One Rainy Summer New Release B. J. Robinson

My mind ran rampant with thoughts of Matthew. What had gotten into me? I'd never thought of him other than a good friend. We'd lived in stifling hot, muggy-buggy, mosquito-infested,cattle-ranching, timber-raising, and citrus-growing Holopaw our entire lives, right next door to one another. You had to experience a place like this for yourself. I loved how riding my four-wheeler down the rutted dirt paths reminded me of bunny hops on a roller coaster. I'd ridden all the coasters in Florida from The Hulk and The Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios to the newest ones at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I shook my head in wonder when I thought about what a rich and diverse area we lived in. I couldn't help but love it. There was never a dull moment, always something to do. Lost in thought, I let Matthew take the lead, and he strode ahead down the winding trail that lead to Sandy's. I gazed at his lithe figure and wondered when things had begun to change between us. When did I begin to think of him other than just the boy next door? Did he think differently of me, too, or was it all one-sided on my part? I didn't want to let him know how I felt, just in case. Only time would tell.

 

A story of old and new love. Granny has a secret. Hope falls for the boy next door. Her grandmother rekindles a relationship her family didn't approve of years before. Hope finds an old picture of her Grandma clutched in the embrace of a man with icy blue eyes. Who is he? Hope scoots out the door and back to her own room, dashes to the window, and peeks outside. The moonlight reveals a funny sight. Her beach-ball granny climbs a ladder like the prince climbed Rapunzel’s hair. A man stands at the bottom and holds it. He gazes up at Hope's window, and she shivers and lets the curtain drop. Grandma is a grown woman. Why is she sneaking around with this mystery man? What's going on? Why is my honest, respectful, Bible-reading granny slipping out her bedroom window in the middle of the night like some teen?

s lures work for them, but shiners do, too. Your grandpa always used shiners, and I went fishing with him long enough to know."

"How long's Sandy been there?"

"'Bout the last five years." Granny rested her chin on her hand. "Felt sorry for him. He had no place to go."

"Doesn't he have any family? Why doesn't he work?"

"His family all died in a horrific car accident when he was young. He's always lived off the land. Never got much of an education. Used to grow vegetables and sell them when he lived at his mom's. Now, he has no land to farm, but he manages to make out living on the lake."

"With your help?"

"Now, Hope, don't you go ratting me out to your mother. She'd have a hissy fit if she knew he was even around."

"Who is this man and how did he get into our lives?"

"He's just a kind old soul. If I ever need help, I know I can count on him."

"Was he a friend of Grandpa's?"

"No, they never really knew one another. Your grandfather passed before he moved here."

"What if Mother drives up one evening and finds him sitting on the porch swing visiting you?"

"That won't happen. He rarely shows himself, and I know when to expect her."

"You never know." I looked Granny straight in the eye before I asked my next question. "Why didn't he ever marry and have kids?"

I knew he had, but I wanted to see if his story matched Granny's.

"Hope, I do declare, you ask too many questions. He was married once, but his wife died in childbirth. That was many years ago."

"What happened to the baby?"

"He put her up for adoption because she was a girl. Said he wouldn't know how to take care of her." Granny's eyes took on a faraway look like she was in another world, probably another time and place, I thought.

So far, so good. "Does he ever see or visit her?"

"Heavens, no, child. That baby doesn't even know who her true father is. She was raised in a much different lifestyle than his. Sometimes, I wonder …" Granny's voice faded away.

This is a work of fiction that released October 21 by Desert Breeze Publishing, California, and it's available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, and Kobo, etc. I hope people will enjoy reading this novel as much as I had fun creating it. Tucked into a Southern corner of the world is a quaint little town residents are proud to call home. Charming shops, restaurants, antique stores, and thrift shops line the streets. Orange trees blossom in groves. Small town St. Cloud is conveniently located not far from Orlando, Florida, the nearest large city. My favorite local restaurant for Italian food is Chimento's. Their chicken salad is, as locals say, to die for, and it's actually called chicken salad salad because they put it in a salad of greens and tomatoes with their special house dressing of sweet basil vinaigrette. You'll adore the picturesque paintings that adorn the walls of antique buildings lining the streets. On the outskirts of Kissimmee, in Orlando, is vacationland, the home of theme parks Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios. Hectic lives are left behind when you step into another world with a slower pace and sample country living in Florida, a way of life. http://www.amazon.com/One-Rainy-Summer-ebook/dp/B009TVTZ0C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350806847&sr=1-1&keywords=One+Rainy+Summer