Shrinking Violet (Colors #2) Read online

  Her face pinched in a sour look as her eyes narrowed. “What’d I say about not talking about that asshole?”

  My hands went up in mock surrender. “All right, all right. No more talking about Seth.”

  “Good girl.” She grinned excitedly. “Now, let’s talk more about how you should totally get in Hotty McRancher’s pants…you know, strictly for measurements, of course.”

  “Of course.” I laughed. “He almost kissed me the other day,” I whispered, suddenly afraid someone would come in and overhear our conversation.

  “No shit?!” Lana screeched at the top of her lungs. I was fairly certain she busted my ear drum. “Wait…what do you mean, almost? Was it hot? I bet it was hot. Tellmetellmetellme!”

  It had been so long since I sat down with a girlfriend to gossip about a boy. I actually found myself getting excited to tell Lana all about it. Just as I opened my mouth to fill her in on the steamiest almost-kiss I’d ever had in my life, there was a knock at the front door.

  I opened the door to a beautiful blonde girl with red-rimmed, dark blue eyes. She looked like she’d been crying. She was a tiny little thing, but from the looks of her I’d guess she was in her late teens to twenty. Looking past her tear-streaked mascara, I could see she had shadows behind those navy blue eyes that made her seem older. I could definitely sympathize with those shadows.

  “Hi, can I help you?”

  “Hi. I’m, uh…I’m looking for Carson Langford. Can you tell me if he’s here?”

  “Yeah, sure. Come on in and I’ll go get him.”

  I stepped back to let her through the door. As she walked past, I snuck a better look at her. She was really pretty in that fresh-faced, girl-next-door kind of way.

  “I’m Cassidy.”

  “Oh, yeah.” She smiled sadly, trying to hide the fact that she was clearly upset. “Carson’s told me a lot about you. Nice to meet you. I’m Navie. Carson and I live together.”

  It was like brakes screeching in my head. Live together?

  What the hell?

  That excited fire that began to burn in my belly just moments before was extinguished quick as lightning. Carson lived with another woman. Carson had a live-in girlfriend he never told me about.

  Oh, my God! I saw him at Miller’s right after he’d hooked up with another girl!

  My stomach twisted in painful knots as I looked in disbelief at the pretty girl standing in front of me. Jealousy raged like a forest fire in my blood but I managed to tamp it down, concentrating instead on Carson’s poor girlfriend. From the looks of her, it appeared she’d caught on to him playing around.

  “Let me go get Carson for you. I’ll be right back; just make yourself comfortable.”

  Her grin was genuine, her relief palpable. “Thank you so much.”

  As I made my way through the kitchen toward the back door, Lana stood from the table. “Who was it?”

  “Carson’s girlfriend,” I answered between clenched teeth.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

  “Nope, and if I get a chance, I’m going to rip his balls off and feed them to him.”

  How dare he kiss me…how dare he act like there was something between us when he had a live-in girlfriend the whole time!

  “I’m right behind you, babe.”

  With Lana on my heels, I stomped toward the barn, anger and sadness swirling around in my chest.

  I was beginning to regret the day Carson Langford stepped foot on Willow Ranch. Maybe I could get Uncle Kal to kick his ass for me.

  The sight of Cassidy coming my way at a fast clip would have typically excited me, but her scowl combined with that murderous glare in her eyes caused my steps to falter. I had no idea what happened to put that look on her face, but whatever it was couldn’t be good.

  When she got close enough, I reached out to touch her, only to have her jerk away from me. “Hey, what’s the matter, sweetheart?”

  Before she could answer, Lana came running up behind her. She looked like she was trying to melt the skin off my face with her eyes. “Oh, you’re such a dick!”

  My head pulled back in shock. “What? What the hell did I do?”

  “There’s someone here to see you,” Cassidy said in a sugar-sweet voice that belied her expression. A chill went up my spine and a sense of impending doom hovered around us, I just didn’t understand why.

  “For me?” I asked in surprise. “Who?”

  “Your girlfriend, asshole,” Lana hissed. “That’s who.”

  What the ever-loving hell? “Huh? What girlfriend?”

  Cassidy’s response dripped with sarcasm. “Oh, you know…the one you live with.”

  It took my brain a few seconds to process what she’d just said. “Who…You mean Navie? Is she okay?”

  “Oh, now he remembers,” Lana scoffed in disgust, but all I could concentrate on was the fact that Navie was at the ranch. If she came to see me while I was working, something had to be wrong.

  “Where is she?” I rushed out, needing to get to her and make sure she was okay.

  At the desperation in my voice, Cassidy’s eyes narrowed further. “You know, you really are an asshole. I can’t believe I actually thought you were a decent guy. I’m such an idiot.”

  “Cassidy,” I rushed out, my frustration beginning to grow. “Navie isn’t my girlfriend, okay? Now, where is she?”

  “You expect me to believe that? You’ve lost your damn mind if you think I’m going to fall for that bullshit. You’ve been flirting with me for over a month. I saw you hooking up with another girl in a bar, for Christ’s sake. What kind of man does that when he’s got someone at home waiting on him? You’re a—”

  With that, I lost my cool completely and shouted, “Enough!” My concern for Navie compounded with each barbed insult Cassidy hurled at me sent me over the edge. “You want to think I’m an asshole without giving me the benefit of the doubt, that’s on you. But I don’t have time to deal with this shit. Where is she?”

  There was only one person on the planet I held above all others, and that was Navie…my only family. That meant I refused to stand there and take Cassidy’s tongue-lashing, especially when she’d already made her snap-judgment to paint me as the bad guy.

  She must have sensed the volatile shift in my mood because she took a step back, the anger seeping from her expression, her face growing cautious. “She’s in the living room. She looks like she’s upset. I think she was crying.”

  “Shit,” I hissed, taking off at a run. I heard Lana say something about me being busted and trying to cover my ass, but I didn’t care enough to defend myself. Navie was at the ranch and she was upset. That was the only thing I could concentrate on.

  “Navie!” I shouted the second I hit the back door. I rushed through the kitchen and into the living room, coming to an abrupt halt when I saw her sitting on the couch, shoulders hunched with tears in her eyes. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  Her dark blue eyes hit me, full of sadness and…was that guilt? “I’m so sorry,” she whispered with a shake of her head. “It’s all my fault.”

  I took a seat on the couch next to her and wrapped my arm around her tiny frame, pulling her into my chest. “What’s the matter, little bit?”

  She sniffled and pulled away to wipe her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Mr. Henderson kicked us out.” She barely finished speaking before breaking down in body-shaking sobs.

  Mr. Henderson was my landlord and a grade-A asshole. I couldn’t stand the miserable old man, but I always made sure to pay my rent on time, so I wasn’t following. “I don’t understand.”

  “I-it was Meredith…” she stuttered, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Whenever that girl’s name was involved, it was sure to mean trouble. “She and her friends spray-painted a bunch of ugly words on and around the front door and smashed out the windows.”

  “What?!”

  “It’s all my fault. I’m s-so s-sorry, Carson.”

  “Why would she
do something like that?”

  Moving her gaze to where her hands lay tangled in her lap, she explained, “There’s this guy, Mark, in a few of my classes. We never really talked before, but last week, we were paired up in Biology. We started talking and he’s really nice. He asked me out, and I said yes.”

  I held my hand up to stop her, a sudden ache forming behind my eyes. “Wait…you’re dating?” Yeah, I just found out my apartment had been vandalized, which apparently led to our subsequent eviction, and the one thing I focused on was the fact that some pimply faced teenage boy was sniffing around little bit. Every brotherly instinct in me was clawing its way to the surface.

  “Well…no. I mean, I want to, but he only just asked me out yesterday.”

  “What does this have to do with Meredith trashing our place, Navie?”

  “He’s her ex-boyfriend,” she said under her breath.

  “Fucking Christ,” I ground out.

  Navie jumped to her own defense. “I didn’t know, Carson! I swear! I had no clue they dated. I guess she found out.”

  I ran a hand through my hair in frustration as I leaned back against the couch, trying to formulate a solution. I didn’t want to dip into the money I’d saved on a down payment for a new apartment, but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Problem was, that place had the cheapest rent in town. I was looking at paying at least three-hundred more in rent a month.

  “We need to go to the cops. She can’t just destroy someone’s property and get away with it.”

  Navie’s head shook dejectedly. “We can’t. I don’t have any proof it was her. It would be her word against mine, and her dad’s a deputy. Who do you think they’d believe?”

  My head fell back in defeat. I stared up at the ceiling, willing the answers to our problem to appear out of nowhere. She was right. There was no way they’d believe a kid who bounced around the foster system over a deputy’s daughter. It was fucked-up, but it was the truth.

  She collapsed on my shoulder and cried inconsolably. “It’s okay,” I whispered, lightly rubbing her back. “Shh, it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”

  “If I hadn’t moved in with you, you wouldn’t have to deal with all of this.”

  “Stop it,” I scolded, squeezing her tighter. “I’m not going to tell you again, you’re my family. I want you with me. I don’t care what happens. I don’t regret moving you in…never will.”

  When she said nothing in return—just continued to cry—anxiety started taking over. I didn’t know what to do or say to take away the guilt she was feeling.

  “Here.” Navie and I both looked up at the same time to find Cassidy standing in front of us, holding a box of Kleenex in her outstretched hand. “I thought you might need these.”

  “Thank you.” Navie smiled politely and pulled a tissue out, wiping at her face.

  Cassidy returned her smile, although it contained something more than politeness. There was an underlying look of remorse dulling her bright blue eyes as she briefly shifted her gaze my way.

  “Do you need anything else? Can I get you a drink or something?”

  “Uh…” Navie looked at me as if to ask permission, and I gave a little nod. “I could use a glass of water, if that’s okay. It’s so hot outside, and it was kind of a long walk.”

  “You walked here?!” I yelled, jumping to my feet. “Are you insane? You should have called me!”

  “It wasn’t that bad, Carson. Calm down.”

  “The hell I will! You just—”

  “Can I talk to you in the kitchen?” I felt a tug on my arm and looked over to find Cassidy pulling on my hand. “Just for a second. Please?”

  I wanted to argue, but she looked so insistent. If I said no, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind she would keep pushing.

  I turned back to Navie and told her, “Gimme just a minute, little bit. I’ll be right back.” I followed Cassidy into the kitchen, watching as she rushed to the cabinet to get a glass, filling it to the top with ice water. She held up a finger in the universal one moment sign and hurried to give Navie her drink before coming back.

  “Oh, my God, Carson,” she started in a hushed voice. Her gaze was pleading, almost begging me to forgive her. It was hard not to, considering how I felt about her, but each insult she’d thrown minutes before had been a direct hit. I was still feeling their sting. “I’m so unbelievable sorry for all those awful things I said to you. I had no right to judge you like that. I didn’t… I thought…” She stopped and clenched her eyes shut as if she were trying to collect her thoughts, pulling a deep breath in through her nose before looking at me again. “When she showed up, she introduced herself and said you lived together. I thought she…”

  “Was my girlfriend?” I asked, a small grin kicking up one side of my mouth. I couldn’t help it; she looked so adorably uncomfortable and ashamed. She gave a miniscule nod and dropped her gaze to the floor beneath her feet. “She’s my sister.”

  Her head shot up, blue eyes wide and her mouth open in surprise. “Really? Then why didn’t she…” She trailed off before finally adding, “You two look so different from each other. I never would have guessed.”

  “Technically, she’s my foster sister…or was, seeing as we’ve both aged out of the system, but she’s the only family I’ve ever had. Since the day we met, I’ve always viewed her as my little sister.”

  Foster sister?

  “You were…oh, God, Carson. I’m so sorry.” Before I could so much as blink, she had her arms wrapped around my waist, squeezing me with more strength than I knew she possessed. “I had no idea. You’ve never really talked about your family, so I just thought you were a private guy.”

  Of their own accord, my arms went around her soft body, holding her to me tightly. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I haven’t told you; it’s just not something I’m all that comfortable talking about. My life wasn’t really sunshine and rainbows, Cass. It’s just easier to leave the past in the past.”

  She pulled back to look at me but I refused to let go completely, only loosening my hold enough for her beautiful face to tip up to me. “And Navie?”

  “Unfortunately, Navie had it worse than me. You can’t really miss what you never had, but she wasn’t brought up in the system as a baby. She was four when her mom abandoned her.”

  “Oh, God,” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

  “She’s still in high school, but just turned eighteen not too long ago. The day she aged out…her fucking birthday, her asshole foster family put her out. She didn’t have anywhere else to go, and—”

  “She’s your family,” Cassidy replied. I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. She got it. My shrinking violet understood that I did what I had to do.

  “She’s my family.”

  “I’m so sorry, Carson.”

  I tightened my arms, hugging her to me once more. “It’s okay, Violet. I get why you jumped to conclusions.”

  Her face pinched in a frown. “Stop being so terrific and understanding. At least give me the silent treatment or something. It’s the least I deserve. I was kind of terrible.”

  “You kinda were.” I wasn’t going to argue with her about that.

  I laughed as she smacked me playfully in the chest. She sounded hesitant when she started talking, keeping her attention on my chest as her nimble fingers toyed with the faded fabric. “I couldn’t help but overhear what you and Navie were talking about…I mean, I wasn’t eavesdropping or anything! Well, only a little bit, but it wasn’t to be nosey….It’s just your voices carried into the kitchen…” She paused, her forehead wrinkling in frustration, “This isn’t coming out right.”

  I might have been bothered by the fact that she heard about our less-than-stellar situation if she wasn’t so damn cute when she got flustered. “Just say what’s on your mind, Violet.”

  She pulled in a deep breath. “I think I know how to fix your living situation.”

  Convincing both Carson and Navie that moving into t
he small, empty ranch house a little further back on the property hadn’t been as simple as I expected. After explaining that a majority of the guys working on the ranch lived in the other houses, Carson had reluctantly agreed to discuss it with Navie to see what she thought. While he was in the living room, I took the opportunity to gather Kal and Milly and explain the situation to them. As I expected, they were just as on board with my idea—if not more so—as I was. Milly especially, after getting one look at the cute, tiny girl sitting on her couch looking so sad.

  It was just another reason why I loved my aunt and uncle so much. Their hearts were bigger than anyone’s I’d ever met, and they never hesitated to jump at the chance to help out.

  The look of uncertainty on both Carson’s and Navie’s faces ripped my heart in two. I wouldn’t have understood if Carson hadn’t admitted to growing up in foster care, but their expressions were those of two people unused to the kindness of others. It was as though they were waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  Leery as they both were, it had been a little over a week since they’d moved onto the ranch, and they both seemed to be adjusting pretty well. It was Saturday, and Carson was helping Uncle Kal and Zeke work on the old tractor which had crapped out again. I decided that was my opportunity to get to know Navie a little better. She’d joined us for dinner a few times since moving, but she usually just stayed quiet, watching the interaction between the rest of us with interested eyes, like she was studying us. I wanted so badly to try and break her out of her shell.

  The front door was open so I knocked on the screen door, announcing my arrival before pulling it open and peeking in.

  “Navie? You here?”

  Her head popped around the corner, her shiny blonde hair hanging wild and free. “Hey, Cassidy. What’s up?”

  I stepped the rest of the way inside, closing the screen behind me. “I just wanted to see what you were up to. You all unpacked and settled?”

  “Oh, yeah.” She turned back in the direction she came from, waving at me to follow. “We’re all settled. The place is great, really. Thank you so much for letting us stay here. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.”