Page 15 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
Ward left, and he watched him walk across the street to the mercantile and climb into his wagon.When he started to pull away from the building, a flash of lavender silk caught his eye.He leaned toward the window and saw what it was the moment the wagon was out of the way.
Violet was dragging a sack of—something—across the sidewalk, her bottom in the air as she tried to pull it.
He stood and headed for the door, snagging his hat on the way, and crossed the street before he could even question why he did.“Need some help?”he asked, as he stepped up on the sidewalk.
Violet straightened and blew out a tired breath before smiling.“I most certainly do.”She nodded to the sack at her feet.It was a large bag of flour, heavy too, he was sure.
He reached down and lifted it, draping it across his shoulder.“Where are you taking it?”
“To the house.Graham’s helping Gideon with something and won’t be back until later this evening and Daisy wanted to start some baking before she has to start on supper.”
He looked down the street toward the house she lived in with her grandfather and Daisy.“Lead the way.”They’d taken half a dozen steps before he asked, “Daisy planning to start her own bakery?”
She laughed and shook her head.“No.Mabel had a whole mess of preserves she wanted to use for the founders day celebration and asked if Daisy wanted to bake them all up for her.There’s nothing Daisy likes more than to cook, so she’ll have most of this used up in no time.”
He readjusted the bag on his shoulder.“And what about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you like to cook?”
“Sometimes.I don’t get much of a chance, though.Daisy usually has supper started before I get home from the store.”
She led him around to the back of her house and opened the door for him when she stepped up onto the porch.He walked inside and stilled when he saw Daisy.She gave him a wide-eyed look.
“Afternoon, Daisy.”
She squeaked out a soft, “Hello,” before looking at her sister.
“Where do you want this?”he asked as Violet shut the door.
“Here is fine.”She pointed to a space by the wall.He set it down, rolling his shoulders after straightening.
He’d never been inside the Campbell’s home and took a second to look around the room.It was a good-sized kitchen with a large cookstove.For reasons he didn’t even want to examine at the moment, he pictured Violet there, barefoot, and covered in flour as she baked something sweet and tasty.
He pushed the thought away when Violet said, “Thank you.”He gave her a nod of his head.“You’re welcome.”
She graced him with another pretty smile before he headed to the door and opened it.“Have a good afternoon, ladies.”
He left the way he came and headed back to the jail, stepping inside the darkened building with thoughts of Violet Campbell still in his head.All this talk about marriage and the missing wife Ward asked him to look into had filled his thoughts with notions he hadn’t had in years.
At one time, he’d made plans to settle down, but in his line of work, it was easier said than done.Being a US Marshall had its disadvantages and moving around a lot was one of them.
When he’d settled in Durango, he’d thought his wandering days were over and even went so far as to plan out his future with a pretty girl who he thought would make him happy, but things never work out the way you plan.His life here in Silver Falls was proof of that.
You could still have that life.
Violet’s face materialized in his mind’s eye the moment the thought entered his head.He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t had the thought before, but for some reason, it wasn’t as easy to brush off now.
In all the time he’d lived here, he’d not said more to Violet Campbell than he had to and he often wondered if it was because he knew she was exactly the type of woman he’d like to settle down with.
There was no denying she was beautiful.She was also funny when she wanted to be and the way she looked at him sometimes made him wonder if she’d look at him like that come morning, with her hair all tussled after rolling around in his bed all night.
He blinked and pushed the thought away.All this talk of marriage was doing his head in.He had to get his priorities straight and feisty auburn-haired beauties with bee-stung lips made for kissing wasn’t one of them.Seeing to the protection of the town was his main concern, and he needed to remember that even if in the deepest depths of his soul, he knew Violet Campbell was exactly the type of woman he wanted.
But wanting something and needing it were two different things, and the last thing he needed was a woman.Beautiful or not, Violet Campbell was off limits and the sooner he convinced himself of that, the better off he’d be.
ChapterFive
