Page 172 of My Lucky Charm

She looks at me, and I look at her, and we both frown. “We don’t like surprises.”

“I do,” Scarlett says. “I hope it’s a puppy.”

“Oooh, me too!” I say. “Okay, I like surprises now.”

“It’s not a puppy.” Gray keeps his gaze on the road ahead.

“Darn,” I say.

“A pony?” Scarlett asks.

“It’s not alive,” he says.

He takes the exit toward Loveland, and I frown. “Dinner at Poppy’s?”

“Hey, here’s a thought. Maybe you guys should just wait and see.” He pretends to be annoyed, but I’ve gotten better at reading his looks, and it’s clear to me that he’s enjoying this exchange.

“I’m not good at waiting,” I say.

He shakes his head. “I’m aware.”

Before we reach the downtown area of my hometown, Gray makes a turn on Shaw Road, a country road where the houses are separated by acres and the nights are so dark you can actually see the Milky Way.

As we drive, it starts to snow—big, heavy flakes, like snowballs falling from the sky.

“Whoa!” Scarlett says. “I’ve never seen snow this big.”

Gray makes a turn, and drives us down a long stretch of driveway, and I have to wonder who he knows all the way out here in Loveland. Through the trees, a big, beautiful farmhouse comes into view, and I frown because I happen to know this house was on the market two weeks ago.

And the for sale sign is gone.

“Gray,” I say slowly. “What are we doing here?”

He slows the SUV and parks in the driveway, and for a moment, we just sit there, watching the snow fall, covering the grass and trees in a blanket of white.

“Who lives here?” Scarlett asks.

A pause. And then he says, “We do.”

I catch my breath.

He turns to Scarlett. “Your mom and I mapped out a schedule to make sure you get to be here on school holidays and two months of the summer. And I’m going to come your way when I get breaks, too.”

“Seriously?” She reaches up and hugs his neck. “Do I get my own room?”

“Look at the size of the house, girl,” I say, “I think you get four of your own rooms.”

She giggles, and then her eyes grow wide. “Can I paint one of them?”

“This again,” Gray groans and rolls his eyes, but again, it’s obvious to me he is loving everything about this. “Yes, if you want turquoise walls, you can have turquoise walls.” He opens the door, so Scarlett and I open our doors, and we all start toward the house.

“I don’t like turquoise anymore.” She smiles at me. “I’m thinking black.”

Gray picks her up, tosses her over his shoulder, and she lets out a loud, happy shriek. Thankfully, there’s nobody around to hear it. He hands me the house key, and when I open the door, Scarlett rushes straight up the stairs in search of her bedroom.

“Can I have the one with the bathroom in it?” she calls out.

He closes the door and flips on the light in the entryway. “What do you think?”

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