Violet: Bride of North Dakota (American Mail-Order Bride 39) (12 page)

He couldn’t help but feel flattered. Her admiration touched something deep inside of him, loosening something that he thought would never be moved again.

His heart.

After the tour, they sat in the living room, and his old dog Duke wandered in and padded over to meet Violet.

Daniel was surprised—
stunned!
—when she slipped to her knees on the rug and petted the old dog, murmuring words of endearment to him.

Duke leaned into her and she wrapped her arms around him. Even the dog fell in love with her immediately!

Amelia stood on the edge of the room and smirked at him. He frowned, and she said, “I’m going to heat up some water for tea. Would you like some, Violet?”

“Yes, please.”

Still on the floor, hugging his old yellow dog, Violet looked like an angel. She fit perfectly in his house, lighting up the room with her smile, just as he’d known she would. His heart caught.

She said, “Your dog has a noble soul.”

“I know.”

He sat in the chair next to them, reached out to pet Duke’s fur, and forced himself not to touch Violet’s golden-red locks, tucked up and pinned.

His house was changed forever—and he would forever see her here.

Violet looked hesitant, and then said, “Amelia said I should ask you about Opal.”

He turned cold inside. “She did, did she? She was out of line.”

Violet nodded sweetly. “If you don’t want to tell me about her, I understand.”

He didn’t. But then he found himself saying, “I was engaged to be married to Opal. Ten years ago, when I was about your age.”

Her eyes encouraged him to go on, and he was surprised to find himself doing so. “I was young and idealistic and when she decided to marry someone with more money, it broke my heart.”

He’d never said those words to anyone. Of course, everyone in town knew the story—but he’d never admitted to anyone, not even to himself, that she’d broken his heart. And he was further surprised to find that saying the words brought no hurt now. A vast relief filled him.

She narrowed her eyes. “I think Opal was a great fool.”

He smiled in surprise. “Thank you.”

“If I ever meet her, I shall tell her so.”

Embarrassed, his intense feelings tilting him off-kilter, he leaned forward to pet Duke again.

And then Violet did something totally unexpected—she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek!

She
kissed
him!

And then she said, “You’re a good man, Daniel Lund. You make beautiful furniture. And you have a wonderful, noble, old dog.”

She had kissed his cheek!

With a little laugh, she touched her fingertips to the spot she’d kissed. He placed his hand over hers, holding it there—

And then Amelia clattered the teapot and he released her hand, feeling himself flush warm from the top of his head down to his toes.

She’d kissed him!

My dear friend Laurel,

I hope you have found great happiness in your marriage and are settling into your new home in Arkansas with Mr. Benning. I am enjoying my first days in Minot, and the beautiful northern lights that are like magic in the night sky of what is also called Magic Town. This adventure has been all I could have imagined—and much, much more. I will write more later.

Your friend, Violet

(Letter mailed November 1, 1890)

DANIEL WAS STILL AVOIDING VIOLET—but what else was new? He had been for nearly three weeks. In fact, she could trace his avoidance to one specific moment—when she’d kissed his cheek.

That’s when he’d started staying away in earnest. He found excuses to work out of town, to deliver furniture, to do pretty much anything that would keep him away from her.

So she had begun to accept invitations by some of the gentlemen in town and had been escorted to dinner with Amelia as chaperone.

She’d thought she was doing the right thing by taking matters into her own hands—in this case, her own
lips
—but she’d made a mess of it. She was now admitting to herself that a romance could never be between her and Daniel. And so last week, when Gregor Koch had called on her, she had accepted his invitation. And Paul Carlson’s. And Jonathan Vogel’s.

Thanksgiving dinner was the first meal Violet had shared with Daniel since
The Kiss
. She supposed she could begin to measure time in Minot as
Before the Kiss
and
After the Kiss
. What had she been thinking? Of course he wouldn’t want to get involved with a woman forward enough to kiss him uninvited.

As she gazed across the Lund family dining table, she caught Daniel’s eye. He was always watching her—and also always jerking his gaze away when she looked at him. To tell the truth, it would be a relief to marry someone else and not have to deal with this anymore. He obviously couldn’t take his eyes off her—and at the same time he wanted nothing to do with her.

Today he looked sad. And he had good reason—Amelia had told her that his faithful old dog Duke had died this past week. And Violet had not yet had a chance to give him her condolences. She intended to before she left, if she could only find a moment alone with him.

Brenna and Gabriel Lund were hosting dinner today. Violet and Amelia had been cooking for over a day to help prepare the feast that was now laid before them on a groaning table. Brenna’s linen napkins, goblets, and company dishes marked this meal as special from the moment Violet and Amelia had arrived—early, to help Brenna with final preparations.

The meal had started with an appetizer of gravlax—salt- and sugar-cured salmon—with creamy mustard-dill sauce. Next came roast turkey and fruit-and-walnut stuffing. Mashed sweet potatoes and gravy. Roasted vegetables and Danish red cabbage. Swedish lingonberry preserves and pumpkin cookies. And mulled apple cider to wash it down.

The meal had been a joyous event—for everyone but Daniel. And for Violet, for she, too, felt keenly Daniel’s grief for his old dog. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, if the moment would ever arise.

That moment didn’t come during the meal, or afterward when the laughing family cleared the table and washed the dishes. Nor when they played games of Tafl, a strategy board game played on a checkered game board, similar to a chessboard and also having two opposing armies.

It didn’t come during the multiple toasts of mulled cider. Or during the talking after.

Finally, when Amelia said, “We’re going to go home now,” Violet decided it was not going to happen tonight at all, a melancholy thought.

“All right,” she said. “I’ll get my coat.”

And that action, with no trying on her part, led to the moment. She reached the coat hooks just as Daniel came out of his parents’ bedroom wearing his coat. His eyes widened when he saw her and he nodded and moved to go past her—but she touched his sleeve. “Daniel, Amelia told me that Duke died this week. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am. He was a wonderful dog.”

He met her gaze full-on for the first time in weeks. His face softened and he nodded. “Thank you. Duke
was
a wonderful dog.”

An awkward pause followed. She decided she had nothing left to lose at this point, so she just said, “I wish I could take this heartache away from you.”

His gaze sharpened. What had she said wrong this time? She turned to leave, but he caught her hand in his.

She turned back, surprised, her eyes widening.

“Why would you say that? About heartache?”

She drew in a deep sigh and prepared to say goodbye to any hopes she might have had with Daniel, even as the warmth of his hand teased her. “Because I know Opal caused you great heartache. And now Duke. And because I care about you.”

Still holding her hand, he turned his face away. He seemed to be struggling with his emotions. Holding her breath, she waited.

He turned back to her and said, in a quiet voice, “And you would never cause me heartache?”

“I hope never to do so.”

He looked into her eyes for a very long moment, and her heart caught. Finally, he smiled softly. “Thank you. That means a great deal to me.”

Dear Violet,

I’m married now. I assume you are, as well? In all honesty, I considered stopping my letter there, as you have not seen fit to respond in any meaningful way. I’m not going to worry quite yet, but if I don’t hear from you soon, I may have to talk my new husband into trying to find you. We’re leaving for our honeymoon today. We’re going to New York City! We’ll be visiting my mother, which makes me very happy. My dear friend, Mrs. Gentry, played the role of mother to me during the wedding. She seemed very pleased to do so, and I feel very blessed. The entire church turned out for the event. Thomas had a wedding dress brought in from Boston, and I was able to tailor it to a perfect fit. He looked incredibly handsome, and I’ll never forget the look of pride and joy on his face. I’ve no doubt I looked at him in exactly the same way. There was so much food afterward! People seem to really love Thomas, and I was warmly welcomed. I think what I have to say next will surprise you. I am completely in love. I have a family, including an eleven-year-old daughter and, God willing, perhaps soon I’ll have one on the way. Best of all, I think you should know I not only love Thomas, but I trust him as well. I hope you are faring well, and expect to hear from you soon.

Yours truly, in love and affection, Mrs. Rachel Buchanan

P.S. Sir Lancelot has moved beyond food and shelter, and now has his own cushion, a loving family, and many hands to pet him. Life is wonderful.

(Letter mailed November 28, 1890, and delivered December 4, 1890)

VIOLET COMPLETED THE PAPERWORK ON the shop’s last major project—furniture for the new boarding house. That should keep the bills paid for a few months.

It had been hard to focus on work for the past week since Thanksgiving. Daniel was no longer avoiding her, but had been attentive to her, smiling, joking with her, looking at her as though she were the most precious person on earth.

She stood and stretched her back. She’d been on the stool for the entire morning, and was hoping Amelia would arrive with dinner soon. Looking at the wall clock, she saw she had another hour. Too bad her stomach didn’t agree.

A man walked inside the shop—and he was followed by about ten other men. She’d grown used to men coming in, even in groups, but these men were different. They all looked nervous, especially the younger man in the lead.

Inside, the other men lined the walls as if they were waiting for something to happen.

Anxiety floated through her like a smoky mist. She didn’t have a good feeling about this, not at all!

Still, this would be a problem for the Lunds, not her, whatever was going on. So she forced herself to smile and say, “Welcome to Lund Woodworking, gentlemen. May I help you?”

The younger handsome man nervously took off his hat and clutched the rim in both hands. As if he had reminded the rest of them of manners, the other men followed suit.

He was a tall, youthful, slender man with dark curly hair, expensively dressed. He was past handsome to almost pretty, but in a masculine way.

The outside door opened and two more men entered and took their places along the wall, doffing their hats, as well.