Page 6 of Sweet Surprise

“I’ve been asking myself the same thing ever since finding out. It honestly never occurred to me that one night could possibly have been the cause of my pregnancy. Todd and I had dated for most of the school year. Logic told me he was the father.”

Logic. Feeling his hands clench at his sides into tight fists, he stretched his fingers and forced a deep breath. About to open his mouth with a string of angry questions popping into his head, Mason reappeared at the table, sidling up to his mother and returning to his artwork.

For the next little bit, they finished their meals, though to Carson every bite tasted like sawdust. He had zero desire to eat, but he also had zero desire to alarm Mason. Could it be possible that paternal instincts would kick in so quickly? Didn’t they need time to grow?

“Do you design houses for real?” Mason asked without looking up.

His heart squeezed. Somehow he had to tamp down the emotions circling inside of him and form clear and calm words. “Sort of. I buy and sell houses and usually that means some simple drawings to show the contractors what I want them to do.”

“Cool.” Raising his head to meet Carson’s gaze, a smile spread across the young boy’s face. “I think it would be way cool to see your drawings come to life.”

So much of the turmoil scrambling about inside him seemed to settle at this young boy’s infections smile. “Yes. Way cool.” Maybe if circumstances permitted, Carson could show his son some of his before and after photos along with his drawings.His son. Suddenly his heart lurched in his chest and threatened to lodge in his throat. Surprise, shock, and even anger, now settled into stunned realization. A son with the only woman he could never quite forget. Through the years he told himself that like the old 70s song, he probably remembered her more fondly than reality was. Except, he hadn’t forgotten how beautiful she was, and the sweet smile on her face and sheer pride and joy reflected in her eyes as she watched Mason return to his drawings, told Carson she was definitely the kindhearted person he remembered. And still missed.

When Agnes showed up with the bill, he and Jess both reached for the check. Shaking his head, he fought off the tingling sensation shooting up his arm, and stared her in the eyes. “This one is on me.”

Was that relief he saw cloak her expression? “Thank you.”

Yep. She was tight on money. Made sense raising a young boy. Especially one who ate every single crumb from his plate. “I guess with your husband so sick, working is tough?”

She scoffed at his comment. “He didn’t need to be sick to not work, and for the record, he’s my ex-husband.”

Ex? Okay, that was good. Maybe. “How long have you been divorced?”

Leaning closer to her son, she ruffled his hair. “Sweetie, would you please go ask the waitress to bring me another drink?”

Quickly setting his pencils down, the kid nodded and sprang from his seat in search of Agnes.

Her gaze fixed on her son, as soon as he was out of earshot, she faced Carson. “Less than a year. I tried to make it work, really I did. I thought it was best for Mason if I stuck it out, but then one day I saw the crushed look on Mason’s face when Todd told him to stop with the stupid drawings and grow up. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time I’d seen that much hurt in his eyes, but it was the first time I realized that no father at all was better than a bad one. Of course, getting sick gave Todd a legitimate excuse not to keep up with his child support checks, and then, when the DNA tests came through, Todd wanted nothing to do with either of us.”

That made little sense to Carson. He had lots of friends who’d married someone with children and they loved those kids as much as their own. Then again, Carson always thought Todd was an arrogant, conceited guy who most Texans would describe as all hat and no cattle. A part of him wished he hadn’t been right. Then again, if Todd had turned into a good husband and father, Carson wouldn’t know he had a son.

Agnes returned with a drink in hand, Mason at her side, and the change from their lunch as Carson scrambled for what to do next. He needed to think, but there wasn’t enough time for that. Now that she’d told him her news, for all he knew, she would get in her car and drive back to Dallas. “Want to go for a walk?”

Mason’s head whipped around to face him and his eyes brightened. “Can we go to the park? I saw corn hole courts.”

Somehow that made Carson want to smile. Despite everything he was thinking and feeling, just looking at this young boy made everything seem okay. “You like corn hole?”

The fire started to go out in his eyes. “I used to, but I haven’t played in a long time.”

“Then corn hole it is.” Carson pushed to his feet and waved Jess and Mason ahead.

Walking down Main Street, Carson began to feel less…stressed. He pointed out the candle shop. “This belongs to my sister Jillian. When she said she wanted to open a candle shop, we thought she was completely insane. Turns out she knew more than any of us.”

“I love candles.” Jess smiled at the goods in the window and his heart tripped the same way it did when he was near her all those years ago. Dang, what a mess.

A couple of storefronts away, he pointed to Corn Hole Heaven. “My mother’s two sisters own this store. Honeysuckle is the corn hole capital of Texas.”

“Really?” Mason seemed to study each item in the window.

The kid was taking it all in. Every window, every shop, his eyes seemed to be filled with the same wonder as a kid on Christmas morning. Not any kid, his son. How the heck did his world change on a dime? The same way all their fates had shifted the day they found their mother snagged on the fence. Life was always full of surprises, though this plot twist was a doozy.

As soon as the park came within view, Mason practically danced in place. “Can I run ahead?”

Carson could see the hesitancy in Jess’s eyes. Not sure what his place was in this particular situation, he nudged her arm gently and when she turned to him, he gave a slight nod of his head.

“Go on,” Jess smiled at her son, “we’ll be right behind you.”

He’d taken two more steps when it suddenly struck him that fate may have just put the answer to everyone’s problems right in his lap.

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