Page 2 of Sweet Surprise (Honeysuckle, Texas #2)

As much as he hated to admit it, he’d taken to eating lunch at the café every day this week.

The stress of not finding a willing female to help save the ranch was making it harder and harder to look his siblings—and mother—in the eyes.

For a short minute he had hopes that maybe his friend’s sister Carolyn would be a good fit, but she was currently head over heels glued to some guy she’d started dating a few weeks back.

Maybe the new romance would lose its luster, but for now, he couldn’t afford to wait and see.

He had no idea why, but he felt as the second born it was his responsibility to move forward, more than Garret or the girls.

Of course Kade would be the most logical as the oldest, but away serving his country meant passing the baton to Carson. Removing his hat, he hung it on a hook by the booth and slid in. No standing on ceremony at the café. If there was an open table, the locals took it.

Agnes walked past him. “Be back in just a moment.”

Nodding, he glanced up at the recent addition of a blackboard with chalk specials on it.

For years the menu had never changed, but for some reason, Agnes decided it was time for a little variety.

Glancing at the booth in front of him, he noticed a little boy sitting by himself.

Studying the child, he didn’t recognize the face.

Honeysuckle wasn’t so small that he knew ever single resident, but it was small enough that he knew most.

Lifting his gaze from his artwork, the little boy smiled at him.

No fear of strangers. Carson supposed in a small town like this that was a good thing.

A moment later the boy looked up again, this time not fully raising his head, just glancing Carson’s way through thick lashes.

The kid had the most startling green eyes.

Not since, well, not for a long time had he seen eyes quite so green.

Wondering what was taking his parents so long to return to the table, Carson slid out from the booth and taking a few steps, slid into the empty seat in front of the boy. “Mind if I join you?”

The little boy shook his head.

“My name is Carson Sweet.”

“That’s a funny name.” The boy frowned.

Carson chuckled. He didn’t have much experience with little kids, but the boy was right, the family name was the butt of many a joke during his childhood. “What’s your name?”

“Mason.” The little boy didn’t look up.

“What are you drawing there?”

“A robobird.”

“Robin bird?”

“No. Robobird. A robotic bird.”

This kid must be older than he looked. “How old are you?”

“Nine.” He continued coloring.

Had Carson had that much imagination at nine?

He remembered playing cops and robbers with his brothers, helping his dad to build a tree house—or at least their dad let them think they were helping—but he had no memory of being even a little creative in his stick figure artwork. “It’s a nice picture.”

The kid looked up and grinned. His smile was wide and bright and reminded Carson of his mother’s smile. One that he and his brother Garret had inherited. If Mason learned how to use that classic grin as he grew, the world could be his on a silver platter.

“Where are your folks?” Carson reached over and picked up a brown pencil, then straightened out a paper napkin and began doodling.

“My dad is sick. He says he’s dying, but my mom went to the bathroom.” Those big green eyes looked up at him. “Is my mom going to die too? She’s been really weird lately.”

The sudden sadness that filled the young artists eyes squeezed at Carson’s heart. What the hell was he supposed to say to the kid?

“Hey, that’s good.” The little boy’s eyes lit up as he reached for Carson’s napkin. “It’s a house.”

Carson bobbed his head.

“Cool.”

For a while, Carson had tinkered with the idea of becoming an architect.

Like Mason, he loved to draw, but eventually he settled on a standard business degree and then found himself flipping houses.

Only on the most complicated of projects did he have to pay an architect or engineer to submit professional drawings to the city for permits, but almost always the drawings were merely renderings of the work he’d given the professionals.

“That’s pretty cool too.” The kid had lots of talent. The drawing was clearly a bird, a red bird, but with sleek lines and shadows highlighting the metal structure verses ordinary feathers. Somehow, Carson suspected if the kid wanted to draw a real bird with feathers, he’d probably do a great job.

“Excuse me,” a stern female voice sounded over his shoulder. “What are you doing with my son?”

“Sorry, ma’am.” Putting down the pencil, he slid out of the booth, drawing to his full height. “I meant no harm to the boy…” When his gaze leveled with the same brilliant green eyes that Mason had, Carson almost swallowed his tongue. “Jess?”

For the better part of a week, Jess had debated how to tell Carson that he had a son.

Finding him online had been easy. How could anyone forget a town with a name like Honeysuckle?

The problem was that she couldn’t bring herself to tell him this kind of news over the phone or an email.

Once the hammer fell and she was officially laid off, there was no reason not to tell the man in person.

The entire drive from Dallas had been spent thinking over what she would say, and she nixed every scenario.

Once they’d hit Honeysuckle, her stomach was so tied in knots, she was convinced she was going to throw up if she didn’t get some cool water on her face. Now, what to do or say wasn’t coming any easier than it had in the car. “Hi.” She almost rolled her eyes at herself, how lame was that… hi ?

Carson took a step back. “He’s a nice boy. Lots of talent.”

“Lord knows where he got it. I can’t draw a stick figure to save my life.

” Though spotting the napkin on the table, she remembered that whenever Carson was bored in class, he’d doodle the most amazing designs.

Closing her eyes, not that she’d had any doubts after sitting down with the doctor, but right about now, a lot of missing pieces were falling into place.

Mason’s artistic talent, the brilliant smile that didn’t mimic his mother or father…

er, Todd. His eyes were so much like hers that she never questioned his kinship to Todd. How stupid had she been?

“Are you all right?” Carson’s gaze narrowed under dark brows that she remembered all too well.

“Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Maybe you should sit. You’re looking a little green around the gills.”

Sitting sounded good. She slid in next to Mason and gestured for Carson to retake his seat. “Join us, please.”

From where she sat, it looked like he swallowed hard before finally nodding and sliding back into the booth. “So, what brings you to this part of the country?”

Oh heavens, wasn’t that a loaded question. She certainly couldn’t spit it out in front of Mason. “It’s a bit complicated.”

All he did was drop his chin in a short nod.

“I see you’ve made a new friend.” Agnes stopped at the table. “Do we know what we want?”

“Oh.” Carson glanced at Jess and then Mason before returning his gaze to Jess. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding.” They had to start somewhere, didn’t they? “Are you meeting someone?”

He shook his head.

“Then we’d love to have you join us.”

They each placed an order and then sat in very uncomfortable silence.

She needed to say something to alert him, but what?

How? And more importantly—where? It had been almost an impulse to get in her car and start driving across Texas.

A couple of times she came within inches of turning around, but what to?

Her job had been downsized, without child support from Todd, she couldn’t afford the rent on the house.

Perhaps once Carson learned that Mason was his son, maybe then he would contribute financially so she could keep a roof over their heads.

Unless, of course, he’s mad as hell and wants nothing to do with her or her son after what must look like a massive betrayal. She had so much to figure out and second guessing herself wasn’t helping.

“Where do you live now?” His gaze was on Mason, but the question was obviously directed at her.

“Dallas.” They’d both attended University of Texas in Austin and then once she and Todd married, he’d moved her as far away from her friends as he could take her. She supposed she was fortunate he didn’t take work in Alaska.

Carson gestured towards her son. “He’s really talented.”

Having moved on to another picture, Mason was happily drawing some kind of flying dinosaur.

She could never remember the names of the different ones, but Mason knew them all.

A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth; she was so proud of Mason, and how well-adjusted he seemed despite having a disinterested father.

Her gaze drifted to Carson. In just a few minutes, he’d paid more attention and more compliments to her son than Todd had in the first few years of Mason’s life.

The waitress with the name tag Agnes reappeared with all the dishes stacked up her arm. Jess had tried that once—every single dish came crashing down on the dining hall floor and she never tried it again.

“I’ll be back with your drinks.” Another few moments and Agnes did indeed reappear with a tray of drinks. The woman had barely set them down in front of everyone when Mason had nearly devoured more than half his hamburger.

“Careful, buddy. You need to chew.” There was no reproof in Carson’s voice, only a hint of amusement. Shaking his head, he leveled his gaze with hers. “I was the same way growing up. Shoved food in my face as if I were never going to be fed again. Drove my mother crazy.”

Like she’d said, so many pieces were starting to fall into place. Todd would scold Mason unmercifully, telling their son—her son—that he wasn’t a barbarian or a wild animal.

“May I be excused? I need to use the restroom.” Mason wiped his mouth with the napkin and then shifted to face his mother.

She nodded. “It’s across the café, through that hallway, last door on your left.”

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “Mom, I’m not five anymore. I can find the bathroom on my own.”

She couldn’t help but smile. Were they supposed to grow up at only nine?

A wide grin had also sprouted on Carson’s face. “I still have conversations like that with my mother.”

“How to find the bathroom?” she teased.

“On being grown up.”

Her gaze remained on Mason’s back until he disappeared down the rear hallway. “You have no idea how hard it is for me to let him do that on his own. The world is filled with so many crazy people.”

Carson nodded. “That’s thankfully not a problem we tend to have in small towns.”

“No,” she sighed, “I suppose not.”

“So why don’t you tell me what’s so complicated to bring you to Honeysuckle?”

She sucked in a fortifying breath. “You.”

His dark brows rode high on his forehead and those deep blue eyes that had practically hypnotized her from the first day of class, seemed to be seeing right through her.

“Okay. While I’d like to carefully pull this Band-Aid off, just ripping it quickly is the best way,” she continued.

His head nodded, but he didn’t say a word.

“The reason I quit school and ran off to marry Todd is because I was pregnant with Mason.”

Again his head bobbed, he seemed to bite down on his back teeth, but didn’t utter a word.

“Except for one major flaw in my plan.”

Only one brow rose high over stormy eyes filled with questions.

Digging down deep for courage, she forced herself to keep talking. “Todd was an idiot, he didn’t grow up, didn’t mature, and fatherhood did not make him a better man. Of course the bigger problem now is that Todd’s been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease.”

Carson closed his eyes momentarily, and softly muttered. “That’s why your son said his father is dying.”

“Eventually, yes.” She sucked in another deep breath. “But in having Mason tested for the gene that causes the disease, I learned something surprising. Actually, shocking would be a better word.”

Leaning forward, Carson’s eyes filled with concern. “He already has it?”

She shook her head. Here goes the Band-Aid. One fast tug. “Todd isn’t Mason’s father. You are.”