Page 18 of Sweet Surprise

“Is I’m willing to try good enough of an answer?”

He nodded. Willing to try was something he could work with. “I haven’t asked. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m a teacher’s aid. Never did finish my degree.”

Again, he nodded. That he could work with. Even small towns had schools.

“Then let’s start there. One step at a time.”

Her mouth tipped into another sweet smile. “One step at a time.”

Now all he had to do was keep himself from rushing. Maybe, if he took his time, everything would fall into place. He could only hope.

Chapter Eight

“Wow. Dinosaur pancakes!” Mason’s eyes lit up like a kid who found Willy Wonka’s golden ticket. “Mom just makes ordinary round.”

“It’s been a long time since I made animal shaped pancakes.” Spatula in hand, Carson’s mom smiled at the boy before flipping another pancake. “It’s nice to try again.”

“Hey, slow down.” Jess gently patted her son’s arm. “This isn’t a race.”

“Your mother is right.” The family matriarch’s grin slipped slightly in an effort to look a bit more serious. “It’s important for your health to chew your food well. Besides, there’s plenty more where those came from.” Her motherly, or in this case grandmotherly, speech over, a wide grin was back on her face.

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry.”

The way Carson’s mother’s smile bloomed and her eyes sparkled, anyone would think the kid had just told his grandmother that there was gold buried in the backyard.

“While y’all were getting us more fresh eggs,” Alice Sweet waved the spatula at her son, “Mason and I took a detour into the attic. We brought down your old telescope.”

“You still have that?” Why it surprised him that his mother would have stashed every tidbit of their childhood in the attic, he didn’t know.

“Yes.” Her voice dropped an octave in modulated reproof. “There was an alignment of planets last night and if we hurry, I bet it can still be seen with the telescope from the canyon bed.”

“That’s a great idea.” Her empty dish in hand, Rachel stepped away from the table.

“Of course it is.” His mother smiled at Mason.

“Canyon?” Jess asked.

“It’s not really much of a canyon.” Jillian slipped her plate into the dishwasher.

“We’ve got a lot of work scheduled for today.” Carson hated to be the one to smother a fun idea, but he carried the majority of the load since all his siblings had day jobs to run off to after they did early morning chores. “Maybe we could do it another time.”

The way his mother shook her head, Carson knew there was more to be said.

His mom’s pointed glare was directed solely at him. “Another time would be in about twenty years.”

Garret pushed away from the table. “I’ve got all day. I’m sure we can do without you for a few hours.”

“If we’re riding out to the canyon, that’ll be more than a few hours.” Whether he was shirking his responsibilities to the ranch or to Mason, either way, Carson had a huge slice of guilt on his plate.

“Riding?” Once again Jess’s eyes rounded, at the moment a little wider than the time before.

“If you take the Jeep, it will save some time.” Garret slid his dishes into the sink. “It still might make for a long day, but it will be easier on everyone.”

By everyone, Carson knew his brother meant Jess and their son. Especially since he was pretty sure neither of them had likely been on a horse. Ever. At least not a real one.

“I don’t know.” And Carson really had no idea what the responsible thing to do was—he couldn’t shake the idea that either way, he’d be letting someone down.

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