Page 5 of Sweet Surprise

“Careful, buddy. You need to chew.” There was no reproof in Carson’s voice, only a hint of amusement. Shaking his head, he leveled his gaze with hers. “I was the same way growing up. Shoved food in my face as if I were never going to be fed again. Drove my mother crazy.”

Like she’d said, so many pieces were starting to fall into place. Todd would scold Mason unmercifully, telling their son—her son—that he wasn’t a barbarian or a wild animal.

“May I be excused? I need to use the restroom.” Mason wiped his mouth with the napkin and then shifted to face his mother.

She nodded. “It’s across the café, through that hallway, last door on your left.”

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “Mom, I’m not five anymore. I can find the bathroom on my own.”

She couldn’t help but smile. Were they supposed to grow up at only nine?

A wide grin had also sprouted on Carson’s face. “I still have conversations like that with my mother.”

“How to find the bathroom?” she teased.

“On being grown up.”

Her gaze remained on Mason’s back until he disappeared down the rear hallway. “You have no idea how hard it is for me to let him do that on his own. The world is filled with so many crazy people.”

Carson nodded. “That’s thankfully not a problem we tend to have in small towns.”

“No,” she sighed, “I suppose not.”

“So why don’t you tell me what’s so complicated to bring you to Honeysuckle?”

She sucked in a fortifying breath. “You.”

His dark brows rode high on his forehead and those deep blue eyes that had practically hypnotized her from the first day of class, seemed to be seeing right through her.

“Okay. While I’d like to carefully pull this Band-Aid off, just ripping it quickly is the best way,” she continued.

His head nodded, but he didn’t say a word.

“The reason I quit school and ran off to marry Todd is because I was pregnant with Mason.”

Again his head bobbed, he seemed to bite down on his back teeth, but didn’t utter a word.

“Except for one major flaw in my plan.”

Only one brow rose high over stormy eyes filled with questions.

Digging down deep for courage, she forced herself to keep talking. “Todd was an idiot, he didn’t grow up, didn’t mature, and fatherhood did not make him a better man. Of course the bigger problem now is that Todd’s been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease.”

Carson closed his eyes momentarily, and softly muttered. “That’s why your son said his father is dying.”

“Eventually, yes.” She sucked in another deep breath. “But in having Mason tested for the gene that causes the disease, I learned something surprising. Actually, shocking would be a better word.”

Leaning forward, Carson’s eyes filled with concern. “He already has it?”

She shook her head. Here goes the Band-Aid. One fast tug. “Todd isn’t Mason’s father. You are.”

Chapter Three

Stunned didn’t begin to describe the multitude of emotions running through Carson’s system at the moment. Everything from scared, to angry, to confused, to downright flabbergasted winning out on the top of the emotional ladder. When Jess had upped and left college, all she’d told him was she’d decided to marry Todd. He had no idea what or why, but the written note had given him no chance to ask questions. Instead, he’d spent weeks debating if he should call and ask how she was, only to shove his phone in his pocket and tell himself if she wanted to talk to him she never would have married that lowlife. Now, only one word came to mind. “How?”

Her eyes widened and he shook his head.

“I understand how the birds and the bees work, what I don’t understand is how didn’t you know?”

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