Chapter 41
The Wylder School did not open its doors to students on Tuesday.
First thing in the morning, while many still slept in their beds, Violet and Lin, as well as Tate and Sheriff Hanson, readied the schoolroom for the community get-together. It had been cleaned, decorated, and gussied up to its greatest good. The fire was laid and ready, candles waited to be kindled, and Santa’s throne had been festooned with greens wrapped around a swatch of red velvet.
Nothing remained to be done. Stockings were hung, and peace had come to the little schoolhouse.
That could not be said for the entire town.
By the time they finished, Wylder bustled. The town looked as busy as Violet imagined the rooms inside the Social Club did after ranch hands received their monthly pay. There were people everywhere.
Wagons from homesteads trundled down Wylder Street. Pine boughs hung from buckboards and sacks nestled near feet, warming toes and staying safe from prying eyes. Children waved from the backs of wagons, calling to schoolmates about the party, home preparations, or Santa.
Merchants hung wreaths and garlands from front doors and hitching posts. The scent of pine competed with the usual smells of horse manure and rarely washed bodies.
Passersby nodded and smiled and were friendlier than usual. The festive atmosphere wrapped the town in benevolence that could almost be tasted on the tongue.
Violet and Lin walked arm in arm down Wylder Street.
Lin had been reluctant to go out but if they were to catch the Chinese villains, they must bait the trap and let them see the princess alive and well. They emerged from the schoolhouse, and with Tate lagging inconspicuously behind to give them protection, felt almost safe.
Neither could relax until the men who had killed Lin’s brother were brought to justice. There would probably be a necktie social for the pair, and then their threat would be forever eliminated. It couldn’t happen soon enough.
Violet didn’t abide unnecessary killing, but she didn’t feel badly when those who murdered got a taste of their own medicine.
She had a short list of stops to make before they went home to dress for the party. Lin wanted to go to the mercantile, so they went there first.
The sight of the mercantile, crowded as a church on Easter Sunday morning, stopped them just inside the door. There were so many in the building that the aisles were jammed.
With a shake of her head, Violet reminded herself that thriving businesses were beneficial to everyone in town—even if that meant she might have to wait for her turn at the counter or elbow her way past browsers.
“We go fast?” Lin did not like crowds. They had discussed her childhood as a princess in China and she indicated that she felt shy in public during large gatherings, like parades.
This must seem like a nightmare to her.
“Yes, we will get what we need and leave.”
“I go…” Lin pointed to the far side of the shop. She waved her hand between them. “You do not come, please?”
“Ah, of course. But please, don’t leave the mercantile without me.”
“No leave—I will wait here when done.”
Violet hated to let her go, but at Christmas everyone had secrets to tend, so she nodded. Then she met Tate’s gaze and tipped her head toward Lin’s retreating figure. When he trailed her, she released the breath she’d held. Tate would keep Lin safe.
She headed to the sweets counter. Peppermints for the children were already in the stockings hanging in the schoolroom but she discovered that Lin also had a fondness for peppermint. While they stuffed the stockings together, she noticed how many times her friend inhaled the aroma. When asked about it, Lin admitted that her maternal grandmother had kept a jar of mints on her bedside table, and that she encouraged her grandchildren to take a mint whenever they visited.
Lin had many hard, sad memories. Violet meant to nurture the few joyful ones that traveled all the way from China to find a home in Wylder. She had a beautiful cut-glass jar that she had brought from South Carolina. She planned to fill it with mints and place it beneath their Christmas tree for Lin.
She paid for the mints, picked up her package, and turned to leave.
Thomas Harvey stood near the counter. He grinned at her when she met his gaze.
He removed his hat, ran a hand through his hair to push it back off his face, and waited for her to move away from the small crowd who had gathered to either pay Finn Wylder or pepper him with requests. When she came close, he pointed and said, “I see you have a sweet tooth.”
She tucked the package into her bag. “Why, Mister Harvey, what woman doesn’t?”
Teasing came naturally between them, the same way conversations and dining together had. He seemed as delighted to see her as she was to see him.
“I take it you have a fondness for mints. I would have predicted you were more a chocolate kind of woman, to be honest.”
“Oh, really? Whatever gave you that impression?”
He ran a hand across his chin, as if deep in thought. “Well, from what I’ve seen, you are a woman of refinement.”
“Mints are refined.”
“Yes, of course they are, but you are also a woman who has varied interests. Poetry, Mister Dickens, leaping like a frog, sharing wise advice with sorrowful, motherless young women…” He paused, having gone from teasing into more serious territory. Slapping his hat against his thigh, he looked down for a moment before raising his handsome face to catch her gaze again. “A woman who has so many interests and is unique in so many ways? Why, I would think she would appreciate some fine chocolates. You know the ones with caramel, chocolate, vanilla cream, or even nut centers? Those seem more to your liking, but I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things this past year. This past week, even.”
The other shoppers and the bustle of the mercantile fell away. Violet felt insulated and secure, as if they were in a world within the outside world. She neither heard nor saw the others. And she did not care what they were doing—or even what they thought.
All that mattered, in that moment, was Thomas Harvey, and the way his deep, dark eyes invited her to fall into them.
There were so many things she wanted to say to him. Mostly, she wanted to apologize for her bad behavior, but this wasn’t the time or place.
“You’re not wrong. Chocolates with assorted centers are my favorite. And, indeed, you’re not the only one who can be wrong.” She swallowed, trying not to cry and embarrass herself. “I’ve been incorrect about a lot of things, for a long time, it seems. But beliefs can change—I learned that very recently and I plan to work on that part of my thinking.”
They stood near the small hand tools, one of the least-crowded spots in the store. Mallets, hand planes, pliers, and saws were not finding their places in Santa’s sack this year.
He took a step closer and the aroma of tobacco and wood smoke that came from his jacket went up into her head—and straight to her heart. Whatever happened between them, she would forever connect those scents with this man.
“We need to talk in private. There are things I need to say to you, things I need you to hear.” He paused, then lowered his voice even further. “There are things that I need to explain to you, and afterward, if you don’t want anything to do with me, I will abide by that. But please, we need to talk.”
Nearly identical to the sentiment that had come from Jasper Abraham such a short time ago. “Christmas is the season of forgiveness.”
Jasper’s sentiment hit her like a cannonball. If she could forgive him, she could forgive anyone—including Thomas.
“I agree. We do need to talk.” Gertie swung around the far side of the aisle and headed their way. “But not here.” She took a step back and put a smile on her face. “Yes, Mister Harvey, your Alexia is quite the pupil. I am glad to have her in the schoolroom.”
“Miss Bloom, that is so kind of you. Alexia came home yesterday full of life, so happy to be in the Wylder School and tickled to make some new friends. In particular, she mentioned a girl named Brenda.”
“Oh, yes. Brenda Milligan—I sat Alexia right beside her, hoping they would get on well. It’s nice to hear they have.”
She smiled when Gertie stopped to chat but before she could say anything a commotion broke out on the far side of the mercantile. Boxes thudded to the floor and a string of expletives filled the air.
Violet looked over for Lin, but she did not see her anywhere.