Read Online The Chocolate Garden (Dare River Book 2) by Ava Miles - Free Book Online Page A

the car. Annabelle and Rory ran out to meet her, all four dogs racing behind them. The kids skidded to a halt while Barbie and Bandit danced around their small legs. Rye’s golden retrievers, Bullet and Banjo, who apparently didn’t see or smell a difference in her, rushed up to nuzzle her waist.
    “Mama! You cut your hair.” Annabelle pushed the dogs out of the way and hugged her leg. “It looks so pretty. And you have new clothes. I love them!” Even at five, Annabelle had the fashion gene. Perhaps she would take her shoe shopping too.
    Rory said nothing. He just stared.
    “Don’t you like it, honey?” she asked, feeling her new confidence lean like it might topple if she didn’t shore it up.
    “You look so happy, Mama.”
    Oh, her little boy. He always saw more than most people did.
    “I am. Now who wants to help me carry in my bags? Then I can show y’all what else I bought.”
    The sitter’s mouth dropped open when she saw Tammy.
    “Were the kids all right?” she asked, putting her purse on the counter. Yeah, she needed a new one of those too. Her current one could have graced Queen Elizabeth’s arm.
    “They were little darlings,” Alice said, recovering. “Your hair looks wonderful . It reminds me of Charlize Theron.”
    Whoa! She reminded Alice of that bombshell? “Why, thank you.”
    After paying her and seeing her out, she took Annabelle upstairs to model her new clothes. Her daughter’s delighted laughter made it easy to smile and feel confident in her new look. Rory, who’d declared that he would leave her and Annabelle to do their “girl stuff,” sounding just like Rye, was downstairs watching cartoons.
    Once she’d shown her daughter all her new looks, Tammy changed her top to a red one as another declaration to herself. Mama had never let her daughters wear red, thinking it was too bold. Tory wore it all the time, and for her, it was just a color. For Tammy, it was a statement of intent.
    Women who opened their own businesses wore red.
    Later that evening, she was pushing Annabelle on the tree swing when she saw a familiar form walking around the house toward them. Rye’s goldens shot off to meet him, barking madly.
    “It’s Mr. McGuiness, Mama,” Annabelle yelled. “Yeah!”
    Was he here to set a time for their consultation about his gardens? Tammy touched her short curls. What would he think about her new look? Would he even say anything? And then she cursed herself as a fool for wondering.
    Rory, who had been playing in the tree house Rye and John Parker had built for the kids in the spring, climbed down and met him halfway, his dog Bandit leaping at his side. John Parker stopped to talk to him, ruffling his hair, and crouched down to pet all three dogs. Moments later, Rory ran off toward the house, his canine companions in hot pursuit, and John Parker started walking toward them again.
    “Hi, Mr. McGuiness,” Annabelle cried out, kicking her feet to swing higher.
    When John Parker reached them, his eyebrow winged up. “Someone got a haircut, I see. It looks good on you.”
    Gosh, she wanted to duck her head like a schoolgirl at her first cotillion dance. “Do you really like it?” she asked, giving the swing another push.
    “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. You look more beautiful than ever, Tammy, and that’s like saying there’s more water in the oceans today.”
    Even though she knew it was her imagination, the ground trembled under her feet. He’d never given her such a personal compliment before, and the husky way he’d said it…
    John Parker grabbed her arm suddenly and pulled her out of the way. “Mind the swing. You almost got that pretty head knocked off.”
    Gooseflesh raised on her arm at his touch. His big, tanned hand was warm and strong, and she liked the way it felt on her bare skin. She hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d felt dancing in his arms at Rye’s wedding.
    Aware. Flushed. Needy.
    And afraid.
    His thumb stroked her