Starting Over in Texas by Jessica Keller

Author:Jessica Keller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-10T20:28:37+00:00

Chapter Eight

Violet spread the blanket onto the ground while Boone set up the two camp chairs he had declared were for the old folks of the group when Hailey and Piper tried to lay claim to them. The girls recovered from their disappointment in record time, dashing around the field to chase the lightning bugs that could be found this close to the river.

Violet kept glancing at Boone, trying to read his mood. For most of the day he had seemed completely relaxed, but at the rodeo he had suddenly grown quiet. Did he regret telling Hailey she could ride again? Violet raked through their conversations and tried to land on anything she might have said or done to upset him but couldn’t think of anything. Or was he simply tired and being out in the sun all day had finally worn him down?

Whatever it was, she was having a hard time understanding. During the course of the day Boone had gone from friendly to flirty. He had held her hand multiple times and had said some things that made her want to beg him to kiss her already.

Hadn’t Boone once joked that he was born to be mild? More like born to be the most confusing man on earth.

Boone groaned as he eased into his chair. Violet had given him back his hat after the rodeo and she had to admit he looked adorable wearing it. “I think I’ve been in school for too long. I’m not used to being on my feet like that all day.”

“You did say you were an old man, right?” Violet teased.

Boone offered a weak smile in response. Something was definitely on his mind, but with the fireworks show starting in less than ten minutes and the girls nearby, now probably wasn’t the time to press him. And it wasn’t the right time to bring up Hailey’s confessions about her panic attacks, either. Violet would tell him tonight after Hailey was in bed.

She walked on her knees toward the other chair and fished a small soft-sided cooler from where it had been stowed. When they picked up Piper from her house that morning, Cassidy had thrust the bag into their hands. She unzipped the bag and started pulling out the treats Boone’s sister-in-law had packed. A few small cans of Dr Pepper, homemade tortilla chips and salsa, small containers of blueberry cobbler and four baggies full of puppy chow, which happened to be one of Violet’s favorite treats. She loved the combination of Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar and couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten it. The foster mom at the first house she had been placed in used to make it almost weekly. During those first few months, the special treat had been the only thing that was able to draw Violet from her room.

The only thing that made her flashbacks of the accident stop.

Not wanting to relive those moments, Violet set the baggies away. “Cassidy sure goes all out.

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