Chapter 3
Chapter Three
As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise over the past year, Violet knew her feelings for Josiah weren’t as buried as she’d thought them to be. Watching him smile so big, her heart should have been stuttering with glee, and it would have been, had he been smiling at her.
The knot in her throat made it impossible to swallow. Her pulse pounded so hard she could hear it as blood rushed past her eardrums, and for the first time since Josiah Lincoln showed up in Silver Falls, swaggering into town as if he owned it, an irrational sense of jealousy made her chest ache.
That old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” was true and for years, she’d waited for something to happen in this town. For it to grow enough, it felt as if they were thriving, but it seemed doomed to be nothing more than a stagecoach stop along the trail.
It was so stagnant that most days it was downright boring, but that wasn’t the case today.
No, today something was happening, and she was seeing red as she gawked at Josiah as he talked to the lady who bought the building next to the mercantile.
A lady who was currently smiling at Josiah and saying something that made him throw his head back and laugh.
Her stomach clenched just seeing it and her jaw ached from grinding her teeth so hard.
The vacant building next to the mercantile had new occupants. A woman, along with who she assumed was her daughter, had taken up residence in the upstairs apartment and was currently renovating the downstairs for their new business. A dress shop.
Normally, the addition of a dress shop would have been seen as a boon for the town, but as Violet watched them carry in roll after roll of fabric, Josiah helping her with the task, all she could think was, her family’s mercantile would lose business with them here, and they already struggled most months to break even.
From the time Campbell’s Mercantile was built, everyone within a ten-mile radius came to them for all their goods and that included clothing and fabric. They sold so much sewing goods and pre-made clothing that it sometimes outsold everything else.
What would happen to those sales now that a real seamstress was in town? One who made beautiful dresses the women here wouldn’t have to make themselves?
“Violet? Are you listening?”
She turned at the sound of her name. Everyone was looking at her. “Hmm?”
Gertie Deal set her teacup down on the small table in front of the sofa. “I said, did you have anything else to add?”
Before she could answer, Sybil Johnson spoke to say, “What’s so interesting out there?” The woman ignored Gertie completely and stood to crane her neck in order to see out the window.
Violet shook her head at Gertie and said, “No,” before looking back outside. “And to answer your question, Sybil, that lady who was moving into the building next to the mercantile, is here. Looks as if she has a daughter. Or I’m assuming that’s who the younger girl is.”
Hazel Banks, the town busybody, and Mabel Simmons crossed the room to look over her shoulder.
“Oh, I heard she was recently widowed,” Mabel said. “I can’t imagine moving to a new town and starting over all by yourself.”
“You did,” Gertie said. “You’ve done fine on your own.”
Mabel smiled. The town spinster had never married and never would, or so she’d said.
Her house was two stories and was the only local boarding house.
She might not have anyone else living with her daily, but that didn’t stop Mabel from telling everyone who would listen about her life, even the occasional stranger passing through town, and having company stay in her home was enough for her.
“Doesn’t look as if she might be single for long,” Mabel giggled. “Josiah looks to be enjoying her company, if the smile on his face is any indication.”
Violet ignored the comment, and the seething jealousy that followed. Josiah was her fiancé. Well, her imaginary fiancé, at least, which meant he wouldn’t be asking the new seamstress for her hand in marriage anytime soon.
Or ever, if I have anything to do with it.
Her gaze landed on Josiah again as he continued to talk to the new owner. When the woman reached out and grabbed Josiah’s arm, squeezing his biceps, Violet saw red.
“So we’re settled then?” Gertie asked, trying to draw them back into the conversation.
Everyone nodded, herself included.
“Then that’s it.” Gertie grabbed the notepad she’d been writing on and looked it over. “All right. I’ll see you all next week for the set up.” She stood and started collecting empty tea cups. “Violet, don’t forget to tell your grandfather. We don’t want him to feel left out.”
Violet bit her tongue to keep from smiling.
Gertie wasn’t fooling anyone. There wasn’t a person in town who didn’t know she was sweet on her grandfather and including him in their day-long set up meant Gertie had a chance to talk to him without him running away.
“I won’t,” she said. “I’ll personally drag him there myself if I have to. ”
She turned from the window when the others started collecting their things.
The town's Founder’s Day celebration was once again planned and, just like previous years, she was responsible for things she had no desire to do.
She wasn’t even sure how she’d been talked into the planning committee to begin with, but here she was, surrounded by the oldest women in town, planning a day-long event that everyone from here to the valley would attend.
She was the last to walk out of Gertie’s home, her eyes darting to the building beside the mercantile. Josiah was still on the sidewalk talking to the new owner, but when he suddenly turned and headed back to the marshals office, it felt as if she could finally breathe.
Why her traitorous heart wouldn’t forget about him like she wished it to was beyond her.
No matter how hard she tried to forget about Josiah, just seeing him made her heart flutter.
She was probably doomed to pine over him until she was old and gray and died a lonely old spinster.
Was she going to be talked about by the next generation like Mabel was now? She hoped not.
Watching Josiah walk into the jailhouse, she put him out of her mind and headed toward the sidewalk. Clay Baxter was in front of Mabel’s boarding house, repainting the sign that hung near the road.
The boy was blushing and tipping his hat to the other ladies as they passed him by and as much as she wanted to cross the road to avoid the boarding house, and Edwin, doing so would be rude, especially since Clay was watching her with a wide smile on his face.
She knew why he was looking at her like that and didn’t want to seem rude by avoiding him, so she kept her eyes on him and ignored the boarding house all together.
Clay was a good kid. He’d arrived in Silver Falls the previous spring when her grandfather had ordered four mail-order grooms for her sister, Rose.
He’d been the youngest of the men to show up, not much older than nineteen if she had to guess, and stayed behind when Rose married Graham Hart, and the way he always stared toward their house, she knew Daisy was the reason he hadn’t left.
He was sweet on her baby sister and was too afraid to say so.
“Miss Violet.” He tipped his hat at her when she neared him, his smile growing as he glanced down the street toward their house. “I hope your family is doing well.”
“They are. And you?”
“I’m good.” He set his paintbrush down and scratched his eyebrow with his thumbnail. “I saw your grandfather a while ago down by the saloon and I passed Rose near the mercantile. I haven’t seen Daisy around much, though. I hope there isn’t anything wrong.”
Violet held back a grin. “No. She’s fine. She just stays in most of the time.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I kind of noticed that about her.”
“Well, she doesn’t like to be out much, as she can’t really hear what’s going on around her. If a runaway horse or wagon came racing through town, she’d never hear it in time to get out of the way.”
He nodded. “That makes sense.” He glanced back at their house before picking his paintbrush up again. “Well, I better get back to this. I still have to clean the stalls over at the livery yet today.”
“Oh, well, you have fun with that.”
He grinned. “I’m sure it’ll be a hoot.”
She said her goodbyes and left him at the boarding house, painting Mabel’s sign. Since deciding to stay in Silver Falls, Clay had sort of become the town handyman. If you needed anything done, he could do it, for a small price.
Gunter Reeves, over at the livery stable, let him stay in the tack room in exchange for mucking out the horse stalls.
The boy ran himself ragged most days, but he’d told anyone who would listen that he’d planned on building him a house right here in town.
And Violet knew, when he did, her little sister would be getting her a proper suitor whether she wanted one or not.
She hurried down the sidewalk to the store, glancing over at the jail as she passed it, disappointed she didn’t see Josiah. She still hadn’t spoken to him since the whole Edwin scene yesterday morning. Luckily, she hadn’t seen Edwin either.
As usual this time of the morning, there weren’t but a few people inside the mercantile and she offered them a warm greeting as she headed behind the counter and slipped her apron on.
The bell above the door rang and looking up, she tried not to stare as Josiah walked inside, managing a smile instead that she hoped didn’t make her look like a lunatic.
He nodded his head to the ladies inside the store before making his way toward her.
When he reached the counter, she straightened her apron, pressing out any wrinkles. “Good morning, Josiah.”
Him saying, “Morning, Violet,” was all it took to make her heart start pounding and for her to remember the smiles he’d given their new neighbor not even thirty minutes earlier.