Page 29 of Hunted By the Guardian
A ghost of a smile traced across her lips. “I liked that you liked it, Noah,” she clarified.
“It’s hard to imagine you with a toad,” Jonathan remarked, glancing at Violet.
“I suggest you don’t imagine me with any toads,” she told him. “It’s not a thing that’s very likely to happen again, I can assure you of that much.”
“Oh, you really didn’t like it, did you?”
“I don’t think much of slimy creatures,” she told him.
“But the toad wasn’t slimy,” Noah said. “It was pebbly. You know, Violet, you touched it.”
“You touched it?” Jonathan asked her. He had to admit that it was surprising.
“Noah asked me to,” she said. “I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
“No, I wouldn’t imagine,” Jonathan agreed. “Perhaps you’d better go find that toad again and bring it back here, Noah. I’d like to see how she responds to it.”
“No.” Violet caught Noah by the arm. “No more toads. We came out here to have a nice picnic, not to pull toads out of the river.”
“Why don’t we toss rocks?” Jonathan said. “That way we all stay nice and dry. We can see who is able to toss one the farthest. That might be an enjoyable pastime.”
“I can!” Noah enthused. “I am so good at throwing rocks, Jonathan. You’ll see.”
“Why don’t you go gather some for us?” Jonathan proposed. He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger. “Look for some about this big, maybe. See what you can find. And don’t go in the water,” he added. “That isn’t safe. Those rapids can be stronger than they look, and I wouldn’t want to see you get carried off.”
Noah nodded and went down to the water’s edge.
“What made you decide to come out?” Violet asked, looking over at him.
“I saw you out the window,” he said. “It looked like you were having fun.”
“Well…yes. But you and I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time in each other’s company lately,” she said. “I was beginning to think maybe you were avoiding me.”
“Maybe I was.” He could admit to it. “I don’t know. It was difficult—the idea of facing you again. I thought you might not want to talk to me after what happened down in the chamber under the house.” He gave her a light smile. “You seemed embarrassed by it.”
She blushed. The effect, he had to say, was very becoming. The color in her cheeks made him realize how pale her skin was, and how even-toned she was most of the time. He did his best not to dwell on it. He didn’t want to stare at her, because it might make her uncomfortable, or she might ask him to go inside. And, much to his surprise, he had discovered that he really wanted to spend this time in her company. He wanted to join her and Noah for the picnic.
Noah had come running back up to them with his hands full of rocks. “I found so many!” he said, dumping them on the blanket. “We can have a contest. We can have a lot of contests! We should start by seeing who can make the biggest splash.”
Jonathan laughed. He got to his feet and grabbed some of the rocks. “You’re on,” he agreed. “Though I’m going to be the winner.”
“No you won’t. I can make a huge splash.” He looked at Violet. “Are you coming too?”
“Me?” Violet’s eyebrows lifted in obvious surprise. “I don’t know if this is the right game for me.”
“Oh, come on,” Jonathan urged her. “You can throw rocks with us. Why not?”
“It isn’t very ladylike,” she pointed out.
“Well, nobody is going to see you besides us.” He smiled. “And I won’t think you’re any less of a lady, I promise.” He picked up a handful of rocks and held them out to her.
Violet hesitated, then took it.
They got to their feet and made their way down to the water, where Noah was already waiting for them. “I’m going to go first,” he announced, and before anyone could say anything about that, he had heaved a rock as far as he could out into the water. It landed with an audible splash.
Jonathan chuckled. “Well, that’s not bad for a start,” he said. He carefully picked over the rocks in his hand and chose the biggest one.
Violet was watching him. He wondered whether she expected him to hold back, to let Noah win their little game. He wasn’t going to do that, though. He didn’t believe in doing that sort of thing. If the boy was going to win, he would do so on his own, not because a win had been handed to him. He could do it without being babied.
