Chapter 14
The sun was shining, the bright rays glaring off the snow that was on the ground. Clay squinted as he hurried down the street toward Daisy’s house. It was nearly noon, and he was shocked he’d slept so long, but truth be known, he was bone tired, even now. The trip from Butte was brutal in the snow.
The Campbell house was just as he remembered it, the stairs to the porch creaking when he stepped on them. Ewan was the first person he heard when he stopped in front of the door, his loud laughter echoing through the halls.
He knocked and waited, shoving his hands into his coat pockets as nervousness had him fidgeting.
Through the glass panel in the door, he could see inside the house, and he saw Violet step out of a doorway.
She grinned when she saw him. Her smile never faltered as she hurried down the hall, flinging it open wide when she reached it.
“It’s about time you got here,” she said. “I was beginning to think I was going to have to go all the way to Butte and drag you back home myself.”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, ma’am. I had to wait until Liam could move around on his own before running off.”
“I assumed as much,” she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him into the house. “Get in here before we all catch a cold.”
The moment the door shut behind him, Violet said, “Take off your coat. You won’t need it in here. Gramps has it so hot, you’ll be sweating in less than five minutes.”
Violet hung his coat and hat up on a tall rack by the door as he glanced around the house.
As long as he’d lived in Silver Falls, he’d never been inside the Campbells’ home.
He’d stared at it so many times from various spots in town, he could probably rebuild it, board by board, so his first impression of the inside left him speechless.
The interior was nicer than he had expected. Where most farmhouses were rustic and looked lived in, the Campbells’ two-story home was richly decorated. The walls were painted white, and lace curtains hung at every window. Bright rugs lay across the wooden floors; the furnishings were expensive.
The confidence he’d had when he walked over here diminished somewhat, looking at it.
Would Daisy be willing to trade all of this for a modest cabin on the outskirts of town?
Lewis’s old house was a perfectly fine home.
It had everything a person could need, but the bare wood walls were—well, bare.
Nothing hung on them. They weren’t painted a bright, cheery color, and the floors were devoid of finely woven rugs.
It was nothing like this. Daisy would be giving up a lot if she came back to Butte with him.
Looking at the home she lived in, he wondered if she even would.
“Let me go get Daisy,” Violet told him, turning to hurry up the stairs.
Ewan stuck his head out of the room at the end of the wall. He smiled when he saw him. “I thought that was you, lad.” He raised an arm and motioned for him to come to him. “Sit with me for a spell and tell me how things are in the big city.”
Clay stepped into the kitchen, which halted him in his tracks. It was large and bright and had so much workspace that it was no wonder Daisy loved cooking the way she did. Who wouldn’t if this was what they had to work with?
Ewan patted the chair beside him and said, “Come and sit, lad. Give an old man some company.”
The large table in the middle of the room had enough chairs for eight people, and he could imagine the conversations that took place here.
It was probably why the Campbells all seemed so close.
They were a proper family unit, one that shared their joy and hardships and got the comfort they needed when life got rough.
That sort of closeness was something he wanted desperately.
He lifted a hand to pat the inside pocket of his coat, feeling the small box he carried there.
If things went as he hoped they would, by day's end, he might just get his wish.
He pulled a chair out from under the table and sat down, jumping when Ewan slapped a hand onto the tabletop and got his attention. “So tell me,” the old man said. “What’s it like in Butte?”
“Crowded.”
“Yeah? Lots of saloons and pretty girls?” The smile Ewan gave him made some of the nervousness he felt vanish.
“There are a few saloons,” he said, “but I’m not sure about the pretty ladies that call them home. I’ve honestly never been into any of them. "
“Why’s that?”
“Well, I’ve seen what drinking does to some people, and it’s never appealed to me.” He left out the part where he’d never had the money to waste inside a saloon, needing every penny he made just to survive.
That won’t be the case anymore.
The relief he felt knowing his future was secure for the first time in his life had him sitting up straighter.
Ever since Liam offered him a partnership in the livery stable and told him about Lewis’ house sitting empty, he’d been living a dream, one he’d imagined since he was old enough to realize life could beat a man down if you let it.
All he needed now was Daisy to make that dream a reality.
“She’s not here.” He and Ewan both looked up when Violet stepped back into the room. She shrugged and said, “I never saw her leave the house. She has to be down at the mercantile. There’s nowhere else for her to go.”
Violet glanced at the clock sitting on a top shelf. “It’s nearly lunchtime. She’ll be back soon, I’m sure.” She hitched a finger toward Ewan. “This one can’t miss a meal, or he’ll wither up and die.”
Ewan made a loud “pfft” sound and sat up straight in his seat. “I’m used to gettin’ my meals at a certain time, and I can’t get my schedule off.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “You have no schedule, Gramps.”
“Sure, I do. Someone has to walk this town to make sure it's safe.”
“That’s what Josiah is for.”
Ewan glanced at the back door and said, “Speak of the devil,” as Josiah walked into the kitchen. “How fares the town, lad?”
“As quiet as it always is,” Josiah answered.
Clay nodded his head at the man as he shut the door behind him and crossed the room to Violet, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek, before pulling the chair beside Ewan out from under the table and sitting down.
Ewan pointed a finger at Josiah and said, “Tell yer wife my services are needed in this town.”
Josiah grinned. “Well, it does take a lot of work being the Marshal, so yes, your services are invaluable, Ewan.”
“See! I told ya,” Ewan yelled, looking over at Violet.
Clay smiled when Violet rolled her eyes, then stood before he said, “I need to go see if I can find Daisy.”
“Speaking of,” Ewan said, tilting his head up to look at him. “What’s yer intentions where my granddaughter is concerned, lad?”
Clay reached into his coat pocket, pulling the small ring box out and opening it.
The ring was shining like a new penny under the bright light coming from the many windows in the kitchen.
It wasn’t the most expensive ring the Butte mercantile had to offer, but he hoped Daisy liked it even though it was modest in appearance.
He turned the box so they could see it. “I’m going to ask Daisy to marry me. ”
Violet squealed and clapped her hands so loudly, Ewan nearly came out of his chair.
“It’s beautiful,” Violet said, reaching out to take the box from him. “She’s going to love it.”
“I hope so.”
“Ah,” Ewan said, waving his hand. “Violet’s right. Women like shiny baubles. Daisy will love it.” He sat up straight in his chair and looked him in the eye. “The ring is nice, boy, but aren’t you forgetting something?”
Forgetting something? “Like what?” he asked, confused.
Ewan puffed his chest out. “Weel, seeing as I’m the man of this house, I don’t recall you asking for my permission to get merrit to my granddaughter.”
Clay’s mouth opened, but he was at a loss for words. Was that how these things were done? He needed to ask her family for their permission? He lifted his eyes to Violet. She was smiling and gave him a wink before nodding her head to Ewan.
Okay, maybe he did.
He closed the ring box and stuck it back in his pocket before clearing his throat. “Mr. Campbell. I love your granddaughter and would like to marry her.” He added, “With your permission,” when Ewan raised an eyebrow at him.
Ewan sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest, and Violet’s smile grew before she rolled her eyes. “Stop torturing him, Gramps, and just say yes.”
“I’m thinking,” Ewan said, turning his head to look at Violet. “I can’t be giving away Daisy’s hand in marriage to just anyone.”
He inhaled a breath and met his gaze head-on. “Where will ya live, boy? Surely not that little room behind the jailhouse. That’s not a proper home.”
“No, sir, it’s not. I have a two-bedroom cabin now.”
Violet drew in a sharp breath. “You do? Where?”
He smiled and said, “In Butte.”
Daisy collected her basket from the counter and hooked the handle over her arm. “Will you and Graham be coming home for lunch?” she asked Rose.
Her sister glanced up from the ledger book she had open. “Not today. Gideon wanted to talk to Graham about something, so we’ll be having lunch with him and Victoria today.”
“All right,” Daisy said. “I’ll let Gramps know where you’ll be because he’ll ask when you don’t show up.”
Rose looked at the door. Daisy followed her gaze to see what she was looking at and froze. Seeing Clay standing inside the store stole the air from her lungs. She’d been trying to avoid him all day. The moment she woke, she knew he’d come to the house to see her.
After her crying fit the night before, she’d gone to bed wanting to talk to him, but this morning, the thought of facing him after catching him and Veronica in the barn gave her a small panic attack, so she’d done the only thing she could think of.
She ran, hurrying down the back stairs into the kitchen before anyone else saw her, and left the house, hoping to avoid him.