A Bee in Her Bonnet by Jennifer Beckstrand

Author:Jennifer Beckstrand [Beckstrand, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-05-20T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Was it time to go yet?

Poppy’s cheeks ached from forcing a smile—a big, cheesy, I’m-not-crying-inside smile—all evening. She wanted to go home, get in her nightgown, eat a whole bowl of Rose’s honey lavender ice cream, and daydream about what her life would have been like if Luke Bontrager hadn’t saved her hand from that car window.

If Luke had minded his own business, her heart wouldn’t feel like a tiny, black pebble.

She hadn’t wanted to go to the park at all. Going to a gathering when Luke Bontrager might be there had sounded as fun as getting a tetanus shot. But there was nothing else she could do. If she wanted to show him that his words hadn’t felt like shards of broken glass against her skin, she had no choice but to go.

A strong girl would smile and laugh and pretend Luke’s dark look didn’t pierce her right through the heart.

Which it didn’t. Luke Bontrager could go jump in the ditch for all she cared.

She was glad she had joined the others at the park, if for no other reason than to show Luke that she wouldn’t be bullied. Not every girl swooned at his very presence. Her only regret was that he and Dinah Eicher had gotten their hands on two of her precious cookies.

Poppy thought she might be able to breathe after Dan told Luke to take Dinah and go, but her eyes involuntarily followed him and Dinah as they walked away and sat on a bench at the opposite end of the park.

“Don’t worry, Poppy,” Wallace said. “I don’t believe a word of what Paul Glick says about your honey.”

Owen shook his head. “Neither do I. It was just a misunderstanding—that’s what Dat says.”

Poppy wanted to reassure Owen that it wasn’t just a misunderstanding, but she kept her mouth shut. The Glicks gossiped freely about the Christners, but the Christners didn’t feel right gossiping about the Glicks, no matter how badly Paul had cheated them.

“We hope the gossip will die down,” Lily said. “No good can come of it.”

Owen and Wallace and Ohio John were all real nice boys. Wallace had eaten four of her cookies. Owen smiled at her the way Dinah Eicher smiled at Luke. Neither of them sparked any interest. Wallace made her feel like yawning.

“What are the Bontragers going to do with the kittens now that you’ve saved them?” Owen asked.

“I don’t know,” Poppy said, trying hard not to glance in the direction of a certain young man and his demure girlfriend. “They require a lot of care yet. They aren’t weaned. Maybe they’ll keep them.”

Rose nodded. “Or try to find gute homes for them.”

Poppy studied Rose’s face. Rose wanted one of those kittens. Aunt B would never agree to that. She already had two cats too many.

Luke and Dinah, with Mandy looking on, didn’t seem to be having a pleasant conversation. Dinah puckered her face, and Luke took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He put his hat back on his head and dropped his hands to his side.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.