He nodded, and she took him by the hand and led him out onto the grass. For the next few minutes, she showed him how to do a forward roll and a backward one. He listened intently to her instructions and almost seemed like he was studying for a test.
That’s when she realized she had to make this as fun as she could–like a game. Something to help him relax.
“How about this–let’s work on getting our wiggles out, and then we’ll roll across the yard. What do you say? You ready to wiggle and roll?”
“Yeah!” he said, jumping up with excitement, and Violet wished Hunter was here to see this. Maybe this wasn’t out of the ordinary, but she kind of had a feeling it was.
“Okay, then! Let’s…wiggle our hands!” She held her hands out and shook them and smiled when he mimicked her movements. “Now, our arms!” And she flapped them like a bird. “Let’s move those legs!” She jogged in place, and he did the same. “Now, let’s jump up and down!” And so he did. After a minute, she asked, “Are we ready to roll?”
“Yes!” he cried.
Side by side, they got into position. “Ready? Set? And roll!” Violet held back a little so Eli would be in front of her and she heard him squeal with laughter every time he completed a roll. It was a fantastic sound. He beat her to the fence and was cheering her on until she caught up with him. When she did, he asked her to flip again, and so she did.
And again and again per his requests until she was almost dizzy.
The sound of applause is what finally made her stop and turn.
Hunter.
Feeling mildly embarrassed, she fussed with her ponytail as she walked across the yard to where he was standing with Eli. “Uh…hey,” she said with a small smile. “You’re here early, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I had an appointment to go to after lunch and decided just to take a half a day.”
Not sure of what to do or say, she simply nodded in return.
“Daddy, we tumbled!” Eli said excitedly. “And Vi flipped!”
Hunter looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief. “Buddy, you tumbled?” Then he looked at Violet for confirmation. When she nodded, she swore he looked ready to burst with pride.
“I’ll show you!” Eli immediately scrambled away and began doing somersaults across the yard.
“Violet, I…wow. Just wow. I think that’s the most excited I’ve ever heard him. And I mean ever.” He paused and seemed to compose himself. “How did you do this?”
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted. “I was out here doing some yoga, and then Brian surprised Katie with a FaceTime call, and Eli came out here with me and saw me do a cartwheel. He seemed to be thoroughly entertained by it, so I thought we could sort of roll around. I made a game out of it and he seemed to enjoy it.”
“I’m just…I mean…”
“Daddy! Look at me! Look at me!”
“I am! You’re doing a great job, Eli! That’s amazing!” he called out, and before she knew it, he was hugging her. Tightly. “Thank you,” he murmured against her ear. His body completely enveloped her, and it was all warm and hard and muscly and felt way too good.
Maybe he felt the same way because he wasn’t letting go. If anything, it felt like his arms were slowly tightening.
And damn if she didn’t go up slightly on her tiptoes to try to align their bodies a bit better.
Not that that was going to happen. He easily had eight inches of height on her.
But still, it had been a long time since a man had held her or made her feel this good. A low hum of appreciation was out before she could stop it.
Mortified, she quickly stepped out of his embrace and forced herself to watch Eli, who was now trying to do a cartwheel. “It was nothing,” she said softly. “Really. He’s a great kid, and it was my pleasure to see him look so happy.”
And when she watched him struggling to do a cartwheel, she excused herself and jogged across the yard and coached him through it–all the while feeling utterly self-conscious because Hunter was watching them.
Then Katie and Kira came out, and she found herself dealing with two students.
“I can’t believe you can still do all that!” Katie called out to her.
“It’s just like riding a bike!”
“Somehow, I doubt it!”
Kira caught on a bit faster and was making her way around the yard, but Eli wasn’t far behind her, and the first time both his feet got up in the air, he landed and then threw himself into Violet’s arms and hugged her tight.
And that’s when she knew she was in trouble because both Jones men had hugged her today, and they both had her emotions all over the place.
But for very different reasons.
When the kids ran to play with the ball, Violet walked back over to the deck and groaned.
“Violet was so good she could have gone to the Olympics!” Katie gushed. “You can still see some of her college routines up on YouTube!”
“Kate…why?” she whined. “We swore never to bring those up again.”
Shrugging, her friend didn’t look the least bit chastised. “You were the one flipping all over the yard; I just figured the cat was already out of the bag.”
“A couple of cartwheels doesn’t equal being on YouTube!”
“Oops.” But again, no remorse.
Damn her.
“For what it’s worth,” Hunter chimed in, “I don’t ever go on YouTube, so your secret is safe with me.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
“But you really should,” Katie said with a grin. “Seriously, Vi was one of the most talented gymnasts I’ve ever seen. She would fly across the gym during her floor routine and everyone’s jaw would be on the floor because she made it look so easy.”
Hanging her head and covering her face, Violet wished the ground would open up and swallow her. “C’mon, Kate…”
“Fine. I’ll change the subject. Since Hunter’s early, how about I treat you to dinner at the Sand Bar? Their burgers are legendary.” She nudged Violet with her elbow. “And I know you happen to have a weakness for quality burgers.”
Slowly, she lifted her head. “And we’re done talking about…you know?”
Katie made a zipping motion across her lips.
“Fine. But only because I feel like I deserve a burger because I’ve been eating healthy all week.”
“Same,” Katie said with a wink. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and call Rose and see if she’ll stay with Kira so we can have a girl’s night.”
Once she was out of sight, Violet and Hunter shared a look. “Somehow, I think this is more about Katie needing a burger.”
Laughing, Hunter agreed.
“This is just weird. Like…why would someone just leave all their stuff behind like this?”
Hunter had to wonder the same thing.
It was Sunday, and he and his brother Kyle were at Melissa’s place getting Eli’s things before heading over to Dean and Courtney’s for dinner. He had dropped Eli off with them earlier so he could come here and do what he had to do.
“I feel like we’re robbing the place,” Kyle said as he wandered from room to room. “Any minute, I’m expecting the cops to show up.”