given everything he had to his career. Without it, he was nothing.
IF RUBY HAD her way, she would eradicate the world of men. Maybe not all men, just the ones who didn’t give a damn about their children and the ones who thought they could fix the world’s problems by smiling and offering...their signatures.
Okay, the signature part was still weird. Why anyone would think writing his name on something could make this horrible day better, she’d never understand.
With an hour to kill and an ex-husband she’d also like to kill, Ruby figured the safest place for her was under the watchful eye of her best friend.
Holly Davis was editor of the Grass Lake Gazette. The Gazette was published on Thursdays and had a distribution of a whopping 2,600 people. Holly certainly didn’t need to work on a Saturday, but she often put in more hours on the weekend when her husband could be home to watch their three kids.
The small-town newspaper was housed on the top floor of the tallest building along Main Street. Ruby decided walking up the six flights of stairs would help her burn off some of the adrenaline that seemed still to be coursing through her veins.
Sure enough, the door to the Gazette was unlocked when she reached the top. Holly sat at her desk with a pen in her mouth.
“I know you come here for peace and quiet, but I need to spend some time with someone who likes me,” Ruby said, slightly out of breath.
Holly removed the pen and stuck it in the bun on top of her head. Her round face and large blue eyes gave her a childlike appearance, such a stark contrast to the streaks of gray in her dark brown hair. “I love you,” she corrected Ruby. “Who doesn’t love you?”
“I’ll give you a hint. She’s about this tall and is a professional eye roller.”
“How is my favorite thirteen-year-old?”
“She’s a pain in my butt.” Violet had a way of perfectly pushing Ruby’s buttons. She somehow managed to make her mom feel bad for her and infuriated by her at the same time. And whatever the problem was, it was always Ruby’s fault.
Never mind the fact that what had sparked the whole meltdown today was that Levi had once again canceled his visit with his daughter. Never mind that he’d spent months promising to take Violet to California for a long weekend. They were supposed to go to Disneyland and see the Hollywood sign. Only, Levi called last night with yet another lame excuse for why he couldn’t follow through.
“She loves you,” Holly said. “She’s starting puberty. It’s natural for her to clash with her mother. It’s her destiny to fight you on everything until she’s grown and on her own. Then she’ll think you’re the wisest person in the world.”
Ruby dropped into an empty office chair. “Ha! I hope I live that long.”
Jesse had once explained that it was safer for Violet to be angry with Ruby because she could trust that her mother would always be there. If she were to lash out at her dad, he might cut and run for good. Even the occasional phone call was better than nothing, so Violet couldn’t express her frustration to the real cause of all her angst.
Sometimes being the responsible and reliable parent really stank.
“When I was Violet’s age, I used to tell people I was adopted because I didn’t want them to think I was related to anyone in my family.”
“Holly!” Ruby leaned back and put her feet up on the desk. “That’s terrible. Your family could not have been that bad.”
“Oh, that’s nothing compared to what my younger sister did. My parents deserved a medal for surviving our teens.”
Ruby knew all about pushing parents to their limits. Her own mother could have written a book about the things Ruby had done at Violet’s age. What was happening now was most definitely karma.
“I don’t need a medal. I’d be happy simply to get one day without her sighing or telling me I don’t understand. Don’t worry. I won’t hold my breath, I promise.”
“Good, because that could take a very long time.”
Even though Holly had three boys who still let their mom tuck them in at night and asked for extra kisses before they could fall asleep, her opinion still fed Ruby’s fear that she and Violet would never find common ground. Especially when Violet’s father constantly played games with her emotions.
“Tell me something good. What amazing things are happening in Grass Lake this week?”
Holly rubbed her hands together and giggled like she had when they were roommates in college and had a secret to tell. She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her cluttered desk. “Grass Lake is about to be put on the map.”
Ruby raised an eyebrow. “How so?”
Holly’s blue eyes somehow got bigger. “We have a celebrity in town. A megastar.”
“What kind of celebrity? A movie star?”
“Not someone from Hollywood. Someone from Nashville.”
Ruby’s interest diminished significantly with that revelation. Country music wasn’t her thing. Never had been, even though Levi loved it. She was more of a progressive rock kind of girl.
“Nashville stars are not mega.”
“Oh, I know a whole lot of people who would disagree. Boone Williams is easily one of the biggest names in country music. He’s right up there with the likes of Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.”
Boone Williams. Ruby knew the name. She’d have to live under a rock to not have heard of him. He’d been married to some other country singer and made a mess of his life a few years back. Ruby couldn’t picture him, though. A quick Google search would remedy that.
As she typed his name into her phone, Holly added, “In fact, he’s staying over at the Stratton farm. You have a decent shot of laying eyes on him when you’re there with Violet.”
Oh, Ruby had laid eyes on him. In the images on her screen, he resembled more of a rugged cowboy than the average Joe he’d seemed to be in the barn. Not that he was average-looking by any means. His piercing blue eyes had caught her attention, as had his rock-hard chest. Of course, then he had opened his mouth.
“I definitely saw him there.”
Holly nearly fell out of her chair. “You met Boone Williams? Did you talk to him? Did he talk to you? Did you ask him for an autograph?”
Ruby wanted to laugh out loud at the last question. He had been offering her an autograph because he thought he was as famous as Holly did. His ego was incredible, but perhaps a bit more understandable now that she knew who he was.
“Had I known you were such a fan, I would have taken him up on his offer to sign something to make up for the horrendous argument I was having with my dear daughter when he stumbled upon us.”
“He what?”
“I guess that’s how
