Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Furious didn’t begin to express what he was feeling right now.
Waking up to find Violet gone had sent him into a panic, and he wasn’t sure why.
She was a grown adult, able to take care of herself and she didn’t need a chaperone to walk the streets of this town, but that didn’t stop him from flinging his clothes on and stomping into his boots while hurrying down the stairs.
He’d ran to the doctor's office. He’d like to say he checked in on Archie and Bonnie while there, but when he didn’t see Violet, he rushed out without a word.
His feet carried him to the mercantile and, seeing her inside with Edwin, had given him a small measure of relief—until he’d turned the doorknob and found it locked. That small detail sent the panic screaming back.
Edwin was still talking, but he hadn’t heard a word the man said. It was hard to concentrate on anything the way Violet was shaking against him. What had Edwin done to her?
“Can we go, please?”
Violet’s softly spoken words finally tore his gaze from Edwin. When she pulled away, stepping around him to head up the sidewalk, he had no choice but to follow.
“What were you doing here, Violet?”
“Asking about that preacher.” She paused and looked at him. “No one in this town has heard of Reverend Peele and Edwin said he didn’t even live here.”
He pushed his hat back and scratched his head. “Why are you looking for the preacher?”
She glanced at her feet a brief moment before looking back up. “To get our marriage annulled.”
Since the day he stood under that willow tree by the banks of the creek and said his marriage vows, he’d thought of little else but getting their marriage dissolved, as they’d said they would, but hearing her say she wanted it ended left him feeling—out of sorts.
Why, he didn’t know.
He didn’t want to be married. He didn’t want the responsibility that came with it or the danger. He’d even told Violet as much the night before.
So why did hearing her say she wanted to end the marriage leave him feeling so strongly against it?
And why did seeing her locked in that mercantile with Edwin make him want to rip the man's head off just for sitting so close to her?
“I’m beginning to think something isn’t right about the Reverend.”
Her voice drew him from his musings and he focused his eyes on her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, Edwin acted funny when I questioned him about the Reverend.”
“Funny how?”
“I’m not sure. It was just…the look on his face and the way he averted his eyes.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It wasn’t anything he said, but something just felt—off.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked back toward the mercantile. “I’ll go have a conversation with him. I’m sure he’ll tell me more than he did you.”
Violet snorted an unladylike laugh. “What makes you think that?”
He grinned. “I have my ways.” He nodded toward the doctor's office. “Go sit with Bonnie. After I’m done with Edwin, I’ll join you and we can go grab some breakfast.”
He didn’t wait for her to argue with him and turned on his heel.
He was headed back to the mercantile when he spotted the local sheriff across the street, his badge gleaming in the early morning sunlight.
He shifted course and stepped off the sidewalk, waiting for a wagon to pass before heading in the man's direction.
It was customary to seek out the local lawman when in a new town, and they’d gotten in so late the night before he hadn’t had a chance to do it.
Although he’d been to Elkin a few times since moving to Silver Falls, he’d never met the man.
He’d always been out of town on business of some sort whenever he’d ridden in.
He was spotted before he even stepped up on the sidewalk. Like every lawman he knew, he always wore his badge, even when out of town, so it was easy for others to tell who he was, and today was no exception.
“Morning,” the sheriff said when he finally reached him. “I hope seeing you here isn’t a bad omen.”
Josiah grinned and held out his hand. “Josiah Lincoln,” he said. “And no, I’m not bringing trouble your way. I’m from Silver Falls. I had a man shot and our local doctor wasn’t able to care for him, so we brought him over here.”
“Ah,” he said, shaking Josiah’s hand. “Well, Doc Perkins is a good one. He’ll have your friend fixed up in no time.”
“I’m sure he will. If you have a minute, I need some information about a man. All I know of him is he goes by the name Reverend Peele.”
The sheriff scratched his chin, his mouth twisted as he thought. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of him.”
Josiah sighed and looked toward the mercantile. “No one else seems to know him, either.”
“You in need of a preacher? Our local pastor is Caleb Morris. He lives beside the church.”
The sheriff pointed in the direction of the church and Josiah shook his head and said, “No. I’m actually looking for Reverend Peele. He performed a marriage ceremony for me a few weeks back and I’d like to talk to him about it and see if he ever filed the license.”
“Oh, well, that’s easy enough to find out. My office doubles as the local court office, so anything filed will be in there.”
Maybe their luck was about to change. Josiah followed him down the street, the man making small talk and nodding to people as they went.
When they reached his office, the sheriff shuffled through a stack of papers, looking for the license, he assumed.
“I’m not seeing anything,” the man said.
Josiah looked out the window. Tilting his head a fraction, he could see the mercantile. If the preacher didn’t live here, then maybe he filed it in some other town. It was possible but the question still remained as to how Edwin had met him.
“Are you sure he filed the license here?”
“No. I’m just guessing. Edwin is the one who brought the man to Silver Falls, so I just assumed he lived here.”
“Edwin?” the sheriff said. “As in Edwin Wright, the mercantile owner?”
“Yes.” Something about the look on the sheriff's face made his hackles rise. “You don’t look as if you like the man. Is there something I should know about him?”
“Not much to tell other than something is off about him as of late. Ever since his pa died, he’s been running around town acting erratic and hanging out with some shady looking fellers.”
Josiah stilled. “Did you say his pa died?”
The sheriff nodded. “Yeah. Been at least six months or more now.”
Josiah turned back to the window and looked toward the mercantile. Edwin had told Violet his pa was sick, not dead. He’d thought maybe his insistence on getting married had something to do with his pa’s bad health, but if the man was already dead…
“I’ve not had any trouble out of Edwin or the men he’s been hanging out with,” the sheriff said, “but there are a lot of back door deals taking place over there. Nothing illegal that I can tell, but something has been off with Edwin ever since he buried Eugene. I don’t know if it's stress from having to manage the store alone or if he’s got himself mixed up in something shady, but something isn’t right with him. ”
A man walked into the sheriff’s office needing immediate attention and Josiah thanked the sheriff for his time before leaving him to carry on with his business.
He started for the mercantile and headed inside the building but knew the moment he stepped foot inside the door, the conversation he wanted to have wouldn’t happen. The store was filled with people.
He saw Edwin near the counter. His hair was disheveled, his face red as he conversed with a balding man who seemed to be arguing with him about something.
A glance around the store showed him no one else that looked as if they worked there. Was Edwin running the store alone? Was this why he wanted to marry Violet so badly?
No, it had to be more than that. He could marry anyone to help out around here.
Heading back outside, he started toward the doctor’s office. He found Violet talking with Bonnie when he stepped inside the building. Archie’s eyes were closed, either sleeping or unconscious. He couldn’t tell which. When they saw him, they cut their conversation short.
“Any luck talking to Edwin?” Violet asked.
“No. The mercantile was slammed with people. I’ll have to try again later when its not so crowded.” He nodded his head toward Archie. “How is he doing?”
“Better,” Bonnie said. “His fever is coming down. The doctor seems to think he’ll recover, but it may take another few days before he’s out of the woods.”
“That’s good.” He glanced out the window. He could see the hotel from here. The windows on the left side of the building were where the restaurant was located and he could see people sitting inside at the tables.
He turned back to Violet and Bonnie. “Who wants breakfast?”
“I do,” Violet said, standing from her seat. “I’m starved.”
Bonnie bit her lip and looked at Archie. “I hate leaving him.”
“We can bring you a plate back,” Violet said.
Bonnie smiled. “That would be perfect.”
They said their goodbyes and headed across the street. The wait for a table wasn’t long and when they were seated near the windows, giving them a full view of the town, they read their menus in silence before ordering.
“So,” Josiah said when the waitress took their menus away. “What happened in the mercantile with Edwin?”
Violet blew out a breath and told him everything. He wasn’t any less mad about the exchange now than he had been earlier. He folded his arms on the table and leaned toward her. “You should have woken me before going over there.”
They both looked up at their waitress when she set down two mugs and filled them both with coffee. Violet added a spoonful of sugar into hers and a dash of cream before stirring it. “You being with me wouldn’t have changed the conversation any.”
“No, but it would have changed the way his interaction with you would have gone down.” He sipped his coffee, the black brew strong like he preferred. “Why you felt the need to talk to him so early is what’s baffling me.”