11. Becca
11
BECCA
A n hour later, when her mini tour of the farm was over, Becca walked with Zane as they followed after the boys on the way back to the house.
It got dark so early this time of year that there hadn’t been time to look at half of what Nick and Cal had wanted to show her.
She had bottle-fed the most adorable little calf, seen the shining metalworks of the creamery, and watched the herd amble down the hillside on their way to their second milking of the day—black and white Holsteins and brown Jersey cows with big, beautiful eyes, all looking perfectly peaceful and content.
But the best thing she had seen today was the look in Nick’s eyes when he sang out the name of the ice cream flavor his brother had encouraged him to read.
And the best thing she had heard was Zane’s quiet promise to her that he would be willing to put the boys in the same class.
Convincing Zane to change his mind hadn’t even been on her radar today. She had honestly just hoped he wouldn’t be so angry that he sent her home without Cal giving the promised tour. But now, things were coming together so well that it almost didn’t seem real.
“I really will have to run soon and work on my lesson plans,” she told Zane again.
“That’s fine,” he told her. “Everyone will understand. But Mom will never forgive me if you don’t come in and have a bite to eat before you go.”
“Okay,” she told him.
She was actually ravenous. Once again, she had eaten a granola bar in her classroom while looking over her students’ work at lunchtime. And walking around in the cold had definitely stoked her appetite.
When they reached the house, Nick threw open the front door and dashed in, followed by Cal. Even from out here, Becca could hear them yelling to their grandparents that their teacher was coming.
“They’re so nice,” she said quietly. “You’ve done such a great job with them.”
Zane didn’t respond, and she glanced up at him, trying to understand the look on his face.
“I guess maybe when I said they needed to be in the same class, I made it seem like I thought you hadn’t,” she realized out loud, looking down at her feet now. “And I’m sorry for that. I still have a lot to learn, Mr. Lawrence… Zane. Thank you for giving me another chance.”
There was an odd sound, and she looked up again to see he was chuckling.
“What?” she asked.
“You kind of read my mind,” he told her, shaking his head. “But you’re going to be just fine, Becca Hawthorne. Just keep doing things the way you’re doing them.”
“Some things you have to learn by doing,” she said, nodding. He wasn’t wrong.
“That’s true,” he said. “But I meant that you have good instincts.”
“Oh,” she said.
“About the boys, obviously,” he went on. “But plenty of people wouldn’t have shown up here today. It couldn’t have been easy for you, after the way I spoke to you, but you knew it was the right thing to do. You didn’t even try texting me to get out of it.”
“I thought about it,” she admitted, laughing.
They had reached the front porch now, and there was nothing to do but go inside. She found herself wishing she could stand out here talking to Zane Lawrence, even though it was freezing out and her stomach was rumbling.
“Just take your boots off and put them in the tray,” he told her quietly as they stepped inside.
It was nice and warm in the farmhouse and something smelled incredible. She did as she was told, and he moved in after her, shutting the door behind them.
“ Boots ,” a bunch of voices yelled out happily from deeper inside the house.
“That’s everyone reminding me to take off my boots,” Zane said with a wry half smile as he placed them on the tray by the door. “But I’m not the one who forgets. That’s Tripp.”
“I’m sure your parents just want to be fair,” Becca guessed right away.
“Maybe,” he said, shaking his head. “Come on, let’s go see what’s for dinner.”
She followed him through the hall and into the back of the house, where a nice big kitchen and a large, open eating area with a massive wooden table seemed to spread across almost the whole back of the house.
“Hello, there,” Zane’s mother said warmly as they stepped in. “How was the rest of your tour?”
“She saw the whole herd,” Nick yelled.
“She went to the creamery,” Cal said at the same time.
“It was amazing,” Becca said, smiling at the boys. “Thank you so much for having me, Mrs. Lawrence.”
“It’s Maggie,” Zane’s mom said right away. “And we’re so glad you’re here. This is my husband, Daniel.”
The man stirring whatever smelled so good in the copper pot on the big stove looked up and smiled merrily.
“Thank you for coming to visit, Miss Hawthorne,” he told her.
“Becca,” she said, smiling back.
“That’s the boys’ uncle, West,” Maggie said, nodding to the table. “And his daughter, Elizabeth.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Becca said, smiling at the sight of Zane’s brother and his little girl.
Elizabeth, who couldn’t have been more than three, was sitting on a booster at the table, carefully rolling cloth napkins. She wore an expression of fierce concentration that was at odds with her slightly uneven ponytails held up by curling red and green bows.
Her dad was taking the napkins from her as she finished, sliding each one through a napkin holder made of chunky, glazed pottery.
“The pleasure is ours,” West said politely. “So, you’re the new schoolteacher?”
“Yes,” she told him. “I’m so lucky to have been chosen.”
“That’s a refreshing way of looking at it,” Maggie said, heading to the table with a butter dish and what looked like fresh-baked bread in a basket.
“What do you mean?” Becca asked, confused.
“Oh, plenty of new teachers might not like to start in the middle of the year with no time to plan,” Maggie said. “And certainly no one wants to move during the holidays.”
Maggie was at least a little bit right, though Becca didn’t like to say it out loud. She was definitely going to miss her big family on Christmas. And she did really like to plan things out in advance…
“Speaking of which, she’s got to go pretty soon to do lesson plans,” Zane said suddenly, saving her from having to respond to Maggie’s points.
“Well, we’ll just have to feed you as much as possible now,” Maggie chuckled as the door burst open in the other room, letting them know someone else was coming in.
“ Boots ,” the whole family yelled.
Little Elizabeth looked especially pleased to shout along with everyone else. Becca couldn’t help smiling at her.
“That’ll be Tripp,” Maggie said warmly.
And sure enough, Tripp appeared in the kitchen a moment later.
“Is that beef stew?” the big man asked, his expression so hopeful it almost made Becca chuckle.
“It sure is,” Daniel told him. “Wash up, and let’s eat. Miss Hawthorne has to run off soon, and we don’t want her leaving hungry.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for your other children?” Becca said quickly. “Please don’t do anything differently on my account.”
“Oh, goodness, you’re a sweet one,” Maggie said, setting a trivet on the table.
The trivet seemed to be made of the same pottery as the napkin holders, and both looked homemade. But Becca didn’t have time to ask about them before Daniel Lawrence was setting the big pot of what looked like beef stew on top of the trivet.
“Tag is doing the second milking today,” Maggie went on as she took a seat. “So, he and his family won’t be along until later. And Allie is taking a class in town, so she won’t be eating with us tonight.”
“And Uncle Cash doesn’t live here,” Nick piped up. “Not anymore.”
“That’s true,” Maggie said. Her smile didn’t falter, but Becca could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. “We can’t forget your Uncle Cash. And you’re right, Nicholas, he won’t be here for dinner either.”
Everyone took a seat, and though there was room for more people at the table, it felt awfully full with the nine of them there together.
“I want to say grace,” Cal said suddenly. His voice was low, but the whole table went quiet right away.
“That would be lovely, Calvin,” Maggie said approvingly.
Becca bowed her head.
“Thank you for keeping our family safe, and for beef stew and bread and butter,” Cal said solemnly. “And thank you for sending Miss Hawthorne. I hope she likes our farm.”
“Amen,” Daniel said, and the others followed suit.
The next thing Becca knew, Daniel was expertly ladling out bowls of stew for the family to pass around. In no time, everyone had a beautiful bowl in front of them.
“Wow,” she said.
“What is it?” Nick asked.
“Your family is so organized,” she said.
“We’re like a well-oiled machine,” Daniel said fondly.
West smiled and shook his head.
“I’m not a machine, Daddy,” Elizabeth said firmly.
“Of course not,” West told her. “It’s just a nice way to say that we work well together, like all the little pieces of a clock.”
“That’s okay,” she decided, bending down to sniff her stew.
Her father barely managed to grab her ponytails and keep them out of the broth in time. Becca suddenly realized that no one had mentioned where the little girl’s mother was tonight.
“Please pass the breadbasket,” Tripp said enthusiastically.
“Oh,” Becca said. “Of course, sorry.”
The basket and butter had been beside her the whole time. She wasn’t being a very good cog in this machine. She grabbed a piece of bread for herself, and then passed everything to Tripp.
“Don’t you like butter, Miss Hawthorne?” Nick asked.
“She’s just trying to be polite,” Tripp said, grinning at her wickedly and passing the butter back to her. “But of course she likes butter. She’s only human.”
“Thank you,” Becca said, feeling a little embarrassed.
She buttered her bread quickly and handed him back the dish, stealing a glance up at Zane for reassurance. But he was scowling at his brother.
“So, Miss Hawthorne, do you have a big family back home?” Daniel asked.
“It’s Becca,” she told him, turning to the boys. “As long as we’re not at school.”
They looked at each other with twinkling eyes, like they were being let in on a juicy secret. It warmed her heart.
“And yes,” she told him. “Or, at least, I thought so.”
“We’re an exceptionally big family,” Daniel told her, chuckling appreciatively. “That doesn’t take anything away from yours.”
“I’m one of five kids,” she told him.
“Oh, how nice,” Maggie said.
“There are only six of us,” West put in. “It’s just that the grandkids make it feel like a lot more.”
“Let me guess,” Tripp said. “You’re the oldest?”
“Nope,” she told him.
He shook his head and took an enormous bite of his bread and butter.
“Youngest?” Zane asked quietly.
“I’m right in the middle,” she told them.
“Worst of both worlds,” Tripp said wisely.
She laughed and took a bite of her stew. It tasted even better than it smelled, a savory mix of root vegetables and tender meat.
“What would you know about being in the middle?” Zane teased his brother.
“Yeah,” West jumped in.
“Oh great,” Tripp joked, rolling his eyes. “I’ve got both the middle siblings here.”
“Zane doesn’t count,” West said dismissively. “He’s practically the same age as you, and you’re the next to youngest. I’m the real middle child.”
“Allie is the youngest?” Becca asked, trying to keep up.
“Yes,” Maggie said fondly. “Our Alice Lee came along as a happy surprise.”
“Surprise my foot,” Daniel teased her with a loving smile. “Don’t think I didn’t hear you praying for a baby girl after all these boys.”
“I love my boys too,” Maggie said, her gaze resting on each of them individually. “There’s not one thing I would change about any of you.”
“I can think of a few things,” Tripp said right away. “Like out of six, how do you only have three working the farm?”
He was clearly only teasing, and Becca could sense Zane smiling beside her.
“Don’t worry, Uncle Tripp,” Nick said. “I’m going to work on the farm when I grow up.”
“Me too,” Elizabeth decided, scooping a spoonful with a nice chunk of potato out of her stew, and blowing on it hard enough that most of it ended up back in the bowl.
“What would you like to do on the farm, Elizabeth?” Maggie asked her.
Elizabeth considered the question, tilting her head and sending the ponytails swinging sideways.
“I’ll be a horse,” she announced after a moment.
Becca waited for one of the boys to loudly correct her about how she couldn’t be a horse when she grew up. But she was pleasantly surprised when they only smiled at their little cousin.
“I’ll be an ice cream taster,” Nick said, nodding to her encouragingly. “And you can help.”
“You’re already an ice cream taster,” Zane teased him fondly.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “But I want to get paid. ”
That earned some chuckles from around the table.
“What will you do with your pay?” Daniel asked him.
Becca expected him to say he would buy toys. Most of her students had nothing but Christmas presents on their minds at this time of year.
“I’ll save it up,” Nick told his grandfather, his expression completely serious now.
“That’s very wise,” Maggie told him. “Farmers have to be careful with money, because a good year can always be followed by a bad one.”
Daniel placed his hand on his wife’s and squeezed gently and Becca felt a lump in her throat. The two of them had obviously been through their share of bad times as well as good.
Suddenly, the alarm on her phone began to chime.
“Oh dear,” she said, pulling it from her pocket and stopping the sound.
“What was that for?” Cal asked her.
“That was my lesson plans,” she told him. “They’re reminding me that they won’t write themselves.”
“What are lesson plans?” Nick asked.
“That’s my plan for what I’m going to teach the class tomorrow,” she told him.
“You don’t already know?” Cal asked her worriedly.
“I know all about your subjects,” she reassured him. “And I know the material we need to cover. But I like to change up how I’m going to teach it a little, and add some new ideas for each day, based on how things went the day before.”
“Like about our town project?” Cal asked hopefully.
“Exactly,” she told him, pleased to see him interacting so much with her. Cal was a different person here at the supper table than he was in class. “You and your classmates gave me so many great ideas about other things we could include in the project. So, I definitely want to go over my notes and make sure we have time built in tomorrow to talk more about it. And of course, I need to include all the wonderful things I learned here today.”
Cal smiled, his eyes lighting up, and she felt another surge of warmth in her heart.
Seeing the family here together made it easier to understand the boys, and their father too. All the Lawrence men seemed to relax and open up around this table.
She stood and grabbed her bowl and spoon.
“But that’s my job,” Nick said, frowning.
“Oh yes,” Maggie told her. “Nick carries all the dishes over to the sink for us.”
“Thank you, Nick,” Becca told him, impressed.
His chest puffed up a bit and she couldn’t help but smile. They were such good boys.
“I’ll walk you out,” Zane said quietly.
“Thank you again for everything,” she said, turning back to the family.
A sudden sense of longing hit her, and she found herself wishing that she could stay, though of course that made no sense at all.
I’m just missing my own family…
“Hope to see you again soon,” Daniel said with a warm smile.
She headed down the hallway, not wanting to say anything more through the lump in her throat.
As she slipped her boots back on, Zane grabbed her coat from the hook and held it out for her, the gesture only making her feel more oddly sentimental. He didn’t bother with a coat himself, opening the door as soon as hers was on, and following her outside.
It was a cold, clear night, and Becca smiled at the sight of the stars overhead.
“Can’t see those in the city, huh?” Zane asked.
“This looks just like the sky at the planetarium,” she said wonderingly.
“Until we get some clouds going,” Zane said.
She continued to her car and turned back to him before getting in.
“So, do you really want to move forward?” she asked.
He got a strange expression on his face, and then shook his head.
“Putting the boys in the same class,” he said. “Yeah, it’s a good idea. You were right.”
“They’re better together,” she said simply. “I think you’re doing the right thing.”
“What exactly do I do?” he asked.
“I would send an email to Principal Chittenden,” she told him. “Just something simple to let her know you’d like the boys to be put in the same class. Then call the school to follow up. They’ll probably invite you to come in for a meeting.”
“A meeting?” he asked, looking alarmed.
“Most likely just with the principal,” Becca told him. “They have to have a paper trail that they talked to you about this and that you agreed to move forward in spite of their usual reasons for the policy.”
“Makes sense,” he said, nodding slowly.
“Thank you for trusting me,” she said, feeling grateful all over again that this big, quiet man had opened his heart to a new idea to help his boys. “And thank you for today. This has been… incredible…”
“Incredible,” he echoed, his dark eyes meeting hers.
Some kind of magic seemed to shimmer in the air between them, and the warmth that had been growing in her heart all night flickered and tugged, as if trying to bring her closer to him.
His eyes moved to her lips, and she suddenly wondered if he would kiss her.
Is this the feeling I’ve been waiting to feel?
“Hey, there,” a deep voice called out through the night.
She looked away from Zane and saw another strapping man, probably one of his brothers, waving to them, along with a young woman, a teenaged girl, and a little boy.
“Hey, Tag,” Zane called to him, taking a huge step backward as he did.
The group headed their way, smiles on almost everyone’s faces.
“Why is she here?” the little boy asked. “She’s a teacher. You’re a teacher.”
“I am a teacher,” she told him with a smile. “My name is Miss Hawthorne. What’s your name?”
“I’m Chance Lawrence,” he said brightly. “And that’s my dad, and that’s my mom, and that’s my sister, Olivia.”
“It’s very nice to meet all of you,” Becca said.
“It’s great to meet you too,” his mom said. “I’m Charlotte, and I work at the ice cream shop in town.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Becca said. “Is that the shop where the ice cream from the farm is sold?”
“The very one,” Charlotte said with a smile. “Stop by anytime for a free scoop.”
“Wow, thanks,” Becca said.
Tag and Zane seemed to be talking about something farm-related, so she turned to say hello to Olivia.
But the teen was looking back and forth between Becca and her uncle, as if something were occurring to her. And Becca wondered just how close the two of them had been standing when this family arrived.
“I’m here as part of the class project,” Becca explained quickly, feeling her cheeks heat. “I’m helping the kids put together a report about Sugarville Grove.”
“That’s wonderful,” Charlotte said with a big smile. “I’d honestly love to see it when they’re finished. I only moved to town last year, and I feel like I still have so much to learn.”
But Olivia only smirked and headed for the house, clearly convinced that something more was going on between Becca and Zane.
Becca’s eyes went to Zane without meaning to.
He gazed back at her, his dark eyes so intense that Becca felt a funny little tingle in her chest.
“I’d better get going,” she said, her voice a little too bright. “But it was so nice to meet you all.”
She drove back into town, listening to Christmas music on the radio. And by the time she got home, she had almost convinced herself that she’d been mistaken about Zane wanting to kiss her, and that it was all just something she’d imagined after a day filled with too much sentimentality and really good beef stew.
But at least she was pretty sure he didn’t hate her anymore.