Page 60 of Sweet Surprises

“Don’t be sad, Charlotte,” Chance told her. “I’ll win another one next year and you can have a ride on it.”

“Did you know that sometimes grownups cry a little when we’re happy?” she asked him. “I was just thinking what a wonderful person you are, and how lucky I am to know you.”

“Oh,” Chance said, sounding surprised. “That’s nice.”

More people were moving forward, depositing gifts under the tree and clothing in the boxes before filing back to their places.

“It’s just lovely what he did,” Edna Thornton said to Tag as she passed. “What a kindhearted young man you’re raising.”

“You guys must be so proud,” Dale Stravinsky said, stopping to clasp Tag’s shoulder and give Charlotte an appreciative smile. “And I think your girl here is a good influence on this family.”

Charlotte’s face turned red, and Dale marched off before Tag could correct him.

As more people greeted them, it occurred to him that most of them probably assumed he and Charlotte were a couple. And no one was teasing him about her being younger, or acting like she was anything but a good addition to the family.

Could it really be this easy?

In Tag’s experience, good things took work. A calf might have to be bottle fed, then she would eat her own weight every two months, and drink gallons of water every day for two years before she gave her first drop of milk. Trees took years to grow, and the dogs and horses had to be carefully nurtured and trained.

And whenever you tried to take shortcuts, things went very wrong.

This is a relationship, not a farm,he told himself inwardly.It’s okay if she fell into our laps.

But as the crowd dissipated and folks gathered in small groups to catch up, he felt more and more off-balance with every knowing smile and encouraging interaction.

“Hey,” Zane said to him, grabbing his arm. “Are you okay?”

Tag glanced over to see that Olivia was pushing Chance on a swing while Zane’s boys pushed each other on the one next to it. And Charlotte was chatting with Edna Thornton from the bookstore.

He turned to his brother, meaning to keep it all in.

“Everyone thinks we’re together,” he blurted out instead.

“Are you?” Zane asked.

“I… I’m not sure,” Tag admitted.

Zane nodded, making it seem like that was an acceptable answer, though Tag knew that it very much wasn’t. Charlotte was a nice girl. He couldn’t just go around kissing her and then getting mad when people thought they were a couple.

“Does Allie know?” Zane asked.

“She’s going to kill me,” Tag remembered out loud, thinking about how livid his baby sister was going to be.

“Oh wow,” Zane said, his lips tugging up at the corners.

But it wasn’t funny.

Tag glanced over again and saw that Charlotte was talking with Mrs. Surkin, Chance’s kindergarten teacher now, a furrow in her brow.

“I should go,” he said, without waiting for Zane to respond.

“Well, he’s obviously a good boy,” Mrs. Surkin was saying. “Yesterday was out of character, and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

“Yes, I think a little context will be helpful,” Charlotte said.

Confusion and anger rose in his chest as he strode the last few steps to land in front of them.

“Did something happen with Chance at school yesterday?” he demanded, his voice a little too loud.

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