Page 17 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
Daisy snorted a laugh and blushed harder.Her sister was the sweetest thing in Silver Falls.The only person who didn’t know that was Daisy herself.She was quiet and reserved, and Violet knew she’d spend the rest of her life alone in their house for no other reason than she was afraid to actually live.
The sickness that took both their parents had taken Daisy’s hearing and her disability did more than cause her to not hear properly, it stole her confidence and self-worth, and she’d end up a lonely spinster if she didn’t do anything about it.
Violet watched Clay and Veronica for a few more minutes.When Clay smiled, then laughed at something the girl said, Daisy looked away but not before Violet saw a flash of hurt in her eyes.As much as Daisy denied returning Clay’s affections, Violet knew deep down she did to some degree.She was just too afraid to act on it.
Veronica laid a hand on Clay’s chest, being bold enough to actually rub her palm along the length of it.For someone so young, she was bold.Like mother, like daughter, she supposed.Her mother had done something very similar to Josiah when he’d helped her carry in her fabrics.The only difference now was, Veronica was making a move on her sister’s future sweetheart.
Grabbing Daisy’s hand and entwining their fingers together, she gave a tug and pulled her across the clearing.
“What are you doing, Violet?”
“We’re going to go meet the new girl.”
Daisy tugged at her hand and tried to dig her feet in to stop, but Violet tugged right back and kept walking.Clay saw them before Veronica did and he smiled so widely, Veronica turned to look at them.
“Morning, Clay.”
“Morning Ms.Violet.”He turned his gaze to Daisy and his smile widened.“Daisy.”
Her sister blushed again, but the smile on her face dimmed somewhat when Veronica stepped closer to Clay.“Hi,” the girl said.“I don’t think we’ve met.”
“We haven’t.I’m Violet and this,” she said, looking at her sister, “Is Daisy.We own the mercantile along with our sister, Rose.”
“Oh.We’re neighbors, then.”
“We are.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you.I’m Veronica Hiatt.”
The girl ran her gaze over Daisy from head to toe before smiling politely and taking yet another step toward Clay.Any closer and she’d be in his back pocket.If Violet had any doubts before today that the girl was interested in Clay, she didn’t have them now.It was obvious from the way she kept creeping closer to him that she did.
Tension started to grow as Veronica stared at her and Daisy and, as always, Clay’s attention was on her sister.The sound of music filled the air, and she turned to see where it was coming from.
Several men from the town had brought instruments, a guitar, and a fiddle among them, and were playing a little tune that seemed to liven up the entire crowd.When the kids stopped playing their games and started dancing instead, a few adults joined them.
Violet smiled and turned her attention to Clay and squeezed Daisy’s hand before blurting, “Daisy loves to dance, Clay.You two should go join in.”
Daisy gasped at the suggestion, but Clay’s smile widened.“I’d love to.”He held out his hand.When Daisy looked at him, he said, “Would you like to dance?”
Before Daisy could refuse, Violet put a hand on her sister's back and gave her a tiny shove.“She’d be delighted to, wouldn’t you, Daisy?”
The look on Veronica’s face confirmed her suspicions.The girl was indeed sweet on Clay and it was time to put a stop to that before it even got started.
Clay didn’t take Daisy’s silence as a rejection and grabbed her hand before she even had time to protest.Violet watched them head toward the other dancers and grinned big when Daisy turned her head to look back at her, her sister’s face so red it clashed with her dress.
She saw Veronica move out of the corner of her eye.The girl’s jaw was clenched, her lips held in a tight line and even though she wasn’t a spiteful person, she couldn’t help but say, “Clay has been sweet on Daisy since the day he came to town.They look cute together, don’t they?”
Veronica didn’t respond.The girl gave her a tight smile instead and excused herself.
Violet watched her walk away, then turned her attention to Daisy and Clay.Her sister was smiling, but her cheeks were still tinted pink.Hopefully, Clay would be able to get her to talk to him.She set the groundwork.It was up to him to court her sister all proper like.
Her gaze drifted over the crowd before darting back to where she’d last seen Josiah.He was still there, surrounded by a group of men, her grandfather among them.They were all laughing about something but seemed to sober when someone pointed to the top of the hill.As one, they all turned their attention to the road.She did as well.A small buggy with two people in the seat was making its way down toward the gathered crowd.
She watched with everyone else as they drew near, and the moment she saw Edwin’s smiling face, all the air in her lungs seemed to evaporate.
He was looking right at her, his smile blinding.What was he doing here?
She sucked in a breath when she realized she was holding it and turned to look at Josiah.He’d seen Edwin as well.When he turned to look at her, a sense of dread sucked all the joy she’d been feeling away in an instant.She knew without a doubt that the day was about to take a disastrous turn and there wasn’t a thing she could do to stop it.
