Page 81 of Call it Fate

Iain burst into the room on a run. “What good news?”

“The Dogtrot has been nominated for an award,” I said, bending down to tie the shoe he’d either forgotten to do himself or had already pulled it out in his rush to get here. I made sure to double-knot it. At the speed he moved, I didn’t need him tripping over a shoelace.

“That’s great! What’s for breakfast?”

I laughed and tapped him on the nose. “How about bacon and eggs?”

“How about Loopy Fruits?”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Okay, sugary cereal for the win. We’re celebrating after all.”

“What are we celebrating?” Zach pushed through the swing door with a smile.

“Mama is winning an award.”

Zach raised his eyebrows as he drew near. “She should.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. “Congratulations. What did you win?”

I showed him the letter. “Wow, sunshine. This is wonderful! Congratulations. Of course, there’s no question that you’ll win.”

“I wonder who nominated us?”

“Does it matter? It could be any one of hundreds of guests you’ve hosted.”

“It wasn’t you, was it?” I hated to ask, but I wanted to know the nomination came without bias.

“Sweetheart, as much as I support the nomination, I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

I frowned. “There’s so much I want to get done. I’d hoped to have that gazebo built this spring, but now Cam doesn’t have anyone to do it. And I’ll have to see if Chase can help me get all the flower beds cleaned up and planted. The front porch needs to be repainted. Oh, and I need to make sure the website is up to date, and I should plan what I’m going to serve when the committee is here, plus all the Derby Day stuff. And I have less than a month if they’re going to be here on April 10.”

Zach put his arms around me and kissed me. “Easy, sunshine. The Dogtrot is already wonderful the way it is, or it wouldn’t have made it this far. Make a list, and let’s see what we can get done.”

I loved that he said “we.”

Mama patted Zach on the shoulder. “He’s right, honey. Let’s not bite off any major projects unless we’re sure we can finish them.”

I looked over to see Iain frowning. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

“You’re still going to be able to go on my field trip, right?”

“What tr…oh, right. To the zoo.”

He nodded. “You promised in February you would go.”

Damn it. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I said gently. “I have to be here for this interview. It’s the day they assigned me. I didn’t know about this back in February.”

He crossed his arms. “But you promised. It’s the best field trip in the whole school. We get to take a big bus and miss the whole day of school.”

I shook my head. “You’ll still have a good time.”

Iain kicked the table leg. “It’s not fair,” he huffed. “You promised. You didn’t go last year, either. I hate that dumb award. I hope you lose.”

I stared hard at him. “Young man—”

Zach put his hand on my arm, stopping my words. He quirked an eyebrow and jerked his head toward our son. “May I?” he mouthed.

I nodded, not sure what I was going to say anyway.

Iain scowled at his dad as Zach approached the table, but his expression turned wary, and he squirmed in his seat when he saw Zach’s expression. Zach crooked his finger and beckoned Iain out of the room. I started to follow, but my mom grabbed my arm.

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