Page 56 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
“It didn’t.There were too many people in the store, but I did have an interesting conversation with the local sheriff.”
“Oh?”
Josiah nodded before taking a sip of his coffee.“Did you know Edwin’s father is dead?”
“Dead!”She blushed at her outburst and looked around the room.More than one head was turned her way.She lowered her voice and leaned forward.“What do you mean, he’s dead?”
“According to the sheriff, he died six months ago.”
Violet blinked.Why did Edwin say his pa was sick when the man had already died?
“Something about this whole story Edwin has concocted doesn’t sound right, especially now that the sheriff told me there’s a lot of ‘back door deals’ taking place over at the mercantile.”
“Back door deals?”
“The sheriff’s words, not mine.Apparently Edwin’s been hanging around some shady people and there are a lot of comings and goings taking place behind his store.”
Their food arriving cut off their conversation.They ate for a few minutes in silence, and she was glad for it.As heartsick as she was thinking of ending things with Josiah, this new twist made everything even more confusing.Edwin’s father was dead.Why did he lie about that?And what was he up to?It had to be something.Why else would he be so adamant she marry him and lie about his pa?
When their waitress came back to refill their coffee mugs, Violet ordered a plate of food for Bonnie.
“Is Archie doing better?”
“Yes.”Violet glanced out the window toward the doctor's office.“If his fever doesn’t return, he should be ready to go back home in a few days.”
Josiah nodded and took a sip of his coffee.“Speaking of, we should head back today.I don’t like leaving Rufus in charge for long.He’s deputized, but anything more dangerous than Cecil and Randall quarreling over that cow should be handled by me, not him.”
The disappointment she felt at his announcement was hid by lifting her coffee mug, but a moment later, she looked over the rim at him.What about the preacher?Did he not want to find him?
By the time they were finished eating and were drinking the last of their coffee, the hope he’d forget about annulling their wedding had her suppressing a giddy smile.
Of course, he’d probably just forgotten for a moment, but she’d live in stupid bliss as long as she could.As much as she hated feeling as if she’d trapped him, she didn’t want their marriage to end.She wanted him.Forever.Had since the moment she’d seen him ride into town and even though her crush had waned over the years, playing the doting wife had made her realize how much she wanted the whole picket fence dream with him.
But he doesn’t.
That little voice in the back of her head made those dreams crash in an instant.She blew out a breath and pushed her plate away.As much as she wanted Josiah Lincoln to be her husband in every way, she couldn’t trap him like this.She had to set him free, whether she wanted to or not.
Resigned, she knew she had to carry through with her plan and would spend the rest of the day trying to find the preacher and set things to right, but first she had to talk to Edwin again.
Getting the marriage dissolved only solved part of her problem.Setting Edwin straight once and for all had to be done, too.He needed to know she’d never marry him, whether she already had a husband or not, and this time, she wasn’t going to let him bully her into a rash decision that affected not only her life but that of Josiah’s as well.
“What happened to your face?”
Josiah’s quiet question drew her from her musings.She puzzled over it, wondering what he was talking about when he reached across the table and ran the back of one finger over her cheek.
His eyes seemed to harden as he looked at her.“Are those bruises?”With a finger underneath her chin, he turned her face to the right, then left.“Did someone touch you?”
Edwin grabbing her face in the mercantile came back to mind.It had hurt when he held her face in his hand, but she didn’t think he’d pressed so tight it would have caused bruising, especially not this soon.
“Did Edwin do this?”When she didn’t answer, Josiah’s face went red before he leaned back and fished a few bills from his pocket and tossed them on the table.
He stood without a word before grabbing his hat and leaving her sitting there alone.She blinked at his now empty seat before jumping to her feet and hurrying to catch up with him.
He was heading down the sidewalk toward the mercantile when she stepped out of the hotel restaurant.Dodging people filling the wooden walkway, she hurried after him.“Josiah, wait!”
He didn’t slow down or even acknowledge her and she had no doubt Edwin was in for a hurting once Josiah found him.
She caught him three doors from the mercantile and was able to jump around him and get him to stop.“What are you doing?”
