The Magnolia Sisters (Magnolia Sisters #1) - Michelle Major Page 0,10
to call kids brats.”
Avery also wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a married man and get blamed for tearing his family apart and his son ending up in the hospital. She wasn’t proud of it, but name-calling a kindergartner was low on her list of no-nos. Besides, based on Violet’s reaction, this Margo seemed to be getting a jump on her mean-girl status. Avery had never been able to tolerate a mean girl. “Do you want your hair done or not?”
“Can you do a Dutch braid?” Violet walked around the picnic table and positioned herself in front of Avery.
“How about crisscross Dutch?”
The girl sucked in a breath and gave a small squeal of delight. “Yes,” she breathed.
Avery cocked a brow.
“Yes, please,” Violet amended. She handed over the brush and turned so that Avery could access her long hair.
Avery smiled as she began to braid, a sense of contentment filling her for the first time in months.
* * *
“AVERY BRAIDED MY HAIR, Daddy.”
Gray blinked at the excitement in his daughter’s voice. Normally it took at least a day or two for her mood to rebound after being disappointed by her mother.
He’d gotten dressed in jeans and a UNC T-shirt after his shower, panic seizing him when Violet didn’t answer his calls. At five years old, she was fine unsupervised for a few minutes, but he was on constant alert for anything that could be perceived by a court as him not being a fit parent. Misplacing his kid would definitely qualify.
Then he’d glanced out the window above the kitchen sink to see her with Carrie’s newfound sister. The woman hadn’t seemed like a fan of kids last night, or at least of Violet, so he didn’t exactly trust her to be alone with his daughter.
He’d rushed out the back door, both females turning as the screen slammed. But instead of having to step in as mediator the way he’d expected, Violet bounded over to him with a huge grin on her adorable face.
“It’s a crisscross Dutch,” she reported, spinning so she was facing away from him. “She’s so good at braids.” He’d stayed awake until midnight and then set his alarm for six to watch braiding tutorial videos, ineptly practicing on Violet’s American Girl doll. It would have taken years for him to get proficient enough to create the intricate style she sported.
“I love it,” he told her, lifting his gaze from the back of her head to the woman—Avery—now coming around the edge of the picnic table. Gray felt like he’d been clubbed in the head with a steel pipe. She wore a pair of loose boxer shorts and a thin tank top, her blond hair falling over bare shoulders. Yesterday she’d been all about stuffy attitude and a prim sort of beauty, even after a day in the North Carolina heat had taken its toll.
But casual and unadorned, she was beyond gorgeous, despite it being an aspect of herself she clearly wasn’t comfortable sharing. She wrapped one arm across her chest and tugged on the bottom of the shorts with her free hand, like she wanted to hide from his gaze.
“Thanks,” he mouthed, and she responded with the barest hint of a nod.
“She thinks kids are useless and smelly,” his daughter reported, lifting one braid and smiling with satisfaction as she examined it. “She told me.”
He lifted a brow. “Really?”
“I didn’t say those exact words.” Avery rolled her eyes. “But you can’t blame me for being crusty. Someone woke me up with the lack of iPad volume control. I haven’t even had a cup of coffee.”
“Daddy makes coffee with the timer the night before. Like he does my lunch.” Violet turned to her. “I still don’t like you, but you can come in and get a cup since you do such good braids.”
“What a generous invitation,” Avery muttered.
“Violet, you can’t tell people you don’t like them.” He crouched down and cupped his daughter’s soft cheeks in his palms. “We’ve talked about manners.”
“Avery doesn’t care.” Violet shifted to look over her shoulder. “Do you?”