Page 33 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
She grabbed the plate the bread she’d made was sitting on and pulled a piece of the top crust off.“I have an idea.”Daisy grinned.“And you won’t have to get naked to do it.”
For once, the day hadn’t been boring.Cecil Jenkins had ridden into town demanding he follow him out to his place and settle a dispute he had with his neighbor, Randal Hyde.Seemed the two men both claimed ownership of a cow and neither seemed inclined to let the other have her.
It had taken all day to get the two men settled down, and he was half starved by the time he got back to town.If it hadn’t been for the big breakfast he’d eaten with Violet and her family, he was sure his stomach would have eaten a hole in his back by now.
He’d thought of Violet off and on all day, wondering what she was up to, and he wasn’t even sure why.Nothing had changed between them other than the fact they’d both exchanged some vows neither had intentions of keeping, but she popped into his head more often than not.
She was at the store most days and he assumed she had been today as well, but he wasn’t sure.He hadn’t asked before leaving her house that morning and doing so might have given her the wrong impression.That he was asking about her day because he cared like a good husband should.
He bedded his horse down and headed toward the jail, his steps faltering when he neared the Campbell house.Was Violet in there, or was she still at the store?
It was late, the sun already sinking behind the mountain.He could see lights on in the store and as he drew close enough to see inside the windows, he paused on the sidewalk to see if she was in there.He saw Rose and Graham, but not Violet.
He headed toward the little room behind the jail and lit a lamp once inside.
The bed was made and the shirt Violet had worn the night before was folded and laying on the trunk.He stared at it for long minutes before sitting down at the small table against the wall.
He spent every evening alone in this little room and not once had the silence bothered him, but for reasons he didn’t want to think about, as he stared across the room, the silence seemed too loud.
Instead of coming back here, he should have walked the town or gone into the jail to see if anything had landed on his desk while he’d been gone.Why he came here instead, he wasn’t sure.
Liar.
The word whispered inside his head.He knew why he was here before sundown.He’d been looking for an auburn-haired beauty that was technically his wife.
She can be legally.Just bed her and be done with it.
The thought wasn’t as appalling as it would have been a week ago.Not that being married to Violet would ever be considered appalling.Marriage was.He’d left Durango with thoughts to never even entertain the idea again and so far, not once in the past two years, had the thought of getting himself hitched ever crossed his mind.But here he sat, married to a woman who had been on his mind all day and he knew there wasn’t anything but trouble coming his way.
He needed to go to Elkin first thing tomorrow and find that preacher to see if he’d filed that marriage license with the clerk of court yet.
What if the old man tells Edwin you wanted the marriage annulled?
He blew out a breath.Edwin would head straight back to Silver Falls if he found out, and Violet would be right back where she started.
It's not your problem.
Technically, it wasn’t, but he’d promised to help her.
But why?What do you gain from it?
Nothing.He gained nothing from it, so…why bother?
Because it's the decent thing to do.And she asked for your help.
The questions kept coming without any clear answers.He stared at the wall until shadows started creeping into the room.The sun was going down.
Sounds from the street started to filter in.He could hear laughter and the occasional yell from the saloon down the street.Maybe he should walk the town, or head to the saloon and wash away his troubles in a glass of rot gut whiskey.Maybe then thoughts of Violet would leave him in peace for a while.
Or he’d make a fool of himself and end up blabbering like a drunken fool on her doorstep.
He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.Maybe going to bed early was the smartest thing to do.At least he couldn’t get into trouble while asleep and maybe then he’d stop thinking of about Violet and wondering why she wasn’t here.
ChapterTen
Violet stopped three times while heading down the sidewalk, a case of nerves making her question her decision to do this, but that nagging voice in the back of her head kept urging her on.
It was dark inside the jailhouse.She skirted the side of the building and nervous butterflies took flight the moment she saw light shining from Josiah’s window.
