🍑🍑
COMING MARCH 15 FROM JULIETTE POE 🍑🍑
Juliette Poe (Sawyer Bennett’s sweet and sassy
alter ego) is taking us back down to Whynot, NC with the release of PRETTY AS A
PEACH! Keep reading for a sneak peek into this charming and fun
enemies-to-lovers story, releasing March 15!
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I’m back at Farrington
Farms. It’s a different day, slightly different story.
I pull my truck up
right in front of Darby’s house. I hadn’t expected to be back here this Sunday
morning, but after I hung up the phone with Darby not too long ago, I decided
to take matters into my own hands. This morning when Darby called to
regretfully inform me that she and Linnie could not attend Sunday dinner with
my family, it hit me like a wrecking ball that my interest in Darby extends far
beyond just mere intrigue into this fascinating woman. I now fully admit I’ve
come to like her.
Strange.
I’ve never used the
word “hate” in my life to describe my feelings for someone, but before I ever
met Darby, I intensely disliked her. It’s not lost on me that within just a
matter of moments of meeting and talking to her, my entire perception changed.
Darby really let herself get into trouble with me when she made the bold move
to pull her application for the expansion grant from consideration. Yes, Darby
is one of the most beautiful women I have ever known, but she became infinitely
more attractive when I realized she has a heart of gold.
So here I am at her
house, unbidden and possibly unwelcome, to make it known I have an interest in
her. And if I’m interested in her, it means I have to be interested in Linnie.
After I hung up the
phone with Darby, I had a new person I intensely disliked.
Her husband, Mitch.
“I’m really sorry,
Colt,” Darby had explained on the phone not but half an hour ago. “But we’re
not going to be able to come to supper today.”
“Why?” I asked quite
simply.
She had no hesitation
in admitting, “It’s Linnie. She’s just… in a mood, I guess. She’s flat-out
refusing to go. While I could certainly force her and drag her to your house,
it would not be a pleasant experience for any of your family.”
“What’s the reason for
the mood?” I could sense by the tone of her voice that something had happened
to put Linnie in her funk.
Darby didn’t answer
right away. I could read into her pause she was trying to figure out whether
she should share a burden with me. So I urged her. “Talk to me, Darby. What’s
going on?”
There was no hesitation
after that. She let it all come out in a rushing confession of frustration.
“Her father called her this morning. I could only hear her end of the
conversation, but it was clear he was in full-out attack mode on me. I could
tell that whatever he was saying on his end, he was trying to manipulate Linnie
into putting pressure on me to come back to Illinois.”
I didn’t push her for
the details. I can imagine some of the things a parent might say to an
impressionable seven-year-old to turn them against the other parent. While I
don’t have any firsthand experience with such things, I’ve had plenty of
friends and acquaintances over the years who have gone through bitter divorces
and custody struggles. I’m aware there are some people in the world who will use
their kid as a weapon.
Yeah, I don’t like
this Mitch dude.
I assured Darby there
would be other Sunday dinners they could come to. I put her mind at ease by
saying I completely understood what she was going through, even though I don’t.
The only thing I did understand is I had made a new friend in Darby McCulhane.
I thought she was a good woman. She’s struggling right now to get situated into
a new home and is very far away from everything that provided her security.
She helped me out and
by extension helped my family out when she gave up the expansion grant.
I’m going to return
the favor.
I turn my truck off
and hop out with determination. After jogging up the creaky porch steps, I give
three solid raps with my knuckles on the wood casing of the screen door. Within
moments, Darby’s opening it and blinking at me in surprise.
“Good morning,” I say
cheerily.
Darby pushes open the
screen door wider and steps back in silent invitation. As I brush past her, she
asks, “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to kidnap
your daughter,” I tell her.
I did not expect this
to alarm Darby, so it was not surprising to see the corners of her mouth tip
upward. “Kidnap my daughter? I just want to make sure I heard that correctly.”
I grin and nod. “Cross
my heart I won’t corrupt her or anything.”
Darby stares at me for
a few moments and while she’s clearly amused, I can see a little bit of
distance in her eyes—not because she doesn’t trust me, but because she doesn’t
want to place her burdens on my doorstep.
I give her a
reassuring smile. “I’m going to take her horseback riding. You told me the
other day when you came over to have lunch that she had a horse and it was one
of the things she really missed.”
It’s not hard to
figure out that the rapid blinking of Darby’s eyes means she’s trying to dispel
some wet emotion my offer has caused. The last thing I want to do is make a
lady cry, so I also add on with a wink, “And that way, you can have a few hours
of relaxation all to yourself. Maybe go get your nails done or your hair fixed
up all pretty or something. Not that it isn’t pretty as is, but you know… spend
some time on Darby.”
She just stares at me
in disbelief. That lasts for only about three seconds before she snaps her head
to the right and yells up the stairs, “Linnie. Get down here.”
The footsteps overhead
are far too heavy to belong to a seven-year-old. The way she’s stomping through
the house above us indicates she is not a happy kid. She comes down the
staircase with her shoulders hunched forward. When she reaches the bottom
landing, she glares at her mom and says, “What?”
It’s not quite
belligerent, but it is rude.
As I was raised by a
Marine Corps drill instructor father with no patience for smart talk and a
strong, southern woman who insists on manners, a crappy attitude has never been
something tolerated in our family. I want to tell Linnie to have some respect
for her mother, but that would put us off on the wrong foot.
To my surprise, Darby
makes it known she doesn’t find her daughter’s attitude acceptable. She narrows
her eyes slightly, and says in an even but firm voice, “Remember what we said?
You need to check your attitude at your bedroom door. I don’t care if you want
to stay up there and sulk but when you’re in my presence, I expect you to be
pleasant.”
Linnie doesn’t
respond, but her cheeks turn pink.
Darby glances to me
and inclines her head my way before telling Linnie, “Colt is here to take you
horseback riding if you would like to go.”
There’s no doubt in my
mind I made the right decision in coming here when Linnie’s entire face lights
up with joy. Her head snaps my way so fast her glasses slide down to the end of
her nose. She just pushes them right back up as she asks, “Really?”
I nod. “I’ve got a
good buddy who has a few horses, and he’s got two ready for you and me to
saddle up for some trail riding.”
It’s also made clear
to me that despite Linnie’s sullen attitude toward her mom, she was actually
raised with good manners. She immediately turns to Darby. In a very sweet yet
imploring voice, she asks, “Can I go, Mom? Please.”
Darby doesn’t hesitate
or make her daughter suffer. She just smiles at her and gestures toward the
staircase. “Go get changed into some riding gear.”
Linnie doesn’t need to
be told twice. She goes flying up the stairs.
✦✦✦✦✦
#preorder Pretty as a Peach (Sex & Sweet Tea,
Book #4)
#prettyasapeach #sexandsweettea #enemiestolovers
#comingsoon #juliettepoe
