Read A Season for Hope (Sarra Cannon) for Free Online

I say. “I would have guessed you were more of an anthropology major or something. Maybe psych. Something more liberal arts than science.”
    “Oh really?” he says. “I never considered guessing someone’s major by their shoes, but I’ll have to try it some time.”
    He looks down and I realize he’s looking at my shoes. I giggle and turn, holding my legs out straight so he can see my shoes clearly.
    “What’s your best guess?”
    I’m wearing a pair of red heels that are just barely covered by the cuff of my dark blue jeans. I almost always wear heels when I go out. Otherwise, I’m super short compared to everyone else around me. Besides, Preston is tall and he always liked for me to wear heels, so I always did. I have a closet full of them.
    Judd brings a hand to his face, rubbing his chin and looking serious. I can’t help but laugh at his intense study of my red heels.
    “Red shoes are very complex,” he says. His eyes travel all the way up my legs and he takes his time. My body heats up at his intense look. “They say you’re daring and not afraid to be yourself. Red heels definitely say confident and classy, but with a touch of rebel.”
    I laugh, but not because he’s right. I laugh because he’s so far off, he’s not even in the right zip code. I may act confident, but the truth is that I’m terrified of being myself. I’ve spent the majority of my life in a constant state of worry about what other people will think of me.
    “Education or maybe something like Communication,” he says finally.
    “Which one?” I say. “You can only choose one.”
    “Definitely Education, then,” he says. “You’ve got that sexy teacher vibe about you.”
    Warmth spreads up my neck and cheeks. He thinks I’m sexy? I can’t even remember the last time someone called me that.
    “Wrong on both counts,” I say. “Art.”
    He slaps his hand down on the bar top. “Damn,” he says. “That was my third guess.”
    I laugh. “Liar.”
    He looks at me and winks. His smile is so free and genuine it tears at me. Pulls me toward him. He lights up when he laughs.
    “That explains the paint, I guess,” he says.
    I hold my hands out, studying my fingers. I try to keep my nails short, but I always end up with paint or clay or something under my fingernails.
    “Good eye,” I say. The fact that he noticed the paint even in the darkness of this place impresses me.
    “Something like that,” he says. “Want another drink?”
    A buzz of energy flares through my body. I want to know this guy. It’s such a foreign feeling, I don’t even know what to do with it.
    I look toward the dance floor and see that Monica is standing at the edge of the crowd staring at me, her mouth open in shock. She catches my eye and jumps up and down like a little girl. She raises her fist into the air and heads back onto the dance floor.
    I laugh and shake my head, then turn back to Judd.
    I said I wanted something to bring hope to the season. I said I felt the universe was trying to tell me something. How can this all be a coincidence? Maybe it’s fate.
    And who am I to deny fate?
    Without taking my eyes off of his, I reach out and tap the bar top twice.
    Chapter Eight
     
    Several rounds of drinks later, my head is spinning. For the first time in weeks, I’m actually having fun. Judd is smart and sexy and he makes me laugh.
    We talk about school and our favorite movies and music. It’s so amazing to just let loose and be myself around a guy. I can’t even remember the last time I talked about myself so freely or had someone who seemed genuinely interested in what I have to say.
    With every drink, my lips become a little looser and my inhibitions fade.
    “If someone walked up right now and offered you two tickets to any concert in the world, who would you go see?” I ask.
    Beau sets another drink down in front of me and I transfer my straw from my empty to the new one. I’m not sure how many of these I’ve had, but I’m pretty