Page 1 of Follow My Heart

CHAPTER 1

RYDER

The air was crisp, the leaves already turning an array of orange and red hues. My daughter, Faith, was with me this weekend instead of with my ex-wife, Stacy, in Virginia. I should be happy, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

“They’re having so much fun. Izzy adores Faith. She looks up to her,” Daphne said as we walked down the street for the fall festival. Each side of the street was lined with tables with vendors selling their wares.

Daphne curled her hand around my elbow and squeezed. “I’m so glad you could come with us.”

“Like you’d let us miss this,” I said quietly so Faith, who was walking with Izzy, wouldn’t hear me.

Daphne’s lips curved. “Now that you’re living here full-time, I want to make up for lost time.”

I felt a pang that our daughters hadn’t been raised together, but then again, at the beginning of my marriage, my job was based in Virginia, and by the end, Stacy wanted nothing to do with my family. “It’s good to be home.”

“Can we get ice cream?” Izzy tugged on Faith’s hand, leading her over to an ice-cream stand.

“Oh, look. It’s Violet. Let’s go say hi.” As if I didn’t know who she was, Daphne continued with her explanation. “After we moved you in, we went to her ice cream shop.”

We stood in line. I observed Violet without her noticing me watching, a skill I’d honed at work. Violet was taking orders while a college-aged girl scooped the ice cream.

When Daphne introduced us at the ice-cream shop, I hadn’t let on that we already knew each other. But it was so long ago. Would Violet remember I was the boy she dated in second grade?

As soon as she introduced herself, Violet insisted we be boyfriend-girlfriend, then later get married. She’d stage elaborate pretend weddings at recess, involving our friends as the guests and the recess monitor as the preacher. We held hands, and we even kissed once. That landed us in the principal’s office. We were inseparable until she moved to Florida, the summer between second and third grade.

I’d forgotten all about her until I’d seen her behind the counter at her ice cream shop. I tried not to look at a her then, not wanting to talk to her. But now, with the line of people in front of us, I could take my time to check her out.

She flashed a smile at each customer, moving quickly and efficiently, but always with a kind word. Her straight brown hair fell in front of her face when she bent her head to run the credit cards. She wore a billowy yellow top over skintight jeans. The closer we moved up in line, the more my heart rate increased. Would she remember me?

When we were next in line, Violet moved around the cart. “Daphne! I’m so glad you’re here.”

They hugged, and my skin tingled as I waited for Violet to see me standing next to my sister.

Violet’s assistant continued helping the people in line behind us.

Daphne stepped back, gesturing toward me. “You remember my brother Ryder, don’t you? I introduced you when we came in a few months ago.”

Violet’s gaze flitted to mine, and I saw the recognition in her eyes. “We actually go back further than that.”

I kept my gaze on her. “I believe we’re still married.”

“Oh?” Violet asked as her cheeks turned pink.

My lips twitched. “You know that time we married in second grade?”

Her cheeks flushed. “Mmm.”

“We never filed any paperwork to document the divorce.” I always wondered what it was about this girl that made me infatuated with her in second grade.

Violet tipped her head to the side, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “I hadn’t thought it was necessary since it was an elementary-school wedding. Don’t you have to be sixteen to get married?”

Daphne’s gaze was volleying between us. “What are you talking about?”

I kept my attention trained on Violet, cataloging the flush of her cheeks and the dilation of her pupils. “We dated in second grade.”

Violet nodded and said seriously, “We were inseparable.”

“Until we ended up in the principal’s office for that kiss.” It was nothing more than a peck, but I was suddenly jealous of my second-grade self. Would I get a chance to be that close to her again?

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