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“Your intent. Got it.” Lifting out of her chair, she stalked toward the door but turned back. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I sat in my car until the end of your discussion with Eddie. It was . . . riveting.”

Hayden grabbed a fistful of T-shirt above his heart.An actual compliment?“Thank you, Violet. I’m honored. I listen to your show, too.”

Surprise registered in her expression. “You do?” Her rigid stance relaxed, and she tossed her long ponytail behind one shoulder. As much as Feisty Violet got his blood pumping, Vulnerable Violet came in a close second.

“Sure. As often as I can, but usually on replay. Try not to keel over from shock, but you’re very good at what you do.”

Her eyes widened. “It’s kind of you to say so. Thank you, Hayden.”

Prim and Proper Violet had finally arrived, the most mannerly girl he’d ever known. As in, she could open a charm schooland teach young girls how to walk with straight posture and sip daintily from a teacup with a pinky finger in the air. Two hairs shy of becoming Prissy Violet but nowhere near away from priggish or old-maidish.

“I realize we have different approaches with our shows, but considering we’re completely different people, it’s to be expected.”

Violet’sYou think?glance was comical. “Our end goal is the same. That’s the most important thing.”

“Agreed.” Hayden waited until her gaze returned to his. “Not that I go around spouting platitudes, but I believe God has us in the right place at the right time.”

“I can only speak for myself, but I love what I do here,” she said quietly. “I imagine you subscribe to thebloom where you’re plantedtheory.”

“Works for me. Look, I might tease you, but I don’t say what I don’t mean or dish out insincere flattery.” Ever since he’d started at KGOLD, he’d tried to “make nice” with her as the only other single radio personality at the station. Not that he and Violet were destined to date, but he hoped they could at least be friends.

For starters.The Lord knew he’d love more . . . in God’s time. In order for that to happen, he needed to convince her he wasn’t a male chauvinist. Or full of himself. To his regret, he could see where she might have gotten the wrong impression.

You need to show her therealyou.

Violet nodded slowly. “I missed the beginning of your conversation with Eddie. Not that I need to know what happened, but I’ll pray his marriage will be all right.”

“Eddie didn’t tell me what happened, and I know better than to ask. He said he messed upbigtime, and that’s all anyone needs to know.” Hayden positioned the mic then did the same with the laptop. “Hopefully, he’ll take my advice and ask for his wife’s forgiveness.”

“I’ll pray she finds it in her heart to forgive him. It’s hard sometimes when all we have to go on is what the listener tells us, isn’t it? When we only get one side of the story?”

“Yes, but it’s like anything else. We work with what we’re given.” Although Hayden loved how Violet was opening up to him, he was going live on-air in less than two minutes. After making a couple of adjustments on the board, he curled the headphones around his neck.

Picking up on his cues, her gaze darted to the clock. “I didn’t mean to keep you.”

“You didn’t,” he assured her. “I enjoy our chats.”

“They’re certainly entertaining.” Her smile emerged, the one she usually reserved for everyone else. If it didn’t make him look like a crazy man, he’d do a little dance.

Watching her leave, Hayden blew out a breath. The woman drove him crazy. His attraction was more than skin-deep, but man, she was pretty. A natural beauty.

You’re in trouble, buddy.

LOWERING THE TRUCK WINDOW, Hayden breathed in deeply as the fresh evening air caressed his face. Despite the heavy fog that often blanketed the Arcadia Valley, he loved the springtime.

Tonight’s show had gone smoothly, buoyed by the conversation with Violet beforehand. Unless he was mistaken, he’d made positive inroads with her. He would be content in the small victories. Maybe he should ease up on the teasing. He got a kick out of her reactions, but she clearly didn’t know what to make of him.

Violet’s lack of self-awareness was inspiring. He’d never known such a girl as pretty as she was who didn’t use her beauty to her advantage. She dressed modestly in nice jeans—not too tight with no strategic and provocative rips—with pretty, feminine blouses. Most of the time, she pulled her gorgeous, long hair back in a high ponytail, and she wore minimal makeup and jewelry.

In the rare moments when Violet lowered her guard around him, Hayden caught glimpses of her inner beauty. The KGOLD staff and the citizens of Goldenrod frequently referred to Violet as “sweet” and “compassionate.” Not that he doubted the truth of that, but it was fair to say she allowed everyone else access to her true nature, but she kept him at arm’s length.

Early on, he’d gotten the distinct impression Violet didn’t like him, didn’t trust him. If he didn’t care, he’d treat her with kindness but not allow her defensiveness to negatively affect him. Normally, the less-than-positive attitudes of others rolled off his shoulders. Not so with Violet. Why he cared so much about a woman who seemed apathetic about him was one of the great mysteries of life.

Hayden marched his fingers on the steering wheel.Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.“Sorry, Lord. I’ll do better.”

The truck’s headlights illuminated something—a bundle of clothing? an animal?—on the side of the road. Pushing up on the seat, he slowed to a crawl and checked the rearview mirror.Whatwasthat?Whatever it was couldn’t be good.

After pulling over to the shoulder, he cut the engine but left the headlights on. As Hayden ran back to the spot, his heart pounded when he realized it was a small dog. He crouched beside him.Lord, please let him be alive.At his gentle touch, luminous dark eyes peered up at him. The dog couldn’t be much older than two or three months old. With his unique golden coloring and random patches of black, he looked to be a yellow Lab, male, mixed with another breed.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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