Page 20 of Peach Blossom Hollow

“Pop your hood and I’ll boost you again. Unless, of course, you’re just doing this as a weird way to flirt with me.” He grinned as the color in her cheeks darkened.

“That’s it. I’m buying a new car on Monday,” she grumbled, reaching in to release the hood again.

Leo laughed. “Maybe we should go together. Because apparently my car isold.”

As she retook the driver’s seat, he saw something flicker in her eyes. That devilish playful side shesometimes let out, he suspected, but she remained disappointingly quiet.

She restarted the car and Leo released the cables, closing the hood. He pointed at her. “Now don’t turn it off until you get home.”

She nodded.

He came to the window, coiling the cables. “I’m going to follow you to make sure you don’t stall again. You don’t want to be stranded out in the country somewhere. Especially in the dark.”

She eyed him for a beat, then batted her lashes and said, “Well, that’s no fun. I was planning to turn it off at every stop sign between here and home to see if I could catch myself a cowboy.”

He bit back a smile. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you left your lights and radio on earlier so you’d find yourself in this very predicament.” He tipped his cowboy hat meaningfully.

“Who said you’re still a cowboy and that I’m trying to catchyou?”

He glanced down at himself. He was wearing cowboy boots. Nice jeans. Button-down shirt. Cowboy hat. You couldn’t take the cowboy out of the man. Not one who’d had to fight for the family ranch at age eighteen and had ridden bulls for a living.

It was true, though, sadly enough. She wasn’t looking for a guy like him, and he wasn’t looking for a gal like her.

He just shook his head and sighed, as if she’d broken his heart. Then returned to his car, making good on his promise to escort her home.

Leo had followed her all the way home, and as usual, Violet slowed her car as she came around the curve of her driveway. She was still in love with her house after living there for almost two years. It was an older two-story that had once been a bed-and-breakfast called Peach Blossom Hollow. She had kept the name and sign, nailing a Closed banner across where it used to say Vacancy. An ancient fixture positioned above the sign lit it up, welcoming her home.

Her driveway was lit by a yard light and the veranda lights showed off her peach-colored house with the black-and-white trim, giving it a pretty evening glow that felt almost magical.

Wild roses grew along the curving drive, highlighted by her headlights, and a few peach trees framed the house. They blossomed each spring, and by late summer, dropped peaches over the short picket fence that enclosed a small yard, carved out of the several-acre lot.

She loved everything about her little nest, and its warmth made her introverted side never want to leave it.

She parked in front of the house and got out to thank Leo, who’d followed her in.

“Are you going to be able to get it started in the morning?” he asked through his open window.

She glanced at her car, unsure.

“Do you have a charger?”

She shook her head.

She wasn’t far from town, less than a quarter of a mile, situated in a meadow between the town and the local swimming hole. She could easily call a towtruck if the car didn’t start. And then after the holiday weekend she could get it in to see Clint.

But she might need a boost again after tomorrow night’s game. Lately, Daisy-Mae had been commuting with Maverick more and more, due to her new full-time position in the team’s head office. She hadn’t been fired for telling off Nuvella; she’d been promoted to a desk job as well as still serving as Violet’s handler at home games. And that meant Violet couldn’t always rely on her for commuting to games, since she’d already be in the city.

Violet’s car-fixing procrastination had finally caught up with her. She could ask Daisy-Mae, but was certain that would mean a change of plans for her friend. Even though tomorrow was Saturday, she was fairly certain Daisy-Mae would be riding in with Maverick for the game. Those two had started dating as a publicity ruse, but things were looking pretty real to Violet these days and she didn’t want to interfere. Even if it left her stuck here in Sweetheart Creek.

“I’ll think of something,” she told Leo.

“You could get a new battery tomorrow,” he suggested.

“Everything in town’s closed until Monday.”

She needed a partner. This was one of those moments when it felt overwhelming to be an adult, to be alone. Too many problems of her own doing and not enough solutions.

Leo had gotten out of his car. “Raise the hood again.” When she released the latch, he pulled out his phone, and snapped a photo of her battery. “In the morning we’ll get you a new one in the city.”

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