Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Something heavy weighed her down. Violet woke slowly, her eyes still shut as she tried to figure out why she felt so confined.
She blinked her eyes open and saw nothing but darkness, but moving her head was enough for her to see Josiah laying beside her, his limbs wrapped around her as if he was afraid she’d get away.
She sucked in a breath and held it, waiting to see if he felt her move. When he didn’t even twitch, she exhaled and closed her eyes, savoring the feel of being in his arms.
How many times had she dreamed of this? Of waking up drowning in his scent? Feeling his body so close?
More times than she cared to remember. The only thing that put a damper on those feelings now was knowing it wasn’t real. That if her lie to Edwin hadn’t snowballed, she wouldn’t be in his bed right now with him and probably never would have been.
Even so, it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy it while it lasted, and right now she was as blissfully happy as any new bride should be. Fake marriage or not, they really were married, and that knowledge alone made the little fantasies she’d made up over the years seem more real.
Of course, in her girlish fantasies, they would both be naked and laying skin to skin right now, but she’d take what she could get.
Josiah had one of her legs pinned between his own and he was leaning toward her, arms wrapped tightly around her, and the weight of his body holding her down was sublime.
She had no idea how long she laid there, breathing in his scent, before he finally stirred and she knew the instant he woke.
His body stiffened, his breath held long moments before he relaxed and mumbled, “sorry,” as their eyes met.
She felt the loss of him like a living thing when he rolled over and sat up.
He stood and headed to the stove, still wearing his clothes and socks from the previous day. He threw a few logs of wood into the cold stove and lit it before filling a coffeepot with water from the reservoir and tossing in coffee grounds.
She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, straightening her curls…and realizing the shirt she was wearing was pulled up around her waist.
Her face bloomed hot in an instant and she jerked the material down over her legs before pulling the sheets up to her waist. When she looked up, Josiah was staring at her.
“I don’t have much in the way of breakfast,” he said. “I usually eat over at Mabel’s boarding house if I wake up hungry.”
“Oh, well, I’m sure Daisy has breakfast started.
We could eat there.” She realized in an instant she’d invited him to breakfast and wasn’t sure he’d accept.
It wasn’t a strange request. In the eyes of those in town, they were married.
Having breakfast together was a given. “Um, Graham will be there. He and Rose join us every morning.”
Something in his eyes told her he was going to refuse.
His silence did as well. She tried to brush off the disappointment and watched him make his morning coffee before looking around the room.
She could see it better now that light was shining through the curtains.
It didn’t look much different than it had the night before.
Bland. Lonely. But one question popped into her head.
How did he live here and not get depressed?
There wasn’t anything here but the essentials.
Other than the trunk at the foot of the bed, she didn’t see any personal items that made a space a home.
There were no pictures or what-nots laying about.
No books or dishes, even. Other than his coffee pot and a few mugs, he had nothing.
She didn’t even see a single pan to cook with. Did he eat every meal at Mabel’s?
She was pulled from her musings when he sat down at the table and stepped into his boots before standing and reaching for his vest and slipping it on.
Picking up his coffee cup, he headed for the door. “I’ll let you get dressed,” he said, grabbing his hat and setting it on his head. “I’ll go have my morning coffee in the office. Enjoy your breakfast.”
He left without another word.
She knew the moment they spoke their wedding vows that they meant nothing. He had no intention of keeping them and as soon as he could, he would have the marriage annulled, but it still made her heart ache.
Even though she’d put a future with Josiah out of her mind a long time ago, being here brought back all those silly notions she’d once had. Of them being married and living happily ever after.
Looking around the drab room he called home, she knew it would never happen.
Sighing, she climbed from the bed and dressed.
The coffee scalded his tongue when he went to take his first sip while watching Edwin walk his way. As if the morning wasn’t challenging enough, this only added to his frustration.
Waking up, drowning in Violet’s scent, and feeling her body nestled so close to his own, left him on edge.
Pulling away from her had been the last thing he’d wanted to do, but he was pretty sure she wouldn’t have appreciated him lowering his hand and having a small squeeze of her rounded bottom like the intrusive voice in his head told him to do.
He’d extracted himself from the bed as quickly as he could and tried to put waking with her so intimately in his grasp out of his mind and it almost worked.
Until he’d turned and saw her sitting up, the shirt she had on pulled up to her waist and those long legs of hers on full display.
Her stockings had slid to her ankles during the night and her milky thighs had tempted him to consummate a marriage he didn’t even want.
Seeing her like that had the devil on his shoulder whispering that she was legally his wife and it was well within his rights to crawl back in that bed with her and take her all proper like.
To spread her legs and sate the lust riding his body.
He’d turned and put the thought out of his mind instead and left as quickly as he could.
Standing on the stoop outside his office was a daily occurrence, but he wished he’d gone inside to enjoy his coffee now that Edwin was on his way to talk to him. He had no doubt that’s why he was heading his way.
The man gave him a smug smile and Josiah turned and headed into the office, slamming the door as he did, and ignored him completely. He set his mug down on the desk and pulled his chair out when the door opened.
Edwin looked around the office before meeting his gaze and shutting the door.
Josiah sat down and took his hat off, laying it on the desk beside him. “Edwin,” he said in greeting. “What can I do for you?”
“Where is Violet?”
Something about the way he said her name irked him and he wasn’t sure why. “The whereabouts of my wife aren’t your concern.”
The statement had the effect he thought it would. Edwin’s face went beet red. “I don’t believe for a moment that your marriage is real.”
Josiah gaped at him, then laughed. “Was the preacher you brought to town legally allowed do perform a ceremony?” Edwin’s face grew redder. “If he was, then I can assure you, the marriage is real.”
“Consummated?”
The thought of that one word sent lusty pictures to his brain, but he ignored them. “None of your business,” he said. “What do you want, Edwin?”
“What do I want? I want the bride I was promised and don’t have now because of you!”
“That sounds like a personal problem to me.”
Edwin’s jaw ticked. “Where is Violet?”
“Having her breakfast.”
He looked around the jail. “I need to speak to her.”
“Not going to happen.”
Edwin’s jaw clenched tighter before he narrowed his eyes. “Why are you not with her?” Before he could say a word, Edwin grinned. “Not having breakfast with your new bride. I don’t know many men who wouldn’t take pleasure in that. Is your marriage already on rocky grounds?”
“No. I was fixin’ to head down there.”
“It didn’t look that way to me.”
He didn’t owe this man any sort of explanations about anything, but found himself riffling through the paperwork on his desk. “I had a few things to take care of before I joined her.”
“Well, I’ll walk over there with you so I can say my goodbyes.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Oh, I insist.”
Of course you do.
There weren’t but a few people out on the street when Violet finally made her way around the jailhouse.
The desire to step onto the sidewalk and go see what Josiah was doing was so strong, she had to turn and hurry away before she made a fool of herself and did something stupid like—beg him to come have breakfast with her.
Mabel’s boarding house looked the same as it always did but she knew more than likely Edwin was within the walls plotting more ways to make her life miserable.
She ran past the house in case he was looking outside and saw her and hurried up the front steps of her own home when she reached it.
It was loud inside when she opened the door, but that wasn’t unusual. It normally was. Her grandfather didn’t understand the concept of an “inside voice,” and always talked as if you were three houses down when you were sitting right next to him.
Daisy was scurrying about when she stepped into the kitchen doorway, putting platters of food on the table while her grandfather went on about the new saloon down the street. When he saw her, he grinned and slapped a hand down on the table.
“Weel, if it isn’t my newly marrit granddaughter!” He leaned back as if to look behind her. “Where’s yer new groom?”
“Um, at the jail. He had some things to do.”
“Will he be joining us?”
“I’m not sure.” She changed the subject and said, “What’s this about the saloon?”
“Oh! I was just telling Daisy how Archie has it fixed up. It's looking like a proper saloon now.”
“You don’t need to be going over there. You’ll find nothing but trouble in that place.”
“Och…” He waved a hand as if to swat her words away. “A good shot of whiskey keeps yer joints limber.”
She laughed. “If you say so.”