{"id":367,"date":"2010-07-06T09:26:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-06T09:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/?p=367"},"modified":"2010-07-06T09:26:00","modified_gmt":"2010-07-06T09:26:00","slug":"a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","title":{"rendered":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watermelon Cowboy by Lyn Cote-Part 2<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The first part of this story was posted on Friday July 2nd-
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“The county’s Sweet Corn Festival was the last big summer celebration. <\/span>Sarah just wasn’t in the mood for festivities, but Grandma wouldn’t dream of missing the fair. <\/span>In the evening breeze, Sarah walked slowly beside her grandmother who leaned on her cane. <\/span>Grandma struggled over the uneven grass to the shady area where the older generation sat on lawn chairs and fanned themselves. <\/span>Grandmother was greeted cheerfully. <\/span>With Danny beside her, Sarah snapped open a lawn chair and helped her grandmother settle into it. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Mom! <\/span>It’s the Watermelon Cowboy!” <\/span>Danny waved. <\/span>“Hi!”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Hello.” <\/span>Tate greeted Danny, then the assembled grandparents.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah noted their warm response to Tate. Obviously, he was a favorite with them.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Thanks for helping my granddaughter pick out that corn and those melons.” <\/span>Martha held onto his hand. <\/span>“Nobody can out-do Quint melons.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“They were great!” Danny bounced up and down.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tate offered Danny his hand. <\/span>Danny took it, but didn’t let go. Tate grinned down at the boy. “In the mood to eat some more?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“No, I want cotton candy!”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tate chuckled along with the grandparents. <\/span>“Well, Sarah Jane, I guess we better get this boy some cotton candy.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“That’s all right,” <\/span>Sarah stammered. “You don’t need to bother.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“No, bother.” <\/span>He began walking away. <\/span>Since Danny still happily gripped Tate’s big hand, Sarah hurried to keep up.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Soon Danny was pulling at a pink wand of cotton candy. <\/span>Tate lounged beside her. <\/span>Sarah decided to speak to Tate now. Danny, busy watching <\/span>the nearby musical merry-go-round, wouldn’t overhear them. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She might make a fool of herself, but she didn’t want to mislead Tate. <\/span>She’d been burned too bad…. <\/span>“Tate, this has nothing to do with you, but I’m not looking for\u2026.” <\/span>She couldn’t think of how to say she wasn’t interested in romance or more importantly, didn’t want people to presume she might be interested in Tate. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I heard,” Tate said softly, “that your marriage didn’t turn out the way you wanted.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She frowned. <\/span>“I’d hoped to avoid small-town gossip.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“This isn’t gossip, just sharing.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Feeling hurt, she folded her arms in front of her. <\/span>“How would you like it if people were talking about you?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“If the people talking are just concerned, what’s wrong with that?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She looked up into his eyes. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Tate gazed at her searchingly. <\/span>“Why did you come to my stand to buy your corn and melons?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“What?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“You came to my produce stand because everyone knows Quints only sell the best. If people didn’t talk to each other, how would everyone know that?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She shrugged. <\/span>“I suppose they just have to find out for themselves.” <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He smiled sadly. “Finding things out by yourself can be the hardest way to learn something .”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The truth of what he said made her wince. <\/span>She’d found out the hard way about her husband. <\/span>Maybe if she’d met him here, where people had shared about him, she might have saved herself all the pain. <\/span>Embarrassed, she avoided Tate’s gaze.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Danny took Tate’s hand and looked up. <\/span>“They’re dancing! <\/span>My mom likes to dance!”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Does she?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before she could protest, she found herself in Tate’s arms dancing to the “Tennessee Waltz” on the fair’s nearby open-air, dance floor. She felt breathless, held so close against him. Finally she murmured, “So the Quints have the best melons? <\/span>What would people share about the Quints themselves?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“I think you already know the answer to that.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah didn’t know how to reply. “Oh?” was all she could manage.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Quints aren’t afraid to ‘plug’ our melons. <\/span>We are honest….” Tate’s face crinkled into a killer smile. “About melons and everything else<\/u>.”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The way he said the words made her blush like a teen-aged girl.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

They danced over <\/span>to where Danny watched. <\/span>“A bunch of us always go to the fall rodeo up in Fort Madison. <\/span>Maybe Danny and you would like to go along?” She read honest interest in Tate’s eyes. <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Something hard and hurting deep inside Sarah suddenly relaxed. <\/span>She was among friends now.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“A rodeo!” <\/span>Danny whooped, “Wow!”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah gazed into Tate’s clear, direct eyes. <\/span>“Is it a genuine rodeo?”<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He brushed back her bangs. <\/span>“Why, ma’am, even a Watermelon Cowboy knows the real thing when he sees it.”
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hope you all enjoyed this summer read. Invite your friends to drop by and read it. Can anyone guess what my favorite food is? GRIN
<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2010 Copyright Lyn Cote<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watermelon Cowboy by Lyn Cote-Part 2 The first part of this story was posted on Friday July 2nd- “The county’s Sweet Corn Festival was the last big summer celebration. Sarah just wasn’t in the mood for festivities, but Grandma wouldn’t …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nA Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Watermelon Cowboy by Lyn Cote-Part 2 The first part of this story was posted on Friday July 2nd- “The county’s Sweet Corn Festival was the last big summer celebration. Sarah just wasn’t in the mood for festivities, but Grandma wouldn’t … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"booksbylyncote.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lyn.cote\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lyn Cote\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lyn Cote\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lyn Cote\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7\"},\"headline\":\"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\"},\"wordCount\":790,\"commentCount\":9,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\",\"name\":\"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/uncategorized\\\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/\",\"name\":\"booksbylyncote.com\",\"description\":\"Stories of Strong Women, Author Lyn Cote\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7\",\"name\":\"Lyn Cote\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lyn Cote\"},\"description\":\"Lyn Cote welcomes other authors to her \\\"Strong Women, Brave Stories\\\" blog to share stories of women who triumph over the challenges common to all women.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.BooksbyLynCote.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/lyn.cote\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/LynCoteWriter\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/booksbylyncote.com\\\/SWBS\\\/author\\\/lyn-cote\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com","og_description":"Watermelon Cowboy by Lyn Cote-Part 2 The first part of this story was posted on Friday July 2nd- “The county’s Sweet Corn Festival was the last big summer celebration. Sarah just wasn’t in the mood for festivities, but Grandma wouldn’t … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","og_site_name":"booksbylyncote.com","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lyn.cote","article_published_time":"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00","author":"Lyn Cote","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lyn Cote","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2"},"author":{"name":"Lyn Cote","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/#\/schema\/person\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7"},"headline":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2","datePublished":"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2"},"wordCount":790,"commentCount":9,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","url":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2","name":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2 - booksbylyncote.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-07-06T09:26:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/#\/schema\/person\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/uncategorized\/a-summer-gift-to-my-readers-a-short-story-by-lyn-cote-part-2#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Summer Gift to My Readers-A Short Story by Lyn Cote-Part 2"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/#website","url":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/","name":"booksbylyncote.com","description":"Stories of Strong Women, Author Lyn Cote","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/#\/schema\/person\/8157677a63df3ff49aea42ce2d4c11c7","name":"Lyn Cote","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a663e0cf32ace46064e022da0fa58f883c0bb9074fb2d803d8537becbe9e0f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lyn Cote"},"description":"Lyn Cote welcomes other authors to her \"Strong Women, Brave Stories\" blog to share stories of women who triumph over the challenges common to all women.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.BooksbyLynCote.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lyn.cote","https:\/\/x.com\/LynCoteWriter"],"url":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/author\/lyn-cote"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/booksbylyncote.com\/SWBS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}