by Amy Vastine
“So pretty much everything.”
Violet nodded. “Pretty much.”
The waitress came over dressed in a bright yellow uniform with a name tag that read Heidi. Her white-blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she couldn’t have been older than twenty-five. She greeted Violet like she was a regular. That look in her eye told him she recognized him as someone she should know as well but couldn’t place yet. She took their drink orders and thankfully let them be.
“So what are you avoiding?” Violet asked as she put her menu away.
Boone looked over his menu at her. “Huh?”
“You said you had no plans except the ones you would be avoiding.”
He was surprised she’d taken note of that. “Remember when I said I was being trapped there to record a new album? I’m pretty much avoiding everything that has to do with that.”
“You don’t want to write any more albums?” Violet pulled out a sugar packet and ripped it open so she could dip her finger in it. She reminded him of Emmy. His daughter had the biggest sweet tooth.
“I would love to write another album, but I don’t know if I’ve got one in me. I guess you could say I have something like writer’s block.”
“How hard is it to write country music? Sing about a truck and a girl in cutoff jean shorts and you’ve got a number-one hit.”
Boone nearly choked on his water. “Oh, that’s all I have to do, huh?”
“Yep. Stop making it so complicated.”
He shook his head. “You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
“That’s what my mom always says, but I don’t think she means it like that’s a good thing.”
“Why do you always give your mom such a hard time? Is there some teenage rule book that says you have to drive your parents crazy?”
Violet shifted in her seat and tucked her hair behind her ears. “I don’t always give my mom a hard time. She gives me a hard time. She’s so embarrassing when she does things like letting Mrs. Davis come with us to Helping Hooves and making you all mad.”
“She didn’t make me mad,” he protested in vain.
“Yeah, right. That’s why you took off.” Violet rolled her eyes. “She does it to my dad all the time, too. She ticks him off and he leaves or doesn’t show up places. I don’t get why she can’t be normal and stop ruining my life.”
That seemed like an awfully harsh assessment. Boone found himself feeling bad for Ruby once again. “I’m pretty sure she’s not trying to ruin your life.”
“Why are you taking her side? I thought you hated her.”
“I don’t hate her. I barely know your mom,” Boone said. He wanted to stay neutral, but that wasn’t working. Besides the physical attraction he couldn’t deny, there was something about Ruby that tugged at his heartstrings. “It’s possible that I might have overreacted to some small-town newspaper editor asking for a fluff piece for a paper that’s probably distributed to a few hundred people. Your mom isn’t so bad.”
“My mom’s not bad. She just doesn’t get me. She wants me to be this perfect kid. But that’s not me. I mess up. I don’t like to wear dresses or go to Jordan O’Neil concerts. I like wearing black and being alone in my room. I like horses more than I like people.”
“I don’t like people, either,” Boone confessed.
Violet smiled. The waitress returned with their drinks and took their lunch orders. Boone went with the burger, while Violet asked for the chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon and sausage. She also wanted hash browns and extra syrup. Heidi, the waitress, had definitely figured out who he was while she was getting their drinks. She hovered a little bit longer than needed and giggled when he said everything was good and she could go now.
“Has your mother not been feeding you?” he asked Violet as Heidi walked away.
“I told you, everything here is good. And since you’re so rich and famous, I figured you could afford to buy me all my favorites.”
“Piece of work.”
Violet was right about the food. The service was fast and the food was hot and delicious. Violet had devoured her bacon and was pouring syrup on her pancakes when her phone rang.
“Seriously?” she groaned. “My mother has the worst timing.”
She answered the call and told Ruby where she was and who she was with. Boone got the sense that Ruby had been worried.
“I’ll be home soon, Mom. Chill.” She paused to listen to her mom’s reply. “Okay, bye.”
“Everything all right?”
“My mom’s home. She freaked out because I wasn’t there when I told her I was getting a ride. I swear she’s paranoid about me getting kidnapped.”
“Trust me, anyone who kidnapped you would be trying to return you as soon as possible.”
“Ha-ha,” she said, stabbing her fork into a big bite of pancakes. Her smile told him she found it a little funny.
CHAPTER TEN
RUBY PACED THE front hall with her wallet in her hand. Thanks to Violet’s disappearing act, she was too anxious to sit. How in the world had her child convinced Boone to take her to lunch? Every time she thought she was done with that man, he popped back up. She peeked out the window. No sign of them yet. They couldn’t eat forever. She resumed her pacing.
The sound of a car sent her racing for the door. She pulled it open and stood on the front porch with her arms crossed over her chest. Boone and Violet were both laughing as he shut the car off. Why was he turning off the car? Did he think she was going to invite him in? Why would he want to stay?
“I think you should write a song about how you broke her heart. Country songs are always about that,” Violet said as she climbed out.
“I thought all country songs were about trucks and girls in cutoff shorts,” Boone said with a grin a mile wide.
“Most, not all,” Violet clarified. “You need some heartbreak and beer drinking songs, too.”
Boone’s smile fell. “Right.”
“Looks like you two had fun,” Ruby said. “Did you thank Mr. Williams for lunch and giving you a ride?”
“No, you taught me nothing about manners. I’m the rudest kid in the world.” Violet’s sarcasm was worse than her eye rolls.
“She thanked me more than once,” Boone answered, coming up the walk. “There’s a polite young lady under all that Violetness.”
His words made Ruby smile. “Thank you for bringing her home. What do I owe you for her lunch?” She opened her wallet.
Boone shook his head. “Nothing. You don’t have to pay me back. Getting lunch was my idea.”
“Oh my gosh, Mom. He’s, like, a millionaire. Why do you do this to me?” Violet pushed open the door and went inside. “I need to give Boone the information on the horse show. Where’s all that stuff?”
“On the kitchen table.” Ruby felt the burn in her cheeks as Boone joined her on the porch. “Are you sure I can’t reimburse you? I don’t want her to think that just because you have money, you should spend it on her.”
“Really, it’s fine,” he assured her.
“It’s just, your money should be spent on people you care about, so...” She couldn’t resist throwing that in there. Even though there was no good reason for it, his words had hurt her feelings yesterday.
Boone’s smile returned. “Boy, it’s a good thing neither one of us holds a grudge.”
“I’m not holding a grudge. You have no reason to care about us. We’re nobody to someone like you.”
“I don’t usually apologize for my bad behavior because most of the time I don’t care who I hurt, but I was out of line with you yesterday. I’m also aware that I might have overreacted to your newspaper friend’s presence.”
Was Boone Williams apologizing to her a second time? Ruby wondered if she should pinch herself
to make sure it was true. She tried to hold back her grin. “You totally overreacted.”
He scratched the back of his neck. His dark blue T-shirt was pulled tight across his chest. Ruby had to force herself not to stare, but she didn’t want to look into those eyes, either. Holly had made her paranoid.
Boone wouldn’t let her focus on his feet. He used a finger to lift her chin so they made eye contact. “But will you admit that you knew I wouldn’t want to do an interview?”
Ruby’s mouth went dry, and his touch made her skin tingle. Those eyes of his locked her in place. “I tried to warn her, but she’s almost as stubborn as Violet is.”
“Impossible.” He slipped his hands into his back pockets as if he needed to keep them away from her.
“You’re right. No one’s as stubborn as Violet.”
“Why are you two talking about me?” Violet poked her head outside. “This is why I have no manners. Are you going to make him stand outside or invite him in? Gosh, Mom,” she huffed.
Ruby took a step back and waved him in. “After you.”
He walked past her, brushing against her ever so slightly but enough to make her knees a little wobbly. He’s not nice, he’s not nice, he’s not nice, she tried to remind herself. She had a classic case of bad-boy-itis. It was a chronic disease, really. When was she going to have this kind of physical attraction to some nice guy who never raised his voice and wore khaki to work? She followed him inside and noticed how Boone’s jeans fit him so right. Mr. Nice Guy in khaki didn’t stand a chance against those blue jeans.
“It’s called the Bayview Classic. Have you heard of it?” Violet asked, handing Boone the paperwork for the upcoming show.
“I think my daughter rode there last year. I can’t remember for sure, though. Last year wasn’t a good year for me.”
“I’ll bet Jesse would be cool with you coming. You know, if you wanted to,” Violet added.
“I don’t know. You gave me all these great song ideas. I could be busy writing about how I missed out on my one true love at the Cup and Spoon Diner.”
Violet laughed at their inside joke, and Ruby’s heart swelled at the sight of her daughter happy for the first time in what felt like forever. “Make sure to add in how hard it was to walk away because she was wearing Daisy Dukes.”
“But she wouldn’t ride in my truck.” Boone’s and Violet’s giggles filled the room.
“What am I missing here?” Ruby asked, wanting in on the fun.
“Your daughter thought our waitress had a crush on me.”
“Please. Mom, tell me she didn’t have a crush. She brought over a piece of pie.” Violet pretended to be the waitress, her eyelashes fluttering out of control. “‘If I give you this piece of pie, can I get a picture with you? I used to dream about you coming in here, and this is the pie I served you.’” She stuck her tongue out and pretended to gag herself. “So gross.”
“She was a fan,” Boone said with a shrug.
“Who wanted you to ask her to marry you because she gave you a free slice of pie? It happened. In her dream. So weird.” Violet shook her head in disgust.
Boone laughed. “There’s a song in there somewhere.”
Ruby was so happy to see this lighter side of Violet, she couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. “Let me guess. Was it Heidi?”
“Yep,” Violet said. “I think she would have kept us there all day if I hadn’t faked a coughing fit and begged Boone to take me home so I could get my inhaler.”
“I thought you were serious for a minute,” Boone interjected.
“So gullible.” Violet’s phone chimed and she checked it. “Thanks again for lunch and the ride. See ya tomorrow.” She didn’t even wait for Boone to reply. She flew upstairs, and the sound of her door closing echoed through the house.
“That girl is quite the actress,” Boone said, handing the paperwork back to Ruby. “Has she ever used her powers for good on a real stage?”
“No, but that’s not a bad idea. Maybe I’ll encourage her to look into that when school starts.” Ruby had been pushing Violet to get involved in something more social than horseback riding. Perhaps the drama club was exactly what she needed. “Maybe if I tell her it was your idea, she’ll actually give it a shot.”
Boone nodded. “Kids are funny. I don’t know why they think their parents aren’t like all the other adults in the world.”
“We are a million times more clueless. Didn’t you get that memo?”
“I’m pretty sure teenagers don’t even know what a memo is. They probably sent it out via social media and I missed it.”
It was annoying how he could be so darn charming. Ruby couldn’t forget there was a nasty side to him, too. If she gave in to the charmer, Lord only knew what trouble she’d get herself into.
“Your daughter rides in these shows?” She held up the papers.
“She loves it. She’s got a nice collection of blue ribbons.”
“Violet would freak out if she won a blue ribbon.”
“She’s very good, given her experience level. She should do well.”
As hard as she tried not to get sucked in, she found it impossible not to fall into easy conversation. She invited him to sit and got him some lemonade. Boone told her all about their morning with the new horse at Helping Hooves. She told him all about her special delivery.
“It was Iris’s third child, so he practically delivered himself. I felt like I was really only there to document time and date of birth.”
“I can’t imagine women having babies anywhere but in a hospital. Mind you, I’ve only seen one baby born in my life, but it was enough to know I don’t want that mess on my living room rug or my expensive bed.”
Ruby stopped herself from rolling her eyes like Violet. “We plan for the mess. It isn’t like I tell her to lie down wherever she is and push. It’s all very sanitary. But sometimes hospitals are the way to go.”
“Where was Violet born?” he asked, taking a sip of his lemonade but never breaking eye contact.
“Violet was born in a hospital. She’s been difficult since birth, if you can believe that. There were issues with her kidneys in utero, and I couldn’t take the risk that we wouldn’t have access to everything we needed after she was born.”
“She’s all good now?”
Ruby was surprised he was interested enough to ask. “She is. Trouble, but healthy as a horse.”
Boone’s phone rang. He apologized and pulled it out to answer it. “I didn’t run away to Nashville, Dean. I promise.” He winked at Ruby, and she suddenly felt very warm. “Oh, man. I totally lost track of time. Tell Jesse I’ll be back in a couple of minutes. I’m leaving right now.” Boone stood and hung up his phone. “I have Jesse’s car and the man would like to go home, so I better head back.”
Ruby saw him out. “Thanks again for bringing my daughter home. In my line of work, there are never any set hours. Babies come when babies want to come.”
“No problem. Violet’s a good kid. Deep down. Just got to get under all that sarcasm and teen angst.” Boone knew her pretty well for having spent only a few hours with her.
He stepped out onto the porch. “Have a good night, Ruby.”
This felt oddly familiar. “You, too.”
“Hey, neighbor!” Mary Ellen shouted from the sidewalk. She was dressed for a run, her twins strapped in snug as bugs in their double-wide jogging stroller.
“Hi, Mary Ellen.” Ruby gave her a wave.
For some reason, that was taken as an invitation to come over for a chat. She pushed the stroller up the driveway. “I’m sorry, but are you Boone Williams?”
Now she recognized him.
“I am,” Boone said before glancing at his phone. “But I’m on my way out.”
Mary Ellen pretended not to hear. “I hear
d a rumor you were in town. I can’t believe it’s true. I’m a huge fan.”
“Thanks, but—”
“And here you are at Ruby’s.” She smiled, but it was obvious the whole thing completely perplexed her.
“He was dropping Violet off,” Ruby said. “Not kidnapping her, like you thought last time.”
Mary Ellen’s eyes bulged, and her enormous stroller blocked Boone’s path to his car. “That was you at Valu-Save? Oh my, it was you! I can’t believe I didn’t notice.”
“That was me. I really have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ruby. Nice to meet you, Ruby’s neighbor.” He waited for her to move, but she didn’t.
“How do you guys know each other, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“I do mind. I need to get going. Could you...” Boone motioned for her to move her stroller.
“Oh! I’m so sorry.” Mary Ellen finally took the hint. “Like I said, I’m a big fan. I guess I’m a little starstruck. I didn’t know Ruby had such famous friends.”
Boone didn’t reply. He went to the car and climbed in. He gave Ruby a wave that was enthusiastically returned by Mary Ellen, then drove off.
Mary Ellen turned to Ruby. “You have been holding out on me, Ruby Wynn. I need to know right now how you know Boone Williams! We’ve been neighbors for months, and you neglected to tell me you’re friends with someone so famous?”
They weren’t friends. They were barely acquaintances. But something told Ruby not to tell Mary Ellen that. It seemed better to let her believe anything was possible.
“Just think what else I haven’t told you. Have a nice run, Mary Ellen!”
Mary Ellen’s jaw nearly hit the ground. Ruby slipped back inside and shut the door before dissolving into laughter.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“I NEED A CAR. I don’t care how you get me one. I need one.” Boone had stopped to chat with Dean before heading to his trailer for the night.
“I thought the idea of coming here was to stay here. On the farm. And in the studio.”
The studio. Boone smiled, thinking about the crazy song ideas Violet had come up with today at lunch. All her country music clichés were pretty funny. If only writing real songs was that simple.