Page 55 of Sweet Surprises

16

CHARLOTTE

The next morning, Charlotte stood in the doorway of the ice cream shop just before opening time, wondering what the day would bring, and feeling like she was walking on air.

Across from the shop, the park was still covered in snow. Lots of people had turned out to compete in the snowball fight. Somewhere among them were Chance, Olivia, and Tag.

And even though it was all she could think about, she and Tag hadn’t had a chance to really talk about anything that happened last night. His brother Tripp had come into the shop before Ellis left, asking for a ride back to the farm.

As soon as they got there it was dinnertime, and when the meal was finished, Olivia was eager to chat with Charlotte. By the time the two of them were done catching up on the evening’s events, minus a big one for Charlotte, and brainstorming about possible ice cream flavor names, it was getting late. And she could hear Tag and Tripp still talking in the kitchen. Zane had joined them, and it seemed that the brothers were deep in conversation about some farm business. So she had readMissNelson is Missingas a bedtime story for Chance, and then headed up to her own bedroom.

Tomorrow,she’d told herself.

And there was no reason they couldn’t have all the tomorrows they wanted to talk and to spend time together. She had been so determined to avoid opening her foolish heart again, but now that it was happening, she couldn’t even bring herself to feel bad about it.

Tag was different from anyone she had known before. He was responsible, selfless, and kind on the inside, with roots deeper than the red oaks on his land.

When she’d made a promise to herself not to fall for any more silly boys, she hadn’t realized she was about to meet aman.

“Is this the grand re-opening?” a woman asked, rousing her from her thoughts.

“It sure is,” Charlotte told her. “And you’re my first customer, so you get a freebie.”

“I do?” the lady asked, looking surprised and pleased. She wore a green coat and a red scarf that set off her long, silver hair.

“You sure do,” Charlotte told her. “And we have all new flavors to choose from.”

“Goodness,” the woman said. “I’m glad I stopped by.”

“Me too,” Charlotte told her, holding the door open for her.

Tag hadn’t been sure about holding a big re-opening at eight in the morning in the middle of an unseasonably snowy December. But with the snowball fight starting at about the same time, and lots of people in town to watch and participate, Charlotte figured it might be a great time.

And it wasn’t like she had much competition at this hour, since most of the other shops didn’t open until ten.

The sandwich-board sign out front announced the re-opening as well as a two-for-one Snowball Special for the players.

“Oh, my word, that’s the Lawrence place,” the lady exclaimed, heading right up to the painting of the stone farmhouse. “This is incredible. Did you bring in an artist from the city?”

“I based it on some photos I took,” Charlotte said. “I just projected what I wanted on the wall and then traced it out and painted.”

“There’s nojustabout that, young lady,” the woman said, turning back to her. “This is really special.”

“We named the new flavors after some of the family’s favorite cows,” Charlotte said, flushing with pride. “Zane Lawrence developed them himself.”

“Good for him,” the lady said, moving to the framed cow photos. “He’s a very talented man. It’s a shame he’s raising those boys alone.”

Charlotte wanted nothing more than to ask the ladywhyhe was raising them alone. But if Zane wanted her to know about the boys’ mother, then one day he would trust her enough to open up. For now, all she needed to know was that Nick and Cal were growing up healthy and happy. It wouldn’t feel right to gossip with a stranger about a friend’s situation.

“When you decide what you want, just let me know,” Charlotte told her.

“Oh, I know what I want,” the lady said, her eyes on one of the cow photos Charlotte had updated this morning with the family’s ideas. “I’ll have a Susan Butterscotch Anthony in a bowl, please.”

“Great choice,” Charlotte said with a smile. That flavor name had been one of Olivia’s ideas.

She scooped out a perfect bowl, and the lady thanked her and left, looking pretty happy. Now, Charlotte just had to hope that happiness would translate into her telling as many people as possible to come by for a scoop.

Across the street, Travis, one of the new owners of the toy store, was already separating the participants into teams. From what Charlotte understood, there would be a winning team, but once they were down to five players, it would become an every-player-for-himself situation as they all tried to win the sled.

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