15. Charlotte

15

CHARLOTTE

A few minutes later, Charlotte sat nervously in the passenger seat of her own car, trying to keep her eyes on the scenery outside, instead of letting herself gaze at the big man beside her.

Tag had obviously showered after working today. His dark hair was damp, and the light scent of pine and spice filled her senses. It was all she could do to stop herself from leaning closer to him to soak it in.

“You didn’t have to come out before dinner,” she said, her nerves causing her to want to chatter, even though Tag wasn’t exactly big on small talk.

“You told me you were done,” he said simply.

It was true, she had texted him that she was getting the kids, as usual. But she hadn’t been able to resist adding that her project at the shop was finished.

“You wanted to see it right away,” she said, smiling at the idea that he’d only been out on the porch pacing because he was excited too.

“You’ve been over there all week,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up.

“Well, I really hope you like it,” she said, her stomach twisting a little at the thought of him being unhappy with what she had done.

“If not, at least I got to drive this thing again,” he said, really smiling this time.

“You like it, huh?” she asked.

“This was my dream car when I was in high school,” he told her. “Same year and everything, I had a poster of it on my wall.”

“Why don’t you have one?” she asked.

“We got married young,” he said, shrugging. “It’s not exactly practical to put car seats in one of these things.”

“It’s probably workable,” Charlotte guessed. “But I get what you mean. Besides, you both wanted to live on a farm. You probably just wanted a truck. It’s so much more practical.”

“She didn’t want to live on a farm,” he said softly. “I think she wanted more.”

Charlotte thought about life on the farm. As far as she could see, it had everything—the animals, the creamery, the shop in town, a big extended family. A person could lose themselves in all that, and never be bored or lonely again.

“What do you mean, more?” she asked.

“She did all that theater stuff,” he murmured. “Like Olivia’s doing now, except that she really loved it. She did community theater too, and she was so good. If we hadn’t gotten married, maybe she would have gone to New York or something, followed her dreams.”

“Wow,” Charlotte said, taking it in. “But she got to be here with you, and be Chance and Olivia’s mom. I’ll bet that made her really happy.”

He let out a silent huff of a chuckle, his mouth pulling into a half smile.

“What?” she asked.

“That’s what she used to tell me,” he said, shaking his head.

“Did it ever occur to you that she meant it?” she asked.

“She loved us,” he said. “I know that. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t want other things too.”

Charlotte nodded and sat with that information for a moment, wondering if the woman she had never met, but who had raised two incredible children, might have been able to love them and at the same time wish she could be somewhere else.

Her heart ached at the idea that Tag lived with this question. And at the same time, she felt so much closer to him, and she was grateful for it. His emotions were normally so closed off, but he’d just opened up enough to let her see a glimpse of something that truly hurt him.

Before she had time to say anything else about it, they were driving into the little village.

Some of the shops were already closing up for the day, but people were still everywhere, carrying bags and packages, and stopping to chat with each other before hurrying home with their groceries and gifts.

“This car belonged to my dad,” she said, feeling like it was necessary, but not sure exactly why. “It was his dream car too, and he bought it when he and my mom first got married. He used to fiddle around with it when he had free time, but he never did get to finish fixing it up all the way. I had the rest of the work done in a shop after he passed. Every time I drive it, I think about him, and I wish he could be here too.”

“I’ll bet he loved tinkering with it,” Tag said after a moment. “He’d probably be really happy to see you enjoying it for him.”

She nodded, pressing her lips together and feeling terrible for being on the verge of tears.

“You okay?” he asked, as he pulled up in front of the shop.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding. “I don’t know what happens to me sometimes. I can usually talk about him, but every once in a while, it hits me all over again out of nowhere, like it’s brand new.”

“That’s normal,” he said, his blue eyes meeting hers. “You loved him.”

“I always will,” she said.

“So, are you ready to show off your hard work?” he asked. “Or should we just go get pancakes or something and save it for tomorrow?”

“No way,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what you think. Just keep in mind that it will be super easy to undo, if you don’t like it.”

He chuckled and shook his head as he got out of the car. She followed, glad that the lights were off in the shop. She’d be able to do a big reveal when they got inside.

When they got to the door, he tossed her the car keys, which also had her key for the shop on the ring. She unlocked it, and stepped into the toasty warmth of the shop with Tag close behind.

“Okay,” she said, feeling for the switches. “Here we go.”

She managed to flip them all at once, and suddenly the space was fully illuminated, the fresh colors and new images greeting them.

The front wall of the shop was all plate glass and a door, so that was the same as before. But she had touched just about every other inch of wall in the place.

Behind the counter, she had painted a big red barn. The back and side walls were rolling meadows with green Vermont mountains in the background, and little brown and black and white cows dotting the landscape.

Framed headshots from her photos of a dozen of the cows were hung around the space. To anyone who didn’t know, there was no sign that they actually covered all of the roughly patched holes in the plaster walls.

To Charlotte, it seemed that the place felt playful and welcoming now. And the answers to a few customer questions were right there on the walls. Happy black and white Holsteins and brown Jerseys wandered free in the pastures. Old friends from Sugarville Grove would recognize the elements of the real Lawrence Dairy Farm that were on the walls, like the stone farmhouse and the creamery. And flatlanders would be reassured when they had evidence that the animals were cherished.

She held her breath, waiting to see what Tag thought.

“Charlotte,” he breathed. “I…”

But he didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he moved around the room, stopping to admire the image of the woman bottle-feeding a brown Jersey calf in the barn.

Charlotte was pretty sure he could see from the dress and apron that it was meant to be his mother, though her face wasn’t visible—Charlotte’s artistic skills weren’t equal to that.

Tag moved to the back wall and admired the stone house with more tiny suggestions of family members outside, and the shape of his own green house in the shadow of the hillside.

“Oh wow,” he said when he got to the first headshot. “It’s Jane Austen.”

She nodded, and watched him lean in to read the little plaque.

“ Strawberries and Sensibility ,” he read aloud, “is named in honor of Jane Austen, one of our friendliest cows. We provide the strawberry goodness. The sensibility comes if you can stop with just one scoop!”

She waited for his reaction.

“ Strawberries and Sensibility?” he asked.

“Zane and I thought some new flavors might be a good idea,” she said. “We thought it would be fun to name them after the cows.”

“All of them?” Tag asked, his eyebrows lifting.

She nodded.

As she expected, he turned back to the wall.

“ Radium Raisin is named for Marie Curie,” he read, “ who often adopts an extra calf, if his mama doesn’t want to feed him. It’s not radioactive, but it’s guaranteed to give you a jolt of flavor!”

He chuckled and nodded his head.

“Little House on the Praline is named in honor of four of our sweetest cows—Laura, Mary, Carrie, and Ma, ” he read, looking at the four photos of the pretty Holsteins. “ These pioneers are ready to take you to places no ice cream has gone before. ”

When he moved to the next photo, he turned back to her.

“This one doesn’t have any,” he said, sounding almost disappointed.

“I thought you and the kids might like to help me with the rest,” she said. “If you like the idea…”

“I love it,” he said firmly.

“You love it?” she echoed.

“How could I not?” he asked, moving around to look at every detail. “I mean look at all this. You… You get it.”

“I love this place,” she told him simply.

He turned to her, his blue eyes twinkling, and the next thing she knew she was wrapped in his arms and he was lifting her up like she was light as a feather, spinning around and laughing with her in his arms.

Her heart soared, and it wasn’t until he stopped spinning that she became aware of his warm arms around her, and the spice of his aftershave.

“You really do love Sugarville Grove,” he said softly without putting her down, his sapphire gaze intense. “Don’t you?”

“I do,” she breathed. “I love everything about it.”

His eyes went to her lips, and she could sense that he wanted to kiss her. The inches between them felt like miles as she waited for him to break the unbearable coil of tension, his jaw tightening as if it was taking all of his resolve to hold up the invisible wall that kept her out.

But for Charlotte, it was the easiest thing in the world to slide her hand up from his shoulder to cup his cheek, and stroke that tight jaw with her thumb as she looked into the eyes of the man she had come to care for and respect so much.

And that small gesture must have been enough to break the wall, because the next thing she knew, his mouth was on hers. The heat of his lips sent shivers down her spine, though his touch was gentle, as if he thought she were made of glass.

“Just about done down here,” Ellis Johnson’s voice boomed as he tromped down the stairs. “I think we’ll be ready well before the weekend for your big re-opening.”

Tag lowered Charlotte to the floor immediately, and she tried to compose herself as her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

“That’s great news about the wiring,” Tag said to Ellis as he appeared in the back of the shop.

“So you saw what she’s been up to, eh?” Ellis asked.

“I sure did,” Tag said.

“What do you think?” Ellis asked.

“I love everything about it,” Tag said.

“Good enough,” Ellis said, nodding and grinning.

It wasn’t until the two men started talking schedules that Charlotte put together that Tag had just echoed what she’d said about his home.

I love everything about it.

Though of course, she hadn’t just been talking about Sugarville Grove, or even Lawrence Dairy Farm. And maybe Tag wasn’t either…

Tag’s eyes flashed to hers over Ellis’s shoulder and her heart fluttered again.

Was that just something that happened in the heat of the moment? Or does this mean something to him too?