by Amy Vastine
“See you later this week, Ruby.” He opened his arms for a hug as if they were suddenly friends. She didn’t have a good reason not to share the embrace. Before he let go, he whispered in her ear, “How’s that for not being a disappointment?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE HOUR’S DRIVE felt longer on the way back to the farm than on the way there. Sawyer whistled along with every song on the radio while the day replayed in Boone’s head. From finding out Emmy was there, to meeting Levi, to talking to Emmy, to getting Violet’s take on everything, to that kiss Ruby gave him. It had been one heck of a day.
“So when are you going start recording your new album? I know Dean’s excited you got that song for you and Piper written, but he wants an entire record.”
“Oh, I know Dean wants a lot of things. He’ll get something. I’ve been writing some new stuff.” He had written the song for Emmy and two others since that night. His shoulder made sleeping rough, but that gave him plenty of extra hours to write.
“Well, if they’re anything like that song you wrote for you and Piper, you’re sure to have the comeback album of the year.”
Boone didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but these songs were pretty amazing. They were different than his old stuff. More thoughtful and real. He had to admit he was excited to see how they all turned out.
What didn’t feel right was making his return with Piper Starling at his side. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to make a real statement with his first single. It had to be just him and it had to be his apology to his daughter, to his fans, to the world.
“What if the song I wrote for Piper and me wasn’t sung by Piper and me?” Boone asked Sawyer.
“Who would you sell it to?”
“What if I gave it to you?”
“Me?” Sawyer nearly ran the truck and trailer off the road.
Boone braced himself with his good arm and held his breath until they were back under control. “Goodness, man. Try not to kill the guy who is about to make you famous beyond your wildest dreams.”
Doing a duet with Piper could catapult Sawyer right up the charts. A song with her meant performances on talk shows and at award shows. The two of them would blow it out of the water.
“Why would you give me that song?”
Boone hated to admit it. “You sang it better than I could. Once I listened to you two, I haven’t been able to put myself back in it. Every time I hear it in my head, I hear your voice, not mine.”
Sawyer’s mouth hung open. “I don’t even know what to say. That’s...that’s the most incredible thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me too much. I still own the song and, with you singing it, should make some good money in return. I do have one other thing I want to give you that’s a tad more altruistic. It’s not a song, though. It’s some advice.”
“Lay it on me.”
There were many lessons Boone wished he hadn’t had to learn the hard way. He felt like he should pass on some of his hard-earned wisdom. “First, stay humble and always be gracious. Nobody out there owes you a thing. It doesn’t matter if you have a hundred number-one records or not. Tomorrow you could be sitting in the general public stands instead of VIP.”
Sawyer nodded and smiled.
“Second, choose the people around you carefully. Again, no one owes you anything, but they are all going to want something from you. You’re lucky you found Dean straight out of the gate. He’s one of the good ones. But there are a lot of not-so-good people out there in every part of the industry. Trust your gut. If something seems off about someone, something is probably off.”
“I’m a pretty good judge of character,” Sawyer said.
“You need to be an excellent judge of character.” There had been too many people over the years who didn’t have Boone’s best interests at heart. “All right, my last bit of advice is the most important.” This was the hardest lesson Boone had had to learn. “Be kind to those who love you. Don’t let this business get in the way of your family. Be present. Don’t get wrapped up in all the attention and fame. Remember who’s really important to you and don’t let them go.”
Those were words Boone intended to live by.
* * *
BACK ON THE FARM, Boone texted Ruby to find out how it had gone with Levi. He prayed Violet wasn’t too upset with her dad for saying no to her relocation idea.
Ruby’s reply was worrisome.
He said YES.
This was followed by three rows of crying emojis. Levi said yes? Why in the world would he get Violet’s hopes up like that? Boone was ready to drive to Nashville and let Levi know exactly what it was like to crush someone.
His shoulder protested, so he got in his truck and headed to Ruby’s instead. Given her mood and her panache for last-minute dinner plans, he figured it was a safe bet to bring over a bucket of fried chicken with all the fixings.
“Boone!” Unfortunately Mary whatever-her-name-was Nosy Neighbor appeared out of nowhere when he got out of the truck. “Look at you. Aren’t you the sweetest?” She checked her watch. It was almost eight. “Bringing dinner over at this hour?”
He could hear the judgment in her tone and didn’t like it one bit.
“Violet had a horse show today. We’ve had a full day. No time to cook. I’m sure you know what that’s like.” He had to keep reminding himself to be nice.
“You three are like one happy family lately. I still can’t get over it. You and Ruby. Friends.”
Be nice. Be nice. BE NICE.
“Have a good night, Mary Sue.” He made a break for the door but was cut off as he rounded the truck.
“It’s Mary Ellen,” she corrected him.
“Have a good night, Mary Ellen.”
He tried to pass her, but she stepped in his way. “Are you two friends or more than friends? I ask only because people in a small town have a tendency to talk, if you know what I mean. And I would hate for rumors to be spread about Ruby that weren’t true. If I had the facts from the man himself, well, then I could make sure to squash any false information that comes my way.”
An angry heat crept up Boone’s neck. He’d known his share of people like Mary Ellen. She truly believed the garbage coming out of her mouth.
“Ruby is the most amazing woman I have ever met in my entire life. She’s a single mother who brings life into the world. She has endless amounts of patience and understanding. Never gossips. Is beautiful and smart. I love her sense of humor and her laugh. Basically I would be an idiot not to be madly in love with her.”
As soon as he said it, he knew it was true. He was in love with Ruby. He loved her and Violet. As hard as he had tried not to let it happen for their sake, he had fallen for them.
“And I’m a lot of things, but an idiot is not one of them,” he admitted. The shock on Mary Ellen’s face was priceless. She was much easier to get around when she was frozen. Boone rang the doorbell.
Violet opened the door. “Are you kidding me? You are my savior!” She took the food and left him on the front porch. He glanced back at Mary Ellen, who was still standing where he’d left her.
He stepped inside and closed the door. Ruby came down the stairs and stopped short when she saw him. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she had changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt.
She tugged on the hem of her shirt, unnecessarily self-conscious. He didn’t care about her clothes. He loved her no matter what she wore.
“What are you doing here?”
He smiled up at her. “I brought food, but the teenager confiscated it, and I’m not sure there will be anything left when we find her.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. I was worried about you.”
She plodded down the rest of the steps. Up close, he could see her eyes were bloodshot from crying. He wished he could fix all of her problems, but the one Levi had created today most of all.
“What can I do?”
“You’re doing it. Thanks for bringing dinner. No wonder she doesn’t want to live here anymore. I barely feed her.” Her voice broke and her eyes got watery.
“Hey, now.” He pulled her close with one arm. “Don’t do that. I told you this wasn’t about you—it’s about him. She needs him to prove he cares.”
“It still hurts.”
“I know it does. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. A lot of things can change between now and when they think she’s going to move in with him full-time.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder and wiped her face. “You’re right. I need to pull it together.”
They found Violet in the kitchen with greasy fingers, chowing down on some corn on the cob. “I ate two biscuits. There were four, so you both still get to have one.”
“My goodness, child. I saw your mother buy you food at the concession stand for lunch. Don’t act like you haven’t eaten all day.”
“That was, like, a million hours ago.”
Ruby handed Boone a plate, and they all sat and shared the meal like a family. Boone passed Violet a napkin. Ruby got everyone a glass of milk. Violet reviewed the highlights of her day.
After dinner, they all helped clean up and settled in the family room to watch a movie. Violet chose some horror flick that she swore she’d seen in the theater and wasn’t that scary. Her definition of not scary must have been very different than her mother’s. Ruby watched the entire thing through her fingers and screamed every time something jumped out at someone on screen.
“Why is she going in there? She’s obviously going to die if she goes in there. Don’t go in there! Stop. Oh my gosh, she is so stupid. I can’t watch.” Ruby scooted closer to Boone and hid her face against his arm.
“She’s not going to die. She’s the main character. Main characters don’t die until the very end, or they’re the only ones who survive,” Violet said from where she lay on the floor atop all the throw pillows from the couch.
“I thought you saw this already. Don’t you know what happens to her?” Boone asked.
“I don’t remember, but I think she makes it to the end.”
Ruby peeked out from behind his arm just as the ghost in the story killed the character Violet had just assured them would live. Ruby wailed in fright and practically climbed into Boone’s lap.
“If you did that on purpose to make me look, I will never forgive you, Violet.”
Violet rolled with laughter. “I swear, I forgot that part,” she said through her snorts.
Ruby carefully removed herself from Boone’s body. Not that he minded holding her that close. He liked it when she leaned on him.
Boone and Violet finished watching the movie while Ruby held a pillow in front of her face and listened to the rest of it. Turned out that the character they thought had died was really alive at the end.
“See, I was right!” Violet stood and held her arms up in victory. “I knew she made it.”
“That was the worst movie I have ever half watched.” Ruby threw the pillow at Violet.
Boone loved them. He loved the way they laughed together and the funny things they said to give each other a hard time. He loved the way Violet said “Oh my gosh, Mom.” And the way Ruby called her Vi for short. He loved their smiles and the way they loved one another. He loved everything about them.
“Time for bed. You’ve had a long day,” Ruby said to Violet.
“Fine. I’m tired, anyway.” She thanked Boone for dinner and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. He could tell that wasn’t something she usually did by the way Ruby touched the spot when Violet was gone.
“I should head out, too.”
“Thank you for coming over and...making me feel normal.”
“I owed you.” She had done the same thing for him the other night. When they were together, things just fit.
His phone chimed with a text. He thought maybe it was Dean, but it wasn’t. His heart must have skipped a beat or two.
“What is it?” Ruby asked.
It was Emmy.
The black horse at Tressman’s was named Shadow. He was my favorite.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THE NEXT MORNING, Violet and a few other girls had plans to go swimming at the lake. With only a couple more weeks left in the summer, the kids were trying to squeeze in all the fun they could in the time they had left. Ruby was happy to see Violet building friendships with the girls but sad that all that would be lost if she went back to Nashville to live with her dad. This was true if she moved her to Seattle as well, but that was different. Wasn’t it? In that scenario, the benefits outweighed the costs. Ruby believed that much.
“Did you pack some sunscreen?”
“Yes.”
“The one with the higher SPF? You’re a redhead under all that hair dye, and your skin needs more protection than the other girls might need.”
“I know, Mom. I brought the right one.” Her phone buzzed. “They’re here. Bye!” And she was gone.
Gone. She could soon be gone for good. The thought made Ruby want to cry again.
Boone would tell her not to worry until worrying was all there was left to do. She was worried about him, though. They had enjoyed another fun night together, and then he’d gotten a text from someone and couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
It would be so much easier if she wasn’t in love with him. But she was. He had weaseled his way into her heart, and there was no telling what damage he was going to do in there.
Ruby went to clean up the breakfast plates as Holly came charging through her front door.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Is that a real question or did something happen?”
Holly was dressed for the gym in yoga pants, a tank top and a matching sports bra, but it was more likely she was headed to the office.
“I was putting the finishing touches on our Boone Williams interview and thought it would be nice to get a picture of him, but given his dislike of anything related to news about him, I figured he’d be difficult about it. So I decided I would find an old stock photo or press release.”
This didn’t seem like something to freak out about. “Okay. And you couldn’t find one that worked, and now you want me to ask him if we can take a photograph of him for the paper? Is that it?”
“No, that is not it.” Holly held out her phone and showed Ruby the screen. “I found this instead. It’s all over the place.”
Ruby took the phone and stared at the image of her kissing Boone at the exhibition center yesterday. The headline read Boone Williams Makes Out with Mystery Woman. There was also another picture of them walking hand in hand. Ruby’s face was clear as day. The article went on to report that Boone and ex-wife Sara Gilmore were there to watch their daughter compete in a horse show, but Boone ran off as soon as it was over to make out with this mystery woman.
“He did not run off to make out with me right after the competition. That is not what happened.”
Holly took her phone back. “It sure looks like that’s what happened. Is that not you and him making out?”
“I kissed him,” Ruby conceded. “But he didn’t run off to go make out. They make it sound so scandalous. A lot of things happened after we watched his daughter ride.”
“I don’t care what the article says. You kissed Boone Williams and didn’t tell me!”
Ruby apologized and tried to explain the situation even though she had no idea what was going on anymore. It dawned on her that perhaps his hasty getaway last night had something to do with the picture on the internet.
Holly had to sit down. She dragged Ruby into the family room and onto the couch. “Are you falling in love with Boone?”
There was no reason to lie. The picture said it without words. “Let’s just say I am beyond being Booned. It isn’t the way he looks at me. This isn’t about his eyes or his smile. I love his compassion and quick wit. I love his playfulness and his laughter. He’s so good to Violet. He treats her like his own, and not like some guy might if he was just trying to get with me. His feelings for Violet are completely separate from his feelings for me.”
“What kind of feelings do you think he has for you?”
“I don’t know. I think he’s torn. He keeps saying that he’s no good for me.”
Holly was about to hyperventilate. “Boone Williams told you that he’s no good for you. Kissed you and is sweet to your daughter. I think I need to lie down.” She let herself fall over on the couch. Her dark hair covered her face. “I don’t think I can handle this.”
“You don’t think you can handle this? This is my life right now!”
Holly pushed her hair away and sat back up. She gave Ruby a hug. “I’m sorry. I can’t imagine being you right now. You’re on the internet! You could be in the next issue of People that shows up in my mailbox.”
“I can’t even deal with this Boone stuff right now. I’ve got my hands full figuring out how I am supposed to handle Violet moving in with her father.”
“Do you really think that’s going to happen? I have a feeling once Levi understands what that entails, he isn’t going to be so in favor of that plan.”
That was a possibility but not a guarantee. The reality was, there was a chance Violet could move out. “He’s picking her up on Thursday for a weekend visit. I guess I should wait to see if he shows up. Then I’ll decide how much worrying I need to do.”