26. Becca
Becca crouched in the farmhouse kitchen on Christmas morning, with Nick and Cal by her side as the three of them gazed through the glass door of their grandmother’s oven at the gingerbread men inside.
“I think they’re done,” Nick declared.
“That’s because you like them better raw,” Cal said. “What do you think, Miss Hawthorne?”
“Let’s give them one more minute,” she said, straightening up and resetting the timer.
The boys stood up too, and almost immediately began playing with the magnets on their grandma’s refrigerator.
Maggie had fun things for children all over the house, but her collection of magnetic letters and funny words on the fridge was really special. The boys loved making silly sentences, or making the Charlie Brown and Muppet magnets act out stories.
Meanwhile, Becca took a moment to relax and enjoy the delicious smells of the cookies and soak in the sounds of the rest of the family laughing and chatting around the Christmas tree in the next room.
She loved Zane’s big, noisy family. But she also loved a little quiet time with the boys now and then.
“How’s it going?” Zane asked as he joined her, his voice deep and a little husky from working outside.
“Just fine,” she told him with a smile, still unable to believe they belonged to each other now. “In about thirty seconds, we’ll have nice warm gingerbread.”
“Well, there’s plenty of firewood now,” he told her. “Tripp and I cut up enough to last until New Year’s. Did you hear from your parents?”
“I sure did,” she told him. It had honestly been hard not to run outside and tell him the moment she got her mom’s call. “They can all come next weekend if that works for your family, and if a week and a half is enough notice to get the church.”
But instead of answering, he swept her up in his arms and spun her around.
“ Zane ,” she shrieked.
“ Dad,” Nick yelled, laughing.
“You can’t just pick someone up if they don’t want to be picked up,” Cal said seriously, making Becca suspect that he’d been told that a few times himself.
“Oh, I was just surprised, Cal,” she reassured him as Zane placed her gently back on her feet. “But that’s really good advice. You’re a very thoughtful young man.”
Cal smiled with obvious pride. It hardly seemed possible, but she loved these boys more every day.
The timer went off and they all got to work getting the cookies very carefully out of the oven and setting the tray on the stovetop while Zane lifted down the cooling racks from the cabinet.
Becca slid the next batch into the oven as the boys admired what they had made so far.
“Something smells good,” Mr. Lawrence declared, marching into the kitchen. “I’d better do a taste test.”
“Daniel, you save some of those cookies for the kids,” Maggie yelled after him cheerfully.
“I’m pretty sure these boys told me they don’t like cookies,” he replied with a wink.
The boys laughed their heads off, and Becca smiled, feeling like this warm kitchen full of wonderful people was exactly where she was supposed to be.
An hour later, they were all sitting in the family room. It was an ample space, but it still could barely contain the Lawrence family. Adults were all smushed into the sofa and loveseat, as well as the cozy chairs. And the kids practically covered the floor, which had quickly become a colorful sea of crumpled wrapping paper.
The children had gotten their gifts first, and they were merrily playing with them now, allowing the adults to hand out presents more slowly. But there was still one more small box for a certain child.
“Oh, Cal,” Becca said quietly. “I have one more for you.”
She had spent most of her gift budget on it, and now she was wondering if it was a little silly.
“Awesome,” Cal said. “Thank you.”
She watched him unwrap the little package and get out the familiar-looking case.
“ Glasses,” he yelled excitedly, as he opened it. “And they’re exactly like Nick’s. But…”
He looked at her for a second, obviously confused.
“Doc Robertson made those just for you,” she told him. “The lenses are just plain glass, since you don’t need them to see. You probably shouldn’t wear them to school though, they’re just for?—”
“ Playing which-twin ,” the boys both yelled excitedly as Cal put on his glasses, instantly making himself look more like his brother.
There was a ripple of appreciative laughter among the adults as the boys immediately began scrambling around, trying their best to confuse everyone about which one was which.
Of course, it was obvious that the twin darting around delightedly with a glint of mischief in his eyes was Nick. And the one who came over to hug Becca was Cal. But the adults played along, pretending to be thoroughly confused.
“That’s a present for both of us,” Nick said suddenly, scampering over to hug her too.
Zane’s older brother was the next one to give out a gift.
“Mom, we’ve got something for you,” Tag said gruffly.
“Oh my,” Maggie said, when Charlotte brought her a small package. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
Charlotte and Tag exchanged a knowing look, and Becca somehow knew what it meant, even before Maggie opened the little package.
“Well, isn’t that cute?” Maggie said, looking at the little board book about farm animals.
“Open it, Grandma,” Tag and Charlotte’s little boy, Chance, yelled. “Open it.”
“ For Grandma, ” Maggie read aloud. “From Olivia, Chance, and Baby Lawrence.”
Her face went soft with wonder, and she looked over at Charlotte, who put her hand to her belly and nodded.
The whole room erupted in congratulations, laughter, and more than a few joyful tears. Charlotte looked happy enough to float away, and Tag’s joyful pride shone through, in spite of what Becca was coming to understand was his characteristic silence.
Zane grabbed Becca’s hand and gave it a squeeze without looking at her and she knew what he was thinking. Will that be us one day?
As far as she was concerned, Cal and Nick were absolutely enough. She loved them fiercely. But the idea of giving them a little brother or sister was sort of nice too.
“I’m going to name her,” Tag and Charlotte’s teenaged daughter, Olivia, teased as everyone began sitting down again.
“No, I’m going to name him ,” Chance declared. “His name will be Bruce Wayne, and I’ll help him make cool gadgets.”
Everyone laughed.
“Charlotte will name the baby,” Tag said firmly, with a smile on his face. “And she already has some great ideas in mind.”
More gifts were exchanged and finally, everyone was sitting back, letting the kids rush into the kitchen and come back out with plates of cookies to set on the coffee table.
“Another perfect Christmas,” Mr. Lawrence declared, leaning back to pat his belly, still wearing the striped scarf Allie had knitted for him.
“Oh, the cheese tray is out on the porch, since the fridge was full,” Maggie said, moving to get up.
“I’ve got it,” Becca said, standing right away.
“I’ll help,” Zane added, following her out to the hall.
They both slipped on their boots and headed out into the fresh, cold air.
“I can never believe this view,” Becca said, stopping to look out over the snowy farm, even though she was already shivering.
The brilliant white of the sunshine shimmering on the fresh snow made the red of the barn, the silver of the tree bark, and the blue of the sky look all the more vivid.
“Wait until summertime,” Zane said, stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her waist to look over her shoulder. “The hills are so green, it will take your breath away. And Mom trained roses up every wall and trellis.”
She soaked in the warmth of his arms around her, trying to imagine the farm as he described it.
“But it’s never been more beautiful than it is now,” Zane said softly.
She turned to him at the note of emotion in his voice.
“Everything is more beautiful, now that you’re here,” he told her, cupping her cheek in his hand.
Becca liked the view of his beloved face better than the view of the farmland too, but there was no time to tell him so, because he was already bending to kiss her.
She closed her eyes as his mouth claimed hers, joy and peace filling her soul as she welcomed the sweet knowledge that she was exactly where she belonged.
***
Thanks for reading Sweet Surprises !