Page 7 of Sweet Surprise

Throughout the years since leaving college, she’d often thought of Carson, of how her life might have been different if she hadn’t found out she was pregnant and married Todd. She and Carson had sat beside each other for two semesters of statistics and then again for micro and macro economics. They’d been friendly. Somehow when she was stressing the most about a test or project, he’d make her laugh, or at least smile. Eventually they’d gone from classmates to friends. They’d gone out to lunch or dinner a few times, usually with a crowd of friends; her favorite pastime had been bowling. Todd always joined them for that. She remembered how Todd always tried to show up Carson, but Carson always beat him. One man tried so hard to be a big shot and the other simply was.

She’d finally figured it out one night at a frat party. Todd had drank way too much, he was making a total fool of himself, and when she tried to get him away from the party he’d gotten really loud and obnoxious. Called her every name in the book. Carson walked in just as Todd had shouted to her that she wasn’t good enough for him, would never be good enough for him. Unsteady on his feet, Todd swung his arms without regard for who was nearby, when Carson grabbed it, twisted it behind his back, and without saying a word, shoved Todd forward and didn’t stop until he’d pushed Todd out the front door. When she’d started to run after him, Carson stood in front of her, leveled his gaze with hers, and softly said, “You’re worthy of a king, not a drunk.”

They’d spent the rest of the night together, had a few drinks, and somehow the night got away from them, in more ways than one. The next day, she’d decided she was done with Todd. When they’d first started dating Todd had been fun, and kind, and hard to resist, but over time, he’d slowly changed, drank more, argued more, and she hated to think how the night might have turned if Carson hadn’t walked in. She was done with him, and very much wanted to see where things with Carson could go. They’d agreed to take it slow, done more things without large groups of friends and fellow students, gone to movies, dinners, hung out just talking for hours. No more spending the nights together. He’d been respectful in every sense of the word. That lasted for all of two weeks and then—then she’d taken that pregnancy test and everything changed.

“Will you be staying long?”

She heard his voice, but her mind was still in Austin almost ten years ago. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“How long will you be staying in Honeysuckle?” His gaze on Mason, his voice felt a shade unsteady.

“I haven’t really thought it through. Coming was a bit of an impulse.”

Carson chuckled and for the first time since she’d dropped the bomb on him, he seemed more at ease. “That sounds like the Jessica I knew and, well… knew.”

“I suppose, if you’d be okay with it, we could stay a couple of days.” There was no way she could afford a good hotel, but maybe a bed and breakfast. Maybe stay a few days. “Is there a hotel in town?”

“A very nice one. There’s also a motel on the northern outskirts of town.”

She nodded. “Is there a bed and breakfast?”

“Several.” His eyes gave away nothing of what was going on in his mind.

“Mom.” Mason came running up to them. “Some kids asked me to play with them. Can I?”

“I don’t know. Can you?”

“Mom.” Mason rolled his eyes the way only a nine year old could. “May I?”

As usual, her son made her smile—oddly enough, just like his father, his real father. “Yes, go on.”

Carson had stopped walking and was staring after her son. “Does he have a lot of friends in Dallas?”

“Not really. Dallas isn’t a small town.” She didn’t want to say that they lived in an affordable, but rough neighborhood. It was better Mason played inside.

“No, it’s not. I can’t imagine having grown up anywhere but here.”

All she’d seen of the town and the people in the last couple of hours was Main Street, the café, and a few shop windows, but already she understood what he meant.

“Listen.” Carson stopped and turned to look at her. “I don’t mean to be forward, but there’s room at the ranch for you and Mason.”

Of all the things she’d expected him to say, that was not one of them. “I can’t impose on your family like that.”

He shook his head and blinking a moment, he seemed to force a smile. It took a few more seconds for the smile to reach his eyes, like maybe he wasn’t fully sure of anything himself. “It’s not an imposition and technically, they’re Mason’s family too.”

“I don’t know.” Looking to where Mason was laughing and playing with the other kids, she needed to be smart. “I bet he’d like seeing a real ranch.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll just call ahead and tell Mom to expect company.” His gaze drifted off to where Mason had just landed a hole in one and was cheering as if he’d won the Irish Sweepstakes. “My mother will be over the moon.”

“Will she?”

His head snapped around to face her again. Slowly, his eyes narrowed. “I gather Todd’s mother wasn’t over the moon with her grandson.”

She shrugged. “You have to figure anyone who raised Todd wouldn’t be much better with a grandson. She wanted a girl. Behaved as if it was my fault I gave birth to a boy. So, no she wasn’t over the moon. She was actually overjoyed to learn that Mason wasn’t her son’s child. You might say, they both washed their hands of us.”

Carson frowned. “Does Mason know?”

“That his father wants nothing to do with him?” She shook her head. “Todd didn’t have much to do with Mason when we were married. Even less since the divorce.”

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