Page 4 of Sweet Surprises

And now that Iris had passed away, Tag figured Chase and Olivia liked it better at Grandma’s house than at home either way. They spent plenty of time helping her with injured animals, or following Grandpa around the farm to check on the grass and the herd.

Tag jogged up the back steps of the farmhouse and let himself in. A blast of warm air greeted him, courtesy of the wood burning stove. And whatever was for dinner smelled amazing.For a moment, he was a young boy again, exploding through the back door, ravenous after spending hours exploring the woods or the creek.

“There he is,” Allie yelled out in an exasperated way as he pulled off his coat, ending his trip down memory lane.

“Hey,” he said, heading to the powder room in the hallway to wash his hands before supper.

By the time he got back to the table, everyone except for Mom was already seated and passing around steaming bowls of vegetables.

His kids, Chance and Olivia, were there of course, along with his brothers Zane and Tripp, and his baby sister Allie.

An unfamiliar couple in high-end ski clothing sat at the end of the table, looking a little stiff and out of place. Dad, ever delighted for a fresh audience, sat beside them. He was just getting into the funniest part of the story of how Great-grandpa Lawrence freed a panicked cow who had gotten herself stuck between two small trees. As usual, Dad’s hands danced in the air as he spoke.

It only took Tag a second to spot Mom, sitting on the kitchen floor and using a bottle to nurse a calf wrapped in an old duvet.

“Hello, love,” she said fondly, nodding in lieu of a wave since her hands were full.

Maggie Lawrence was a born nurturer, and her house was always home to strays—both human and animal. Her warm smiles felt like hugs, and Tag adored her for it. So did everyone else who met her. At times, it was hard to be her son, knowing that the whole town probably couldn’t understand how sweet Maggie Lawrence’s oldest boy could be such a grump. But he had his reasons, and he didn’t owe anyone an explanation.

“Hey, Ma,” he said. “Can I fix you a plate?”

“You’d have to feed it to me,” she said, laughing.

“You’re feeding her,” he said, shrugging. “Why not?”

“Go be with your kids,” she said, turning her attention back to the calf. “We’re okay here. Right, Clover?”

But the calf just suckled away, its long eyelashes fluttering against the soft, cream-colored fur of its cheeks.

“Dad, Dad,” Chance squeaked, practically hopping up and down in his chair. “We’re making a family tree at school. And Miss Lancaster said we could putpictureson there. Do we have pictures?”

“Uh, I think so,” he said, lowering himself into his seat. “Try not to wiggle so much. You’ll knock the chair over.”

Again, he didn’t add.

Olivia was seated on the other side of Chance, quietly pouring milk for her brother and herself and patting his back from time to time, her gentler way to remind him not to wiggle. Tag often worried that Olivia was too mature for thirteen. She had quietly stepped into the role of caregiver for her baby brother when her mother passed, and Tag was never sure if her reserved nature was just who she was, or if she was still struggling under the mountain of grief he felt himself sometimes when he thought of Iris.

She gave him a gentle smile and he reached over and tousled her honey-blonde hair, which made her roll her eyes and look like a normal teenager for a minute.

“These are the Fitzpatricks,” Dad called jovially to him. “Fitzpatricks, this is my son, Tag.”

“Nice to meet you,” the husband of the ski-clothes couple said politely.

Tag nodded to them.

“Our snowmobile broke down,” the wife added with a too-bright smile. “And your father rescued us.”

She looked like she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she was actually better off in the rustic farmhouse with an actual cow a few feet away.

Flatlanders, he thought to himself.Why do they come here if they don’t like things the way they are?

“So, your friend is finally in town,” Tripp said to Allie as he passed a bowl of mashed sweet potatoes.

“She is,” Allie said. “I invited her to eat with us tonight, but she was worn out from her drive.”

“Tomorrow night, maybe,” Mom suggested from the kitchen. “Find out her favorite meal.”

“Mom wants to fuss over her,” Tripp teased.

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