Page 51 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
He nodded.
“What happened?”
“She died.”
“Oh.I’m sorry.”
Memories he tried to forget most days came back in an instant.He could still see the smoke from the gun, hear the screams.He shook the images away and met Violet’s gaze.“Being a lawman has disadvantages.You’re always making enemies of the wrong kind of people and when I lived in Durango, I made more than any one man needed.
“That’s where I met Ruth.She was sweet and kind and went out of her way to help people, even those she should have steered clear of.”
He blew out a breath and cleared his throat.“A man I’d arrested for bank robbery didn’t take too kindly to me killing his brother, so when he was released, he got his revenge.He took Ruth and when I found them, he made sure I knew every vile and foul thing he’d done to her, then he killed her right in front of me and laughed as he jumped on his horse and rode away.”
He put the memories back where he kept them inside his head and inhaled a cleansing breath.“Not being with you has nothing to do with you, Violet, and everything to do with me.It’s too dangerous.I know you’ll make some man very happy one day, but it can’t be me.I can’t put your life at risk like that.I won’t.”
So that’s why he was so reluctant?
Violet wanted to tell him it was a silly reason that people died all the time.Heck, her parents, oldest sister, and half the town of Silver Falls died of what amounted to a cold that turned into something worse.
There hadn’t been a doctor in Silver Falls back then and there wasn’t anything anyone could do.But she didn’t say as much.Josiah was allowed to feel any way he wanted to about what had happened to Ruth and she knew nothing she said would change his mind, so she just gave him a tiny smile and said, “Thank you for telling me.”
“You’re welcome, but the look on your face tells me you don’t agree with my reasonings.”
She opened her mouth to say she didn’t, but he interrupted her by saying, “What happened earlier was a mistake.”
The pain those words caused stole her breath.
“It should have never happened,” he said.“I’m sorry it did.It gave the wrong impression and for that, I’m sorry.I never meant to lead you on like that Violet.I just got carried away in the moment.”
They stared at one another for long minutes before he finally said, “It’s been a long day.Get some sleep,” and closed his eyes.
She watched him for a long while and knew the moment he drifted off to sleep.His breathing changed and the tightness in his shoulders eased.
Her hand was still under his chin, her fingers entwined with his own and facing one another like this, their bodies all but touching, was the closest they’d ever lain on purpose.They woke plenty of mornings with him spooned against her back, but this felt more intimate for some reason.Maybe it was because they’d finally talked and had a conversation that wasn’t about the deception she’d forced him into.
Regardless of what happened earlier in the tub, guilt she hadn’t felt before made her stomach ache.Knowing what she now knew about Ruth, forcing him into her little drama, seemed almost cruel.He’d asked Ruth to marry him and someone had killed her for no other reason than she was his.She understood his reasonings for not wanting a wife now and knew he was only worried about something happening to her as well.He hadn’t said as much, but knew it was why he was so determined to get the marriage annulled.
As much as she hated the thought, and the turmoil her life would be in when it happened, she needed to put a stop to all this mess.It was her fault to begin with, and she needed to be the one to end it.
She turned over and stared out the window and was still blinking at it when the sun started to lighten the sky.Sleep hadn’t come and during the long night, her heart broke a little bit more every hour, knowing her fake marriage would never be anything more.She knew what she had to do now.She had to end this once and for all.
Sitting up, she slipped out of bed as the first roosters started crowing.Her dress was still damp, but she put it on anyway and looked over her shoulder to Josiah before slipping out of the room.
The streets only had a few people walking them, most of the windows in the houses and businesses were still dark.One that wasn’t was the doctor's office.Bonnie was asleep in a small cot under the window when she peeked in.Archie was sleeping as well, and she watched him sleep until she heard the doctor moving around in his attached private residence before turning and heading back outside.
A man heading up the sidewalk tipped his hat at her when they were close enough to make eye contact, and she smiled at him in return.“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning, Ma’am.Looks to be a pretty day.”
She looked at the sky.It was lit in shades of orange and blue.“That it does,” she said.Meeting his gaze again, she asked, “Do you by chance know where I can find Reverend Peele?”
The man stopped and scratched his chin.“Can’t recall knowing a Reverend Peele.Does he live here in Elkin?”
“I thought he did, but I may be mistaken.”
“Well, ask someone else.I haven’t lived here but a few months.Someone who’s lived here longer might know of him.”
They said their goodbyes, and she did as he said, but after the fifth person told her they’d never heard of Reverend Peele, she found herself marching across town to the mercantile.
