father.

The principal had smiled knowingly, and nodded.

“Well?” Becca asked, almost in tears. She wasn’t sure what she would do if the principal didn’t approve. But she knew she wasn’t the kind of person who liked keeping secrets.

“First of all,” Principal Chittenden said, “I’ve already heard all about this from the rumor mill, though I appreciate you coming to me about it.”

“Already?” Becca asked, amazed. “We only went to dinner last night.”

“Already,” the principal said with a smile. “While there are no specific rules against this kind of relationship, I would normally want to move the boys into the other classroom to avoid any appearance of impropriety.”

Becca felt her heart breaking. The idea of giving up this year with the boys in her class was unthinkable.

“However,”the principal went on. “Given everything that happened, and your role in their vast improvement this month, I think we can all agree that everyone is best served if the Lawrence boys stay right where they are.”

“Thank you,” Becca sighed in relief.

“I’ll be counting on you to be honest with me, as you were today,” the principal went on. “If you don’t think you can be fair and impartial with your students, we’ll change our game plan.”

“I will,” Becca promised.

And so far it hadn’t been hard at all. Now that both boys were thriving, she was able to turn her extra attention to a handful of other students she thought could use extra help and encouragement. She had so many plans for after the break that it was hard to imagine relaxing and enjoying her time off.

“Come on,” Zane said, offering her his arm.

She took it happily, and they set off for the makeshift carriage, stopping to pat the horse.

“How did you get here, Pepper?” she asked the speckled gelding, as she scratched behind his ears.

---