Page 12 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
“Yeah, I hope so, too.”He nodded and said his goodbyes, and she watched him leave, following his progression across the street and around the side of the jail, trying not to noticed how his denim jeans hugged his backside or the loose-hipped way he walked that made her heart thump a bit harder.
The last town Marshall had a small room built on to the back of the jailhouse that was big enough to pass for a proper home and she may have sneaked a peek inside the window to have a little look a time or two and knew it was a comfortable space large enough for a cookstove, a table big enough to seat two people and had a bed and armoire.
Even though the space was small as far as houses went, it was larger than her bedroom at home and she imagined it was quite comfortable for a single man.She may have even imagined herself living in that tiny room with him.Now, that dream didn’t seem so farfetched.Not since her little fib had given life to a lie.
The rest of the morning seemed to drag on forever.When Rose finally told her to go home and have lunch, she couldn’t leave fast enough.
As unladylike as it was, she left through the back door.No way was she going to chance running into Edwin on the street.She didn’t care what anyone thought.She’d skulk around town in the shadows until Edwin was good and gone.
He’d not been wrong.The word peculiar described Violet Campbell better than any other he could think of.
Josiah cocked his head to one side to watch her run from the alleyway between the mercantile and the new dress shop that was going in beside it, ducking behind a wagon before craning her neck to look down the street in both directions.He did the same, noting nothing looked out of the ordinary.
She must have been satisfied with whatever she’d been looking for as she lifted her skirts and started to run while crouched down and made a mad dash toward her house.When she was inside, the door slamming hard enough he could hear it from where he stood beside the jail, he grinned and stepped around the corner and onto the sidewalk.
As boring as this town was, the people that lived here made it worth staying.As odd as Violet was at times, her grandfather was in a class all by himself.The old Scotsman was a stickler for tradition, going so far as to still wear his native dress of a kilt and his sword.The man always had a story to tell about his ancestors and even though he was hard to understand at times because his brogue was so thick, he enjoyed talking with him.He was a character unlike any he’d ever met.
Vera Hiatt, the new dressmaker, stepped out onto the sidewalk.Josiah watched her start to scrub the glass window in the front of her store and he eased toward the door and quietly walked into the jail.
He hated to admit he was running from her, but she’d made some bold propositions when he’d helped her carry in her fabrics.He didn’t find her particularly attractive, but he’d been without a woman for so many years, he’d paused a moment too long when she’d made the suggestion and the last thing he needed was an entanglement with a lonely widow, especially now that Violet had dragged him into her drama.
So, he was avoiding her.
He shut the office door and sat at his desk, peering out the window toward the mercantile.His thoughts went right back to Violet and their fake engagement, which made him think of weddings and honeymoons and if he hadn’t sworn off relationships, he might have been willing to see where this whole mess ended up.
Violet was certainly feisty enough to make life interesting, but he knew from experience that relationships just didn’t work well for lawmen.
He didn’t know a single one who managed to make it work, which told him he’d made the right decision in keeping females at a distant.They invited trouble he didn’t want nor need, and even though Violet Campbell was lovely to look at, he’d had enough heartache to last him a lifetime.
ChapterFour
Violet had never considered herself a coward, but as she searched the town from her porch, then rushed down the walkway to the street and behind the closest wagon, she felt like a criminal.
Lunch had been uneventful, thank goodness.She’d barely been able to enjoy it, fearing Edwin would knock on her door.Thankfully, he hadn’t, and surprisingly, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of him since the day before.She almost sent her grandfather to the boarding house to see if he’d left, but in doing so, she’d have to explain why, and as of yet, she hadn’t told Daisy or Gramps about Edwin being in town or why he was here.
But fearing he was still there, had reduced her to this….hiding and jumping behind objects to avoid him seeing her.
Hurrying to a wagon sitting in front of the dress shop, she scanned the town again before darting beside the building and around it to the back door of the mercantile.
Raising her hand to bang her fist against the weathered wood, she waited impatiently for Rose to open it.Long minutes later when it swung open, her sister rolled her eyes before stepping back so she could enter.
“That really isn’t necessary, Violet.”
“Yes, it is.I don’t want to chance Edwin seeing me walk by Mabel’s.”
“Are you sure he’s even still here?”
“I’m not taking any chances.”
Rose hurried back out front.Violet followed her, grabbing her apron and tying it around her waist before heading to the door.A peek outside showed her nothing.There was still no sign of Edwin and that’s the way she preferred it.
Her head throbbed as she hurried back to the counter.She’d woken from a short nap with a killer headache that didn’t seem to want to go away and she had no doubt she’d be downright grumpy by day's end.
The dream she’d had would be the reason for that, she was sure.She’d dreamt Edwin had rushed into the store, proclaiming his love, before carrying her outside, bridal style, and throwing her on a horse and riding away.Everyone in town had been there, waving them off, and one face had stuck out.Josiah’s.He’d been leaning against that porch rail like she saw him so often do, but he wasn’t waving.He was just—watching.Letting Edwin carry her away without saying a word.
And she woke up mad as hell about it!He was her imaginary fiancé.The least the man could do was put up some sort of fight for her.If it wouldn’t have made her look like a crazy person, she would march over there and give him a piece of her mind.
As the day progressed, every time she saw someone step up to the front door, she’d run behind the curtain that separated the back room from the rest of the store.Rose hadn’t said anything about her behavior, but she’d thought long and hard about how to handle this Edwin situation and the solution was simple.
